Opinion Grimco in the PNW has gotten so much worse after their latest merger with TubeliteDenco

[TumwaterTom]

StartRant/ I know the merger happened a while ago, but it has basically made Grimco a monopoly up here. Their inventory is worse, and the boards we do get delivered are constantly damaged/dirty.
We ordered three 1/2" White White White 4x8 Ultraboards, and this one was sandwiched between the other two that were only slightly less dirty. We need to print on both sides of this board, hopefully we can clean it off. /EndRant

 

[Black Star]

You are 1,000% correct. I cringe every time I place an order with Grimco because I know that I'll have to sift through what is damaged and what is useable. I've started using Sun Supply in Kent for some items and have had really good luck. The prices are higher but the quality has been 100%.

I have a great Grimco PNW story. I wanted to purchase a new printer and plotter this year. I contacted Grimco as I used to order all my equipment and materials from Midwest before they merged. A sales person contacted me and was just as sweet as can be until the purchase was complete. I contacted her to ask additional questions and this was right after Grimco laid off many of their sales people and technicians. She told me that she didn't know the answers to my questions and there was no one at Grimco that could answer my questions. She told me that she was tired of being Grimco's punching bag. I've ran Mimaki for years and she told me that she would never recommend Mimaki to anyone unless they specifically requested it. I was trying to inquire about an exhaust system for the printer and she asked me why I needed an exhaust system for an eco solvent printer.

 

[MNT_Printhead]

They fell off pretty hard in Denver too. I never know when my orders are going to arrive any more which has led to me thinking I forgot to order and I wind ordering the same thing twice.

 

[Boudica]

If you get your order at all. We have a lot of issues with orders they forget to acknowledge, take forever to ship because someone forgot, or ship them to someone else. We have a rep who does try to fix the issues, but it's a lot of follow-up just to get an order sent out sometimes.

 

[Boudica]

+1 for Sun - they are great, but don't stock everything we need or we would ONLY order from Sun Supply.

 

[Solventinkjet]

They fell off pretty hard in Denver too. I never know when my orders are going to arrive any more which has led to me thinking I forgot to order and I wind ordering the same thing twice.

A lot of our customers in Denver tell us that "Grimco doesn't stock anything"

 

[Black Star]

Grimco supposedly stocks a lot but with some items, they will not automatically ship from warehouses far away from you. I had to order some basic screen printing ink. Their website told me it was out of stock and would be about 3 weeks before I would get it. I called in and got in touch with the right person. She told me that they won't automatically ship from other warehouses that are far away from me with some items but more specifically on the screen printing side. She told me that the reason why they do this is so their other warehouses don't run out of items.... She did give me her direct line and told me to call her if I ever run into this again.

I would like to say I was in shock but nothing really shocks me with Grimco business practices anymore.

 

[ProntoPrinter]

I highly recommend MultiCraft-Plastics. Good pricing, good website, good service. We used to use Sun Supply, who we never had any major issues with, but MultiCrafts’s pricing is better. Kelly Spicers isn’t a bad resource for plastic substrates either. We buy a lot of paper from them but recently started buying boards and have been happy with the pricing and quality.

 

[crgraphics]

And why don't they carry Roland products...now I have to order ink somewhere else and wait. Same with alot of Oracal items, they get drop shipped from Oracal now. What's the point in having a local warehouse if most things get drop shipped anyway. I don't feel so bad now, 'cause now i see this is happening all over, not just in central Florida!

 

[John Miller]

We use Matthews paint. Grimco sells it but refuses and any returns because it's dangerous substance. They'll sell it to you & deliver but it's too dangerous to be returned.

 

[Northern Design]

Call Sun Supply

 

[TomJ]

30-years in business, I started with Grimco however had to leave them near 20-years ago! Moved to Tubelite. Odd how I was somewhat forced back to Grimco! I’m pleased with Grimco this time. I use NGlaz also, they good company

 

[Joe House]

 

[MarkSnelling]

StartRant/ I know the merger happened a while ago, but it has basically made Grimco a monopoly up here. Their inventory is worse, and the boards we do get delivered are constantly damaged/dirty.
We ordered three 1/2" White White White 4x8 Ultraboards, and this one was sandwiched between the other two that were only slightly less dirty. We need to print on both sides of this board, hopefully we can clean it off. /EndRant

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Why not buy from Sonoma? They might cost a few bucks more but they've always been on the quality side.