Has anyone delt with them? I received a sample and like what I see. They have an offer that is tempting, sorta like a trial run. If they don't move, whatever..they will send a call tag. We pay for what we sold. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated. Thanks.
Fezz
:cheers:
We took the bait on that same deal and it's worked pretty well for us. Good price point to quality. We're in our second year with them and even with us being a relatively high end office, they move well.
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__________________________________
Prognatus ex Alchemy ad Diligo
Eliza Joy Martius VIII MMVIII
I have been doing them for three years now. Good stuff. Some of the lower priced stuff you have to watch for, missing spring hinges and stuff (quality not up), but the other stuff is fair.
I love it, because it allows me to carry some stuff that I would not buy (just not think it is right for the store) so I get to see how people react to that. We do well with them every run.
We are in our second run with them. Not sure if I will renew our "consignment" deal with them or not.
I like the quaility and the price point, I just seem to have only a handful of styles that move.. so I am not sure if I want to deal with the whole shebang when I can pick out our top 5 styles and just order in as needed.
Customer Service is excellent. I get replies almost instantly via email, and phone calls with alternatives the two times something has been on backorder.
Cassandra
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
I have to agree w/ the previous posts. Quality is decent, especially for the price. They operate a little different than I am used to. Maybe a English thing. THey are out of London. They don't want to let you pick out the frames to display. They send you a pre-selected set. Pay for what you sell, they pick up the remainder and send you a new set. I told them that I wanted less teal colored plastics (hard to move in Kansas) and more drill mounts, and titanium. They say "So sorry, Chap, the set is pre-selected".
As For-Life says, it allows me to display some things I normally wouldn't buy. They have a warehouse in CT, and I haven't had any supply problems.
I have a friend in Tulsa that is doing well with them for about a year now, and I recommended them to a close friend.
Sold three in the first hour we got them, to our opticians.
I would do it.
MarkE
Thanks for the replies. I figure that if they are on the up and up...I can't go wrong. I would rather put someone elses money up than my own! Have there ever been an issue with them picking up the unsold styles, billing, credits, etc. Thanks again. You all have been very helpful.
Fezz
:cheers:
Nope, there hasn't been any issues with them not taking frames back etc. In fact the called me to ask when I would be ready for them to pick up, and they sent a call tag with the delivery company. Of course they also asked if I would be interested in round two... with terms a bit different.
They now have a US center that handles the accounts here in North America.
Cassandra
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
Just got 2 boxes of frames from them yesterday. I am glad to hear that they are decent to deal with.
I was not impressed by the free sample they sent out. It was quite impressive the way they packaged it though. Slick black box with very well done catalogs. Frame was in a very nice case, neatly fitted into another slick black box. The frame was just a plain small rectangle zyl w/o spring hinges in a bland color.
The pre-packaged kit is quite exceptable. Lots of very nice styles. Most frames seem to be well made. I think the titaniums are way over-priced. I believe everthing is made in China.
A question for those dealing with this company for a while: What happens after the 3 month trial period? Do you box up what you don't want, pay for the rest and they send another pre-selected set??
They give us a call, and we ship them back. They bill us for what we bought. Then about 3-6 months later we get another call from them.Originally Posted by Excel-Lentes
For-Life,
Do they send a UPS call tag, or do you pay for shipping?
Thanks again for all the input.
Fezz
:cheers:
honestly, I forget
]].
Last edited by Refractingoptician.com; 03-02-2007 at 12:54 AM.
We didn't do a ship/exchanged until a year out from our initial consignment.
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Prognatus ex Alchemy ad Diligo
Eliza Joy Martius VIII MMVIII
I have only one comment to make. A business associate of mine in CT and I once got into a discussion about frame lines and consignment. He said something that has stuck with me. You either have to go all consignment or nothing. Reason? Lets say you take on a 30 piece line on consignment. Customer comes in and buys one of those over your paid for inventory. Frame company wins, but have you? You've got 60K in inventory that you invested in and you just sold something that you had no investment in. It's made me think about consignment lines in a different manner ever since.
Interesting point, and well taken.
Fezz
Good point about consignment. When we bought our store we needed new inventory quickly with little money. Several companies had frames for us on consignment. Gradually we bought newer frames. Our consignments go out of control; exchanges, returns, increasing pieces, etc..... Finally we got out of the consignment game. We actually were selling our own frames and not the consignment frames because we had invested in our own frames. The consignments became like wallpaper after a while.
I agree 100%. On top of that, you pay (when you finally do) a premium for frames that are not purchased outright.
Have you ever wondered why some companies consign, while others don't ? There's a very good reason.
An English company, with a warehouse in the US, selling Chineese frames. And they're giving them to you until you sell them. Have you ever thought about how many frames they have sitting out there are any given time. ( I was going to say, "Do you realize how much money they have sitting out there", but it really isn't very much.) My guess is that there is nore spent on the cases and packagin than the frames.
Something's got to give- my guess is that it's quality.
Just make sure you check with the company and your insurance company when doing consignment.
Who pays for the frames if you are robber or if you have a fire. Will you insurance company pay for frames you don't own and will the vendor charge you?????
Another great point I had not thought about.
Quality wise, I have not had a single one comeback... period. I have had a couple of patients lose theirs and comeback asking for the same. Just had a patient comeback to put new lenses in her frame from last year, and the finish still looked brand new.
My first consignment was 6 months. Second is same with a minimum purchase.
I believe this time I will not renew the consignment deal, but will still carry the frames in my store. As I mentioned earlier we have 5 styles that constantly turn, and then we have a few that occasionally do. I don't need (in fact I currently have about 15 of their frames in understock from the consignment) the dozens of their product taking up space.
Cassandra
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
Yeah, thats one of my main issues against bringing in the line. I don't really need 4 dozen frames in that styling. I am not hip on adjusting board space and allocations just to "try" something. Then again, having 48 extra frames, that I have not ponied up for during the slower months, is somewhat attractive. Darn this trying to weigh out business decisions, both ethical and financial! Thanks all for the helpful and insightful discussions!
Fezz
:cheers:
Just some information for you guys. I once tried to business with this company. Sell them lenses as Jai kudo are one of the major lens distributors in the UKJust to let you know the owners name is Raymond Crofton and is listed on optiboard. He is a great businessmen, unfortunately i did not succeed to sell my lenses to him.
I loved them when I saw the line at the New York City show. They had a great presentation - sat me down...gave me some wine...a cute young girl sat on the other side of the table...and they pushed their frames with a minimum. I decided not to make a hasty decision at the NYC show.
Later I agreed to try the 48 frames out for 12 weeks. I have a pair I enjoy...my wife has a pair she likes very much.
I've put about 20 frames up on display and I have not sold 1 frame. Jai Kudo is paying to send UPS out next week to p/u all the frames.
Also, now Jai Kudo does not have a limit. So I'm still keeping the catalog in our waiting area...b/c if a pt. absolutely loves 1 of their frames I can order just 1 any time I want.
BTW: what does Jai Kudo mean????? I asked a customer service rep for the company and they did not even know. lol. You'd think at the very least - they would know?!?! :hammer:
ABOC, NCLC, CPO, FNAO
Very nice colors and styles but its VERY pricey for Chineese product.
Most of Safilo, Marchon, Tura, etc. are very pricey for Chinese product. Would you say the quality is on par with these companies? I have noticed that it seems like all of the made in China frames are using the same spring hinges from the same manufacturer. So, a Ralph Lauren or Tura Ted Baker has the same hinge as a Global Optique, Royce or Hart frame. I am fed up with the lack of quality frames out on the market. Lets bag the namebrands and get on with some decent quality!
Fezz
:cheers:
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