Weaver Leather Wholesale Letter

[keplerts]

I have attached a PDF file of a letter I received from Weaver Leather yesterday.  Did anyone else get one?  No sure how I feel about it.  No, I take that back, I do know..... I'm upset about it!   If they offered everything I needed at a fair price I would buy more from them.  But they don't.  They say their retail prices are competitive, but I find them rather over priced compared to SLC, Tandy, and OTB.  Just wondered what others thoughts were and if everyone who didn't make the cut got a letter as well.

Tom

Weaver Letter.pdf

[Russ]

See this topic:

 

[JLSleather]

What a let down... now I find out that personal note I got was just a FORM LETTER 

Yeah, I was done with that down there anyway.  I ordered teh Jeremiah Watt edgers, which were okay but not wonderful (they didn't hold an edge very long).  And I ordered a couple sides that would have gone back to them if I had more time at the time.  Glad I put my toe in the water instead of jumpin in the water. 

They're doin' fine on their own -- they don't need me in their way any more

 

[OLDNSLOW]

Keplerts, how long have you been buying from them or how long have you had the account?  I thought for a few moments that I was just lucky cuz I didn't get me a personalized letter like Y'all did ------------till recently.  But at first I get real kick the dog and the cat mad but when I got hold of myself and calmed down a bit I thought ya know what I gonnna make a phone call and tell em what I think, cuz ya see I didn't open my account till march and made my first purchase in April.  And I thought ok gee whiz maybe I wont have to worry till March or April but nope, so I make the call seez and I ask for Jim Weaver and after several calls cuz I'm the kinda guy that don't give up.  so I get the guy Jim on the phone and I tellz him that I think it aint fare that i'm beeun done this way, so he says let me take a look and he seez to me ok well will give you one more year to spend that much and then if ya don't yer outa here and I saez to him goodnuff, so fer what ever it is worth go back and seez my first question.

Ron

[billybopp]

Kinda funny really.   Seems like they are working hard to get rid of loyal customers and at the same they are stepping up marketing to potential future customers ... I've been getting more and more emails and mailings from them though I've never ordered from them.    You'd think they changed their name to Tandy or something.

[OLDNSLOW]

It could be that their business model is changing some, it seems like about every 4 years a lot of companies are sort of a holding pattern and unsure of what the very near future holds for then.

[keplerts]

oldnslow,  I have been a customer for three years.  Glad you got an "extension".  I think I'm going to give them a call.  If I'm reading their letter correctly I think if I don't buy $1200 worth of product this year then I will need a $500 opening order to qualify for wholesale pricing next year.  Or if my order is under $500, say $300, than I can pay a $200 "FEE" to then qualify for wholesale pricing.  Not sure if this is what they mean or not. 

BILLYBOPP,  I think what they are doing is really pushing their "Retail" web site and trying to appeal to the person doing it as a hobby.  I figure if I am making and repairing leather goods AND collecting state sales tax AND reporting it on my tax returns as a business I should qualify for wholesale pricing no matter what my yearly purchase dollars amount to. JMO

I like doing business with Weaver, so I am going to give them a call.

[OLDNSLOW]

post back with the outcome.

[JLSleather]

My final comment on the subject, at all.

A "minimum" strikes me much like an "annual fee" on a credit card.  It's old news, and for every one who charges one, there are 50 places where they do not charge one.  I won't pay them, and any "offer" I get that even mentions a "fee" is quickly pitched out.  The exception would be the case of a supplier who is the only one who carries what I need, and I don't see that here.

$1200 isn't much if you're buying leather for a year, and shouldn't be an issue really IF you're happy with the leather.  But I find better leather at a better price elsewhere, so "permission" to purchase there is no favor (and a fee for it is not rational).  So- as they say -- "I'm out".

 

[cowboycolonel]

I got one too.  I replied to Weaver thanking them for chasing profits at the expense of the custom/small shop keeper.  What a disappointment they have turned out to be.  Guess we'll just have to spend our money elsewhere.  ...and the are other places.  just look on the home page and follow your nose.  For leather, use Hide House or Goliger's.  For dyes and care products, go straight to the manufacturer. ...and for the things you can't readily find, use this website.  Weaver might have made a mistake, but they'll never feel it unless/until all of us non-production shops and hobbyists cut Them off from our money.  We do have choices.

[Russ]

16 hours ago, keplerts said:

  I figure if I am making and repairing leather goods AND collecting state sales tax AND reporting it on my tax returns as a business I should qualify for wholesale pricing no matter what my yearly purchase dollars amount to. JMO

I like doing business with Weaver, so I am going to give them a call.

I don't think I agree with this, from Weaver's (or any business) perspective.  I don't think it's unreasonable for Weaver to want a certain volume of sales to a customer in order to qualify for a reduced price. Why should Weaver make less on their product just because someone is going to take that product and manufacture something else?  Weaver can make up the less profit  by selling wholesale IF the customer buys at some volume.  Obviously Weaver has set that benchmark at $1200.

FWIW, I also like doing business with Weaver, and I mostly get over $1200/year.  I haven't this year because I bought in bulk last year.  So I got the letter too.  I wasn't offended, I see their point.

[cdthayer]

Wholesalers don't need Retailers any more with the internet.  Look for more of this coming......in a variety of markets.....

CD in Oklahoma

[Anubis78]

Are the accounts that you all have with them actual business accounts on their wholesale side or are these high volume discount based on signing in on their retail side?   I recently registered with them with a business account and there was only a minimum initial purchase on the opening order (see attached image snapshot of a portion of the email that I received). I am unsure if there are minimums for future orders, but they never mentioned anything about a yearly minimum order.  If you haven't registered for a business wholesale account, I'd say it's easy to do.  Just be sure you have any your FEIN number and any state related tax account numbers.   The savings have been better for me as a newbie as I did purchase items from them at retail price.  

 

Now if you guys have better suggestions on wholesalers, send them my way.   

[CaptQuirk]

I just started ordering from Weaver, but only because they were the only ones that had all the hardware I needed for an order. It was an added bonus, that they happened to have a free shipping promo on that day. I made a mistake with the order, and got the wrong sized ring. So I go back to their site, and have to wade through 10 pages of rings, with a really slow connection... again. Afterwards, I shot them an email asking for a catalogue, and received a response saying that only wholesale customers get a catalogue. I responded that their site was less than user friendly, the search function doesn't work well, and it takes forever to go through 10 pages to find one item. Long story slightly shortened, they are sending a catalogue.

Now, I have to give them a lot of credit, because most places won't give an inch. They did. I haven't got any chance of opening a wholesale account with them, but I will seriously consider them for whenever I have the time to wait for stuff.

[MADMAX22]

On 10/13/2016 at 5:10 PM, Russ said:

I don't think I agree with this, from Weaver's (or any business) perspective.  I don't think it's unreasonable for Weaver to want a certain volume of sales to a customer in order to qualify for a reduced price. Why should Weaver make less on their product just because someone is going to take that product and manufacture something else?  Weaver can make up the less profit  by selling wholesale IF the customer buys at some volume.  Obviously Weaver has set that benchmark at $1200.

FWIW, I also like doing business with Weaver, and I mostly get over $1200/year.  I haven't this year because I bought in bulk last year.  So I got the letter too.  I wasn't offended, I see their point.

The new era of super greed and continual increase in sales, walmart mentality, whatever ya wanna call it. Ofcourse I got to work with my parents in there small time business that had to deal with this very thing for a long time until they closed there doors. When they started out having a actual store front, business license, and wholesale accounts was enough. Then they had to start paying minimums, buying certain amounts. I think it was about the same time the big chinese import chains started showing up. 

Such is the way of things now a days. 

[Sonydaze]

While I understand the desire to always get the best price, I think some people could be a bit more fair on criticizing Weaver for their new policy.

Weaver's labour and material costs are not much different whether processing a $100 order or a $1000 order.  The only difference I see is a couple of more minutes taking the larger order and a few more minutes picking the larger order.  However, likely some of the smaller orders can eat up more time due to the buyers not being as well versed on what they are buying and being a lot more critical of what they receive.  Spending about ten times the labour and material costs to realize the same $1000 in sales as a larger order does not make good business sense (unless your pricing is inflated to make up for the extra cost).  

From my viewpoint, Weaver being efficient on their operating costs helps maintain lower costs to their customers.  Weaver is a family owned and operated business, I'm sure a lot of thought and discussion went into making the decision to implement this policy.   Suggesting them to be like Walmart is not reasonable.

Maybe the ones we should really be mad at is the tanneries for refusing to sell anybody that makes leather items for resale?  No minimum quantity AND at their very best price...

 

Love it or hate it, that's my .02 for Monday.

 

[Anubis78]

57 minutes ago, Sonydaze said:

Maybe the ones we should really be mad at is the tanneries for refusing to sell anybody that makes leather items for resale?  

Sonydaze,

Wow... which companies do this? I'm relatively new and would like to avoid any sellers that would do this.  You can pm me if you don't want to publicly post that information. 

 

Also I agree with what you said and my experience with them has been great.  No complaints here.

[JLSleather]

26 minutes ago, Anubis78 said:

Wow... which companies do this? I'm relatively new and would like to avoid any sellers that would do this.  You can pm me if you don't want to publicly post that information. 

Hermann Oak has a 10-side minimum order IF all teh same weight , 20 sides if mixing weights.  For me, it's worth the trouble to get the good stuff.

 

[Anubis78]

2 minutes ago, JLSleather said:

Hermann Oak has a 10-side minimum order IF all teh same weight , 20 sides if mixing weights.  For me, it's worth the trouble to get the good stuff.

I will definitely look into them.  How are their prices? 

[Sonydaze]

@Anubis78:  Sorry, I was being sarcastic, I was alluding to tanneries should ignore their scale of economics and sell directly to everyone.  Most tanneries have a significant minimum order that is beyond what I buy.  

Each of my orders with Weaver add up to well above the $1200 annual purchase requirement.  However I buy many different items (leathers/hardware) on each order... I can't justify buying any one specific leather by the pallet.  So Weaver is my most effective choice at one stop shopping.  If I was buying from many places instead, it would drive up my shipping and accounting costs as well as requiring more time.

[JLSleather]

1 minute ago, Anubis78 said:

I will definitely look into them.  How are their prices? 

$8.10 for "A-grade" leather - very nice stuff.

 

[MADMAX22]

@Sonydaze Like I was saying its a different mentality now a days. When a customer calls you and ask questions about whatever it is your selling them vs hitting the add to cart on the website do you charge them more?

 

[Sonydaze]

28 minutes ago, MADMAX22 said:

@Sonydaze Like I was saying its a different mentality now a days. When a customer calls you and ask questions about whatever it is your selling them vs hitting the add to cart on the website do you charge them more?

 

I charge them the same unless there is quantity involved.  Clients that purchase quantity reduce my expense of gaining that sales volume... I share the saving.  Weaver is doing that,  I buy more at once and get a better deal from them.   If my business too often involved long conversations to make an small sale, I would have take that into consideration in my pricing and or my terms.  If I had to raise my prices to maintain a reasonable profit while carrying the costs of less efficient clients, then the more efficient clients in reality would be stuck subsidizing them unless I could come up with a policy that defined them and offered prices accordingly.  

Because I'm in Canada, I have to phone in my orders to Weaver as their website is not yet set up for export sales.  Because my orders are repetitious, I don't have questions and read off a list with correct stock numbers/quantities, so it only takes me a few minutes to spend $3000 - $5000. I buy a lot of my hardware in case lots.  This is efficient business for Weaver and I expect to pay less than someone ordering a couple of hundred dollars of small quantity items.  

If someone is actually in business, not just a hobby for profit, the $1200 per year isn't that large of a hurdle.  Worst to worst find someone in your area and buy together to create the volume.

[MADMAX22]

Like I said its the modern way of things. Noone is going to lose that 5% of growth a quarter, its gonna come out of the customers wallets somehow. I understand giving someone who buys a ton of stuff a price break but that is not what this is. They are maintaining the same price just fining the guys who dont buy enough to justify there cutoff point. Think of the person that only orders say $600 of rivets every year, knows exactly what they want, calls with the order and is done in 2 minutes, everything goes in one box to get shipped out. How would that justify the extra expense?

Sure the 1200 dollars a year may or may not be easily achievable and the extra cost is an easy way to get rid of those that dont meet that minimum or to get that extra percentage required to maintain positive growth. 

Do you have a brick and mortar store? Just seems that the way of dealing with customers would only be conducive to modern online sales.  May be totally wrong, my parents only had there store front for 15 years (I only worked there for about 8). The wholesalers they bought from half of them would stop in the store or go to lunch to talk over the orders for the month. Nothing special, they traveled to all the shops in the area. Ofcourse that was before the internet really took over, nothing like that happens anymore.