Gettin' burned by the Private Label...

This thread stems from here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17752

In this thread, I see that many of you are unaware of what private-labeling is. This is when a company (Joes Coatings) labels another company's (Bob's Corporation) product as their own. In other words, Joe wants to sell stuff on the internet so he buys products from Bob's Corporation and puts a label on it that says "Joes Coatings".
* Don't feel bad if you have to read that a couple of times...

Is the company that you are going to purchase from REALLY a manufacturer or a manufacturers representative? Is the name on the pails the real company that made your garage floor coating? Do they have labs? Do they REALLY understand the products?

I think that the biggest problem with one company relabeling another company's product is that the manufacturer is relieved of ALL liability. AND, Joe doesn't understand all of the ins and outs of the product. So, since he has limited knowledge he can hit a brick wall pretty fast if he needs to solve a problem.

I know of at least one company that sells products like they are a manufacturer that is run by a 16 year old boy. How do YOU know? How do you avoid ending up in this kind of situation like c6 rocket did?

If you are buying a product called Brand X Garage Coating made by Brand X manufacturing... FIND OUT if they really manufacture the product or if they are taking someone elses product and changing the label!

kinda like Valspar making the Quikrete brand ?

WolverineCoatings said:

This thread stems from here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17752

In this thread, I see that many of you are unaware of what private-labeling is. This is when a company (Joes Coatings) labels another company's (Bob's Corporation) product as their own. In other words, Joe wants to sell stuff on the internet so he buys products from Bob's Corporation and puts a label on it that says "Joes Coatings".
* Don't feel bad if you have to read that a couple of times...

Is the company that you are going to purchase from REALLY a manufacturer or a manufacturers representative? Is the name on the pails the real company that made your garage floor coating? Do they have labs? Do they REALLY understand the products?

I think that the biggest problem with one company relabeling another company's product is that the manufacturer is relieved of ALL liability. AND, Joe doesn't understand all of the ins and outs of the product. So, since he has limited knowledge he can hit a brick wall pretty fast if he needs to solve a problem.

I know of at least one company that sells products like they are a manufacturer that is run by a 16 year old boy. How do YOU know? How do you avoid ending up in this kind of situation like c6 rocket did?

If you are buying a product called Brand X Garage Coating made by Brand X manufacturing... FIND OUT if they really manufacture the product or if they are taking someone elses product and changing the label!

Click to expand...

Lesson Learned.

Jeez just when I was getting ready to coat my new garage floor. What do I do now.


Willy

Willy Victor said:

Jeez just when I was getting ready to coat my new garage floor. What do I do now.


Willy

Click to expand...

If you have a quality, known, epoxy, you follow the directions and enjoy your new floor!

If you have questionable product, you need to decide if you feel lucky or not.

The private label versus ‘actual manufacturer’ concept is something you as a consumer need to be aware of, but I believe it actually works to the consumer’s advantage. Let’s say Brand X is an established manufacturer of garage floor tile. They have spent years building a brand and they have a large dealer network. Now let’s assume a retailer like a large lumberyard chain, hardware store or even online dealer comes along and wants to buy in high quantities and market the product for less. If the BrandX label is used it will either result in higher prices or a major disruption to the existing dealer base. If the retailer uses a private label and does not capitalize on the existing brand awareness or marketing materials the manufacturer saves money, the retailer saves money and the consumer gets a high quality product for less.

In many cases the warranty is still the same and it passes through directly from the manufacturer. In many cases the ONLY difference is the box the product comes in.

The whole concept also leads to splitting of hairs that frankly does the consumer no good. Let’s say you develop an epoxy system buy you pay someone else to manufacturer it for you…. Are you the manufacturer or ‘Just another private label product’ to take it a step further, let’s say it’s not epoxy but a molded product. Assume for a second you own the plates but pay a contract injector to create the tile itself; does that make you a private label? Why is a private label bad?

In my own personal experience, based on years in the home improvement industry there is a lot of **** on the market. You can get **** direct from the manufacturer or you can get private label ****. In the flip side you can pay more for high quality direct from the manufacturer or buy high quality for less by buying a private label.

Justin Krauss
Operations Manger
http://www.jnkproducts.com