Paul
I avoid BB like the plague. I used to work for the brother of the owner of BB and was not impressed. Still am not as there customer service is next to none and getting parts is like getting teeth from a chicken.
When I was in that area working for the brother, castings were 50 c/lb, 1/lb, 2/lb up to about 5/lb
BB went with the 1/lb or less, the brothers one of which is Grizzly in the states went with the 2.50/lb range. Tools looked almost the same, but the level of Bondo was a lot higher as the casting quality went down.
When you go to Taiwan, or China, the companies will say this is how much the tool will cost. You then say I want it cheaper by this amount and they say fine we will make them for you. In order to get the cheaper price, they leave out a few items and do not hold tolerances as well. You get what you pay for! If you offer them a few dollars more per tool, they give you that plus they knock their socks off giving you extra features and better quality control.
KBC, now that is another kettle of fish. Most of my orders are freight prepaid as I order enough, but with an order I might get three items from Delta, 2 from Montreal, one from Toronto and maybe even one or two from a US location. If I really need an item, I check where the stock is first. I had looked at getting a few machines from them, but found out that they were warehoused in Toronto and the freight was going to be exhorbitant. No stock transfer to Delta, just freight all the way from back East.
If the item is on special, and you order during the flyer, well, it may not show up, at least for a while. I ordered a Co-Ax indicator, it arrived 3 months later and no longer at the sale price.
Overall their service has been pretty good and they remain one of my preffered suppliers.
As for KMS, we are one of their satelite stores. I am dealing with their wholesale dept. regularly.
By the way Paul, what part of the OK are you in?
Walter
