Are all brokers the same?

EmbellishAthletics

You still haven't answered the questions I ask. You are just like RWB. You refuse to answer legitimate questions about your actions. If you have nothing to hide then why not just answer?

So let's try one more time and then I think everyone will know what the answers are and can decide for themselves. In this case of the exposure unit you listed, did you see and inspect the equipment or did you just simply list it sight unseen?

I have no problem with what PRINTWIZZARD wrote except that the brokers should be upfront and say to the buyer I havent seen the equipment but if it is what the seller says it is then it is worth a look. Attaching a reasonable finders fee to it is fine too but if you think you can be successful charging a price that does not meet the value add then you won't be in business long.

You have a great Sunday also!

EmbellishAthletics

Quick Story:

We did a fairly large order for a really huge corporation. The company is probably one of the most recognizable companies in the world. Let's just say there are a computer related company. Our client who is a local representative of the company who is coordinating the convention walks in our shop a couple of days after we had finished their shirts. She needs badge holders for the convention and lots of them. She said they need to be fairly inexpensive because they are reaching their budget limit. She says I only have a budget of $1.75 ea based on the number I need. They only want the cheap one with no logo. We don't do promotional items but we had ordered some in the past. So I look at a few websites and find that we can get them for $.35 each at the volume she wants. It took me less than 10 mins to find what she needed and I walked back to the front of the shop. Now I certainly could have said we can get them within your budget and I could have made thousands at a profit of $1.40 ea. Easy money right? I have a customer who in this instance has no clue about this type of stuff. I could have just raked that money right into my pocket.

What I did is wrote down the website address and the price and told her that she should just order them herself because we provide no value in that transaction. Why? Lots of reasons. One...I only won't to get paid a fair price for the service we provide. Two.....she was an unsuspecting customer who I knew if we were honest/upfront with she would send us more orders. Three....had I taken advantage of the situation and she some how found out later our reputation would be ruined.

Printwizard

I would have farmed that out and made a reasonable margin, actual fact we would have indented it straight out of China. The days of being a print only shop are limited by product knowledge. We have shares in a badge making, an embroiderer and a signage shop, and we own our screenprint shop outright, but only maybe 5% of our revenue is made out of screenprinting tee shirts now, it's about supplying solutions to people who don't have time or knowledge to shop around, at a reasonable price. Be it in our shop, a JV factory or a third party it's all about turnover and margin. You lost a fantastic opportunity.

Prosperi-Tees

Yeah I also think you actually did a disservice to the customer by not sourcing them for the customer. Sourcing products is a service. You could have tacked a 30% margin and gave the customer a great value relative to their budget.

EmbellishAthletics

I don't take peoples money when I can. I take it when I provide a service or product that has value. I offered to order the badges for her but I did tell her I would put a margin on top. She chose to do it herself even though the money wasn't coming out of her pocket. She did it for her employer that was paying her a salary.

3 days later we got an order from another branch of the company from the NE for embroidered fleece jackets. Would we have gotten the order anyway? Not sure. Will never know.

The last work I will say about PaulB is that he had an opportunity to state his side. He came on here spewing about his service was saving me money on shipping/crating when in fact he and I had the conversation about me picking the equipment up locally. He even stated thats why he list the location of the equipment because that way it gives him the opportunity to sell it locally. In fact, when I met with the owner of the equipment she indicated she did not want to sell the equipment unless it was local.

He still has not answered the question about whether he even knew if the equipmnet works or not. Hell, I don't even know because I didn't plug it in. He knew nothing about the equipment. Still doesn't. He can't even manage to tell the truth about it.

If you want to do business with him and the other type that provide no value then certainly that is your choice.

PAULB

No I didn't get a chance to see the the exposure unit you are talking about. Sorry I can't get out to every location. First of all I gave you the address to the location after you told me your going to check it. Second I told you it's in good condition 2008 ?? After talking to you and you made a big deal out of nothing just like this. I told you to buy a new one if that made so upset paying me an extra $200.00 but you still keep talking (Craigslist price $3,500 price I gave you $3,400). Then you went behind my back and try to buy it with out paying me. I'm not mad at you just disappointed that there are people out there like you that has nothing better to do than set here and talk crap about people you don't know. Good luck with that one. Oh yeah I do pick up equipment off of craigslist to sell more equipment in a location I plan on goin to in the future. Kind of like Dallas. I hope that anwers all your nickle and dime questions for today. Thanks and maybe you should judge yourself and your actions before making assumptions about someone you never met before. I have no ILL feelings towards you and hope for the best for you. Good Luck.

sieggysrv

You seem to forget that he provided you with the name and address of the customer that had the particular unit you were looking for. He didn't have to give you either! Had it been any other broker I'm sure they wouldn't have done that, and I know quite a few of them, and from the condition of the unit, they would have up the price at least $500 more, so you say He didn't provide you with anything! I think You need to get you head examined,
other wise you would never have known about it, and yes a lot of brokers surf the internet for equipment but they also call the sellers and ask for pictures, and in Paul's case He does travel to most of his clients to inspect the equipment, and than what he doesn't know he will call an expert and ask questions about it> But than do You know everything about every piece of equipment out there? I think not so get off your high horse and shout it! Because you already look like a Fool !

HoneyBadger

You are a self important pompas A$$.You have a
bad case of opticrectumitis... It is where your
nerves in your A$$, get crossed with the nerves
in your eyes, and you have a $hitty outlook
on life..
Remember, HoneyBadger dont give a schitt.

inkman996

So this guy is whining about a guy trying to earn a living, I have heard good things about Paul on this site from some reputable people at that, not only that I have never seen a claim of him burning anyone. The man is trying to earn a living, he is researching a scouring for equipment that he can then target to the industry crowd, you think his time had no value what a joke. If you have such an issue with brokers then do not use them and
Leave them alone for dos sake, no one is forcing you to buy from one and you even had the chance to inspect a piece of machinery in person.

As for not sourcing the name badges that's your dumb as fault, you could have provided a service by doing all the order taking and shipping arrangements that is worth something trust me.

Printwizard

Mike, they tried to discredit Paul and make themselves look like an idiot. Time is money, time sourcing a lanyard, funding it and checking pantones, production managing for the client, organizing freight etc. Just like Paul's time. Too small minded to get through to this one, but funny how they use his knowledge and contact then get dirty and try justifying cutting him out.