13 replies to this topic

[grammy29]

I realize there are rules/regs for product info/safety...however, when my client received his spiral notebooks...there was a sticker on the inside back cover with supplier name/asi#/PO#/Item#. I asked the supplier if this was customary (as this was the 1st time I have ordered from them)...and was told that they do it because it is required and if I don't want that, I can order from somewhere else. My biggest gripe - I sell for more than published prices - so I sure as heck don't want my clients to track down an item and pricing...any comments?

[nicolas]

The supplier is telling you take it or leave it. Why would anyone do business with a supplier with this kind of attitude towards their customer.

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

I would hate to have that on our customers' products as well! Is the supplier very well known?

[grammy29]

Vitronic and all their line...

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

Very interesting. We did an order recently for their umbrellas, and I don't recall seeing those labels on the umbrellas. Maybe it was placed somewhere that it was inconspicuous. We looked at the umbrellas pretty closely, as we had to inspect them before they went into the customer's inventory at the warehouse, and I did not see any labels. Did the factory rep that you spoke with say that it will be on every item?

[grammy29]

I spoke w/ VP of sales....

[3Koi Maui]

Product labeling is required by federal law for those products that would be covered by CPSIA regulations - which is children's products. I could see a spiral notebook becoming a children's product if it was decorated with a school imprint, or was otherwise identified as being distributed to children. Not so much an umbrella. Doesn't sound like the full story.

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

Isa, I bet you are right on this. We have used Vitronic for years, and not had this issue come up.
Have a sample non-woven tote here, and their sew-in label has the info mentioned above:
Vitronic's name, asi #, their PO#, item #, material content, and country of origin. This particular tote is aimed at a Christian academy. (Vitronic has a series of totes that have Christian symbols pre-printed on them, as so many of their orders were coming in with those as part of the artwork.)

I will email our contact at Vitronic to get the scoop.

[grammy29]

Isa and Margie...I think you are missing my point....My biggest gripe - I sell for more than published prices - so I sure as heck don't want my clients to track down an item and pricing...

and it was not decorated w/ any kids type of logo or name

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

You are right, Suzan, in that a determined person could easily find out the suggested retail prices for what you are selling. If it is the case that Vitronic is labeling items this way to comply with Federal laws, there is nothing you can do about it. If Vitronic is labeling ALL their items this way, then switch to a different vendor.
We like Vitronic. We generally don't sell for prices above suggested list except in special circumstances, so it is not as much of an issue for us.

[3Koi Maui]

Hi Suzan,

Yes, sorry, I did get your point, I just didn't address it. I chose to address the issue of why Vitronic is labeling. For that, I'd agree with Margie - if they have decided to label all their products, and you don't want labels, then pick another supplier. You tried the first best route of speaking with the management, and they seem to have quoted policy. So go elsewhere. I don't mean that in a casual way, I say vote with your dollars. Suppliers decide policy based on what works for sales. If they are not getting orders because of a policy, they will change it.

Now, as to you selling over catalog - that's your decision. A supplier decides catalog prices, you decide yours. I can see why you wouldn't want to make it any easier for your clients to see that you are upcharging. But you know what? One other distributor gets to talking with your client, and your pricing is blown anyway. So you are always taking a risk that over-catalog pricing will be revealed, somehow.

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

BTW: I did not get a response back from the Vitronic rep, which is unusual. Maybe the request went up the food chain...

[grammy29]

[margie@kapcoadv.com]

Our outside sales rep just called, as my request was forwarded to him. Here's the scoop:
1. All products aimed at kids have the necessary labeling (usually 2 labels). The jotter is not regarded as a child-oriented item.
2. Normal product labeling includes Vitronic's name and ASI number so that distributors know where the item came from.
The PO number is also on there so that if there are any complaints about quality, they know which order the original product came from. If there is more than one complaint, all stock for that PO is pulled, so it can be inspected.
3. Kid products have a second label with a number, which is for the compliance tracking.

To me, all these bits of info make sense. If our customer has a problem with an item, I want the factory to be able to track down which batch of product that item was in, so that any future problems can be avoided. And I definitely need labels to tell me which sample came from which supplier.

Hope this helps.