Okay...So I'm gonna sign a SIGN WAREHOUSE Lease

[Jim Doggett]

Has anyone ever really paid one of those things off in 1-2yrs. I'm currious to hear how you've done it. I'm still paying on mine.

Hi Mikeifg,

I think what folks are speaking to is "I paid X and made Y with it." I tend to think that cost-justification may have originated with equipment salespeople :^)

But businesses operate on cash-flow. The better calculation is X cost per month or quarter vs. the cashflow it generates. Additions or expenditures should be made on a positive cashflow basis, whether that's equipment, ad buys, choice of retail location (Retail location should be on an incremental cashflow basis), etc, etc.

Plotters have always been the kings of positive cashflow. Printers can be too if you have an established trade. But I know of many that have bought printers in hopes it would spawn business and eventually generate positive cashflow ... only to fail. But I don't think I know of anyone whose business was brought to its knees due to the burden of a cutter loan / lease.

They're as safe an investment as I can think of.

IMHO,

Jim

 

[luggnut]

CES020 i do think it has worked out good...sometimes you buy something that the seller has to make right, the agreement upfront was if it had to be sent back i would have to ship it (that was the risk of not buying local... lessoned learned) they did send me 3 rolls of hp vinyl, plotter blades .. etc.. to make things more right. but since then the machine have run as expected. its made me money

 

[Brands Imaging]

Wow, we must have two totally different definitions of running good and no problems. My definition is that when I buy it, it works, not I buy it, it doesn't work right and I have to send it back twice on my dime, and then a printer with a heater problem.

I don't know anything about your business, but I can't afford to have my machine not available for weeks at a time because it's in transit.

If you buy it from out of state, how much business do you think they will send you? Zero? If you buy it local, and create a good relationship with your local guys, then there's a good chance when they run across something you can help them with, they will call you. Shut them out by buying on the cheapest price and you'll have zero chance of them ever helping you with work.

Pay me now or pay me later.

Fair enough...give me a local company..NOT fellers (even though i like them) NO advantage.. a REAL LOCAL COMPANY....

and yes..i can pay 5 grand off in 1-2 years easy..

 

[CES020]

Fair enough...give me a local company..NOT fellers (even though i like them) NO advantage.. a REAL LOCAL COMPANY....

and yes..i can pay 5 grand off in 1-2 years easy..

Well, that's about the stupidest thing I've heard today. Any more conditions to put on it so you can justify your purchase from SW? Can we narrow it down to it must be a company with 3-4 employees, 2 telephones, and owned by a Greek guy?

If Advantage and Fellers are local to you and there are real people you can see, talk to, look in the eyes, and shake hands with, then it's local for the purpose of this conversation about having someone to call, getting in the truck and riding to their office in case of problems.

I don't care where you buy it from and you've already made your decision, so why ask us?

You are listed as being in Philadelphia. Are you telling me there's not a single company within 30 miles of Philadelphia that sells sign supply equipment? I find that VERY hard to believe.

 

[Brands Imaging]

The plotter will probably last you 20 years. I just have a personal problem with Sign Warehouse

at least you're honest.

Well, that's about the stupidest thing I've heard today. Any more conditions to put on it so you can justify your purchase from SW? Can we narrow it down to it must be a company with 3-4 employees, 2 telephones, and owned by a Greek guy?

If Advantage and Fellers are local to you and there are real people you can see, talk to, look in the eyes, and shake hands with, then it's local for the purpose of this conversation about having someone to call, getting in the truck and riding to their office in case of problems.

I don't care where you buy it from and you've already made your decision, so why ask us?

You are listed as being in Philadelphia. Are you telling me there's not a single company within 30 miles of Philadelphia that sells sign supply equipment? I find that VERY hard to believe.

I have my mind made up as far as my financing options are concerned and price plays some factor...and if thats the stupidist thing you heard all day you should get out more..

how did i narrow it down too far?? Whats make fellers local? b/c they have 2 friggin guys with mullets who work in a warehouse who know nothing except cardboard boxes??? Am i gonna put my head up my ass and "shake hands with them" when my plotter breaks?? dont get me wrong, I like fellers but they are not "local"...

I meant like, sales, service, techs all that jazz local...I'm all about buying local but I have some restrictions. SW Got my financed and other companies didnt...

so basically what I was asking is this plotter gonna last. (my question has been answered now) so I'm good now. I suppose I was asking about the brand vinyl express...perhaps I AM stupid after all CES...Wow..you should be a shrink.

send me the bill.

 

[CES020]

perhaps I AM stupid after all CES...

Well, from the stupidest thing I have heard all day to the smartest thing I have heard all day

Wow..you should be a shrink.

send me the bill.

I would, but we don't offer financing.

Just because Fellers has two guys with a "mullet" in a warehouse and you don't think is an appropriate level of service, doesn't mean you write off every single large supplier out there. That IS just stupid. It's called shopping. You shop around and find the best price/service level combo. Will it be fellers? I have no idea. From your standpoint, no, it won't. Okay, great, mark fellers off the list. Next in line, what's your price and service level? Oh, you suck too, mark them off the list. Keep going until you find someone in your area who does offer a reasonable price and good support.

I guess SW doesn't have 3 guys with a mullet working in their warehouse either? All of them have 3 guys with a mullet working in the warehouse. Last time I checked, I didn't call the shipping and receiving department for technical support. I usually tend to call the tech support group, odd as that may sound. I bet the 3 guys with a mullet in the SW warehouse aren't going to give you tech support either.

 

[andy]

How long your equipment lasts is mainly down to you.

If you knock the ar$e out of your cutter, never maintain it, force it to cut materials it wasn't designed for and treat it badly then expect it to die very quickly.

I don't know if technical support is all that big a deal. As long as your supplier guarantees the machine and the parts inside for a decent period of time then that's all you need.

If you don't know how to use a vinyl cutter and need tech support to walk you through the minutiae of "vinyl cutting" on demand then I'd ask if you can pay for some training. Most tech support people hate being swamped with stupid questions relating to how to use the machines they sell... that's not their job and not what tech support is for.

Lots of people would disagree but for me technical support is just about repair and servicing..... how to actually use the machine to it's full potential is my responsibility.

 

[imagep]

We purchased a cutter/valuejet/laminator combo from sw. We have been very happy with all of the equipment, and considering it was a long distance deal, the transaction and customer/technical support went as well as possible.

We are pretty crafty, so we really did not need on-site setup, but when we did have our one problem with the printer, sw sent someone out to work on it (the SAME DAY). I was on vacation out of state, so my employees had to deal with the problem, but when I got back everything was working.

If you are the type of person who feels like they need onsite setup and training, purchase from someone else. But if you are reasonably computer savey and have a reasonable clue of how the equipment should operate and are willing to experiment for best results, then SW will be a great supplier. I would not hesitate to purchase from them again.

OK, but why just a cutter? The Vinyl Express (graphtec) cutter we got in the combo deal has been great, but having the valuejet printer and the laminator (the laminator we got is awsome and will probably be laminating for way longer than the cutter will be cutting or the printer will be printing) has helped us to triple our sign business in a year. We already had a cheapo cutter and did screen printed signs and farmed out full color, but being able to do more in house has been a tremendous advantage. Signage is only a small portion of our business, but I find myself printing or cutting upwards of a dozen signs/banners a day now instead of just a few, and having better equipment allows me to do this in no more time than I spent before.

If you get one of the combo packages you can most likly lease it for a little longer, and possibly at a slightly lower interest rate, so your payments may not be that much higher than the cutter alone.

Just a note on the financing, there are a lot of advantages of leasing - the biggest for us is that we were able to keep the lease out of my personal name and in the business name (although I did have to give a personal guaratee). So it does not show up on my personal credit report and does not hurt my debt/income ratio any if I were to apply for a personal loan or a credit card. Also the i-rate on a lease is most likely less than on your personal credit card, and probably no more than most unsecured bank loans.

 

[Brands Imaging]

OK, but why just a cutter?

we already have a JV33 and GBC Laminator -