picframerz,
Yes, The Fletcher-Terry Company did launch on August 1st,
FramerSolutions.com, a business to business portal for the professional picture framer.
And since John Richards asked for my viewpoint on the adventure, I'll be glad to obligue...........
First of all,
FramerSolutions.com really isn't competition to the professional framer, as
Dermot observes, but rather a new service. You might think of it as "a chop service of mats rather than moulding". As you must register to use the service, and provide a resale certificate (Faxed copy), you will see that it is designed to service the professional.
To get the numbers correct, FramerSolutions actually carries over 2000 sku's in stock and has next day access to 450+ additional. They plan on shipping completed orders within 2-5 days of ordering.
The pricing kit is not downloadable, but it is sent directly to the registered customer from the factory. The software can be downloaded (I just did this myself) at:
FramerSolutions.com. You can also download the 15 page
"User's Guide", but this requires the latest edition of Acrobat Reader (Also available as a download).
Go to
FramerSolutions.com and have a look yourself, or take a look at it during the Atlanta show next month. It's not for everyone, but obviously will be useful for a number of framers:<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>New framers that can't afford a CMC
<LI>Framers that don't currently have the space in their shop for a CMC
<LI>Framers that do have a CMC, but are so short staffed, that it's easier to farm the work out (Super large projects).
<LI>Framers that need a matboard cut for next week, and their distributor is currently out of stock!
<LI>Framers who have their matcutter go on "vacation"..........
[/list]
I can especially envision a scenerio where this particularly "fussy" framer (Still uses a manual cutter for quality reasons) and gets hit with a huge multiple-opening mat project on December 10th........25 mats, all 20x24 inches, with 18 openings each! Does this framer turn the job away, stay up all night, or log onto..........
FramerSolutions.com ?
Regards,
John
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Consultant to The Fletcher-Terry Company
The Frame Workshop of Appleton, Inc.
www.theframeworkshop.com
Appleton, Wisconsin
jerserwi@aol.com
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[This message has been edited by John Ranes II, CPF, GCF (edited August 07, 2001).]