Calacatta Hexagon Mosaic Tile available in Polished and Honed currently $16.95 a Square Foot and Free Shipping.
I will always, always be a massive fan of the iPhone warehouse picture. Capturing the moment the crate is opened or an order is put together to be checked, shrink wrapped, banded and so on. That moment is inside our warehouse. No other company offers this. They have pictures but stock photos taken weeks or years ago. The majority of online companies are just Brokers and retailers themselves in many respects are the same thing. You want to buy from the Distributor but have to go through a retailer and pay for their overheads (hardly fair as we approach 2020). The Distributor has the stock, can see the lots. Someone in their has the knowledge of stone. That is who you want.
These pictures are real. They are posted to Instagram. No broker as they do not stock product can do the same. They could be in Toronto and the product might be in San Diego. A broker cannot walk out to his warehouse and take a picture of the products he is selling. In fact he has no idea what is shipping. He cannot guarantee what you ordered is what you will get. You will get what the Distributor ships you. If he is lucky it works out. If not he will deal with the fall out (but they have that covered most do not offer an independent review program, so you cannot complain easily). How can you spot a broker?
- Brokers do not have Instagram pages of a warehouse, of uninstalled product. They may have stock pictures or other peoples installations. But not the product prior to install. Most do not have an Instagram page. They are in a cubicle. What are they going to show you from their cubicle? Instagram has made everything almost live…. not good for Brokers.
- Brokers do not keep blogs. There is little to blog about. They just want you to order. They want to place an order with the Distributor to ship it to you and for it to all go off without any issues (not likely). Big brokers have guest bloggers about all things DIY, but nothing particularly relevant to the products they sell.
- They do not collect reviews. They may have reviews on their website. Reviews they can control. But their will be no “Google Review” program. They cannot have people complaining online. The reviews would destroy their business. They cannot have you doing that. So they censor you.
- They are unlikely to be part of the BBB (Better Business Bureau). Again they cannot manage the complaints. Most have more than one website. Called a “Lifeboat” in the event they are found out with bad reviews through the BBB. They can leave one website to another and continue the “Broker Scheme”.
- Their location. You can use Google maps. You can even see the street view. If they are saying one thing and you see another that is a red flag. No address. No obvious location…. stay away. They are trying to avoid any contact or litigation.
Apologies for getting off tangent, but it is all important info to know, especially when we hear from people having bad experiences from other companies (Big and small).
I really just wanted to show you these great pictures of the Calacatta 2″ Hexagon, but with so many people complaining about Brokers (and we know who they are)…… I decided to try and educate people with what to look for. We have also added this on Houzz.com to try and really push the point and help people.
Before
After
2×2″ Calacatta Hexagon honed. Again currently Free Shipping and $16.95 a Square Foot (you will notice most companies have one column less than us on a sheet. Their sheet is not even a square foot. We are one of the few companies with 42 Hexagon pieces to a sheet. Competition 36 Pieces and usually thinner. We stick to the 3/8″ thick recommended by the Marble Institute of America. There is a cost to us but we are prepared to pay it. We want our customers to have the best.
Again the Calacatta Hexagon. Here is a bit of a close up. This is a beautiful installation and on a budget. Amazing….. marble on a budget. Want more? Then take a look at the Hello Lovely blog here.
