How To Save On Traffic Control Products
Most people are surprised at the cost of traffic safety products. They assume a traffic cone is $5 and a traffic drum can’t be more than $20. The reason it’s more than most would imagine is because of the safety standards the products need to meet and the reflective sheeting that needs to be applied. But the reason for this post is to help you save the most money possible on your next traffic safety purchase. Here are some tips:
Buy In Bulk
If you purchase a few pallets of product three or more times a year, consider buying all at once. For one you can negotiate a better price per unit when you buy in larger quantities. Two, you save a lot on shipping. For example, if you are shipping twenty traffic cones you will probably pay $4-5 per cone for shipping. If you purchase one hundred cones it may be closer to $1.50-2 per cone for shipping.
Find The Nearest Manufacturer
Once you know who the nearest manufacturer is, you can begin to search for that brand of product. A lot of companies (including us) drop ship our goods straight from the manufacturer. If you are in New York find a northeast manufacturer then go from there. Otherwise you may end up purchasing from a manufacturer in California and pay the freight cost to bring the product cross-country!
Manage Freight Costs
Freight can be 20% or more of the total cost of your purchase. Be sure that whoever is shipping your product gets good freight discounts. If the price seems a bit high and you are part of a big company/organization, there may heavily discounted shipping accounts that you can use. Ask a higher up about any LTL (pallet shipments) or UPS/FedEx accounts your organization may have. For us, we get great rates because we ship through the manufacturer’s account and they get large volume discounts. But when shopping elsewhere, it never hurts to ask around.
