Hi Kim,
I think I am showing my "green" (newness), but, if it was me, will
they allow you to order if you use your credit card?
Stuller and many, many other manufacturers try to do business with
other professional craftspeople, and will often require proof that
you actually have a business before they sell to you. IOW,
re-sellers get the wholesale price, but those goods are not
available to just anyone who calls them. This is done to protect the
retailer. For instance, you can’t call General Motors and order a
car, you have to go to the dealer.
The delaer gets the car at a wholesale price, you cannot. So, most of
those who manufacture products for the retail trade sell only to
those who are, and can prove they are, in retail. And an account is
the normal way that busines is done. At the end of the month, they
send you a bill for the things you have ordered and you pay them.
You said “I don’t spend money that I haven’t made yet.” Well, in
business, it is often necessary to spend money to make money. For
instance, in my case, I might buy a kilo of rough stone for $5,000,
and pay for it in thirty days or less (or right now) but not make my
profit until most of it has been cut and sold. That’s sort of how
most business works.
And, yes, volume orders usually can expect a discount. Note that some
suppliers are more lenient than others with their selling rules.
BTW, if you go to Tucson, unless you can not only prove you are a
retail store owner and have ordered goods to a certain level within
a certain time frame, there are some shows you will be barred from
entering. Same thinking; it protects those who have truly invested
in their business.
Good question.
Wayne Emery
The Gemcutter