pheloniusfriar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pheloniusfriar) wrote2018-01-20 10:31 am
pheloniusfriar) wrote2018-01-20 10:31 am
Commerce Fail...
I'm really not sure how to support local businesses some times.
Case in point this week: I needed a replacement for a 9V 600mA AC adapter for a small Ethernet switch. I went to a dozen shops (both large and small) and nobody had anything (the closest was a "universal" adapter with a switchable voltage that they wanted $35 + tax for). Online, the cheapest I found was $9.95, but they wanted $19.70 shipping. Wtf??? I finally gave up and ordered it from AliExpress direct from China (they're all made in China anyway, so I'm not impacting any local manufacturing jobs at least). I ordered 2 adapters for $4.62, shipping included.
Case in point over the last few weeks: I need binder tabs for a project I'm working on. They wanted $25 a set to start. Not a problem at all for me as they would just be for my own use, but I asked for a budgetary quote for qty. 100 and 1000. Crickets. I even followed up. Nothing. They are a local company here in Ottawa that prints custom tabs (not naming names, but there is only one company that does that).
Case in point a couple of months ago: I am looking for a local source of vinyl binders, so I contacted a company in Toronto that manufactured them. They initially answered with questions about what I needed, then silence. I followed up asking if I could get samples of their work (that I said I'd be happy to pay for). Crickets. Followed up again and they said they'd get those right out to me. Silence. Nothing arrived. No followup from them. I am going to try a few other companies (they are, for the most part, in western Canada), but there doesn't seem to be anything more local than that.
I am fully expecting that Canadian companies will fail completely and I will end up going to China or India for the work I need done. And it's not that Canadian companies can't compete with Asian companies (I don't mind paying a premium to support Canadian manufacturers even), it's that Canadian companies are complacent or just shitty at business apparently.
Case in point this week: I needed a replacement for a 9V 600mA AC adapter for a small Ethernet switch. I went to a dozen shops (both large and small) and nobody had anything (the closest was a "universal" adapter with a switchable voltage that they wanted $35 + tax for). Online, the cheapest I found was $9.95, but they wanted $19.70 shipping. Wtf??? I finally gave up and ordered it from AliExpress direct from China (they're all made in China anyway, so I'm not impacting any local manufacturing jobs at least). I ordered 2 adapters for $4.62, shipping included.
Case in point over the last few weeks: I need binder tabs for a project I'm working on. They wanted $25 a set to start. Not a problem at all for me as they would just be for my own use, but I asked for a budgetary quote for qty. 100 and 1000. Crickets. I even followed up. Nothing. They are a local company here in Ottawa that prints custom tabs (not naming names, but there is only one company that does that).
Case in point a couple of months ago: I am looking for a local source of vinyl binders, so I contacted a company in Toronto that manufactured them. They initially answered with questions about what I needed, then silence. I followed up asking if I could get samples of their work (that I said I'd be happy to pay for). Crickets. Followed up again and they said they'd get those right out to me. Silence. Nothing arrived. No followup from them. I am going to try a few other companies (they are, for the most part, in western Canada), but there doesn't seem to be anything more local than that.
I am fully expecting that Canadian companies will fail completely and I will end up going to China or India for the work I need done. And it's not that Canadian companies can't compete with Asian companies (I don't mind paying a premium to support Canadian manufacturers even), it's that Canadian companies are complacent or just shitty at business apparently.