DSF

My last few boxes of mugs have been sourced on Ebay .... the last box was pretty crap to say the least .... small defects .. bad handles ... irregular moulding ..

So .. im looking for a UK based outlet for bulk 10 or 11oz mugs that are of high quality with Zero defects guaranteed but still of a reasonable price ... ideally i would like them supplied with gift boxes ..

Any ideas please ... ?

thanks

Reality check.
Mugs are not individualy made to exacting tolerances.
They are ceramic lumps made in bulk.
No supplier can give you a guarantee of what you ask for.

A short look in the suppliers section, a little bit if reading, then decide for yourself.

Being blunt but honest with you.

Janners.

Volusian;81840 wrote:My last few boxes of mugs have been sourced on Ebay .... the last box was pretty crap to say the least .... small defects .. bad handles ... irregular moulding ..

So .. im looking for a UK based outlet for bulk 10 or 11oz mugs that are of high quality with Zero defects guaranteed but still of a reasonable price ... ideally i would like them supplied with gift boxes ..

Any ideas please ... ?

thanks

you get what you pay for im afraid . Bms , listawood, the transfer press and probably a few more suppliers listed on this forum all do excellent quality mugs some RN coated (bms) some orca coated the list goes on bms even gaurantee their mugs to be fade free in a dishwasher (their rn coated anyway) but you do pay a premium for quality . I dare say i could trawl ebay and find mugs probably half the price than bms BUT with bms mugs (the ones i use) i dont get small defects .. bad handles ... irregular moulding .. the quality is consistant . Also i wonder if you have tested the mugs you buy from ebay in a dishwasher again ive been using bms mugs and listawood mugs for that matter for years and the prints are still as vibrant on the mugs i have home as when i printed them can your ebay mugs boast this quality? In the short term you may get high sales and high profits off cheap goods but long term it doesnt take long before repeat custum dwindles away if the mugs you use are inferior

I agree with everything above, more importantly you CANNOT expect consistent quality due to the manufacturing process.

I have been to Listawood and can vouch for their Mugs, they even have the added bonus of 'Overspray' on the bottom which means if you use my 'Technique' you can print your Logo on the bottom for some time (no idea how long - suck it and see).

You can take a chance with 'Cheap' Mugs from the well known auction site but in my view you will for certain be wasting Money - may as well drink expensive Water and relieve yourself in an expensive Gents.

I still maintain - a group of us should pool our money and buy a few Pallets of the good ones and sell for a small profit to Standard Members.

Going off topic here but what would the logistics be on that suggestion Nik? Who would store them?... who would profit?...who would package and send on..? etc etc. I like the idea and it would be beneficial even to Premium members if they could all get them cheaper but I cant see how it would work.

Co-op buying has been discussed at length previously and never got off the ground. Plenty keen but too many complications. This would have been a couple of years ago but threads are probably still there. Problem is someone still has to do all the work. Who sorts returns. Where are they stored. Many questions and few realistic answers. Could be something to rekindle but try a search on older threads as that will give some pointers.

Unless you move big volumes I really don't think the small saving will justify the hassle.

Been working on this for a while with a couple of suppliers, won't be just yet but hopeful of some good deals

How much would users see as a good price to pay for a decent mug?

Many statements are banded about on things being cheap or expensive and buying bulk etc but what figures are we talking? For example, some people see a full box as bulk whilst others think 10 boxes or a pallet etc. On price, 80p + vat is deemed as cheap by some and expensive by others. What are the real numbers that people are talking?

My experience with ebay was that out of cartons of 48 mugs, up to a dozen were so badly flawed I used them for testing prints. another 8 to 16 would be saleable to people not overly fussy (friends and club members). Most of the rest were suitable for retail. Across several cartons from two suppliers there was an average of 27 mugs at retail quality.

Some of the flaws were pitting in the coating, up to sevaral mm diameter, bits of what looked like vegetable matter baked into the coating, what appeared to be sand baked in around the bottom where the mug had sat, either to be coated or to be cooked and so on. Also, every ebay mug was tapered, some significantly.

When I ran a cost comparison, a carton of decent mugs from our major sublimation supplier here works out only slightly cheaper than the total of the ebay mugs that could be got out of three cartons at a fairly saleable quality.

I'm sure there are reasonable quality ceramic mugs available on ebay - I just haven't seen any.

To be honest ..for me I want a supplier/supply of mugs that I can trust. I get mine from BMS and have never had any problems with them but if I did I am safe in the knowledge that they would resolve the problem to my satisfaction.

Buying in bulk for the forum seems at first glance a (possible) good idea. However if, and I stress if there is a problem with a consignment who is going to resolve it for us? One way or another this is potentially a financial loss. It would mean sorting the issue with the Chinese supplier, the loss of output because of un-useable stock, getting replacements in, lost orders etc etc. If you think about it the list of potential problems goes on and on.

So yes whilst it's a good idea there are pitfalls with it whereas with BMS and others they are taking the risk for us........and for me I am happy to pay for that reassurance.