DSF

We all know that this stuff is getting produced for pence by our oriental friends but is it me or is the quality of most things going down while price goes up. Printing a big order today that has loads of coasters. The baize on the back is crooked. It comes away from the base. I'm not changing how I do them so it must be the product. Mousemats look like they have been gnawed instead of guillotined. The list goes on.

Wastes my time and my money.

Rant over (For now)

having worked for many years in the ceramics industry (large pottery things every home has) its amazing now the quality of product that out there, now all the uk places are all but shut, due to the fantastic quality of products from the former eastern block, turkey and of course the far east, many many uk places closed unable to keep up with the every tumbling prices - now the quality of the products and the unstustainability of it all is coming round, items that were never shipped here for quality issues are now sent - thats how it is in the ceramics industry and i cant see it being far too different in any other industry - we never know what we have until its gone

As with heat presses, ect the saying of buy cheap buy twice also applies with blanks. If you buy off the suppliers on this forum it may mean a few pence extra per item, but at least the quality is checked before it is sent to you and if the odd bad one does slip through the net, then most of the time they are more than willing to replace them free of charge, (sometimes when you place your next order to save postage costs).

Jack.

I am afraid it does include sellers on this forum. I know they are middlemen and they're slice is not huge either so it should all go back to the manufacturer but it doesn't.

:/ they always claim "ban bunch" but i know what you mean buddy... i had few bad blanks but nothing huge.

For baize backed coasters and mousemats with gnarled edges, I agree completely with the OP.

Thing is, there are even worse products around as well - so it's a case of having to put up with it. Blanks used to cost more from fewer suppliers but now there are many suppliers, all competing against each other. Only by keeping prices low can they compete, and the only way to keep prices cheap is to buy cheap. Paying more for quality blanks isn't competitive, so we're in this situation we're in now.

The problem, I think, comes from us. There are so many people now buying cheap equipment, making cheap items, and flogging them on eBay or elsewhere. They don't care for the quality of the product, so long as it's cheap. They're are more of them buying cheap than there are of us who would pay for better quality.

Simply put, those who want quality don't have the loudest voice when buying blanks - those who buy cheap do. Suppliers have to compete on price, not on quality, otherwise they won't be around tomorrow. That's the state of the industry.

Trouble is there's no choice. We don't buy cheap mugs we didn't buy cheap equipment. I can accept. Waste if the price was pence but when you waste money before you start it annoys me intensely. Factor in the odd cock up and its not funny

GSTK i agree, sometimes the products we buy are not a shadow on what they were a while ago, i have recently changed t shirts brands as i have been fed up with the number of bad neck stitching/ holes in garments etc, i always get them replaced foc - but its not the point, when you have schedules to meet etc

I have to agree with everyone even more so with Jonathan.

I bought a couple of boxes of 11oz mugs off one of the suppliers who posts on the forum & they were the worst I have ver had. Some of the mugs were smashed to pieces on delivery & when I started to press them they started cracking with the heat. I contacted the supplier & had to send them back at my own cost as this supplier advertises they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The supplier recieved the mugs back last Thursday & guess what, no contact from them let alone a refund. Now does that supplier think I will buy anything off them ever again.

I thought I would try this supplier as a few people on here had said how good they were, Well, I beg to differ with my own experience.

That is the only way to keep the good suppliers in business by keeping away from the ones who supply poor quality items & have no customer service skills at all.

gstk;33827 wrote:Trouble is there's no choice. We don't buy cheap mugs we didn't buy cheap equipment. I can accept. Waste if the price was pence but when you waste money before you start it annoys me intensely. Factor in the odd cock up and its not funny

I agree. It comes down to there being three types of customer for the suppliers.

There's the business that prints a lot in bulk - these customers don't use our suppliers because they buy enough that they can source direct and cut out the middle man.

There's the customer that goes wherever the product is cheapest, because they're selling the end item cheap. They don't care about quality because they're not in it for the long haul.

And then there's us. Those trying to build a solid, quality, business who can't afford to go direct to manufacturers. We have to put up with whatever the suppliers decide to sell.

The biggest customer is the first two. Our suppliers won't get the first customer, but they will get the last two. There's more of the middle one than the last one, and that's where the suppliers make their money. If they don't have the cheapest product, then they won't get either the first or second type of customer. There isn't enough sales to the third customer. That's why price, not quality, is what they focus on. They have to.