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Chris, I was a member of ASI. But for the money we had to pay in, we just weren't getting enough out of it to justify the costs. You have to do about $5000 worth in sale per year to break even for what you pay them annually. They do have a pretty slick setup for marketing and a personalized online catalog which you pay for.
I switched over Kaeser & Blair earlier this year. The profit margin is lower but you don't have to pay in. You basically act as an agent for them and get roughly 20-30% in return. Their operation isn't quite as slick as ASI, but I've already made more net profit in less amount of time. If you're new to Ad Specialties, you pay something like $80 for a pretty sizable marketing package with lots of samples to show your clients. But the $80 is refunded on your first order. And if you were a member of an Ad Specialty group such as ASI, they send the marketing package to you for free.
Just a word of caution. When quoting a customer, contact Kaeser's service department to let them calculate sales tax and shipping costs for you. I made the mistake of going by their written guidelines instead and ended up shorting myself $22 on my last order because of a difference in shipping fees.
Dealing with issues.....
Back when I was an ASI member, ASI Central would give you a gazillion catalogs from various suppliers. ASI acts only as sourcing and marketing service between you and the manufacturer. When you place an order, you contact the manufacturer not ASI. If there is a problem with an order, its between you and the manufacturer and not ASI.
With Kaeser, you are ordering directly from them and they handle it from there for you. If there is a problem with a job, you contact Kaeser and they will deal with the manufacturer.
On my first order through ASI, there were several defective stoneware mugs in the shipment. I contacted the manufacturer and the only thing they were willing to do is discount the difference on my next order.
On my first order through Kaeser, some of the printing was crooked. I took a photo of some of the bad pieces and e-mailed Kaeser. They had the manufacturer to replace the defective units. I had them in my hands within 3 days. The folks at Kaeser were very apologetic and seemed genuinely interested in getting the order right.
On my last order through Keaser, my client ordered 1000 stadium cups. I ordered them on a Monday and had them in my hands on Thursday that same week. The printing was perfect and my client was extremely happy.
[ August 11, 2009, 11:14 AM: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
posted
Glenn... btw... what is your dealer name or number? I've got a customer that gets tons of promotional stuff and I've been wanting to get set up with someone like K&B. I see you can get a referral out of the deal....
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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Sorta like Glenn - I used to be with ASI, now I just work with a local printing company who buys through ASI- I just sell it, they quote it and give me a percentage of the sale.
I haven't tried K&B- but they sound interesting
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1736 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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I responded to your other post but I'll repeat it here.
Through K&B, profit average is probably 25%.
Profits not great but it does help to expand my customer base and lead to other more profitable jobs.
I sold a 1000 stadium cups to a person in charge of a local peanut festival. In talking to her I was able to tell her about other services we offer and ended up getting a pretty sizable t-shirt job out of it as well.
Through ASI, profit margins were pretty high averaging between 40 and 50%. The problem is that you had to invest quite a bit. What I found is that just to break even I had to sell at least $5000 worth of goods.
Some people make pretty good money. Some don't. It just depends on your market and how much effort you put into it. I didn't which is one reason why we didn't do so well through ASI.
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