primalmommy@IVILLAGE.COM on fri 25 jan 02
Inspired by Ron and John's book (yes, I stayed up half the night and read it cover to cover) I decided this morning to bite the bullet and buy 50 pound bags of the glaze materials I'm going to rely on.
Since I couldn't handle the cost of shipping a few hundred pounds of stuff from florida to ohio, I called my (relatively) local supplier on the outskirts of detroit, an hour away on a harrowing highway. Since my catalog was outdated, and I had never bought the larger (thus discounted) amounts before, I asked about prices and made a list. Just for kicks, I checked with Axner too.
WOW. Some of the materials (like colorants, by the pound) were offered by axner at HALF the price of my local company. Except for two items on my list, which were equal, EVERYTHING ON MY AXNER LIST was remarkably less expensive.
In fact, when I sat down with my calculator and did some figuring, it turns out that for about 300 pounds of materials -- going for just over 300 bucks from axner -- I could afford to pay the $75 or so shipping and STILL get a better deal than from my local operation.
I hate to sound like a commercial, but this just amazed me. The only thing I can guess is that my locals buy from axner (or a company like them) and then mark it up. The moral: it pays to shop around a little! This might be a no brainer to big time potters, but we the growing force of electric-kiln-in-the-garage types sometimes have to learn it the hard way.
Again, sorry to sound like an ad for axner. they're not slipping me an extra pound of cobalt or anything in return for posting this ;0)
Yours, Kelly in Ohio ... who has been attending the ann arbor art fair annually since childhood... braving crowds with dogs and strollers, heat, bad weather, the loss of the music stages (sigh)... I admit that in the past years it has been like going to the museum, lots to look at but nothing I could afford. I end up buying cheap india print skirts and imported junk jewelry from the "sidewalk sale" campus shops on my way back to the shuttle bus... which practically had to leave town to find an open parking lot.
I did hear potters last year say they were doing great, that it was "like the old days"...
I'd love to hear from any clayarters coming to ann arbor this year. I'm only about 40 minutes away and would love to meet you.. bring you lunch maybe, or fresh eggs, or help out and learn how this whole booth/setup thing works.
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Bonnie/Jeremy Hellman on sat 26 jan 02
Hi Kelly,
As long as we're discussing our positive ceramics purchase experiences, let
me tell you about Standard Ceramics in Pittsburgh. Especially if you're
preparing a big order (500 lbs or more) it could be worth while to them in
your price comparisons. They are primarily a wholesaler (and they may
actually be the supplier for your local company), but they are willing to
sell to everyone. They have a web site, but I don't remember seeing prices
on it.
Below is the information to contact them, taken from their web site
www.standardceramic.com
You may phone, fax or mail your order. Hours are 8:30 to
4:30 Eastern Time Monday thru Friday. All materials are sold FOB Carnegie,
PA.
Standard Ceramic Supply Co. ---PO Box 4435 ---Pittsburgh, PA 15205 USA
Phone: (412) 276-6333 ---Fax: (412) 276-7124 E-mail: standardceramic@msn.com
They also sell by the pound, with price breaks at 5, 10 and 25 lbs.
On some colorants I've found better prices elsewhere, and occasionally on
frits, but in general they're the low price leader. They buy almost
everything by the truckload (probably all the things where their price is
the lowest) and that's why their prices are so good. And certainly for those
of us within driving distance of Carnegie, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh) their
prices are the best.
Also, their prices per pound decrease with quantity. The price per full bag
when you're ordering under 500 lbs total of full bags is good, but the price
per bag when you're ordering over 500 lbs is better, and still best at 1000
lbs. Just remember that on their page listing "whole bags" everything is
priced per 100 lbs, but most bags are 50 lbs, so your price is half the
listed price.
Even when I bought a little of this and little of that as a complete newbie,
the people at Standard Ceramic Supply of Pittsburgh were nice as can be,
informative and patient. Now that I'm a much better customer, they're still
nice as can be, informative and patient. I've been a customer for almost 7
years, and on very rare occasions when there was a problem with my order,
they always made it right and promptly! I couldn't ask for a better company
to do business with. (And I my relationship with them is ONLY as a very
satisfied customer.)
Bonnie
Bonnie Hellman
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2002 12:11 AM
Subject: glaze material prices - a rave
> Inspired by Ron and John's book (yes, I stayed up half the night and read
it cover to cover) I decided this morning to bite the bullet and buy 50
pound bags of the glaze materials I'm going to rely on.
>
> Since I couldn't handle the cost of shipping a few hundred pounds of stuff
from florida to ohio, I called my (relatively) local supplier on the
outskirts of detroit, an hour away on a harrowing highway. Since my catalog
was outdated, and I had never bought the larger (thus discounted) amounts
before, I asked about prices and made a list. Just for kicks, I checked with
Axner too.
>
> WOW. Some of the materials (like colorants, by the pound) were offered by
axner at HALF the price of my local company. Except for two items on my
list, which were equal, EVERYTHING ON MY AXNER LIST was remarkably less
expensive.
>
> In fact, when I sat down with my calculator and did some figuring, it
turns out that for about 300 pounds of materials -- going for just over 300
bucks from axner -- I could afford to pay the $75 or so shipping and STILL
get a better deal than from my local operation.
>
> I hate to sound like a commercial, but this just amazed me. The only thing
I can guess is that my locals buy from axner (or a company like them) and
then mark it up. The moral: it pays to shop around a little! This might be a
no brainer to big time potters, but we the growing force of
electric-kiln-in-the-garage types sometimes have to learn it the hard way.
>
> Again, sorry to sound like an ad for axner. they're not slipping me an
extra pound of cobalt or anything in return for posting this ;0)
>
> Yours, Kelly in Ohio ... who has been attending the ann arbor art fair
annually since childhood... braving crowds with dogs and strollers, heat,
bad weather, the loss of the music stages (sigh)... I admit that in the past
years it has been like going to the museum, lots to look at but nothing I
could afford. I end up buying cheap india print skirts and imported junk
jewelry from the "sidewalk sale" campus shops on my way back to the shuttle
bus... which practically had to leave town to find an open parking lot.
>
> I did hear potters last year say they were doing great, that it was "like
the old days"...
>
> I'd love to hear from any clayarters coming to ann arbor this year. I'm
only about 40 minutes away and would love to meet you.. bring you lunch
maybe, or fresh eggs, or help out and learn how this whole booth/setup thing
works.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> iVillage.com: Solutions for Your Life
> Check out the most exciting women's community on the Web
> http://www.ivillage.com
>
>
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>
Jonathan R Smith on sun 27 jan 02
Bonnie/Jeremy Hellman wrote:
> Hi Kelly,
>
> As long as we're discussing our positive ceramics purchase experiences, let
> me tell you about Standard Ceramics in Pittsburgh. Especially if you're
> preparing a big order (500 lbs or more) it could be worth while to them in
> your price comparisons. They are primarily a wholesaler (and they may
> actually be the supplier for your local company), but they are willing to
> sell to everyone. They have a web site, but I don't remember seeing prices
> on it.
>
> Below is the information to contact them, taken from their web site
> www.standardceramic.com
> You may phone, fax or mail your order. Hours are 8:30 to
> 4:30 Eastern Time Monday thru Friday. All materials are sold FOB Carnegie,
> PA.
>
> Standard Ceramic Supply Co. ---PO Box 4435 ---Pittsburgh, PA 15205 USA
> Phone: (412) 276-6333 ---Fax: (412) 276-7124 E-mail: standardceramic@msn.com
>
> They also sell by the pound, with price breaks at 5, 10 and 25 lbs.
>
> On some colorants I've found better prices elsewhere, and occasionally on
> frits, but in general they're the low price leader. They buy almost
> everything by the truckload (probably all the things where their price is
> the lowest) and that's why their prices are so good. And certainly for those
> of us within driving distance of Carnegie, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh) their
> prices are the best.
>
> Also, their prices per pound decrease with quantity. The price per full bag
> when you're ordering under 500 lbs total of full bags is good, but the price
> per bag when you're ordering over 500 lbs is better, and still best at 1000
> lbs. Just remember that on their page listing "whole bags" everything is
> priced per 100 lbs, but most bags are 50 lbs, so your price is half the
> listed price.
>
> Even when I bought a little of this and little of that as a complete newbie,
> the people at Standard Ceramic Supply of Pittsburgh were nice as can be,
> informative and patient. Now that I'm a much better customer, they're still
> nice as can be, informative and patient. I've been a customer for almost 7
> years, and on very rare occasions when there was a problem with my order,
> they always made it right and promptly! I couldn't ask for a better company
> to do business with. (And I my relationship with them is ONLY as a very
> satisfied customer.)
>
> Bonnie
> Bonnie Hellman
>
yep, we buy there as well
(as do most clay people in Pittsburgh)
They are currently building a larger building
a bit hard to find the loading dock these days.
JOn
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