I am not sure how many of you know, but Swest will be consolidating
with Stuller and only Stuller will be left. If you buy your metals
from Swest now, you have to set up an account over at Stuller. What
a pain! Since Stuller is a wholesaler, they need to ask you about
20 minutes worth of questions, then they expect you to fax or mail
them either your proof of belonging to the “Jewelers Board of
Trade”, or your State Tax ID Card, A Business Card or other form of
advertisement, and (2) invoices showing gold purchases over the last
6 months.
Like I have time for this?
If you are not able to provide them with this proof of being in the
jewelry trade, then you will not be able to buy precious metals from
them, and you will have to find a new source. However, if all you
need to buy is tools, then they will gladly set you up with a
tooling account without the hassle.
I have been buying my metal from Hoover and Strong and it has been
completely hassle free. The sales people are pleasant and I usually
get my material in 2 days. They also have findings and some chain.
I had looked into buying direct from H&S, but when I went to place
an order I found out the following, which lead me not to:
Their prices were in some cases more expensive than Swest
They don’t carry tools (which is not that big a deal, but I like
being able to buy everything at once because it saves on s&h)
Quantity price breaks were per individual type and not per group
(IE: If you bought say 25ozt of 18ga .925 round, then you would get
a price break. However, if you wanted 10ozt of 18ga round, 10ozt of
10ga round, and 5ozt of 20ga 1/2-round = 25ozt total, you would not
get the 25ozt price break. Which is just the opposite of Swest.)
I am sure there are other differences as well, but this is about as
far as I got in the ordering process before deciding to cancel and
go back to ordering from Swest. I suppose that once next time I
need to order mass quantities of everything I need, I may just try
H&S.
3. Quantity price breaks were per individual type and not per
group (IE: If you bought say 25ozt of 18ga .925 round, then you
would get a price break. However, if you wanted 10ozt of 18ga
round, 10ozt of 10ga round, and 5ozt of 20ga 1/2-round = 25ozt
total, you would not get the 25ozt price break. Which is just the
opposite of Swest.)
Silverfoot, D.H.Fell calculates quantity prices and you describe
above, and I think that Precious Metals West does, too.
Linda in MA, where we’ve had 2 glorious sunny and warm days IN A ROW!
Folks, I’ll admit to being a bit disturbed by this thread of
conversation, although I haven’t yet jumped into it. Here goes.
I cannot honestly imagine why any of you would want to automatically
ASSUME that the merge of these 2 companies will be a nightmare!
Granted, they have until this point maintained separate catalogs and
customer service, with Stuller being the more rigorous truly
wholesale supplier to the trade. However, I did business with both
and have been very pleased with service and products from both.
It seems to me from communications out of Swest that they are doing
a good job of moving their accounts over to Stuller in a sensible
way, without compromising Stuller’s wholesaler status. They are
creating Stuller “limited” accounts enabling tool and fabricated
metal purchases for previous Swest accounts that don’t qualify for
Stuller full accounts.
And even as a very small artisan jeweler, I didn’t have any problem
qualifying for a Stuller full account – yes, they did require me to
send in an application with copies of my reseller cert and 2 other
wholesale invoices, but it wasn’t onerous or problematic at all. And
their customer service staff have been wonderfully helpful in
answering my many questions on the phone.
Given all this, I just don’t get it. I don’t see this as a
“nightmare” but rather as simply a change. Not all change is bad.
Before you assume it will be, why not give it a try and give Stuller
a chance to prove themselves to you? Then, if you find yourself
dissatisfied, look for other suppliers.
The “nightmare”, is not the fact that two companies are merging into
one. In fact, mergers are often a dream come true. It is difficult,
if not impossible, to serve two masters. In business, the customer
is the master. When a predominantly “non-wholesale” entity is merged
with a larger and predominately “wholesale-only” entity, a choice
must be made as to which master the merged entity will serve.
Appearantly, Stuller has chosen to serve the wholesale-only master.
It may be a dream-come-true for Stuller customers but a nightmare
for Swest’s customers who can’t meet the qualifications that Stuller
requires.
If you’re having nightmares, call Rio. They can provide soothing
comfort and get you dreaming once again.
Hi, I’m a newbie here, and just wanted to comment on this thread.I
have done biz with Stuller for several years now, and I have found
them to be great. My only complaint with them is they are so exact on
filling orders that if you are not specific on writing the order,
they will drive you nuts with calls wanting more specific info,
before they will ship. But normally, if you order by 2pm louisianna
time, you’ll have your package next day. We’ve started asking them to
ship the cheapest way , instead of fedex(whgich I understand has a
facility in their building), because next day delivery is usually
faster than I can even get to an order. Thats their normal shipping,
not just every once and awhile.Very seldom will they backorder,
especially in raw material and findings. In mountings, sometimes a
slight delay if you want platinum or white gold or high karatage. BY
the way , their quality is always very good too.