I've had it with Barlow's! Aweful!

[icemanrrc]

This place used to be my #1 place to buy all of my supplies from, now they won't ever get a dime from me anymore.

Get this. I place my order on-line. The order arrives at my house within a few days (swift shipping is one of the reasons why I liked them). I go to open my order and half of what I have ordered is not in there. When I look at my invoice, half of the stuff I ordered is crossed through and says backordered. ?????? Why wasn't I informed that those things were out of stock when I ordered them?????????? Why wasn't I informed when they shipped the order that some of the things were out of stock???????? Jann's Netcraft shows you when you order, if items are out of stock and YOU get to decide whether to have them ship it when it comes or just delete it from your order. Why can't Barlows do this???? Now, the things I was needing to have for a customer's order is now going to take a few days later, because now I have to order the parts elsewhere.

Another thing. I had ordered a few "premium quality" brass colorado blades. They looks like someone took a cheap can of flat brass spray paint and painted over a crappy nickel blade. There was absolutely no mirror finish. I checked the item number that was on the packs and compared it to the catalog to be sure they weren't just picked up by mistake and gave me the lower quality blades by accident. NOPE! The numbers matched perfectly.

I emailed Barlow's for an explaination and the only response I got was for me to mail them the blades back and they would refund my money. ???????? Mail back their crappy blades at MY EXPENSE??? Yeah, let me spend S&H on their crap and give me a refund that may or may not cover the S&H. That's gooooooooood customer service right there. They did not even offer an explanation on why they couldn't notify people when you order things they don't have, much less let you know up front that they are out of stock.

Needless to say, they will never get a dime out of me again.

[LedHed]

I put Barlow’s way down on the list because of a shipping issue. Granted, I’m not an enterprising business but I am a customer. Had ordered 6 molds from them a while back. They messed up and 1 of the 6 was not what was ordered. I had to pay the shipping to return it for a credit.

Wonder if they realize how much business it costs them with their shipping practices….

Haven’t ordered anything from them since then.

[SMALLIEHUNTER]

You know if we all co-op our oders we could go direct to the Manufactures and cut out all these middle-men!!!!

I used to buy my weed guards from them , now I go direct to Kayser.

Think about it?????

[Spike-A-Pike]

The sad sorry truth of the matter is we need them more than they need us. Barlow’s, Stamina, and the rest know they provide a service that most of us unknown tackle makers can’t find through other sources. TU members are smaller builders and don’t pack the clout to make a major dent in their business. Larger builders either build it in-house or go directly to the manufacturer, not a middleman vender.

In the old days, when family farms were players in the area markets, we used to form co-ops to get a better price on goods and services because of volume discounts. Maybe that is something we need to start thinking about. I make a couple hundred spinners a year, you may do a bigger volume, and another member is some where in between. Together, we equal a total purchase of 1000 widgets. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a discounted price for 1000 widgets and all take advantage of it???

Maybe, this is something we should look into. It can’t hurt….

[bass1jay]

Here is a company I have done business with when I was making spinnerbaits www.hagensfish.com they will probably require your tax # you can order on line.I would call them if your first time customer. They have great quailty products they produce all there spinner blades in house. I don't think you will be disappointed.

[TMI]

Hi All...I'm new here, but not new to the industry or to tacklemaking. Way back in 2000/2001, I tried to start an online business that sold tacklemaking supplies. Needless to say, I was horrible at the business side of things and the company ultimately failed, but I did learn a ton about the industry during that time.

But now I'm picking tackle making back up again - strictly as a hobby - it's much more fun that way!!!!

Anyway, I might be able to shed some light on what types of issues you're running into and where you might be able to find good supplies.

First Tip - All of these vendors are pretty small. Although they all look like they're huge companies with tons of inventory...the reality is that most of the tackle supply companies are very, very small. Many with fewer than a dozen employees. And they don't make much money...only about $8 in profit on an average hobbyist order. So when the big orders come in, they need them to foot the bills, pay their staff (usually family), and keep the lights on. Not that it excuses poor service (it doesn't), but I think a lot of people expect there to be a Wal-Mart behind the supply catalogs...when it's actually more like a local tackle shack with a leaky roof.

Second Tip - Buy in bulk whenever you can (Hagan's was a great recommendation!). If you buy your supplies in bulk, you'll spend MUCH less in the long run. And you can always unload the extra stuff on eBay...often making your money back. Hagan's and Lakeland Inc. are two great sources for blades, etc...that's actually where most of the other retailers get their supplies. Take a look at their catalogs...you'll notice a bunch of familar items!

Third Tip - Call in your orders. Aside from Mud Hole and Netcraft, the other component retailers likely don't have the big $$ to invest in a true ecommerce shopping system that syncs with real-time inventory. But they do keep inventory available to the folks who answer the phone. If you have an important order, you might want to call it in, because you'll know on the spot if it's available.

Anyway...I thought that might be helpful to some of you who were interested in how this whole tackle making supply business works and why some retailers are better than others. Hope it helps!

Happy fishing!

- TMI

[redg8r]

Why wasn't I informed that those things were out of stock when I ordered them?????????? Why wasn't I informed when they shipped the order that some of the things were out of stock????????

2 simplest answers:

1) First & foremost, it's common practice, in (B2B anyway). I buy components regularly for my real world business & unless I specifically ask if the item/s are in stock while ordering, I wont know until the partial order arrives. To make things more interesting, many companies will charge you again for delivery when the backordered product/s ships. And that doesn't include the additional fuel surcharge if the company personally delivers.

2) It may simply be a limitation of their ecommerce software. Unless things changed over the last few years, Barlows is a smaller family run shop. They might not yet be able to implement a real time stock notification.

Now, the things I was needing to have for a customer's order is now going to take a few days later, because now I have to order the parts elsewhere.

Question, did you feel obligated to inform your customer that you didnt have all components in stock to fabricate & deliver their order in a timely manner?

[redg8r]

All of these vendors are pretty small.

Call in your orders

Thanks Erik, I was actually gonna touch more on those, but you were posting when I was.

Sure, bulk purchases will always get you better savings & a better standing relationship with suppliers, but without the small list of these low volume retail suppliers, many of the new guys & hobbyists would have trouble getting supplies.

I'd call them tomorrow, ask to speak to the supervisor, politely but directly vent your situation. A secretary or clerk wont likely get you very far, a manager, owner, supervisor will want to make things right.

[Nathan]

I always call in my oders...Janns can tell you immediatley (via there computer system) if things are in stock

Stamina will phyically check stock if you asked them too..(and I do!) there computer system won't tell them on stock..

Barlows can't tell you via computer and they won't check on stock.

I've probably orderd from Barlows 10 times and I think 1 time everything shipped..Nathan

[nova]

When I was making spinnerbaits and topwater hardbaits I dealth with several companies that I won't name and was not happy until I found Hagen's.

They not only have a great selection but they will do custom work. You do have to by in bulk but it makes your costs per unit much lower.

www.novalures.com

[TMI]

Happy to help!

- TMI (a.k.a. Erik)

(P.S...this site is fantastic!!! Good stuff!)

[FishPork]

You think they would visit this site every now and then to keep up with the buzzzz.I know I would.Theres alot of money directed to them from this site they have to know about it./On another note, I carried a #######/supply catalogue to a local hobby lobby to see if the manager could stock some of the stuff.Who knows, we'll see.

[icemanrrc]

2 simplest answers:

1) First & foremost, it's common practice, in (B2B anyway). I buy components regularly for my real world business & unless I specifically ask if the item/s are in stock while ordering, I wont know until the partial order arrives. To make things more interesting, many companies will charge you again for delivery when the backordered product/s ships. And that doesn't include the additional fuel surcharge if the company personally delivers.

2) It may simply be a limitation of their ecommerce software. Unless things changed over the last few years, Barlows is a smaller family run shop. They might not yet be able to implement a real time stock notification.

Question, did you feel obligated to inform your customer that you didnt have all components in stock to fabricate & deliver their order in a timely manner?

1. By be ordering on-line, I had no idea they were out of stock. At that time, I didn't know they didn't have the capability to show out of stock items. I normally do business with Janns, and they show you if the item is out of stock. I don't care if I have to pay again for delivery. The point is I SHOULD have that option.

2. If Barlows has limited software abilities, they should invest in some that doesn't have those limitations. Family run or not, they do distribute a 100+ page full color annual catalog. These aren't cheap to make or distribute. Their catalog is the same size as Janns and Stamina. If you can afford catalogs, you can afford software.

3. To answer your question about feeling obligated to tell my customer that I didn't have all the items in stock........ Yes, I feel obligated. This is a good local customer who comes by regulary and places pretty good orders. I have a pretty deep and wide inventory. But sometimes, some things may run low sooner than expected and I don't have an order big enough to buy bulk. That is when I order from Barlows. When this customer says can you build this and my answer to them is openly and honestly YES, but I will have order some of those parts to make it happen. The customers says, I am fishing a tournament Saturday (he says this on a Sunday night), I say no problem because Barlows normally has it at my door within three days, plenty of time to put his order together. But when the order arrives on Wednesday and the bulk of what I need isn't there, it puts me in a difficult situation. I can do two things: Explain what happen to my customer and hopes he understands OR buy what I need from another source and pay more for rush shipping than what I am ordering costs to satisfy the customer and make little or nothing off this order. I have always tried to satisfy the customer.

Maybe that's the difference between me and Barlows.

[Brian_Va]

I've dealt with Barlows once, and I'm still waiting for my purchase to arrive more than a week later. I asked a similar question about them in a different forum and got back a similar response. Unfortunately for me they are the only company that stocks exactly what I want. What really peeved me was the minimum purchase rates. I had to sit and think for some time about things I may need months or years from now to get a stupid $2.50 item.

[JSC]

Just a quick add on to this thread.

I failed to see Worth mentioned and if you are ordering in larger Qtys they are the one with quality and prices ..

alot of the suppliers buy from them as most of the larger Mfgs ... You have to have the Fed Ex Exempt number.

JSC

[Fatman]

for Orders less than minimum it costs an extra dollar per item. Not that bad. I've never seen where an individual couldn't order from them, cause if that was the case they wouldn't even send you a catalouge.

[GB GONE]

Maybe we should get a sticky going with the companies we can buy direct from in quantity like stick on 3D eyes for instance. WTP (Witch-Craft Tape products) is a go-to for those as we all know. Must order in 1000 minimums though. No tax ID needed.

http://www.wtp-inc.com

I feel your pain as I missed a deadline for a customer when I ordered some things from Barlow's. He understood but I didn't!!!

Jim

[Fatman]

Sorry my reply above should have said Hagens only charges $1 more per item for less than required quantity

[bassin79]

Barlow's does need to upgrade the site to show the items being back ordered. But I will say this my order came $865.00 125 items from quality blades, hooks 2,000, paints, tubes, worms, Do it molds, skirts 1,000 and not one item back ordered and arrived in 4 days.

Thumbs up from me..... and I have used them before,

[redg8r]

my order came $865.00 125 items from quality blades, hooks 2,000, paints, tubes, worms, Do it molds, skirts 1,000

Well theres your problem right there Iceman, bassin79 bought em out!

Hey bassin, I bet your now on their christmas card list

[Delw]

The people I buy supplies from have the same issue, there is nothing we can do about it, no sence in bashing someone for it either.

Years ago I remember we all had this thing called patiences anymore people want everything right now and there is no excuses.

in the aero space industry years ago they went to something called "Just in time" which basically screwed up this whole manufacturing system.

for example before the "just in time" BS came customers used to order 100-1000 parts at a time. They got the parts for a reasonable price and had stock for there customers. then it came down to 1-20 parts per order and they had to have it now. well considering things just Don't appear with a magic wand or grown on trees they have to be made. so there order gets shipped out and what do you know they wait till the last minute again.

My boss was a really cool old guy, I had never seen him get upset even when guys scrapped out $50,000 parts.

so the buyer is on the phone with the owner( my boss) and I am programming.

he starts complaining that he needs these parts Right now ( we got them that AM) its a 40 hour job and 1 week for outside process. so the earliest he could get them done was 1.5 weeks. I can hear the guy #####ing up a storm. yeah he was that loud.

my boss simply told the buyer over the phone.

"Its not My fault that you failed to get stock for your parts and

if you would keep things is stock you would be able to server your customers better." ( this buyer was just a stock house not a manufacturer)

Point I am trying to make is you need to plan ahead. don't blame someone for not having everything you need at the last min.

I am a manufacturer, I would love to keep every thing is stock we try our best. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. My suppliers are the same way. Sometimes they have what we need and sometimes they don't.

there is really nothing I can do about it as they have other customers that order the same stuff as well. its not there fault they ran out, they try there best.

As far as the software for out of stock. IT FLAT OUT SUCKS. we tried it but here is what happens with alot of items you have to keep someone doing nothing but just that which Takes time in my opinion lots of wasted time.

while you think oh thats not true cause when they buy one then one item gets subtracted. sure in a perfect world it works like that.

but when you have guys emailing for orders, guys calling for orders, guys pming for orders and you have 2 or more people takeing the orders things don't always get put in the PC right away.

They could be looking at 5 items in stock and someone on the other phone could have sold all the items or while your waiting for a reply from someones email or fax they sell out somewhere else. ( it happens all the time).

Someone mentioned why more suppliers aren't online and that they should be monitoring websites.

WHY? what would be the purpose? so they can listen to one or 2 guys ##### about something? That pretty much will ruin someones day especially when some of the info these people post is usually one sided and they don't give all the details.

If you want to order something that you just have to have and can't wait or are in fear of a back order you simply pick up the phone and call them its really that simple.

too many of us ( myself included) use emails and pm etc for a way to communicate its really not a good idea if you need something right away for many reasons.

it will actually take you less time to pick up the phone and call someone then it would to send a email and wait for a reply.

BTW I ordered from them all and if I need something right away due to my lack of not having it in stock I call. everyone I have ordered from has always sent there stuff out, even if they don't have it in stock and I see Back order I accept it and live with it.

Delw

[yankee jigger]

DelW is right,No body plans to fail,just fail to plan.

I just took over supervising a 3 shift maintenance crew for a huge Chicago food packaging company. If i had a dollar for evrytime one of my guys that told me we were out of something that we should not have run out of,id retire at 36.

For example,we run Bartelt Vertical form,fill,and seal machines.(Dont know if anyone is familiar)Anyway,each one takes a special chain we cant put together so i have to get ot from the manufacturer.I got told last monday that i had three machines that needed these special chains a.s.a.p.They take a week to get.

When production stops,guess who gets the reaming......yep.

Order more than you think you will need,it will get used eventually.

[Vodkaman]

"Just in time" was a revolutionary new idea, taught to me thirty years ago, in college. I argued against it then (to no avail) and argue along with you guys now, it just does not work. If every manufacturer in the chain operates this system, say five operations. In theory, you will have to wait a day for the operation plus minimum two days delivery x5. That is an absolute minimum of fifteen days before you can receive your purchase, just in time!

The only link in the chain that should be afforded the luxury of "just in time" service, in my most humble opinion, is the customer. It is up to the rest of the industry to maintain stock levels to support the customer, at all times.

This is all well and good, everything works in theory, well all my theories work in theory. In the real world, sh1t happens. Fortunately, most experienced customers come to learn this fact of life and either make their purchases earlier or accept the situation without whining about it.

People who run their own businesses take it very seriously and understand that reputation is everything. The problem with TU is that if one delivery is late, a thousand people get to read about it. I would like to see threads like this barred from these pages, I just don't find them relevant.

[dampeoples]

I agree, someone's lack of planning isn't cause to come on here and hammer someone, it's just childish, and most folks should question the motive of the complainer, and remember that if they need to deal with that person in the future. I've read threads to this effect against Del, Barlow's, Stamina, Shawn Collins, Lurecraft, etc, etc.

I've gotten fair service from all of them, great service from some, and one has dropped the ball on me. I'm not telling though, if you look into the whole story, it's just as much my fault.

Some guys are gonna run out of folks to complain about before long, then what? Most of them should be thanked for offering the little guy an outlet to acquire this stuff.

[icemanrrc]

Years ago I remember we all had this thing called patiences anymore people want everything right now and there is no excuses.

Point I am trying to make is you need to plan ahead. don't blame someone for not having everything you need at the last min.

As far as the software for out of stock. IT FLAT OUT SUCKS. we tried it but here is what happens with alot of items you have to keep someone doing nothing but just that which Takes time in my opinion lots of wasted time.

1. Patience???? Patience is being demonstrated for the mail or UPS delivers. What do I need patience for in this particular instance? I went to their website, ordered what I needed, paid for it, waited on it to arrive (patience), and what I ordered isn't in the box. No one emailed or called me to let me know some of the items I ordered was out of stock!

2. Plan ahead? Did you even read the frickin post? Go back and re-read it and tell me how I could have planned for this. Geeeeezzzz dude. By the way, I am not blaming them for not having it in stock! I am blaming them for NOT having the capabilities or the decentcy to let their CUSTOMERS know some items are out of stock! If their competitors can do it, they can do it! They have my email address! They have my phone number!! Let me guess. You think it would take too much time for them to pick up the phone and leave a message or email to inform me that some of the items I ordered was out of stock.

3. Inventory software sucks??? Do you have any idea how moronic that sounds? How hard is it to enter in some numbers and when the numbers get low, you re-order. If you have employees removing items from inventory improperly, you simply teach them how to properly do it or fire them. It is that simple! Again, if Barlows competitors can do it, why can't they? I have yet to receive and order from Jann's that didn't contain all of my items because some employees messed up their inventory by improperly removing it.