Internet ordering vs. brick and mortar stores

[Sass]

I've seen references to people ordering their supplies to be delivered. I go to the glass shop and pick mine up. Is it cheaper overall to order online, or is that more of a convenience factor?

Is it supplies you're ordering, or glass as well?
Where do you order from online?
Any favorite suppliers?

Thanks!

[Graham]

I've seen references to people ordering their supplies to be delivered. I go to the glass shop and pick mine up. Is it cheaper overall to order online, or is that more of a convenience factor?!

For people who live anywhere near a well stocked brick and mortar establishment - it's purely a price thing. People who have no local dealer find on-line shopping to be a cheaper and more convenient way to shop, rather than driving 100 miles each way.

Is it supplies you're ordering, or glass as well?!

Me? I don't order anything on-line, but those that do, may order all or part of their supplies on line. Many make a pilgrimage a couple of times a year and buy a large supply of goodies, then go on-line for the bits and pieces as needed. It varies from person to person



[QUOTE=Sass;84]Where do you order from online?!

I don't!



Any favorite suppliers?

Thanks!

No favourites. I'm a retired retailer - I hate 'em all!!

[Planet Glass]

You may wish to purchase hard to find, specialty items on the internet. Exotic bevel clusters, or even high-end grinders are an example.

Art glass should be bought in person, if possible.

[Sass]

Thank you, Graham and GlassWorld!

There's a shop about 30 miles away from my house, give or take, where I took my lessons. The owners are very personable and are willing to order supplies or locate matching glass and order that if they don't have what you need in stock. That's where I go to get all of my supplies; I'd just wondered if it was convenience or necessity for internet ordering.

I agree, glass should be picked out in person ~ even then, if you aren't careful, you can end up with a piece that has a scratch or flaw undesireably placed.

If there is a website that had smokin' deals on came or solder or other necessities, I wouldn't mind a heads up! :)

[Addy]

I've seen references to people ordering their supplies to be delivered. I go to the glass shop and pick mine up. Is it cheaper overall to order online, or is that more of a convenience factor?

Is it supplies you're ordering, or glass as well?
Where do you order from online?
Any favorite suppliers?

Thanks!

Purely convenience for me as I don't live near any suppliers.
I'm UK so none of these will probably be useful to you, but I use Pearsons mainly (for which you need to be a business), also Creative Glass Guild and Kansa Craft. Buying glass for projects is such a faff as I have to choose from little samples. If I need to match glass for restoration I end up sending off little bits for them to match for me. It all takes so much longer than visiting an actual shop would!

[kmm]

I purchase most of my supplies from Warner-Criv.com and southernfront.com. It's partly convenience and a big part price. All of life is a trade-off and I don't mind waiting several days for delivery if I save almost half of the cost.

There is a wonderful glass studio literally a block or two from my home and I love to shop glass there and last minute supplies.

[Sass]

Thanks, Addy ~ you're correct, your suppliers won't help me! Wrong continent! :) How did you get into the business of stained glass without living near suppliers? Did you find your hobby before you lived where you are now?

KMC, thank you. I'll check out those websites, see if they can beat price on what I'm paying now. I find it fun to browse the glass aisles, although that ends up being expensive for me, because I always find something I have to have!

[Addy]

Thanks, Addy ~ you're correct, your suppliers won't help me! Wrong continent! :) How did you get into the business of stained glass without living near suppliers? Did you find your hobby before you lived where you are now?
I studied it at college, so when I moved back to the middle of nowhere I made sure I was on a delivery route for Pearsons (for big orders) and then ordered loads of catalogues etc from other companies so I could source smaller bits & pieces between big orders. I really do wish I could go & browse through glass racks, I'm sure it inspires people, finding a bit of amazing glass they just have to use. Saying that, I probably don't spend quite as much money as I would!

[strawberryblondie]

Personally I have to shop online for glass and all other supplies, I live no where close to a glass shop. When I go to visit my daughter I try to get to the glass shops near her but mostly I just browse the glass because I can get better prices online, even with the cost of shipping. I have purchased a few things from the glass shops I have visited, mostly just to help support the business. I do a lot of buying from anythinginstainedglass, Delphi, stallingsglass, and a few others.

Hope this is of help.

Linda:o

[Sass]

Addy, I'm sure it does save you money ~ each and every time I go to the shop I know I end up buying way more glass than I actually need for whatever my current project happens to be. I've started my own personal collection of glass, some of which I have no idea what project it'll be going into, simply because I thought it was pretty and had to have it for a future yet-unnamed project. It would certainly be a cheaper hobby if I didn't browse in person. :)

Linda, thanks for those sites! If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing the virtual stores to see what kind of deals I can get there!!

[NanaScores]

There is only one shop near me but between the high prices and the fact that the owner is not helpful unless you are taking classes there, I started buying online. I like being able to talk to other glasses to share ideas, but the shop I mentioned doesn't seem like they like people doing that. Living in a small town area, I guess there is a fear of compitetion. I use many of the ones already listed, and have used Mad Max. In addition, I use Y Glass, usually have great sales on solder and foil. They also have great prices on textured glass. I haven't had any problems with the exception of one supplier, don't remember the name but got stuck big time and never was able to get it corrected, even after they published a big reorganizational email. When they didn't make good, I never went back.

[strawberryblondie]

I do have to say that there is nothing like pulling out a piece of glass from the store shelf, looking at it with light behind, feeling the smooth coolness, seeing all of it's potential. Yep, it's official, I'm in love with glass, don't tell hubby ;)

I'm one of those, can't resist it type people. I buy glass just because I like the looks of it or the color. What it becomes later on is not a consideration at the time of purchase, for the most part. Needless to say, I have a large collection of glass, overflowing even. I think one can never have too much glass but that sure isn't hubby's notion..lol.

Anyway, have fun Sass, there are many bargains to be had, enjoy :)

Linda

[Dennis Brady]

I believe you should buy wherever you get the best combination of price and service. It makes no difference whether it's from an etailer or a retailer.

[Planet Glass]

Those are the economic forces at large. Some e-commerces go bust, same as brick-and-mortar businesses. It's possible that brick-and-mortar business have to promote more human/service oriented products like classes of every kind, while selling fewer supplies.

Personally, I buy very few glass supplies on the internet. But gardening supplies, I buy mostly by catalog because they have more selection.

[katiediditglass]

I am lucky enough to be able to pick from a great selection a few blocks away from my house. The person who invented Van Gogh glass supplies me with great one of kind sheets of glass at great prices.

I have shopped online in the past and even worked for an internet glass supplier, near Asheville. I don't mean to talk bad about internet companies, but this owner treated his employees very badly. So bad, that I quit after just 7 months and have never shopped there again. Even though they are only 20 minutes from where I live.

If I absolutely need to shop online I will only buy from Delphi, GlassCrafters, Or Warner-Criv. I have visited many of these stores and trust that they are running a good business. Hope this information helps, and my apologies for being the bearer of bad news.

[Triplelle]

I get pretty much all my glass and supplies from my workplace, or I order from the Big Wholesalers. I'm lucky enough to live near Bullseye and Savoy, and in the center of a big Art Glass mecca (I used to live in Seattle, another big hub for Art Glass) so I do sometimes shop locally too.

I work for Artisan Dichroic Glass, a totally online retailer of COE 90 glass. We stock Bullseye, Savoy, and CBS in a variety of sizes, and Dichro Magic and ProFusion are coming any day now. We're also opening a lampworking section with more COE's (just for lampworking), and have a variety of molds and findings, as well as a great selection of scrap.

Yes yes, this is a horribly blatant plug, but I really feel strongly that we offer great prices and great service (there are only three of us...the boss, her daughter who is my best friend of 30 years, and me). Plus, if you order from there, you can drop me a note and tell me you're from this forum, and I hand pick all the glass, so at least you have someone In The Know doing it. :)

The site is http://www.artisandichroic.com if anyone wants to check it out. And if you do, and have ANY feedback whatsoever, good, bad, or indifferent, I would LOVE to hear it!

[livingglassgirl]

Unfortunately, I order all my supplies online. There is a glass shop about an hours drive away. I was disappointed in how they inventory their glass...for example all the pinks from all the manufacturers they carry are all bunched up together in one big bin. It was hard to find what I was looking for.

I mainly deal with Delphi out of Michigan or ISGS out of California. I don't buy enough glass to buy wholesale.

[katiediditglass]

Thanks so much for the link Triplelle! I am always so picky about who I buy from, simply because I only support:heart::heart: someone who runs a good honest business online.

Katie

[TRYTIGRESS]

I Order All My Glass Online And Ebay Has Some Site You Can Order Glass From Flame Working Glass Sites Email Me An I'll Give You The Site It Comes From California And Oregon But The Shipping Is Vry Resonable And I Have Litlle Or Know Breakage With The Price Of Gas Its Cheaper To Do It This Way. Just A Note

[NanaScores]

There is a very large supplier in Mass, that I am going to beg Honey to bring me to, so I can see some of the new glass that is out there. I can't drive that far, good thing in a way, cause I could get in BIG trouble if I get to touch and feel the glass up close and personal. Know what I mean, I'd be buying cause its pretty instead of what I need. But a one day trip would be nice. NanaScores

[fishtownstainedglass]

I order some things online, like solder and Copper foil. McGill's warehouse.com has VERY CHEAP odds and ends like bevels, jewels, copper foil, and scisors and grozers. They have glass but glass should be bought in person. Its cheaper for me to get these odds and ends online and order a bulk ship of them once a month than drive 40miles to the nearest store for them.

[krauskiartglass]

We get almost everything from Ed Hoy's International which is located near Chicago.We are two hours from there and we used to go seveal times a year when we were doing biggish SG jobs.
now we do much more sand-blasting.But we still call them up and they ship to us next day.
The only bad thing is that they have to cut up the sheets to ship them ups and my glass racks are set up for bigger sheets.
They have a great selection. you do need to pick out stuff like Urobouros and Yoghiogheny (probably both spelled wrong_) in person, but with a catalog, Bullseye is consistent enough to not have to pick sheets.... same for gna and fna.

I think it might be hard to get an account with them,though.
Mary K

[SierraCreations]

I live in a very small mountain community in Calif and the nearest glass store is 1 1/2 hrs away. I try to keep a good supply of different glass on hand, but I do a lot of custom work and there is always glass that I don't have in stock. It just becomes too costly to go that far to pick out glass by hand so I do all my ordering from the net. I miss being able to pick by hand and sometimes once I order and finally get it, it's not what I really wanted. I also have to add 1 to weeks lead time to the completed order. So far I've had no problem with the lead times. People up here understand. I guess that's the price you have to pay to live in the mountains (my long time dream). I have spent the money and get glass samples from different manufacturers. That helps a lot.

[Triplelle]

You're welcome, Katie! If you ever decide to order from us, drop a note. :) We love to know where our customers come from! Sheri and I are kind of taking over the business more and more right now, as her mom is getting set to retire, so we're learning all angles and really loving getting to know the customer base.

[Planet Glass]

For those of you that do not live close to a stained glass supplier, you may wish to consider odering from The Glass Advocate (http://glassadvocate.com/products.htm)

Rather than selecting by product number, you can select actual sheets of glass that are photographed backlit!