Crescent grumble.

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wcox

wcox

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
Joined
Jun 15, 1999
Posts
424
Location
Winter Park, Florida
Well Crescent did it. As you all may know. Some time ago Crescent bought out the Matboard business of Tru Vue Miller and now they have trashed it.

And as of Aug 2004 they discontinued most of all of the 32 x 40 and 40 x 60 Classic Black Core and Classic White Core, i.e. leathers slates micas etc. Leaving only the plain color matboard and Olde World, I believe.

They told their distributors in August 2004 but will not tell framers officaly untl Feb 2005.

Consequently, when distributors are running out of these numbers and we are not to find out until we have sold the matboard and are told they are then out. Thats how I found out today.

Why can't the distributors and Crescent be honest and tell people when something is going to be discontiued instead they wait until the framer sells it and then can't get it.


I called 4 distributors today and they all told me the 2 matboard #'s I was looking for were disc. I called Crescent and I was told they were not disc.

Then I started tracking things down. After a long battle I got a copy of the list that I was at first told did not exist and was secret from framers.

Crescent advertises alot about "customer Care"
Well it appears they don't care about the framer selling there product but can't get it because it is on a secrect discontiued list.

I could ramble on more about this but rather wait to hear other people oppinions.
 
Just this last friday my cresent rep told me that they were not going to change a thing about the miller line. The reps seem to be the next to last ones that here about changes.
 
No all of the Reps know about the disc. They were also all told Aug 2004. But they were told not to tell until they get rid of their stock.
 
That's the time of the year when they make new product announcements, the week of the NY show. It wouldn't surprise me if they have a "master plan", of which you only know half.


Mike
 
I was one of the first to get the list. I will never ever ever give out my source. Because I had advanced warning I have no complaints. If I had no knowledge of what was coming down the pipe I would have been upset too.

However, there are more Crescent numbers on that list than Miller/TruVue numbers.

They are already advertising in magazines the new Crescent UltiMats and UltiBlacks, so I feel sure they are holding on to the line.
 
Bill

Crescent did not get to be an industry leader by trashing lines and being less than honest with framers. These are unfair accusations.

We were one of the first Miller UltiMat distributors in the Midwest and have been with the line through three owners. Our experience is that Crescent is diligently and competently organizing the line, and making necessary changes. The distributors you called were not telling you the entire story, perhaps because they didn't know.

The UltiMat Classic colors are not and never have been archival, since they fail the bleed testing. This is why they were marketed separately from the rest of the UltiMat line by Tru Vue. Crescent holds very high standards in the industry and could not in good faith market the Classics alongside their archival lines. Discontinuation of these colors on the UltiMat core is a logical next step.

What you were not told is that these colors are available to distributors on a non-archival white core. Many distributors choose not to carry white non-archival boards, or do not wish to expand these lines. The distributors are burdened with far too many colors and boards that sell in the single digits of sheets per year, and may not wish to replace the UltiMat Classics with the non-archival equivalent.

Some distributors have a policy of designating boards they choose not to carry as "discontinued". A call to the manufacturer will get you the truth. They also can probably refer you to a distributor that supports the product you need. If you still need those two boards call me at 800/922-7914, Superior stocks those colors, and will continue to support them on the non-archival cores when that change happens next year.

Crescent's policy of notifying distributors before framers when colors are discontinued is very fair when you consider the inventory commitment the distributors make to the product. Please don't consider Crescent unfair for working to bring order to the often chaotic matboard market.

Mark
Superior Moulding
Minneapolis
 
I actually thought most of the TV Classics were discontinued a few years ago.

It must have been a premonition.
 
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