A thought about vendors

[squatdaddy]

Yes this is my first post but I want to mention something to all that buy and spend money on big ticket items. I know a vendor feedback forum is desired and whether that is a good idea or not is up to the administors of the site... what I would offer you though is to do your own investigative work... since this is such a cottage industry you will find little or no publically held companies so do yourself a favor and for a small fee, have the vendors Dunn and Bradstreet reports pulled. These are really invaluable for getting a picture of the company, financial health, pending law suits, BBB actions, ability to procure loans, etc.... This is tangible evidence on wether a company should be used.
Just my 2 cents

[Jim Warfield]

Dunn & Bradstreet might work, unless they were calling my Dad (or someone like him) He usually just hung up the phone whenever they called and he did have a small business too.
His supplers knew how honest he was , he didn't need their rating system, but times do often change, it's a slightly different world today in many ways.

[Greg Chrise]

I got a call from Dunn this year, and apparently these days they want $300 or so to maintain this file of your company. According to them I got some inquiries and should sent them money to make sure they have an accurate file.

This means top me if a business is small this listing is not just done by Dunn Or Brad. It seems I get some call about something I need a few times a week and it is always someone will do something for $300 and it is going to help me.

I have been passing on sending out money every time the phone rings or every time the Chevy commercial comes up on the TV.

I had some suppliers extend me an account so I guess no report is a good report?

Somehow I think for haunted industries, all would be below the radar to a great degree. I would actually worry about one that was listed or knew what Dunn and Brad do!

Back in the day it was a subscription to have this information available and listings were only maintained for companies with big cash flow and long time in business. It was of no charge, they got their money by secretly reporting to their subscribers, descreatly. So now their method of marketing is about as valuable as a listing in the phone book?

[Jim Warfield]

In my Dad's terminology the word "Dunned" meant someone sent you a bill or said something nasty about you.
I wonder which came first the Dunn & Brad or the term Dunned?
Of course a "brad" is a small nail, someone get nailed?
Done, dunned then nailed?... and it happened on the street.
Where is Barney Fife when you need him?
"Andy!?"
"Aunt Bee-Sting!"
"Aunt Beast-Sting"?

[squatdaddy]

Only reason I mentioned it is because for a couple of the bigger companies in question on some of these rants do have D&B reports because I have pulled them and some of them are a real eye opener... I am a business analyst in my 'real life' and a D&B report is just one more tool that is available and usually before I plop $20k to any company, the more tools I have to make an informed choice can only help me...

[GraveStalker]

D&B

I agree, a D&B report is the way "real" businesses check credit worthiness and a great suggestion. I think this combined with forum warnings about certain vendors should guide your purchasing. Thanks Squatdaddy!

[Monster-Tronics]

I would have to agree with Greg on D&B. I’ve been inundated by calls from a phone soliciting company on behalf of D&B and now emails too. If they do not stop calling I am going to file a complaint. From what I’ve been able to find out the spammer is working for D&B and I find it really sad that they have to stoop this low for listings.

For $300 to $500 I can fill out a few forms with credit references which all could be bogus if I wanted and have them list it. I’m sure they do their due diligence for large companies but for the small companies they’re spamming like this I’m guessing they are not.

[Greg Chrise]

Another wonderful listing

Another wonderful listing I think is laughable is JD Powers and Associates. A small garage I had 10 or more years ago has been listed as a multi manufacturer new and used car sales lot. About every 6 months they send me a big packet as they value my information and there is a real one dollar bill in there for my time.

What do I thing about various automotive finance companies and services? The packet is like 10 pages of detailed information. Even if I was a new car dealership ever, a dollar would not cover the specific information I would be giving, similar to a level of a scam, theft identity service.

I just let them all spin their collective electronic wheels. If they want to believe I am someone, who am I to shatter their dreams? Thanks for the couple of bucks JD Powers! Keep em coming!

Yes, I'm sorry to report, dunn and Brad have sunk to the level of internet yellow page listings. Some are free, some will spend 30 seconds reviewing and putting your information out there for $300.

Of course my day business is all customers I deam to be with in a 50 mile radius. I don't care what someone in New York wants to know.

The best most recent phone call was a guy from India phoning to tell me I have been the victim of fraud sometime in the last 3 years and he is calling to give me back my money. If I would just give him all the information about this incident that never happened. Click.

A true scammer as far as listings go has studied which banks report, which suppliers report, how to stay off the radar and how to create false information via proxy that could easily be considered manufactured conjectire they had no control of.

but, THIS is the haunt industry. If I ever had the occasion to spend $20,000 and got nothing and got the run around? I'm afraid I would show up where ever they were, regardless of the distance, with my hearse and be collecting something. Props, donatable kidneys, corpses for general principle, my money or something of equal value. If I will be spending $300, it will be on gas money.

[Jim Warfield]

Years ago a certain vender was given a Christmas present from his employees, it was a bumper-sticker:"My Other Car, Went Up My Nose!"
Enough money was spent on nasil self-medication to buy a real expensive car, I was told, and everyone knew it.
Sort of like a local trucking business in which the drivers were forced to drive very unsafe trucks with bad tires and almost no brakes because the owner of the company switched prioritys from such items to nasil candy for himself.
An overdose solved the problem.