New Siegel CD catalog

[ClayB]

I just recieved a flier from Siegel of CA. It says in the flier that thier new catalog is available on CD. You can get a copy of it by calling Siegel at 1 800 862 8956 or 805 686 2700. Siegel carries a wide variety of leather, tools, and supplies. They also offer free shipping on most orders over $75. Check them out at siegalofca.com

[getdown]

siegel is way to high priced

[Luke Hatley]

siegel is way to high priced

Not being ugly...but Higher priced than Who?

alyways looking for a Deal :angel_not:

[Art]

Haven't seen that. Price vs. quality I think their leathers are usually a good deal. If they aren't, just wait for them to go on special. If you are really off on a price, ask for a better one. Their case prices on Lexol ore very good. Can you suggest a supplier who has better prices/quality?

Art

siegel is way to high priced

[Leather Bum]

siegel is way to high priced

Heh, well, let's just look at one example. . . Then we'll see who's prices are high. . .

#70 Round Knife 1

#70 Round Knife 2

L'Bum

[Art]

Heh, well, nobody buys tools from Siegel unless they are on sale, you buy Leather from Siegel. Dixon tools when on sale at Siegel are usually priced well however. When you deal with a supplier, you will find there are ways to buy product, even certain times of the year when items are cheaper. Siegel has big Sales that are very good. Friday Specials give excellent pricing. However, don't cherry pick too much, that is a reputation you don't want. If I buy something on special, I usually try to buy something regular priced that I need at the same time. We actually WANT these suppliers to stay in business and compete with each other to keep prices somewhat under control. As far as the cost of tools, every time you pick up and use the tool it is paying you back and mitigating it's cost. If you paid what you consider too high a price, you are not using the tool enough. This all applies to any of the suppliers, Tandy, Siegel, Hidecrafters, Montana, Midwest, Weaver, just to name a few. Buying conservatively is all well and good, but those great prices tend to work their way into your retail prices, and when you can't get those low prices anymore you might not realize it immediately and adjust your retail upward fast enough. You have to look at a sale as an opportunity to make a little more margin and not let it get into your overall pricing structure.

Art

Heh, well, let's just look at one example. . . Then we'll see who's prices are high. . .

#70 Round Knife 1

#70 Round Knife 2

L'Bum

[Leather Bum]

. . . Siegel has big Sales that are very good. Friday Specials give excellent pricing. However, don't cherry pick too much, that is a reputation you don't want. If I buy something on special, I usually try to buy something regular priced that I need at the same time. . .

Art, what exactly do you mean? "Cherry-picking"? Yeah, I agree; that's not what I intended to do. . . I just tried to find an item that both companies sell (the same one, not just the same type), and as you can see from the links I gave (unless I'm misunderstanding what is meant), Siegel's price is lower than Tandy's even when it's not on sale! :biggrin:

L'Bum

Edited July 26, 2007 by Leather Bum

[Peter Ellis]

Art, what exactly do you mean? "Cherry-picking"? Yeah, I agree; that's not what I intended to do. . . I just tried to find an item that both companies sell (the same one, not just the same type), and as you can see from the links I gave (unless I'm misunderstanding what is meant), Siegel's price is lower than Tandy's even when it's not on sale! :biggrin:

L'Bum

I believe the point is not to *only* buy from them when it's something on sale. Don't want to be known by the supplier as one who "cherry-picks" the sale items. Which, at the moment, I suppose I'm guilty of with Siegel.

[Art]

Hi LB,

Ok, we have to be fair to everyone. If you have a Tandy reseller account, the #70 is $54 and I think Siegel's regular price is $55.38, but if you do $70 with them the shipping is free, so it is about a wash. Everyone has sales, and they are a powerful tool to manage inventory, increase cash flow, and generally increase sales. Usually, the seller is taking a pretty hefty cut in margin (sometimes going negative) to do this. Some folks decide what they want to buy and then go on a quest for the best price. For the occasional big ticket item, this is good practice, but I give my main supplier a chance at the sale after I have shopped; that is buyer loyalty. Now on everyday stuff, shopping and buying around for the lowest price is called cherry picking. You are picking the good deals from individual suppliers (usually their sale items) and with computers the suppliers can track this kind of thing. Nowadays they will all take your order (in the past that wasn't necessarily so) but you won't necessarily get the service that a regular buyer gets. Case in point (no names); I use a lot of one particular leather, and when I need it I call up the supplier and order it, I don't care how much it costs because I need it and at damned near any price I will make money with it. The supplier knows what I use, and I get snippy when something isn't right and he knows he can always sell me this particular leather at his usual price, however he calls me before it goes on sale and tells me about it going on sale and offers it at that price in all colors (not just sale ones), no pressure, just letting me know. How they do it, I haven't a clue, because I am so far down the list of leather buyers, what I purchase wouldn't affect the rounding error on their bottom line. I deal with maybe 3 suppliers, and the occasional other when I can't get something from the other three, however when I need something special I will ask one on my main suppliers to have it drop shipped from the manufacturer if they deal with them, and they will do it for you if you are a regular, haven't been skinned on a price either.

There are some suppliers out there who are family or come from a family operation, generally a good customer is treated like family (although I am sure a couple think of me as their crazy Uncle Art). These are the people we need to keep in business.

Art

Art, what exactly do you mean? "Cherry-picking"? Yeah, I agree; that's not what I intended to do. . . I just tried to find an item that both companies sell (the same one, not just the same type), and as you can see from the links I gave (unless I'm misunderstanding what is meant), Siegel's price is lower than Tandy's even when it's not on sale! :biggrin:

L'Bum

[abn]

Art makes a good point about dealing with the same supplier and being considered a regular, loyal customer. I'm a Tandy wholesale club member ($35/year), and I do all of my shopping in the Richmond, Va. store. Debbie and Sharon know me and treat me like a valued customer. I even get in on special deals every once in a while.

As a hobbyist, I've tried dealing with other companies, but I'm usually treated like I'm a bother -- probably because my orders are on the smallish side. Nowadays, I buy everything from Tandy and don't worry about price. I've done the math and know that as a wholesale club customer, I'm probably getting about as good a price as any other hobbyist.

That's my two cents on price shopping!

Alex

[Leather Bum]

Alright, I think I see what you guys mean now. I agree, it does seem a little unfair to only buy from someplace when you can get something that's on sale. . . I hadn't thought of that before.

But still, my only point was to show that Siegel of California really doesn't have such high retail prices. It doesn't matter if it's on sale or not, their tools (CS Osborne) are a lot of times better-priced than Tandy's. And they even show how their Lexol prices compare favorably to TLF. . .

L'Bum