Good News/Bad News

[SUP]

 

@Sheilajeanne, Yes, shipping really adds to the cost, doesn't it?  I believe Rocky Mountain leather supply has discounted  rates for international shipping.  There are a couple of others, if I remember correctly,  but I've not bought anything from them. 

Edited July 1, 2024 by SUP

[Sheilajeanne]

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

well your medical is "free" right lol.

Local shipping rates are pricey, too, and when I shipped two small parcels from Ontario to the eastern U.S., it took them about 6 weeks to arrive!  So, cross-border is a PITA no matter which direction the package is going

Had a much better experience with shipping a teacup from Ontario to Quebec - it arrive intact, and the trip only took a couple of days! 

[fredk]

Enjoying reading this thread  

Spare a thought for us  

My closest Tandy is in Texas, about 3,500 miles / 12 hours flying - one way  

Actually, last time I bought leather from Tandy HQ, shipping was reasonable, less than from other parts of the UK, taxes were paid by Tandy and delivery took 6 days. It would have taken 3 but we had a 'bank holiday' weekend which took up three days, no work or deliveries done.

But I agree; you need to choose the leather yourself but I've become used to taking the chance of what is picked out for me, only once I got rubbish (from a Tandy shop in England)

[Sheilajeanne]

Fred, that's AMAZING!! Only SIX DAYS?? How long ago was that?   

I'm more used to hearing stories like mine, where a small parcel took 6 weeks to get from Ontario to somewhere in the North-eastern states, and a package Frodo sent to Romania took nearly FOUR MONTHS to get there!

Was it sent by something other than U.S. Post?

[fredk]

Obviously we have a much smaller country. We have 1st class, 2nd class and Parcel for sending parcels, depending on weight, as well independent couriers. Couriers take longer to deliver and are used only for certain things. Basically, 1st takes one to two days, 2nd takes three to four days, Parcel takes one to four days and couriers take two to five days, last two, depends how much you've paid. And, I believe, we pay a lot less than other countries.

Parcels sent overseas. recently I sent a large parcel to the USA, it arrived on the 4th day after posting. Well before ETA. A small parcel to France arrived on the 2nd day after posting

I've bought leather from that place in Italy. They quoted 7 to 10 days for delivery. I received it on the third day after it was sent

afair, the order from Tandy was about a year ago. That was the last one, I've ordered a few times and the results have been the same. It came by FedEx. But FedEx don't operate here, it is handed over to a 'partner' courier. I was able to track the shipment all the way, but the info was a few hours behind cos it said the parcel was at my local depot as the driver was handing it over to me

afair It was picked up from Tandy at about 17.45 (local time) Wednesday by FedEx, arrived at a FedEx depot at a London airport about 08.30 (local time) Thursday, arrived in Belfast airport about 11.30 Thursday, picked up by the couriers and taken to their depot for customs checking and consigned for delivery on Saturday morning

[Charley1]

Reckon I'm lucky, have 2 Tandys here, one about 4 miles away, another about 15 miles. Ordering online is easy as well, Fort Worth and San Antonio are not that far apart. I do want to see my leather before I buy it as well.

The 20% discount in June was nice, too. My profit level was down and my expense level was up considerably, but I picked up enough leather that expenses will definitely be down for the next couple of months.

[Sheilajeanne]

On 7/1/2024 at 6:33 AM, Dwight said:

I also long ago developed the habit of taking a micrometer with me and buying the thickness of leather I want.  The range of thickness for any skin is pretty broad . . . and I have certain thicknesses I want for the work I do.

I probably should do that! I noticed the leather I have in my storage cupboard all seems to be about 4-5 oz. whereas some of it was marked as 3-4 oz. when I purchased it. That's the main reason the side I just purchased was marked as 2-3 oz. And oh, it is one heck of a nice looking side!   Yup, I certainly put that 20% off coupon to good use!

[Mablung]

The Economy leathers in particular are susceptible to inconsistent thickness grading. The manager of my local store said whoever grades them tends to go with whatever the thickness is at a given spot on the hide and assigns it a somewhat wide range, since they don’t try very hard on the cheap ones. I have a Craftsman double shoulder with a great surface and even grain marked 7-9 that I swear is anywhere from 7 to at least 10. 

[tsunkasapa]

I have never had a local Tandy. All the years I've done this I've had to drive 1 1/2 hours to north Seattle, 3 hours to Spokane or 4 hours to Portland. I have gotten to know some of the folks enough that I felt comfortable ordering from them, but they never last. And the last 15 years or so they have really gone downhill, leather, tools, all of it. They just aren't the business they used to be.

[chuck123wapati]

12 minutes ago, tsunkasapa said:

 They just aren't the business they used to be.

Are any? Professionalism and quality seems to have been lost in most businesses and products I've been to or bought lately. Couldn't even get a decent sit down meal the other day.