Didn't save old Mat Specification Books

[Rozmataz]

I got into spring housekeeping last month and when I put my NEW mat specification brochures out by the design counter, I thought "what the heck, I don't need the old ones" and threw them out.

I have needed them at least 4 times since - trying to reference an old color....

I don't know that there is anything I can do about it...

Which leads me to a question... how do you go about culling out the discontinued mat board colors?

I am still integrating the 4" samples with some older 3" (on separate racks)...

I think I need to be cloned to get all of this done along with all the framing.

Roz

 

[Ron Eggers]

When I get a list of discontinued boards, I pull any remaining stock and use it for slip sheets and backing (hoping it's not a raw silk.) Then I pull the corner sample and tear it up into teeny pieces and either burn it or flush it down the toilet. Then I remove the entry from the computer database. Then I take a black Sharpie marker (the wide tip one) and cross it out in my specifier.

It's like it never existed.

It takes me less time to do that than it took to write this and I have NEVER sold a discontinued mat.

I wish everything was so easy.

You can only imagine what I'd do if I had LaMarche samples on my wall.

 

[Bill Henry-]

After the umpteenth time of selling a discontinued mat board, I blew a whole weekend a few years ago going through each and every corner sample and recorded MFR, category, color, and separator location on a database.

(I didn’t realize at the time I could have gotten the same info directly from web sites – yeah, I’m an idiot!)

But now, when I get wind of a discontinued style and color 1) I know if I have it and don’t waste time looking for something that isn’t there, and 2) if I have it, I can find it. If I have the color/style in stock, I’ll flag the corner sample; if I don’t, I chuck it.

But, since many mat board manufacturers are pitiful in publishing discontinued items, I generally download a distributor’s price list once a month. Using a LOOKUP table on a spreadsheet, I can compare my database to theirs. If a mat board doesn’t show up on the distributor’s list, I’ll check around, but I usually assume it has been D/Ced.

Building such a database is an incredible pain, but I haven’t had to go through the embarrassment of telling a customer that that perfect mat board she spent hours agonizing over was phased out during the Carter administration.

 

[Ron Eggers]

I went to look up available glass sizes yesterday on the Tru Vue site and was gratified to see that they now have an updated list of discontinued matboards.

Wouldn't that be the entire line?

Don't even get me started on Bainbridge's website.

 

[Emibub]

My Crescent rep actually took my old specifiers and replaced them with the new ones last year. I'm not quite sure why I didn't grab them. I've needed then about 10 times since........