Supplier Woes. Input please!

[sonnyboone]

Hi There!

I recently placed an order to a supplier and for the second time in a row they sent over some, in my opinion, pretty questionable pieces.

Now I realize that there will be imperfections on a hide and there were so with the other quarter sides I ordered but I feel like those were acceptable..

But one quarter side was :

a) sent in two pieces equaling the square footage but not disclosed as such.  Also because of this not close in color.

b) pretty scuffed up.

Do you think I'm over reacting by reaching out and wanting to send this back?  Or should I expect this kind of quality crap shoot in the future?

Also, who do you think has the best consistency in quality and customer service in Canada (or North America) ?  Should I order direct from the tannery?

 

 

 

 

 

[garypl]

If they misrepresented the leather they sold you, I would send them pics and explain why you are not happy with the items you bought.  If they are a reputable supplier they should be glad to receive your feedback and work with you to fix it.

Gary

[sonnyboone]

6 minutes ago, garypl said:

If they misrepresented the leather they sold you, I would send them pics and explain why you are not happy with the items you bought.  If they are a reputable supplier they should be glad to receive your feedback and work with you to fix it.

Gary

Thanks Gary,  what do you think about the condition of the leather based on the pictures?  For me something like this is pretty unusable for finished goods....

Edited October 8, 2020 by sonnyboone

[LatigoAmigo]

1 hour ago, sonnyboone said:

Also, who do you think has the best consistency in quality and customer service in Canada (or North America) ? 

Had I received what you did, I would contact the seller right away to see what they could do to remedy the problem. They probably don't want to lose your business.

My two favorite suppliers are The Hide House in Napa, CA, and Maverick Leather in Bend, OR.

[sonnyboone]

1 minute ago, LatigoAmigo said:

Had I received what you did, I would contact the seller right away to see what they could do to remedy the problem. They probably don't want to lose your business.

My two favorite suppliers are The Hide House in Napa, CA, and Maverick Leather in Bend, OR.

I'm working on it.  I'm pretty new to buying leather and I'm starting to buy larger quantities so I'm not totally sure what to expect as far as consistency goes, so your feedback is valued.   Thanks!  I'll check out Hide House and Maverick. 

[tsunkasapa]

+1 on Maverick, good people.

[paloma]

RTS ! it's a shame to sell this.

Edited October 9, 2020 by paloma

[Frodo]

I have no idea what was bought. 

exactly.  What did you order?

Craftsman?  B grade?  economy?

 

 

[garypl]

11 hours ago, sonnyboone said:

Thanks Gary,  what do you think about the condition of the leather based on the pictures?  For me something like this is pretty unusable for finished goods....

Like Frodo said, what did you buy?  If they misrepresented the product you should ask them to make you whole.  
 

Personally, I would not be happy with the leather shown in your pictures because of what appears to be bad scratch marks in several places.  That being said, if I bought the leather at a large discount knowing up front that there would be a lot of waste, maybe this would be expected.  Send clear pictures to your supplier and tell him why you are not satisfied with your purchase and tell them what you would like them to do about it.  Either they will work with you to keep your business or you will have to take your business elsewhere.

[sonnyboone]

4 hours ago, Frodo said:

I have no idea what was bought. 

exactly.  What did you order?

Craftsman?  B grade?  economy?

 

 

It was Wickett and Craig harness, sold as "1st and 2nd run usable edge to edge." full price.  I actually ordered two other quarter sides that were in perfect shape.  I contacted the seller but it's been a couple of days and crickets.

4 hours ago, garypl said:

Like Frodo said, what did you buy?  If they misrepresented the product you should ask them to make you whole.  
 

Personally, I would not be happy with the leather shown in your pictures because of what appears to be bad scratch marks in several places.  That being said, if I bought the leather at a large discount knowing up front that there would be a lot of waste, maybe this would be expected.  Send clear pictures to your supplier and tell him why you are not satisfied with your purchase and tell them what you would like them to do about it.  Either they will work with you to keep your business or you will have to take your business elsewhere.

Good to hear your opinions on the leather's condition.  I felt like it was too damaged in too many spots and did contacted the seller.  Still waiting to hear back so I thought I'd check in here to see if I was over reacting concerning the usability.  I just haven't been buying long enough to fully know what I should expect each time and since this is happened before, I wasn't sure if it was the norm.  I'll try a different seller.  Thanks for all your experience guys!

[garypl]

I have had good luck with W&C - have you tried calling and talking with Matt Bressler?  He should be able to take care of you.

[sonnyboone]

11 minutes ago, garypl said:

I have had good luck with W&C - have you tried calling and talking with Matt Bressler?  He should be able to take care of you.

I actually did contact Matt while trying to solve this.  They said they are 30 + days behind on their harness so I'll have to wait to direct order.  I found out that they do not have a minimum order which is nice.

On another note, the supplier I purchased from is going to send another piece out in the end.   It took a bit of back and forth and a few days but it's now resolved.

[Spyros]

It can happen even to the best suppliers, as long as it doesn't happen too often and they help out when it does, it's fine.

If it was too much trouble to replace I'd make a toolbox out of it

[sonnyboone]

2 hours ago, Spyros said:

It can happen even to the best suppliers, as long as it doesn't happen too often and they help out when it does, it's fine.

If it was too much trouble to replace I'd make a toolbox out of it

Hopefully it won't happen again!  So far the odds haven't been great with this particular supplier but finding a solution does go a long way and they seem to be willing.  Tool holding is a great idea, thanks for that!

[chiefjason]

Order direct from W&C. I order a lot of leather from them and never seen anything like that.  

Also, you can't bet on consistency until you start ordering sides.  Ordering by Square foot is always a bit of a crap shoot.  One order might be 100% usable.  Then next 30% belly and unusable.  

And W&C is pretty backed up.  I'm waiting on a couple sides the I need to complete my order with them.  Ordered 2 weeks ago thinking I had enough time since I just started one of the sides.  Then orders went nuts, they are behind, and I'm out of a leather weight I have to have.  Everyone in the industry is having supply issue as far as I can tell.  I've had to change hardware for some of my stuff too because my normal stuff is always back ordered.  Crazy times.  

[sonnyboone]

2 minutes ago, chiefjason said:

Order direct from W&C. I order a lot of leather from them and never seen anything like that.  

Also, you can't bet on consistency until you start ordering sides.  Ordering by Square foot is always a bit of a crap shoot.  One order might be 100% usable.  Then next 30% belly and unusable.  

And W&C is pretty backed up.  I'm waiting on a couple sides the I need to complete my order with them.  Ordered 2 weeks ago thinking I had enough time since I just started one of the sides.  Then orders went nuts, they are behind, and I'm out of a leather weight I have to have.  Everyone in the industry is having supply issue as far as I can tell.  I've had to change hardware for some of my stuff too because my normal stuff is always back ordered.  Crazy times.  

Good to know the consistency from W&C direct is good.  Thanks for the info.  Yea, it seems like a lot of suppliers are seriously backed up.  Crazy times indeed!