Up da price

[dougj]

How do you deal with vendors who up their pricing
say in june and notify you in july?????
We had that happen with several suppliers, ONE would credit us from date of increase, others said tuff sorry you were not notified but we can not do anything pay the going price.

[Ron Eggers]

You could register your disatisfaction by not buying from them any more.

Just be sure and let them know why, or it's kinda meaningless.

[Jerry Ervin]

Good point Ron.

Just like Jim Miller says, "Customers vote with their feet".

This time, dougj is the customer.

[Ron Eggers]

I always thought Jim was saying, "North Carolinians frame with their feet."

Seriously, Doug, if the issue is important-enough, take your business elsewhere and let them know why.

If not, then you already have your answer.

I don't remember ever getting a retroactive price increase, so it may not be that common.

[Dave]

You would think they were a bank or something to treat customers like that!

Dave Makielski

[dougj]

Talked today with the "other" suppliers and their reps. As we speak their moulding is coming off the wall.

[John Ranes II, CPF, GCF]

Originally posted by dougj:
How do you deal with vendors who up their pricing say in june and notify you in july?????...dougj,

You've really got me curious - 'cause in this day and age, that practice is really so dangerous to the marketing of a distributor's business.

I take it you do not use a POS system? Each Friday Specialty Soft sends out to all clients, an email notifiying us of which vendors have had "changes" to their prices. This of course can be additions, deletions, price changes (increases) or just simply editing.

In any respect, it's easy for clients to go to their website and see when the last price changes were submitted to the POS folks. And if they submit to one, they are typically submitting to all. (LifeSaver, Specialty Soft, FrameReady, etc.)

My feeling is that give or take 5-7 days, that is the earliest a price increase can take place, and for the most part, the serious vendors are notifying the POS folk weeks ahead.

(Privately email me, and let's see what the POS log says about these guys you're ready to dump.) If they notified you in July via snail mail or a sales rep making the rounds....that's pretty sad. :rolleyes:

John

[Whynot]

Not to put dougj in same basket, but after almost two years since I moved out from my old location I still get calls and even checks to that address, despite my repeatedly reminding those people of my new business location. I have a feeling that same sort of clients would certainly be taken by surprise when learning of my new price list say six month after a price increase took place.
We, manufacturers/suppliers, can't be 100% sure that our written announcements, booklets and even new price lists got ever noticed and processed by the addressee in the first place. Hard to believe that one of us would send out retroactive price increase notifications. That would be so perfectly stupid and fully unprofessional if true. I'd much rather believe that less observant and rigorous framers make for stories of "vendors who up their pricing in June and notify you in July".
As John just said, some smart software may completely eliminate confusions and frustrations of this nature, providing that both vendors and buyers get and then stay loyal to that technology.

[Maryann]

Hard to believe that one of us would send out retroactive price increase notifications. No, it's not.

A few years back, one of our suppliers sent us a letter the first week of July stating that there was a price increase effective July 1st. They would send us the new pricing information as soon as it was printed. It was a month or so until we received the information. Two things happened.

1. We stopped buying from them
2. They are no longer in business (no, not because we stopped buying from them. smile.gif I imagine it was because their business practices stunk.)

[dougj]

My wife goes through the mail very thourgh each day. One vendor admitted we were overlooked on their mailing and have credited us,Great,. Two others, small local,here since we bought the store, said they do not send out updates on price or discontinued. They no longer even have a catalog or printed price list. They notify you of any changes when you call in a order and sometimes they are not small, up to 30%. They suggest you call them for any changes before you take the order. They are no great loss, we never did a lot with them but its sad that they have the don't care attitude. I think they want out of the supply end(which would be nice if maybe they would be up front and say they are no longer suppliers) as they are now doing a lot of framing for overseas companies.I know a few bad apples can spoil the basket, but get rid of the bad and the good are Great!!!
We are in the process of getting POS.