Question IS GRIMCO LIKE THIS WITH EVERYTHING?

[netsol]

i normally purchase the bulk of my supplies from harbor sales, they deliver every day, no delivery charge
when they are out of stock, we fall back to grimco

i needed a roll of avery mpi3323 ($133.75) they were out of stock for a few days
i called grimco, their price was $184.55. i hung up

i know you can go through a process of having a sales rep assigned your account, and asking them to price match

my question is WHY?

FOR 50 YEARS, in my other businesses, the first time i go through this with a supplier IS THE LAST TIME (I understand grimco will probably survive)

question is, do you have to go through this with every item with grimco? is it just that i don't buy enough & i have made the a**hole list? (they are hoping i will just go away?)

in the old days when we were assembling computers (certainly not the good old days) there were 8 columns in the pricing spreadsheet. vincent, my salesman would NEVER charge me the same price twice,
like he was just making it up. IT ANNOYS ME WHEN THINGS DON'T SIMPLY HAVE A PRICE, without the elaborate dance & begging with a tin cup for a fair price

is it too late to change this to RANT?

 

[dale911]

They have been this way ever since I have been dealing with them. I usually know what the price is what I want from somewhere else and when I call them, I ask what they can do. If it’s close, I let it go. If it’s too high, I give them the price of the competitor. In some cases, they are paying more for things than what I pay somewhere else. In other cases, they come down more than my other supplier. I get annoyed by it too but everyone needs to make as much money as they can. In the end, I still use grimco for about $75k a year. Things like ACM can be found at a better price elsewhere but their Briteline vinyls, which are usually reboxed General Formulations products, is usually less than the name brand product elsewhere. I prefer to deal with my local rep but over half the time, he is not available and I have to deal with someone in a cubicle. They will still do price adjustments and then it’s in the computer or reorders online.


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[netsol]

dale911

don't kid yourself, NO ONE IN THE INDUSTRY pays a lower price than grimco
they are a >$1Billion annual revenue company with 58 locations (6 in canada) and almost 500 employees)

if harbor (1 location?) can sell my roll for $133 grimco is probably paying $15% less than harbor is...

when i fall back to general formulations i pay $185 for 2001 the closest similar product from grimco, but i assume that is based on my account history, not on the product itself

 

[Billct2]

This is why I try to purchase from the "local" full line sign suppliers I've used for 30+ years (Garston and Nepco). I use national suppliers for items I can't get locally (Grimco is good for traffic sign blanks). But I also have back ups that are "local" companies like Beacon, Hyatt and Hall Signs (great for traffic sign blanks)

 

[CanuckSigns]

Up here Grimco doesn't do that. However we have ND Graphics and dealing with them is a nightmare! You don't have anyway of knowing pricing unless you call your sales rep and get a quote, once you have a quote the price is then locked in until your sales rep leaves, then you get to start all over again., if your sales rep is off, sick, on vacation or busy, you just have to wait or pay full retail (plus some) if you don't kiss your sales reps ass, they don't give you as good of a deal

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I think the topic of give me your best price was a hot conversation the other day. Your annoyance, which I share with you, is something to keep in mind when customers say things like this. They're used to being hosed and would rather shut it down on the front side rather than having to dance with you everytime they need something. It's annoying and I try to avoid any company that butt fucks you when you need something and don't have pricing already established. Like Grainger and Fastenal do. Nobody wants to ask "how much" everytime they order something just to keep from being hosed. It's really annoying. If jerky A is buying a roll of vinyl for 100 bucks then sell it to everyone for 100 bucks.

 

[rx7boy]

Up here Grimco doesn't do that. However we have ND Graphics and dealing with them is a nightmare! You don't have anyway of knowing pricing unless you call your sales rep and get a quote, once you have a quote the price is then locked in until your sales rep leaves, then you get to start all over again., if your sales rep is off, sick, on vacation or busy, you just have to wait or pay full retail (plus some) if you don't kiss your sales reps ***, they don't give you as good of a deal

Couldn’t agree more, Grimco in Canada is priced good right away but yes ND Graphics is just like you say

 

[victor bogdanov]

here in Houston we have GSG, Fellers, Reece, Grimco and probably a few other suppliers. Grimco easily beats any price I give them from any of the other suppliers (with which I already have deeply discounted pricing). Sometimes I'll get a 30-40% discount on a product from fellers and I think no way grimco will beat this and they do. I usually buy by the skid so I'm sure that helps with pricing also

 

[netsol]

Not to beat a dead horse, but, why build a relationship with a company that clips me for $50 if i am not watching them closely enough?

So, victor, if they overcharge you by $50 for an item, the lesson is " well i didn't beg enough?"

 

[Evan Gillette]

Depends on your rep but yes, definitely a game that they play, and a silly one at that. I used to have a rep that stopped by the shop and wrote a list of everything we used commonly and a few things we might get from them if pricing was good. He called a few days later and said he adjusted our prices and if we wanted anything else to just ask. I checked online (were I usually order for national suppliers unless inventory is iffy) and all our usual items were marked wayyy down. He was around for about a year and a half. After he left EVERYTHING went straight back up to just under "list price". I called the new rep and asked for a few changes but they never stay for more than a month and I got caught once paying $150 MORE for a roll of media than from another local supply house (who I use when I can). That was enough for me to put them low on my list for most media and substrates. Keep in mind this was before everything jumped from "covid". What a waste of time babysitting prices. I wanted to make a shared spreadsheet of common items with a column for each national supplier and let the reps put in their best offer, let them do the work hahaha.

 

[netsol]

Depends on your rep but yes, definitely a game that they play, and a silly one at that. I used to have a rep that stopped by the shop and wrote a list of everything we used commonly and a few things we might get from them if pricing was good. He called a few days later and said he adjusted our prices and if we wanted anything else to just ask. I checked online (were I usually order for national suppliers unless inventory is iffy) and all our usual items were marked wayyy down. He was around for about a year and a half. After he left EVERYTHING went straight back up to just under "list price". I called the new rep and asked for a few changes but they never stay for more than a month and I got caught once paying $150 MORE for a roll of media than from another local supply house (who I use when I can). That was enough for me to put them low on my list for most media and substrates. Keep in mind this was before everything jumped from "covid". What a waste of time babysitting prices. I wanted to make a shared spreadsheet of common items with a column for each national supplier and let the reps put in their best offer, let them do the work hahaha.

To me things should have a price, which i can depend on.



At this stage I SHOULD BE PAYING MUCH MORE than many of you, because of volume.
But PRICING SHOULD BE A CONSTANT, not "i wonder what grimco will charge me today?"

 

[unclebun]

I don't have any issue with pricing from Grimco, no problems with variable pricing. However, before I ever placed an order with them, way long ago when I started in business, I opened a credit account with them. Now, I get my pricing all the time, whether I call them or just order online. And the pricing is good. I don't bother shopping around and wasting time trying to weasel them down on everything all the time. There are only so many hours in a day.

 

[Scotchbrite]

Last time I called Grimco about a pricing discrepancy they said something about "contract" pricing. Apparently I was somehow contracted in for good pricing on 12' square posts, but not 8'. I had called because I could buy a 12' post for WAY less than an 8' post. They didn't seem particularly interested in adjusting my 8' price.

I haven't ever been a big fan of Grimco, but they recently bought out one of our other local suppliers, so I've been forced to use them more often.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Last time I called Grimco about a pricing discrepancy they said something about "contract" pricing. Apparently I was somehow contracted in for good pricing on 12' square posts, but not 8'. I had called because I could buy a 12' post for WAY less than an 8' post. They didn't seem particularly interested in adjusting my 8' price.

I haven't ever been a big fan of Grimco, but they recently bought out one of our other local suppliers, so I've been forced to use them more often.

That is what is irritating. Sherwin Williams came in and matched prices trying to get us to use some of their paint so we did. Then I ordered 5 gallons of reducer from them and they nailed me, every bit of 3x what everyone else was charging. I was mad, whats the point of using your paint when you burn me on the reducer? They gave me a credit back but I told them they either need to be put me on a pricing structure that is across the board, like they do with others, or we're not doing business with you. I hate that and the companies that play those stupid games. Netsol is right here, I don't care which way you look at it.

 

[Scotchbrite]

Another new thing we're dealing with this year is a bunch of the vendors asking for updated sales tax exemptions. Grimco is the worst of the bunch. A copy of our tax certificates isn't enough, we also have to fill out a form. Despite all these years of doing business with us, they just started adding tax to the most recent orders instead of requesting an updated exemption. What's the thinking here, "That business has had sale tax exemption since 1974, but this year they might have suddenly decided to let their sales tax license lapse. We better start charging them tax!"

 

[MIkeyB036]

i normally purchase the bulk of my supplies from harbor sales, they deliver every day, no delivery charge
when they are out of stock, we fall back to grimco

i needed a roll of avery mpi3323 ($133.75) they were out of stock for a few days
i called grimco, their price was $184.55. i hung up

i know you can go through a process of having a sales rep assigned your account, and asking them to price match

my question is WHY?

FOR 50 YEARS, in my other businesses, the first time i go through this with a supplier IS THE LAST TIME (I understand grimco will probably survive)

question is, do you have to go through this with every item with grimco? is it just that i don't buy enough & i have made the a**hole list? (they are hoping i will just go away?)

in the old days when we were assembling computers (certainly not the good old days) there were 8 columns in the pricing spreadsheet. vincent, my salesman would NEVER charge me the same price twice,
like he was just making it up. IT ANNOYS ME WHEN THINGS DON'T SIMPLY HAVE A PRICE, without the elaborate dance & begging with a tin cup for a fair price

is it too late to change this to RANT?

I just tried to contact Harbor, and the phone number isn't working....do I have the right place?

Do you have a link to their website? TIA

 

[gabagoo]

Up here Grimco doesn't do that. However we have ND Graphics and dealing with them is a nightmare! You don't have anyway of knowing pricing unless you call your sales rep and get a quote, once you have a quote the price is then locked in until your sales rep leaves, then you get to start all over again., if your sales rep is off, sick, on vacation or busy, you just have to wait or pay full retail (plus some) if you don't kiss your sales reps ***, they don't give you as good of a deal

Yes this is true about ND and my sale person has left so I have to be careful to ask pricing before ordering..case in point 36 yard banner tape was $19 about a year ago or less and now it is $29.00.. The stuff is really good so I have to keep buying it.

 

[LarryB]

Yes this is true about ND and my sale person has left so I have to be careful to ask pricing before ordering..case in point 36 yard banner tape was $19 about a year ago or less and now it is $29.00.. The stuff is really good so I have to keep buying it.

I've started buying 1" banner tape on Amazon for $6.33/roll. Also buying blades and other items as my local distributors are so much higher.

 

[Geneva Olson]

When I first bought my NEW printer 3 years ago..I bought it from GSG. I got hooked in with them. I had a rep and they gave me a deal on all of their products. I was tried and true with GSG. I spent tons of money with them. Everytime I went to another vendor to look at prices, I saw that GSG had them beat. Then I started noticing their billing tactics. I had to do an audit on all of my transactions last year. They were double billing and then one bill would fall off when the item delivered. I was having difficulty because that money was not accessible for me to use. So they held up double my money and then I would see it fall off. I started noticing that fellers didn't do this. Fellers has a lot of what I need. So I contacted fellers and asked for a sales rep and started going through all of the things I buy on a regular basis and they gave me the pricing for it. I also went to grimco and got the same thing done. Now, when I have something unusual, I call both of them and get the best price. AND THEY DONT DOUBLE BILL ME.

So, yea, I had to call grimco the other day about a 4x8 sheet of alumicore. The sheet was way more expensive at grimco than gsg. When I called and told them gsg price, they dropped it for me.

 

[Steenland]

I just tried to contact Harbor, and the phone number isn't working....do I have the right place?

Do you have a link to their website? TIA

I received a delivery from Harbor yesterday, and their website seems to be working OK.

harborsales.net
800-345-1712
410-758-5461