WHY ORDER CUSTOM-MADE RAILINGS FROM AGS STAINLESS? Because AGS Sells Factory-Direct!
Make no mistake, purchasing directly from the manufacturer can save you a ton of money! When it comes to purchasing a railing system most manufacturers offer their product through a conventional 2-step distribution channel. In contrast, AGS Stainless offers its railings through a direct-distribution channel. Purchasing your railing system directly from the manufacturer can result in your receiving a better quality product at a much lower price. Let’s analyze how this occurs?
Conventional Distribution vs Factory-Direct Distribution
The conventional distribution channel has at least 2 players between you and the product manufacturer; a wholesaler and a retailer. The wholesaler purchases either directly from the manufacturer or through an intermediary (known as a jobber). Under this model when you need railings, you or your contractor purchase them from a retailer. With the direct-distribution (straight from the factory to you) model there are no middle-men marking up the cost of your railings without adding any value. No jobbers, no wholesalers no retailers. The primary advantage that purchasing through a wholesaler-retailer distribution model offers is: 1. Convenient locations (think neighborhood hardware stores and lumber yards). 2. Same-Day Product Pickup The main disadvantage of purchasing through the wholesaler-retailer distribution model is: 1. Each time your railings are handled by one of these intermediaries, the price goes up. 2. The wholesaler-retailer model is not well suited for the sale of high end, custom-made railing products.
Why is it harder to get custom-made railings through a wholesaler-retailer distribution channel?
Custom-made railings are built to perfectly fit only one home…the home they were designed for. That’s what makes them unique and it’s a part of what makes them beautiful. Because no 2 decks or set of stairs is “exactly” the same, it means to supply 500 homes with custom-made railings, a retailer would need to stock 500 different railing systems in their inventory! Warehousing inventory is very expensive. If the product being warehoused doesn’t sell, the potential for financial loss is high. For this reason the 2-step distribution model favors railing products that are more “one-size-fits-all” in nature.
In other words, using our earlier example, they’d rather inventory 3 railing products that could be made to work for 75% of the market. That’s why they prefer railing products that can be sold in stock lengths which can be cut to the required dimensions and assembled onsite. This allows them to sell the same few products to almost everyone, a much less risky proposition.
Although this formula may work well for the retail and wholesale building material suppliers of this world, it is not really in your best interest. After all, this is your home we’re talking about.
You, your family, your friends and your neighbors will be looking at these railings for decades to come.
Should you settle on railings that best suit the business plan of a large building materials supplier, or should you purchase railings that make you smile and want to rub your hands along them every time you step out on your deck?