Hosed. (venting my frustration)

[john passek]

Is anyone in Canada buying JDS stuff from the Canadian distributor, if so do you feel you are getting hosed like I do.
I purchased a couple of items the other day ( I bought the same thing last year) but this year I choked on the bill, I actually thought they charged me retail.
I was working with US pricing when I ordered so was expecting to pay a little more like usual but not twice as much.
I actually lost money when I sold it because I had qouted it already ( my bad ).
I really like what JDS has to offer andI hate to say it but I personally will never us this distributor for anything ever again.

[Larry Bratton]

John:
I understand your frustration, but I don't see how JDS is at fault here. Do you not have their current price list? Lots of things have increased in price this year because of raw material supply issues, so, it would have been prudent to have called and gotten a current quotation. In defense of JDS, I have always found them to be very courteous and always willing to quote prices. Had that pricing not been per a quote or their current price list I would certainly be in your corner. If you knew it was coming through distribution and not directly from JDS, you should have contacted the distributor for the quote.

[Gary Hair]

sorry John, I'm inclined to agree with Larry. Hw can you quote a price without knowing what it cost?

This reminds me of people who leave negative feedback on ebay because shipping was too high on an item. They knew what it was when they bought it, if it was too high then don't buy it.

Gary

[Dan Hintz]

And hasn't the CD$ to US$ flipped back to what it was several years ago? I know for a year or two there the CD$ was worth 15-20% more, whereas normally it's the other way around.

[Bill Cunningham]

The Cdn$ is about .97 US + what ever the credit card company jacks it up for their exchange, usually about 2-3%
The one thing that is very common in Canada, IS being hosed as far as pricing is concerned. Not all distributors are guilty of this, but quite a few are.. Why? Well, because Canadians are used to being 'hosed' as far as competitive pricing with the US is concerned and generally expect it. Even when the Canadian dollar is worth quite a bit less than the USD, Canadians still cross the border for better deals on just about everything from gas, to booze. The only thing we don't get screwed over on here, are lottery and gambling winnings. Those are not taxable in Canada ...yet...

[John Noell]

Give that the Canadian dollar and US dollar are nearly the same lately, I too would be quite surprised if the Canadian price was suddenly twice as much as the USA price.

[Dan Hintz]

Bill,

We get the same raw deal when it comes to the Euro... even with international shipping charges, VAT, etc. it's often cheaper to buy stuff from the US than Europe.

[Mike Null]

JDS did announce price increases on plastics which I believe went into effect in July. I don't think they've sent out a new price list reflecting those prices.

JDS, as others have said, is one of the leading and most reputable of suppliers in this business. There are several levels to their pricing structure and if you buy in reasonably good quantities you can qualify for their best price. You can also sign up for their "A" pricing program which gets the best price as long as you buy case quantities.

I try to group my purchases or to plan ahead to get the best deal. It doesn't always happen but for the most part I'm getting a good price.

[Keith Outten]

In the past I purchased from JDS almost exclusively for the sign shop at Christopher Newport University and we do a fair amount of purchasing annually. Last year JDS changed their policy and stopped selling products to schools without warning. Since then I have been using Johnson's Plastics.

For the life of me I will never understand why any vendor would refuse to do business with someone who has a State credit card. I can purchase from JDS using the credit card from my sign company and I'm almost positive that doing business with a State is more secure then my little business.

The issue of price increases these days is a double edged sword. The economy is still in tough shape and unemployment still very high so raising your engraving fees is tough to do and yet material costs are definately rising.

This is the best time to build new buildings as construction companies are dropping their fees, material prices and labor is cheaper since there are fewer jobs.

One industry is raising prices and the other is dropping to the basement.
?
.

[Martin Boekers]

I''m almost positive that doing business with a State is more secure then my little business.

Unless it's Illinois or California! :D


I order JDS on line so the pricing shows on screen before I actually place the order.

This helps to also show quantities I need for Their AP discount.

It also shows what warehouse has the quantity I need, so I know where it's shipping from.

Plus it show $$$ of year to date for purchases compared to last year totals.
a nice addition.

I wish other vendors had such a great online system.

Marty

[john passek]

JDS has been very outstanding to deal with.
I have called to get quotes for items but the cross boarder charges and shipping is just way too much. sometimes the shipping and stuff is more than the product being bought.
My issue is with the supplier in Canada.

Gary, The shipping had no roll in the price being double, as I stated I expected there to be an increase because of the dollar difference but this was tooo much

Item in US funds = JDS catalog $22.00
Item from CDN supplier = over $40.00
all before shipping and taxes.

If I had known that the cost was what it was I could have gotten the exact same item from a distributor closer to me for cheaper and it would have been here the next day ( not almost 2 wks after ordering, thats another story in itself).:mad: CDN $32.00 I could live with this.

Out of the six suppliers I deal with this is the only one whose prices I feel are way out of line.

I was unaware that JDS increased their prices, I have been using the 2010 catalog.


Thank you all for your response,

Take care.........Be safe.

[Gary Hair]

If I had known that the cost was what it was

John,
Not to keep beating a dead horse, but how could you not know what the cost was when you ordered it? Did you not ask? Did they not say? If yes to either of those then shame on you for not asking. Sorry you are not getting any sympathy from me, but you are trying to place blame where it doesn't belong.

Gary

[Martin Boekers]

I have been hit in the past with unexpected price increases and learned early in this
game that if I don't place an order online, but by phone to ask for availability as well
as pricing, (I have placed orders in the past with vendors who
didn't tell me that the product was back ordered, that was
worse as the client had to change products at the last minute)
and to get a confirming email. By doing that I have saved many a headaches!

This is just part of a learning process being in business. I guess the
one positive about this is it wasn't an order for 100 or so pieces.

[john passek]

Martin, you are right I should have done all of those things.
I guess I'm just use to all the other suppliers letting me know if there 's a problem with my order. And they have catalogs with CDN pricing.

Gary, I'm not looking for anyones sympathy I simply asked a question to see who else felt the same way.
And I know it was my own fault for this situation , as I said before I fully expected to pay more than the US price I was working with just not double.


This horse is done.