Don Mar Price Increase

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Bill Henry-

Bill Henry-

Brussel Sprout Connoisseur
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Posts
21,388
Location
Boondock Bowerbank, ME
Business
Retired from the grind
First of all, a disclaimer: I like Don Mar; their prices are great and service is, in general, good. They are a <u>major</u> distributor for me. But is anyone as frustrated as I am with them?

Don Mar announced last Monday that there will be a price increase effective on Monday, March 21. The updated pricing will be placed on their web site on that date.

Okay, no one likes price increases; but, okay, let’s deal with it … but we can’t!

Since the prices will be in effect on the same day that they are announced (i.e. no lead time), we, the retailers, will have to absorb this increase until we are able to update our pricing schedules.

If you don’t have access to their web site, you are out of luck. The sales rep will give you a print out (if he has one – no bets), but if you’re in Presque Isle, Maine, you may not see him for months. They apparently don’t mail their price lists anymore.

I don’t have a POS system and don’t know exactly how they work, but if they only update once a month, I’ll bet Don Mar customers will be absorbing this increase for two weeks.

Don Mar’s web site is of little help. The “print out price list” link has <u>never</u> worked. As of this morning, the screen version (electronic version imbedded in a table) has not been updated to reflect these impending increases.

I’m gonna have to blow another day off printing spreadsheets. Great!

Arghhh!
 
Bill,

The price list on the website is inaccurate anyways, so it is no use printing it out. I was price checking a new matcutter nd their price on-line was great, but then it was the price from 3 years ago!

For all their downfalls at least they aren't dealing with JoAnne's!
(yet)
 
What exactly were their prices before?

I, like you Bill, like DonMar, and rely on them. Infact, I even worked for them at one time.

It frustrates the s#!t out of me that the prices on your invoice never seem to match the ones published anywhere. Fortunatley their prices always seem to be fair and very competitive. It still would be nice to know what to expect ahead of time.

Don or affiliate, if you are reading this, please publish a new catalog........
 
Quote from Bill Henry:

Since the prices will be in effect on the same day that they are announced (i.e. no lead time), we, the retailers, will have to absorb this increase until we are able to update our pricing schedules.


No offense meant, Bill, but exactly how much financial impact will an extra day operating under Don Mar's old pricing have on your frameshop at this time of the year? I know that it is frustrating to have to take special time to download or to enter new numbers or whatever you have to do to update your pricing but, heck, maybe there is a logical reason for their not having their increases posted to their website on your timeframe.

There was a discussion on another thread about everyone having their convenient timeline to adhere to and then expecting everyone else to produce to their schedule. That isn't always the way it happens in the real world.

If you don’t have access to their web site, you are out of luck. The sales rep will give you a print out (if he has one – no bets), but if you’re in Presque Isle, Maine, you may not see him for months. They apparently don’t mail their price lists anymore.

But, Bill, you should have access as easily as you have access to this website so that shouldn't be an issue for you to feel frustrated about.

I don’t have a POS system and don’t know exactly how they work, but if they only update once a month, I’ll bet Don Mar customers will be absorbing this increase for two weeks.

I can sympathize on this point, Bill, I wouldn't know how to enter in price updates without my POS program at this time in my career. I have gotten so accustomed to downloading updates and letting them self install that I would absolutely dread having to hand enter them into a spread sheet program.

Don Mar’s web site is of little help. The “print out price list” link has never worked.

That is uncalled for in my opoinion. You would be wise to call their customer service and complain about this. If it is the only way you have of getting their updates it should at least function to give you a simple download.

I wish you good luck and hope frustration doesn't ruin your weekend!

Framerguy
 
Originally posted by Bill Henry:
...Don Mar announced last Monday that there will be a price increase effective on Monday, March 21. The updated pricing will be placed on their web site on that date....Arghhh!
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Bill,

I appreciate your frustration, and hope you can resolve this issue. Most vendors actually notify the POS folks prior to making price changes. FYI - I checked Specialty Soft's website, where Don Mar made their last price change on 10/22/2004. This means that they have not notified Specialty Soft.

I'd phone on Monday to confirm. Just curious, on how they notified you this past week, via Sales Rep, letter, phone call?

If the prices go into effect on Monday, and I didn't receive a price update for my POS system, then I would also be irritated. It's alright to increase retail prices in anticipation of a price increase by never after! :D

P.S. I would assume that the Don Mar representative will probably be at the New England PPFA meeting on Monday evening, I've sure that the question will come up! :cool: Hope to see you there, Bill.

John
 
Nor have they notified FrameReady to date.

The last change in the FrameReady update listing coincides with the same one John cited for Specialty Soft.

FGII
 
Since the prices will be in effect on the same day that they are announced (i.e. no lead time), we, the retailers, will have to absorb this increase until we are able to update our pricing schedules.

No offense meant, Bill, but exactly how much financial impact will an extra day operating under Don Mar's old pricing have on your frameshop at this time of the year?
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Admittedly, not a great deal … maybe. The letter posted last week indicated a 3–10% increase. Assuming a 10% increase in my median price wood, for a 16 x 20 frame, I’m out only three bucks … but still.

If you don’t have access to their web site, you are out of luck. The sales rep will give you a print out (if he has one – no bets), but if you’re in Presque Isle, Maine, you may not see him for months. They apparently don’t mail their price lists anymore.

But, Bill, you should have access as easily as you have access to this website so that shouldn't be an issue for you to feel frustrated about.
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I do have access, but some framers, I assume, are not on-line. It is a fairly simple task to download their price schedule from their web pages, create a lookup table comparing my current prices with theirs, and update my spreadsheets. It takes me about 20 minutes. But, ONLY IF THE PRICES ARE CURRENT! The only time consuming part of this process is printing out my rate rate sheet (my printer is an ink jet).


Don Mar’s web site is of little help. The “print out price list” link has never worked.

That is uncalled for in my opoinion. You would be wise to call their customer service and complain about this. If it is the only way you have of getting their updates it should at least function to give you a simple download.
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Been there, done that! The last time Don Mar’s sales rep was here, I accessed their site and demonstrated the fact that the link went nowhere (and pointed out a few other flaws). I do not believe that they have a webmaster at Don Mar so that they can correct problems quickly.
 
Just a thought... Wouldn't it be easier to just raise your prices by 3-5 % per year. Each year, I get letters from most of my suppliers that they have been slaving to keep prices as low as possible but they had no choice but to raise prices 3% or 5%. Why wait for them to tell you. Just go ahead and raise them. Odds are your fixed overhead costs have risen at least that much as well. I know my fuel bills have shot thru the roof and my property taxes keep going up, so why not just automatically raise your rates each year?
 
I just went to their site and I don't see ANY link at all for print out price list. I have the site up on my other computer and nothing about any price list at all or about printing it out.

If I click on a specific item such as glass, the page that comes up has prices in it but that is all. Even then, when it says amount for quantity break, it doesn't say how many creates the break.
Nope... not under the policies heading, either.

Overall, this is a VERY poorly done website!! There is no contact link and the site isn't even very user friendly. I agree , the site needs some serious overhauling.
 
Bill Henry,

For what it's worth, I note that Don Mar is listed in the Specialty Soft vendor update email that went out to users yesterday...
March 28, 2005 (This means that they appear to have gotten the price increase out to the software people within a week's time.) ;)

Hello,

Don’t miss SpecialtySoft’s 2nd Annual User Symposium, May 22-24. Visit www.specialtysoft.com for information about classes, instructors, events and more.


The following Vendor Updates are now available on the Specialtysoft website:



Art Express

Bayside Moulding

CMI

Décor Moulding Ltd.

Don Mar

Emperia, Inc.

Frame Specialties Inc.

Framer’s Market – Hartford, CT

Framer's Supply - South Dakota

G & G Moulding

International Moulding

Larson-Juhl (twice)

Nelson's Moulding And Frame

Rechenbach's

Regence Picture Frames

South Mountain Moulding

Tracy Chop Service

We have instructions on downloading, updating, and pricing with SpecialtySoft. To download these instructions please click on Download Price Update Instructions.

For assistance with downloading and installation, please e-mail Tech Support or call SpecialtySoft Tech Support at 910-794-4023.

Thank You,

The SpecialtySoft Team
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For what it's worth, I also visited the Don Mar website and obviously discovered that it is underdeveloped and requires user/customer code to access the main part of the site.

Regards,

John
 
John,

The price list (on screen) was finally updated on March 23, two days after the announced increase. According to my sales rep, the only portion of their line affected was their mat board, which is still less than the current Larson-Juhl pricing. The Don Mar invoice I received on Tuesday, March 22, did not reflect this increase.

Their moulding is not undergoing revisions at this time, according to the rep.

The “print out” link under “Moulding” still goes nowhere.
 
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