PRICE INCREASES
The price of raw materials has been increasing exponentially over the course of 2021 and 2022. As stated awhile back, we are only able to lock in most pricing for a 3-month period, therefore, we will continue to monitor the marketplace and respond accordingly to assure a competitively priced product. Knowing the volatility of the markets, we find the need to adjust pricing throughout the course of the year depending on any new increases or decreases we receive from our vendors, and freight carriers. Unfortunately, we do not know when they will start coming down, but we are all hopeful it is soon!
On top of the above-mentioned raw materials, we have also seen an increase in our labor of 11% due to the increase in demand as well as the shortage of employees and a 12% increase in our general overhead due to increases in insurance, electricity, gas, and the like.
When we start to see our supply costs go down, we will start to pass those decreases on to our customers.
** PLEASE NOTE:
The freight industry is also very volatile and rates are continuring to increase exponentially. Considering this, please be aware that your bid or quoted price sent to you may change throughout the year because of this. With the shortage of drivers, fuel surcharges, etc., we are unable to lock in any freight terms, currently. As always, call for an updated freight quote/estimate on all orders throughout this year. Obviously, we are not happy with the prospect of having to implement this increase and in the instability of our freight partners, and we hope to be able to rescind the increase when we see a repeal in
our pricing. We value our business relationship very much and hope that you can understand our decision on this matter.
COVID-19: SHIPPING NOTICE
Here at Blackburn Manufacturing, we are committed to our customer’s satisfaction with both our products and service.
While the world is facing challenging times, we are taking steps to avoid interruption in service and delivery. With this in mind, we have reached out to our common carriers regarding delivery to “Shelter to Place” states. They have advised they are still making every effort to deliver products as requested. However, there will be some situations where this isn’t possible.
Both Fedex and UPS have given some guidance regarding possible interruptions in delivery. Should a business be closed and unable to accept delivery, they encourage people to use their online services to make arrangements. Below are links for both carrier websites and their online services:
—FOR UPS DELIVERIES—
- UPS My Choice gives you the ability to manage and/or reroute your shipments online: https://www.ups.com/us/en/services/tracking/mychoice.page
—FOR FEDEX DELIVERIES—
- Fedex Delivery Manager gives you the ability to manage and/or reroute your shipments online: https://www.fedex.com/apps/fdmenrollment/
Blackburn will continue to make every effort to supply our valued customers with product. But should the need arise to reschedule or redirect a shipment, please use the above tools to avoid delays and additional redelivery fees.
We are also taking all additional steps necessary at our facility to ensure the health and safety of our employees. As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have and appreciate your patience and understanding while we all continue to work through these unprecedented days.
RETURNS / RE-STOCKING POLICY
Blackburn Mfg. Company offers a wide variety of products some of which are returnable and some that are not. All Custom Printed products are NON-RETURNABLE. All Custom packaged or labeled products even if they are plain flags (i.e. customer specific barcodes on bundles of flags) are NON-RETURNABLE. There are NO exceptions.
All plain marking flags and select other marking products are returnable but must be returned within 30 days of the purchase date. ALSO, the customer returning such product will be charged a 20% restocking fee (meaning 20% of the retail price paid for the product). All returns must be approved by Blackburn’s prior to the return and the customer returning the material must pay the freight to get the items back to the Blackburn warehouse.
We encourage you to reach out to our customer service representatives for any return authorizations by emailing sales@blackburnflag.com or calling 1-800-942-5816.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Blackburn-Nielsen
President
Blackburn Mfg. Company