| | 07/03/2008 | It's July now and we are in the throes of starting the new catalogue for 2009.  The way this works is that we figure out what gets dropped, what new products get added and, most important, what we want to do with pricing across the entire catalogue on-line and print - about 5000 products. Then descriptions get written and pictures get taken. In case you are curious, it's my main focus for July and August, in addition to actually running the business and helping out in customer service. And only when I am done in late August can I pass it off to the part-time editor and part-time graphics person.
The pricing is hellishly tedious (5000 little decisions to be made) and potentially a disaster if I do it wrong.
I mention all of this because this year I am afraid of sticker shock. Between the higher cost of freight and a much higher cost of metal and materials, we are seeing the steepest increases in years from out suppliers. This is on top of our deliberate plan to keep the price rises to a minimum last year.
So if you are procrastinating over a purchase and suddenly see a price jump in the next few months - well, don't say I didn't warn you.
P.S.: All the iron-mongers in the US will be faced with these pricing issues in the months to come, so at least we are not alone. | Join the conversation | |
| The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the blog's author and guests and in no way reflect the views of Tools for Working Wood. |
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Thanks,
Chuck