79 replies to this topic

[Tom Aufman]

michele said:

Where do you go for Private Label Bottled Water?

Good shot Michele...LOL tea

[Mike Searcy]

Tom,

I am with you on Norwood, they did a $5,000 calendar three times and missed the delivery date. Then to top it off they did not give me the reward points on the job, saying that was handled by a seperate company. Pillowline and Souvenir are exceptions they do a pretty good job. The rest of the bunch, no way unless I have to.

Take care.

[Blazingwolf]

Ok, many of you said the reason is their customer service. Does meeting the deadline count for anything? Would price effect this decision? For instance...what if you had great customer service, and the company always delivered on time. However pricing was a bit higher than a competitor's. Which one is going to get your business?

[royster13]

Some of my clients want cheap and get what they pay for....Even if delivery suffers.....Other clients want stuff by their date and they are willing to pay the price....I do what I can to look after both types......RCS....

[Blazingwolf]

I'm in agreement with you there royster. But...what if quality of the product was comparable as was the delivery dates?

[Tom Aufman]

Blazingwolf said:

Ok, many of you said the reason is their customer service. Does meeting the deadline count for anything? Would price effect this decision? For instance...what if you had great customer service, and the company always delivered on time. However pricing was a bit higher than a competitor's. Which one is going to get your business?

Leslie,
Price is relative. Are they competitive with who? Form a relationship with anyone on my list, Give them good volume business, (Starts at $12,000) and pay your invoices close to 30 days. They will help you get more orders. Keep in mind that it cost a supplier about $300.00 just to carry a distributor on their customer list. They get a little upset when you try to beat them down to no profit. Especially on a small order. We as salespeople have to control our clients. Don't let them control us. We are in business to make a profit. If a prospect won't allow you to make a fair profit, Drop them and find the ones that will.....tea

[Ideaman06]

Tom Aufman said:

Leslie,
Price is relative. Are they competitive with who? Form a relationship with anyone on my list, Give them good volume business, (Starts at $12,000) and pay your invoices close to 30 days. They will help you get more orders. Keep in mind that it cost a supplier about $300.00 just to carry a distributor on their customer list. They get a little upset when you try to beat them down to no profit. Especially on a small order. We as salespeople have to control our clients. Don't let them control us. We are in business to make a profit. If a prospect won't allow you to make a fair profit, Drop them and find the ones that will.....tea

Tom ....

Well said my friend!

[Lauralie]

Well this thread was started a year ago... so now that 2005 has come and gone, do people have new top ten lists of suppliers to post for the new year?

[Tom Aufman]

Lauralie said:

Well this thread was started a year ago... so now that 2005 has come and gone, do people have new top ten lists of suppliers to post for the new year?

Laura,

Keep looking, We just did 2006...tea

[Tigerpaw]

Friends...
Here's my Top something-or-other... in no particular order:

Sanmar Bodek & Rhodes Gill Studios Quickey RCC
Leeds Vitronic Warwick Gemline Morco
M-I Line Otto Caps Beacon Triumph Tri-Mountain
Bic Souvenir Crown Jaffa Maple Ridge
Fields Quill

Bold indicates favorites for a variety of reasons.

Very truly.. Tom

[Lauralie]

sorry, my bad! Thanks!

[catchmissy]

bigimpression said:

Thought this would be an interesting thread.

Who are your top suppliers and why do they make the cut?

We love TSC Apparel and Sanmar. They have great reps that work with us on everything from samples to credit lines. We also have found some great regional reps because that give us access to great lines with oustanding service.

Missy Anderson
OnCourse Promotions
San Juan Capistrano, CA

[Sparky]

bdadco said:

UPIC has no listing for wildfire? Wonder why??

hmmm....Why the paranoia?
RE:UPIC registration
I received this on 09-14-2004:
To: Wildfire....SUBJECT: You've been activated at www.the-upic.com!
Ta-Da.
I'm here to learn and share so my business better serve clients. Joining UPIC was a great step in that direction.
By the By - since this post, I have changed my position on Norwood -
They have burned to ashes more than one good Client relationship with terrible service, incredible SlOW ( I'm talking MONTHS) delivery.
Hotline is a great calendar supplier.

[DBarris]

I think most of the companies that have been mentioned are really good.
I would like to ad one that I didnt see and thats HPC Global. I have used them in a pinch and they have always been good to me. I think the fact that they are only 30 minutes away from me and I have met most of the people there helps. So I would recommend that if you have a chance get to know your supplier. If they are local to you - then visit them or besure you stop in to seem them at a show. Also I try to deal with the same customer service rep if I can. Having said all that. I would have to say that Tradenet is my favorite supplier. They try to make it easy for the distributor rather them make things more complicated. They have simple systems and I have found that they are never too busy to help with any problem. They are tops in my book.

[JON]

Here's my top ten in no picticluar order.
Bic
Norwood
Sabina
Dard
Leeds
Broder
Dooley
Discount Labels
Fey
Tradenet

[bdadco]

Sparky said:

hmmm....Why the paranoia?
RE:UPIC registration
I received this on 09-14-2004:
To: Wildfire....SUBJECT: You've been activated at www.the-upic.com!
Ta-Da.
I'm here to learn and share so my business better serve clients. Joining UPIC was a great step in that direction.
By the By - since this post, I have changed my position on Norwood -
They have burned to ashes more than one good Client relationship with terrible service, incredible SlOW ( I'm talking MONTHS) delivery.
Hotline is a great calendar supplier.

And you are doing a great job, :) just hang in there and have a Great Day

[hoerth]

It's been 4 years since the last posting on this thread so I thought I'd throw in a comment to get more names added to this list. I don't see a comparable more current thread. In looking at the 150 or so suppliers listed, I don't see a lot of bag manufacturers though certainly some of the multi-line companies offer bags. I see American Ad Bag, Bag Makers, and Custom Crest. Leeds for higher end stuff. But with the proliferation of e-mail blasts in the last couple of years, it would be nice to know if any of the companies out there that focus on plastic and polywhatchamacallit bags merit kudos (other than those previously mentioned). Anyone?

[IDEASGirl]

I've dealt with Noteworthy before. Their service was great (as their final product).

[hoerth]

Well, never mind. I found a thread started in 2008 that's extended into 2010. Hadn't shown up in the similar threads listing at the page bottom. Still not a lot of bag manufacturers listed, though.

[IDEASGirl]

They should merge both threads then.