Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'philip'.
Found 1 result
-
I have been looking for a USA manufacturer of belt buckles for some time. There are a few suppliers out there, but very few and hard to find. I'm in the process of getting some quotes and samples from Philip Machine and trying to gauge how much interest there might be in reselling a good share of whatever I buy. I spoke with a gentleman on the phone there today and they typically require a minimum order of around 500 units for solid brass, which can be broken down into multiple finishes, such as brass, nickel plate, antiqued, etc. I have not gotten a proper quote back yet, but I believe they would be somewhere in the $2 range per buckle. I would likely add some markup depending on how much shipping turned into and how long I though I'd be sitting on them. I'm certainly not looking to get rich on this deal, but I do believe in getting paid a little something for taking on the work and the risk... 500 buckles is probably ten years' worth for my operation. If there's enough interest in other folks buying quality USA-made buckles I would list them on my Etsy store as a regular item. I'd love to be able to get quality US items on the market to folks that will use them. So, any thoughts? Anyone? I know other folks are interested in finding domestic suppliers, so it seems like this should be doable. I'm not really interested in trying to do a group buy or form some loose coalition, as those things just seem to stall or fall apart. You can check out Philip Machine at: http://www.philipmachine.com/ If interested take a look at their buckles and see if they might fit your needs. Let me know if you have any interest and what type/size/finish of buckles would work for you. I'll post updates as I get firmer costs and feasibility, or if they come through with samples. I'll also post this in another forum or two where folks might look for this info. And if it turns into a total bust I'll let you know it's dead. Better yet, if someone has already found the secret to buying high quality USA made buckles in small quantities at good prices let me know that too!! Otherwise I think I'll be headed down the Philip path one way or another. Thanks! P.S. - Before some helpful soul points me to one of the thousand sources for quality imported hardware: "Thank you," but finding a good US manufacturer is really the point here. I know there are some very good sources for imported hardware (and I've used several of them,) but it's important to my brand development, and to me personally, to try to keep my suppliers American. It's a shame that it's gotten so hard, but it is possible.