Gast
Hello,
I’ve got a question: you used to stock Wephota, so could you perhaps add their Universal B to your range? Otherwise, I always have to order 7x10, 9x13 and 13x18, as well as the ‘Soft’, ‘Special’ and ‘Extra Hard’ gradients, from Wernigerode, as these are no longer available as Fomabrom.
What’s more, they still have Matt, Semi-Matt and Satin finishes – surely something could be done about this, and I could save on postage (your Classic Colour is packaged there too, after all; nobody else packages it that way).
And since I always order something extra from Wephota to get a better balance between postage and price – which then means a loss of revenue for you – perhaps that’s another point to consider.
Roland
MirkoBoeddecker
Roland,
The only reason they stock those sizes and gradients is because they can cut them to order from the master roll.
We’d have to stock them, and hardly anyone apart from you buys the small sizes and exotic gradients.
Anyone with tricky negatives usually goes for multigrade.
Please don’t start a debate on the principles now!!
I’m sure you have your reasons for working with FG. My point relates to sales volumes (i.e. how much others buy).
Fixed gradients have their market among fine art printers who work according to the zone system. And they only need standard or special (the point of the zone system).
Theoretically, it’s no problem at all to stock the Forte Kaltton fixed-gradient paper (included in the Wephota range) in all sizes and finishes – if only someone would buy it!
This stock goes off on us. We have now even started requiring payment in advance for special orders, after having to ‘give away’ a total of over €15,000 worth of uncollected soft or matt baryta paper at rock-bottom prices to ‘painting with developer’ courses between 2000 and 2003.
Conclusion: When it comes to very specific specialist items, Wephota has something of a natural monopoly, which is due to the fact that they can cut the paper themselves and actually produce these items (probably with a fair bit of cross-subsidisation).
You can get the entire Wephota range from us at list price – we’ve been doing so since 1994.
We just don’t advertise it, because we can hardly make any profit on it.
Wephota products are non-returnable, and we would ask you to make any complaints directly to Wephota if something has been cut incorrectly.
You’re no doubt already aware of the delivery times... it can easily take months.
None of this is really profitable for us, but we do it for you (including the mixed pricing; as you know, a satisfied customer is our greatest asset).
Best regards,
Mirko
