Hi all,
I recently placed a large casting order with a company who shall
remain nameless. Dealing with them was such an unorganized
nightmare…Missing invoices, invoices with the wrong counts,
invoices that did not reflect what I ordered, not returning phone
calls, waiting weeks for quotes, not even getting a quote until they
had already started the order and all this with a very tight
deadline on my end.
It was my first time having this done and in the end I was able to
meet my deadline for my catalog order and am looking forward to more
business. In the meantime I am being charged by the casting company
for finish work that I explicitly told them I did not want done…
almost totaling $750. They charged me for desprue and finish. Both
of which I said no to. They did desprue everything but nothing was
finished anyways???
As it stands, I do not want to pay for this work and I don’t feel I
should have to. I have emails from me to them indicating very
clearly what is to be done and what is not. Their resolution is to
split the costs. While I understand their position…I still don’t
want to pay.
I still don’t even have full invoices for everything sent to me. I
have requested this and have told them that I will only discuss the
charges when I have an invoice with full documentation of all
current charges and payments made. Am I being reasonable??
Is this a common practice with smaller companies and am I going to
continue to have problems with unorganized casters? Friends have
told me that most casters are quite unorganized and that you will
need to train them, so to speak, to meet your needs. Is this true?
This seems ridiculous to me. There must be reputable casting
companies that do not charge an arm and a leg. I paid $12 per mold
and they made 31 molds for two ring designs. The $12 mold charge
seems good, but 31 molds??? Is this normal??? I was only financing
for one mold in each size, 10 sizes in one design and 5 sizes in the
other. Granted it’s not that much and I can do the $$ difference
but…31 molds??? Can this be right???
What were some of your experiences when you first started casting?
Who would you recommend that will provide good service at reasonable
costs?
Please…any advice is helpful. I do not wish to burn my first
bridge but I am a newbie and feel that perhaps I am being taken
advantage of.
Shauna Gilardi