Brief interview with a new ebonite supplier

[sethile]

Hey Scott,
Did they ship your order as full meter rods, or were they cut in half?
Rad

They were full meter rods

[sethile]

Hey folks,
Just a head's up on this. The pricing appears to be going up substancially. Others have been quoted much higher prices than what was quoted on the first round of orders. Communications have not been great in some cases, and excellent in others. They are obviuosly a bit overwhelmed with the initial response.

I wish I'd accidentally ordered a bunch more! I may try to order again after Chicago. Guess we'll just have to see how all this shakes down.

One thing's for sure. It's great to have options!

[Leus]

Pardon my questions if they are too personal. What size orders are we talking about? Scott, you don't say how much your shipping was nor how big your order was. I have been delaying making a small order of about 5 to 10 meters of ebonite but the 80 euros Leus had to pay is rather frightening. Could one of you give me some info to guide me?

bob gilbert

Hi, Bob.

I asked for a quote on 15 rods, 24mm diameter. Funny thing is, I didn't specified my address, but gave them my zip code so they could provide a good quote. So these darned ZIP codes do work.

As for the total amount, I have the invoice back home, but it was more than 400 euros

[kbadkar]

Hello rough and gentlemen,
Did anyone end up with extra rod that they would be willing to part with? I would pay for it, of course. I just emailed SEM for a price list and to find out what, if any, cumberland is available. I gave no indication of address and I don't have a website, so hopefully my inquiry with them won't turn into a surprise order?!

[staffwalker]

Thanks for the answers. That is what I wanted to know it'll help me gage how much I want to order.

bob gilbert

[kbadkar]

Hello staffwalker (Bob),

I asked for a quote last week and haven't heard anything back. If you do decide to order, would you be willing to combine orders to save on shipping and perhaps on volume? The size of my order would depend on whether they have any Cumberland rod ready. Feel free to email me.

[ScoJo]

Okay, the link to Trever's page is obviously dated, so what is the URL of this new supplier? Getting back into the swing here hopefully.

[LexKY_Pipe]

http://www.sem-hitzacker.de/

[kbadkar]

3 weeks later, I got a response. Their prices have recently doubled - From 14 Euros for unpolished 24mm to 27 Euros, for example. No cumberland yet, so I'm waiting for it before I order. If anyone else is ordering tons of just black ebonite rod, I'd like to join in.

[sshawl]

I know I am a few months late on this but just recently joined this forum. Is anyone using, selling, or planning to buy some SEM Ebonite? I would love to get 5 rods or so.

Thanks!
Steve Shawl

[JHowell]

I reckon I'll buy some before too long.

Jack

[hazmat]

Does anyone have a current price list for these folks? I'm interested in getting some but would like to know what I'm getting myself into.

Or.. I'll be happy to join any upcoming group purchases.

Matt

[JHowell]

Here's the recent price list from them:


20mm diameter * 22,00 Euro
22mm diameter * 25,00 Euro
25mm diameter * 28,00 Euro
30mm diameter * 33,00 Euro

Plus shipping plus their extra charge for sub-1000 orders. These are only the sizes I asked about, they have a much wider range, up to 130mm.

Jack

[hazmat]

Thanks, Jack. What are they, a meter long? Shipping, I'm sure, is a mess. I'll probably end up paying more for that than the product.

[kbadkar]

The shipping would end up cheaper (per rod, that is) if you would be willing to take side orders from Forum members and submit an aggregate order. Of course, then you'd be stuck shipping the smaller rod orders to the rest of us.

I'd order 5 black ebonite, 24mm (@ 27 Euros, last time I got a price list). And 5 cumberland (reddish/brown), if they have them ready yet.

Their shipping costs (from May 07) were quoted as: 0-5 kg = 32 Euros, 5-10 kg = 42 Euros. FYI, 1 Euro = 1.36 US$. NOTE: Their price list is for a 100 rod minimum! There is an additional fee for smaller orders, but I can't remember how much that was. I'm guessing 1 rod weighs about 1/2 kilo, but it's probably closer to 1 kg.

I got a sample from them, and it machines like butter with very little sulfur smell. High quality stuff and worth the hassle!

[hazmat]

I would most certainly take side orders, but that assumes I have the up-front money to purchase 100 rods off the bat. Unfortunately, I can't do that on what my fine state gub'mint pays me unless I sell my car, take on a roommate and pimp myself nightly. I won't do the first two and I'm on the wrong end of pretty to consider the third

I guess I'll just do the math and see what I can afford. If anyone is willing to throw together a group order, I'll be more than happy to participate.

Matt

[JHowell]

You don't want their Cumberland, at least, not yet. The colors swirl around the center of the rod rather than in the sort of many-lobed cloverleaf that Hamburg uses. Not a very complex mix and not a pleasing look when cut. SEM recognize this, from what I hear, and are not shipping Cumberland until it's fixed.

Jack

[KurtHuhn]

I got a sample from them, and it machines like butter with very little sulfur smell. High quality stuff and worth the hassle!

I agree 100%!! Their stuff is excellent, and very high quality. I've even made a couple pens from it, and the people I gifted them to were absolutely stunned by the surface finish.

I'm not ready for rod yet, but will be some time in October/November based on my current usage rate.

[hazmat]

Kurt.. any chance I can piggy-back on your order when you put it in? I'm cool with waiting, I have plenty of other stuff to work with right now. Let me know. Thanks!

Matt

[KurtHuhn]

Absolutely. I think we've got enough folks interested that we can put together a good sized order no matter who leads the ordering process. No idea if we'd hit 100 rods, but we might get close. I'm in for at least 10 myself, and most likely more, especially if they fix their cumberland by then.