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Screw you 3M.

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slappy

New Member
Coloradosigns said:
good, i'm glad they're reading this. I hope they farm as much business out of this post as they can.
Click to expand...

I know i switched to Oracal back in 2006? when there was a thread similar to this on here about Avery and the A9 Green and other defects on A8 they had and how they only reimbursed people for some material... no time, just the material and basically how they handled it.
I snarl at even thinking of using it again. And i was a newbie in the sign business starting at 05. So that thread really hurt their rep, especially with me. I had a whole bunch of Avery here when we bought the sign shop from another store, and i ordered Avery to replace the used Avery rolls, but that one thread changed my view and I started ordering Oracal and been ordering it ever since. Hell, the company that i ordered from, Vinyl Sign Supplies, they must have taken a beating. They didn't stock Oracal, so i went to nglantz. VSS sure did stop in here to get my business back to avery. But i didn't. I know i'm still here, they are out of business however though.

I hope Oracal gets paid for this 3M scam... cause that's really what it is, a SCAM to cheat other businesses out of $$$. GREEDY BASTARDS! Don't you think your company is big enough??


Note: in that Avery thread, people were so sick of how they handled it, they even cut out office supplies like labels and paper... guess i won't be purchasing sponges and band-aids from the grocery store, heater filters from Lowes or anything else with a 3M logo or affliaction.

Which gives me an idea, someone should make a app for that.... with all the products, so we don't buy them

Oh, like i mentioned above, i was still a newbie when that Avery thread happened. Signs101 gets how many new members a day? Do some calculations on your sign material profit in a few years 3M, when all these new members here are reading this thread and thinking what i thought of Avery. Hopefully they steer clear of you and drop you like a bad habit, after all, that is your future customers in a few years. Think this 3M original wraps might actually have some effect to those entering into the sign business eventually after seeing a roll of material in their shop is also a competitor staring back at you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHjw5wfoj10&feature=related
 
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John L

New Member
Prediction... This will soon be a widely accepted business standard in the US. I am buying many items we use in our business direct from several manufacturers myself that had previously always been "through distribution or manufacturers rep only" for many many decades.

I agree this one hits home to some of us, for sure, in that it's kinda tough to compete retail with the company that actually makes the most expensive material you use. So, since the 50 yards of vinyl cost them about as much as the cardboard tube its spun upon costs you... I would start aligning your competitive advantage for the customer right now. This thread has shown a great one... quality control of the application labor.

Unfortnately, more change to come I'm afraid.
 
CheapVehicleWrap

CheapVehicleWrap

New Member
Actually John their costs are much more than that. I bet they haven't recovered development and tooling costs. It's petroleum based too. As far as 3m is concerned wraps never took off. Hence trying to save/own the market. Funny how the "teachers" can't even get a decent install done. Thats probably the only thing a decent installer has left nowadays. Continue flooding the market with crap wraps and lowballing and nobody will buy anything.
 
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slappy

New Member
I'm already doing that John...

i know our once primary truck accessory distributor (which was the biggest distributor out there with multiple locations across the US) is now our online competitor selling auto accessories for cheaper then we can order them through them with free freight to customers. They denied it was their site of course to us. Then we ordered a set of mudflaps one day for a customer's vehicle and it had been previously opened with a RMA in it from the online site that they sell on. A higher end representative of their company then called us and personally apologized after we faxed it to our sales rep after ranting about it.

we have really cut back our ordering through them and have focused on our other distributor that sales the same items, but doesn't sale to the public online, and that is exactly their sales pitch to get us to start to ordering with them.

we order anywhere from $1000 to $3000+ in merchandise every other day for our customers.... we happened to need a part that the newer distributor didn't stock, so we ordered through the once "primary" one.... asked the truck delivery driver how business was cause they deliver everything, so they have their own trucks, and he said it was slow..... really? Maybe it's cause the company you work for is pi$$ing off all the retail stores so there goes all your large ordering accounts. They are going elsewhere. Seriously, can't have your cake and eat it too.

Sucks when you go to a big trade show with other truck accessory shops and the topic at lunch is "did you know they own ---.com and selling online?" and the company throwing that big trade show is the same company selling online. Word spreads fast, like wildfire. I know our new distributor is getting pretty big orders and alot of the manufacturers are even starting to yank their product, putting price caps on them and selling to the retail shops direct which cuts out the distributors.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Did I tell you I haven't seen Addie in weeks and I'm not bent outa shape ?? :rolleyes:

C'mon Color.... you're letting this get to ya. Bite the bullet, suck it up and call it quits for crying out loud. 3M has ya beat and ya don't know it. You just gonna keep feeding them information until they just bust down on you and take your business right from under yer feet. Yep, 3M-RADO Signs. We do wraps the right way.

When you start back up, I want in on the ground floor. I'll be your sergeant of arms. I like that position. I'll kick some major a$$ for ya.

By the way, do you like whiskey ?? Good whiskey ??​
 
HulkSmash

HulkSmash

New Member
Gino said:
Did I tell you I haven't seen Addie in weeks and I'm not bent outa shape ?? :rolleyes:

C'mon Color.... you're letting this get to ya. Bite the bullet, suck it up and call it quits for crying out loud. 3M has ya beat and ya don't know it. You just gonna keep feeding them information until they just bust down on you and take your business right from under yer feet. Yep, 3M-RADO Signs. We do wraps the right way.

When you start back up, I want in on the ground floor. I'll be your sergeant of arms. I like that position. I'll kick some major a$$ for ya.

By the way, do you like whiskey ?? Good whiskey ??​
Click to expand...

Gino, you're wrong.
and 3m can buy me. Please do. i'll take 1.3 mil and leave tomorrow.
 
Msrae

Msrae

Rae
Gino said:
Did I tell you I haven't seen Addie in weeks and I'm not bent outa shape ?? :rolleyes:

C'mon Color.... you're letting this get to ya. Bite the bullet, suck it up and call it quits for crying out loud. 3M has ya beat and ya don't know it. You just gonna keep feeding them information until they just bust down on you and take your business right from under yer feet. Yep, 3M-RADO Signs. We do wraps the right way.

When you start back up, I want in on the ground floor. I'll be your sergeant of arms. I like that position. I'll kick some major a$$ for ya.

By the way, do you like whiskey ?? Good whiskey ??​
Click to expand...

I agree, to a point, but if we all lived life your way then we would never be here in the first place. Owning a business and keeping it running, especially in this economy, takes guts and persistence. Life is about standing up for yourself and what you believe in, not folding your tail between your legs and running at the first sign of defeat. I plan on being a little more stubborn than that. I hope this thread and the wave it creates will at least get a little water up the 3M's nose, enough to be uncomfortable.

I for one am glad colorado posted the thread, it has definitely swayed me (although I already loved Oracal, but I do have some 3m and the last wrap I did was 3m). I'm tiny potatoes in the whole picture, but every ant is needed to make that anthill right?
 
HulkSmash

HulkSmash

New Member
Hi Oracal. Enjoy my business.

a quick 6k.
 

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ProWraps

ProWraps

New Member
my switch is now official as well. first order on the way.

here is a picture of the LAST dookie roll of 3M that i just finally burned through.

notice the CRAP that was on it (a piece of backer that was rolled into the roll) that fragged the entire panel? yeah this is typical. they cant seem to keep stuff out of their rolls. i swear its manufactured outside in a parking lot.
 

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JoshLoring

JoshLoring

New Member
Oracal is selling like crazy. Needed 6 rolls each and got this.. Hmm.
I'll have to order a couple days earlier in case it comes from other cities.
 

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