Newsletter | June 2008

Welcome to SaveYourChurchMoney.com

This month we share an informative piece on how buying “direct” often does NOT save your church money. After you read this story, you may want to consider using the forward feature at the bottom of our newsletter to send a copy to churches you know going through a purchase. We would love to save them dollars! We also have a few special June savings opportunities to share with you below. As always, thanks, and enjoy.

Does Buying “Direct” Save Your Church Money?

“We saved a lot of money by buying direct from the manufacturer,” Oliver told me joyfully. “I know we could have purchased the same chairs from SYCM, but once I found out we could buy direct, we decided to go that route.” With no joy on my part, I tactfully explained to Oliver that while “buying direct” certainly sounded as if it would save him money, the reality is that did not happen. Here’s the “inside information” on what actually took place in Oliver’s situation.

Some manufacturers take their products to the public in a two-pronged manner. They have a dealer network that promotes the products of the manufacturer in their area and even nationally like we do at SYCM. But also, if a church contacts them “directly”, they will then sell their products directly to the church. The church naturally and logically concludes that buying direct will cost them less by removing one party from the mix of the purchase. However, that’s most often not the case.

For example, in this case, Oliver paid $39.95 per chair. What Oliver did not know was our cost as a dealer was several dollars per chair below his cost, and we would have sold him the same chair for $36 each. On the 400 chairs his church purchased, Oliver could have saved almost $1600 for his church. The reality is that manufacturers “protect” their dealers when it comes to pricing. If a manufacturer chose to compete with their own dealers, there would be little or no incentive for the dealer to market the products of that manufacturer.

At SYCM, our core value of Low Overhead allows us to provide you the products you need with almost no mark-up. Many dealers need to mark up chairs like Oliver bought 25-40% because of their overhead cost of doing business, so Oliver actually saw some pricing above what the manufacturer sold him the chairs for. Other dealers, like SYCM, control costs so efficiently that churches will definitely save dollars by NOT buying direct.

We desire all churches to get the absolute best value for their dollars. That’s great stewardship! But our encouragement is to make sure that’s actually happening. Oliver told us later, “I’ll not make the same assumption again!” If we can help your church save money in any way, please let us know!

Preschool and Elementary Seating from Royal Seating

This month we are featuring the popular 1100 Series of Stack Chairs from Royal Seating at our best discounts ever. This sturdy, comfortable chair has been a great value for churches for years. It is now available in 8 shell colors and 5 seat heights and is packed with features and backed by the best warranty in the business. This is a great opportunity to save your church money! Be sure and contact us for more information.

New Portable Staging from Midwest Folding Products

Midwest Folding Products is introducing a new portable staging line that is not only adjustable and flexible, but easy to set up! TransFold gives you the freedom to configure the stage to create any performance environment you can imagine. You can build the exact size and shape stage that you need to accommodate your event. You are the director with TransFold! For more information, please contact us.

Solis by Bic Graphic at Special Pricing

Bic Graphic has introduced four new models of its popular Solis line of pens at special introductory pricing. We’re always keeping an eye out for great pen specials for churches and this pen is one of them. One imprint color in one location is included in our pricing. Please contact us for more information.