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  • #993379
    SourCherry
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        Of course, with no other choices available, I ended up at Blick on-line where the astronomical S&H charges added considerable cost to an already expensive order. Are other artists experiencing the same problems when it comes to obtaining supplies?

        I buy 99% of my supplies from DickBlick online. And never paid shipping. They offer free shipping if you spend certain amount per order. Just yesterday it was only $50, today $59(which means you’ll get free shipping if you buy one 200ml tube of Blockx cadmium). I went a couple of times to the Blick on Bond street and they really have almost nothing in there compared to the online store (plus prices are higher and I would need to haul my canvases home by myself).
        It does feel like they’re becoming a monopoly, though. I remember, last year (October?) they just went and raised their prices on many products. I think some canvases went almost 100% up overnight (without any improvement in quality). I remember it because the night before I placed some paint and canvases in my cart planning to buy later and in the morning the price of the cart almost doubled (and no, it was not just end of sale – they raised the original prices). And people just took it and kept buying; there’s just not a lot of alternative.

        #1238156

        there’s just not a lot of alternative.

        I actually feel the opposite, especially being here in NYC. It is Art Store Galore.
        Jerrys Artarama is also fantastic. There is also Cheap Joe’s (online)

        Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
        Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air

        Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

        #1238194
        SourCherry
        Default

            I actually feel the opposite, especially being here in NYC. It is Art Store Galore.
            Jerrys Artarama is also fantastic. There is also Cheap Joe’s (online)

            Their prices are not that much different from Blick. Cheap Joe’s is actually more expensive for many things (the irony of it’s name :rolleyes: ).

            #1238164
            AnnieA
            Default

                Another thing to consider is that Blick has a preferred customer card and when you sign up for one, they regularly send postcards with a coupon included to announce their sales. The most recent one is for 40% off one item. That doesn’t mean so much for a single tube of paint, but if you find a good brand that offers a range of different tube sets – I think Gamblin offers some interesting ones – that might result in significant savings.

                [FONT=Arial]C&C always welcome ©[/I] [/font]
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                “Life is a pure flame and we live by an invisible sun within us.” ― Sir Thomas Browne [/size][/font]

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                #1238148
                karenlee
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                    Wow. That is totally weird…but I too have had it with Blick’s in-store “price matching” that is supposed to give catalog prices…I get home and find it’s not…prices are just skyrocketing. Stretchers are more ridiculous than paints.

                    #1238157

                    It was a disappointing day at BLICK’S in downtown San Diego. They have only limited brands of oil paints, After I had spent 2 hours trying to find other brands that might work…I got to the register with my $300 worth of paint and after they did the price match that is online, I was charged a extra $30. When I ask WHY, they told me that was my charge for “shipping”??? I told them that shipping online was free when you spend that much. BLICK is going on my BLACK list!

                    No wonder businesses are closing! Lots of Old Holland was sitting on the shelf collecting dust…seems there are a lot of artist not spending the big bucks on their brand.

                    A frustrated Angel today! A sign of the times…

                    Wow that’s bizarre… and WRONG!!!!! never been my experience here in NYC. They always knock $$ off.

                    I would never, EVER have paid extra like that. I hope you did not… Call blick CS and have your receipt.

                    Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
                    Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air

                    Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

                    #1238181

                    Wow. That is totally weird…but I too have had it with Blick’s in-store “price matching” that is supposed to give catalog prices…I get home and find it’s not…prices are just skyrocketing. Stretchers are more ridiculous than paints.

                    Yes, they are skyrocketing! The sales people gave me a hard time because I was paying cash??? They were argumentative about pigments and brands??? They told me that the college students had wiped out their supply of premium brands??? Not the Old Holland of course! They had none of the French earths of Williamsburg and one could see that most of the stock was old as well. When I ask when they might get their next order in, several different people said they had no idea. Customer service obviously isn’t important to them. The traffic will not continue to bear these prices.

                    :angel: :o

                    Angel :angel:
                    Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                    http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                    #1238176
                    blackIvy
                    Default

                        Wow that’s bizarre… and WRONG!!!!! never been my experience here in NYC. They always knock $$ off.

                        I would never, EVER have paid extra like that. I hope you did not… Call blick CS and have your receipt.

                        Same thing happened to me about a month back at Blick’s 6th ave store in NYC. The lady at the register explained to me that price online has to be adjusted by shipping price and blah blah. I was in the store to buy a bottle of Gamvar. By the way, DaVinci Art store, which is just a short walk away, had the same item at a cheaper price!

                        Blick is currently on my $**t list, as well.

                        Isha
                        ----
                        The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. ~ Picasso

                        #1238182

                        Wow that’s bizarre… and WRONG!!!!! never been my experience here in NYC. They always knock $$ off.

                        I would never, EVER have paid extra like that. I hope you did not… Call blick CS and have your receipt.

                        I didn’t pay! I told the guy who had rung up my order to take those paints and “shove” them right back on the shelf! I already feel ripped off with the high prices we are dealing with…I know marketing and those discount prices are a profit game. I bought my paints from a distributor in years past. I had to purchase 3 tubes of the same color, but only paid a small fraction of retail.

                        I will call Blick tomorrow when I am not so :rolleyes: …I spent all that time and gas to go down to this Blick. Blick like Michaels have put most of our Mom and Pop stores out of business and now dictate price and supply.

                        Angel :angel:
                        Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                        http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                        #1238158

                        Same thing happened to me about a month back at Blick’s 6th ave store in NYC. The lady at the register explained to me that price online has to be adjusted by shipping price and blah blah. I was in the store to buy a bottle of Gamvar. By the way, DaVinci Art store, which is just a short walk away, had the same item at a cheaper price!

                        WOW. That’s….. terrible.

                        I’m in the 6th ave store a lot…. :(

                        I seriously :heart: da Vinci…they have amazing inventory and have become my go-to place.

                        Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
                        Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air

                        Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde

                        #1238165
                        Tiasa
                        Default

                            The sales people gave me a hard time because I was paying cash???

                            Something like that happened to me to when I handed them cash. The clerk said “We still take cash here.” I thought she was joking. I wonder what’s going on with that? I wonder if they plan on taking only debit/credit cards in the future. Then they could give you an instore credit (no refund) if you found a lower price elsewhere and returned the item.

                            I didn’t pay! I told the guy who had rung up my order to take those paints and “shove” them right back on the shelf! I already feel ripped off with the high prices we are dealing with.

                            Good for you! I am fed up with Dick Blick’s pricing too. Some of their prices are now 90% of manufacturer’s list. I also was told at the checkout counter that they had to add “shipping” to the online price before they compared it to the instore price. That’s how they do their web match rebate for “preferred” customers. It is interesting to see that it isn’t only my local store that is doing this stuff. In the future, I plan to avoid Dick Blick whenever possible.

                            #1238183

                            Something like that happened to me to when I handed them cash. The clerk said “We still take cash here.” I thought she was joking.

                            It takes ALL the joy our of shopping for art supplies! The joke is going to be on BLICK…cause so far they are NOT the only art shop on the block!

                            Good for you! I am fed up with Dick Blick’s pricing too. Some of their prices are now 90% of manufacturer’s list. I also was told at the checkout counter that they had to add “shipping” to the online price before they compared it to the instore price. That’s how they do their web match rebate for “preferred” customers. It is interesting to see that it isn’t only my local store that is doing this stuff. In the future, I plan to avoid Dick Blick whenever possible.

                            I price match with a number of “hungry” stores who are competing with on-line prices. As consumers dealing with years of a failing economy we are being frugal with our spending currency…looking for value as well as getting the quality we are paying for. These stores are really happy to have my or anyone else’s business. The clerk signed me up to be a “Preferred” customer…I didn’t feel preferred and they can take that “Preferred” card and kiss my “Preferred” southern grits!

                            The best way to make our voices heard is to take our business to art suppliers who appreciate our us shopping with them. :wave: bye bye, DICK BLICK!

                            It would be helpful for those of you who have had good experiences with other suppliers to post and share with the rest of us. I so envy those of you in NY who have more choices!:wink2:

                            Angel :angel:
                            Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                            http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                            #1238184

                            In my neck of the woods, four local art supply stores that I used to shop at have gone out of business and the local college quit selling art supplies in their bookstore. One small locally owned shop and two Blicks remain; the small local shop does a large portion of their business in framing. Is it the same story elsewhere?

                            I remember having similar experiences on the east coast…so many great art shops. They gave great service and were really doing well. Then the bottom dropped out in late 2004. My art representatives suddenly had clients who had been buying our artwork close up…this was across the world but worse here in the US. Retailers who had been in business for 20+ years selling art were finding their businesses failing…so, another couple of years later and the “local” family owned art supply stores started closing. Then one by one the BIG BOX retailers like BLICK and MICHAEL’S started eating up their small business competitors. They controlled more and more. Michael’s started selling cheaper and cheaper junk because many of those American businesses making “craft” supplies were forced out of business by the “Chinese”. Quality has gone to…you know, to that hot place! I continued to support the few local art suppliers rather than online. I only know of 2 small shops left here in all of San Diego county. One is a hobby lobby for a couple of rich kids, they could care less if they sell anything and they want blood and cash for what they do carry. The other is 30 miles away in a different direction…I went there the day of the BLICK disaster. They had huge inventory of OH…like probably 700 tubes and it was full price and then some. I ask if they ever have an OH sale…NOPE.
                            I ask if they had Walnut Alkyd and Walnut oil in the 8oz size…NOPE. When I ask when they would get some more in…there was major hesitation. “Oh…maybe 3 to 6 months”! It seems that their sales are so OFF, that they can’t make an order until they “SELL” a lot of inventory. Not sure if they will be around in another 6 months. I bought a few Gamblin paints that were on sale.

                            Boy…do I miss those days of wandering through a fully stocked art shop and leaving with my treasures of paint, brushes and canvas. :( :clear: :confused:

                            Angel:angel:

                            Angel :angel:
                            Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                            http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                            #1238185

                            You also have to consider the amount of pigment used, which varies between brands and reflects in the cost.

                            My motto is “When in doubt, get a Gamblin.”

                            I did pick up a few Gamblins from another little art shop. They were low on inventory, but the tubes looked fresh. I loved the look of their Cobalt Teal and the price was great. I was so looking forward to getting some of the Williamsburg Earth colors that you posted the chart of. The Italians were in my basket at BLICKS…they don’t carry the French in any color. But as I have already written in another post…NOT participating in their customer rip-off. So, looking for another online supplier. I just keep coming back to your chart, you did a great job capturing those colors!

                            :angel:

                            Angel :angel:
                            Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                            http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                            #1238177
                            zippie
                            Default

                                “The best way to make our voices heard is to take our business to art suppliers who appreciate our us shopping with them. :wave: bye bye, DICK BLICK!”

                                Last month I wrote to Blick’s CEO to complain about pricing disparities between their sales flyers and on-line prices. I told him that I was now spending more time researching coupon codes and sales promotions than products..and still feeling like I was getting cheated if I didn’t spend enough time researching. Not a good customer experience. Here’s Bob Buchsbaum’s reply. His contact info is at the bottom:

                                Pricing is always tough to explain to the customer and sometimes we can never quite fully satisfy people. Our goal in principle is to ensure that the price at Blick is about as good as you can get. In that way, we try to take price out of the equation to make the only consideration service, selection, support of the arts broadly, all areas where we feel have a significant advantage.

                                Like most companies, each special offer is standalone and not combinable. Our policy is pretty standard across not only our industry but most companies that I can think of (exceptions include manufacturer coupons). I could hide behind the fact that this is for system reasons (most systems including ours, don’t support multiple discount source codes on the same offer), but really it’s an economic need. If we did what you asked, we’d get cherry-picked to death. As it is we are changing 100’s of prices per day to match whatever craziness is going on on-line. It’s just too tough out there – Uncle!

                                The internet price and home page offer gets the best market price at that moment; the flyer is more or less the best market price at the time we publish the catalog. The two may be different. Thus, the customer is stuck doing some work to compare which deal is best at any point in time. My guess is that the differentials are usually pretty small. We don’t really even track them.

                                As far as not using the code…sadly for us, the vast majority of our returning customers have figured out to put in that coupon code to get a lower free shipping threshold and/or an extra discount (with a bunch of annoying exclusions).

                                Hope that helps explain it, if not satisfy you, but glad to hear that we didn’t give you a hard time about reshipments.

                                Best,

                                Bob B.

                                Robert Buchsbaum | Chief Executive Officer
                                1849 Green Bay Road – Suite 310. Highland Park, IL 60035
                                [email][email protected][/email] | http://www.dickblick.com

                                "There are no wrong notes; some are just more right than others."- Thelonius Monk

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