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View Full Version : Help again- me pitard is back



George Elston
08-17-2007, 5:05 PM
First of all I want to say thank you to all the folks a Sawmill creek who have given such good advice. What I have learned here has kept us going through the tough start up times. I can honestly say that without the wisdom and experience of everyone here we would have been out of business before we started.

Now, if I can just get a little more help. Once again it's me pitard (see previous thread). I have been showing engraved glasses and using them for give aways (much easier to get in to see someone when you are bringing them an elegant present, than if you are just there to sell them something). But it is beginning to pay off, and I am starting to get some serious orders for engraved glasses. The problem--- I had been buying my blanks at Walmart at less than a dollar each for Libbey wine glasses, now that I need larger quantities all my searching on the web can't find me as good a price as Walmart. I just cleaned out the local store and don't know when they will restock. The items aren't listed in the online store so I can't order more there.

Does any body know a source for champaign flutes, and wine glasses that won't cost me more than a dollar each. As I sell them for $8, and have 6-8 minutes of laser time in each one, I can't go much higher.

Hope someone can save me, and thanks

Ed Maloney
08-17-2007, 5:27 PM
George - Can't help you on the supplier question, but you are losing money on the job. If you do find a supplier you will need to pay shipping, boxes to pack the glasses in, and other overhead costs. See the other threads about pricing. I'm sure some other folks will be offering their wisdom as well.

Joe Pelonio
08-17-2007, 5:29 PM
Have you tried a Costco Business Center? We have a lot of Costcos around here but the only business center is way at the north end of Seattle. They have a lot of restaurant and hospitality items.

Otherwise I'd be afraid that your WalMart price is as low as you will find, most of those go for about $2 at a restauarant suppy.

Thad Nickoley
08-17-2007, 6:20 PM
I have never really paid attention to prices but I have bought from www.klinq.com (http://www.klinq.com)

Nancy Laird
08-17-2007, 7:43 PM
George,

Go to your nearest Dollar Tree store and get the store number. Then call 1-877-530-8733, and tell them that you want SKU#866642, which is the 8oz. Classic Flute. They come in 12-packs. They will scour their stores countrywide looking for them and you'll get them for $1.00 each. They will then ship them to your local store for your pickup.

How do I know this??? The people we bought our laser from dropped this little piece of information on us; although I've not had occasion to use it yet, she swore it works like a charm.

Let me know if it works for you.

Nancy (126 days)

Stephen Beckham
08-17-2007, 9:53 PM
Careful with the Dollar Tree items - or please correct me if you have never had this problem. Had a lady that wanted to save the money by bringing her own glasses. (I charge $5 per glasses you provide and $10 a glass I provide). She got a bunch from a Dollar Tree and they had a bunch of the glass lips that had bumps and/or stems that were not perfect - causing shifts in the glass while on the rotator.

I've recently switched over to Marck Associates. They have a real good price when purchased in cases of 12 or more. I won't post actual price here since that's not disclosed by them except to approved customers. Trust me, you'll beat the $1 per glass.

If you are interested in check out their website at http://www.marckassoc.com/. You'll have to email them and request information on pricing.

Sorry for the cloak & dagger - too many people forget that most of our providers don't appreciate posting "our" actual costs in open forums... :cool:

George Elston
08-18-2007, 10:50 AM
Well ya'll have done it again. Thanks to everyone but especially Stephen and Nancy. After reading the suggestions, I put my right hand out about 18" and picked up the Marck CD catalog that had been getting lower in the pile of CD's I need to look at. I haven't found exactly what I need yet, (it's a BIG catalog) but I can see by checking a couple of prices it's what I am looking for. Nancy, I will also check out the Dollar Tree, but MARCK looks like the answer. I learned long ago that whatever I need is within arms reach if I can see it. The problem is I have gotten to the age where there's so much stuff in my brain that if I learn something new, I have to forget something to make room for it. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction.

And a question on pricing. (re. Ed's post) I priced these by what I see as a usual charge by others. I did a cost study, and I know I need to make at least $1 a minute for laser time, (on some things I make more, but that is minimum-more or less). I price the glasses at $12 retail for custom with a minimum of 4, and stock images or large orders at $8 each minimum 1 doz.
Laser time is between 4 and 10 minutes, with 6 minutes being the average. I don't see how I can charge more, although I would like to. Packing and invoicing etc. is done by other family members, so at least there is not a direct cost there, although I do have to feed, house, and cloth them.

Thanks again for all the help.