Dave,

Years ago, I bought a bunch of gold-plated money clips from Simba Cal.

Even though the clips were individually packaged (poly bags), upon opening the bags, the clips were severly scuffed, as though they had been shoveled from a bin.

When I complained, and said I couldn't use them for my application, I was met with resistance.

The attitude was, "Well, what did you expect at that price? You get what you pay for."

Needless to say, I didn't pay for anything. I insisted on a refund and took my money to a company, who offered basically the same clip, minus the unsightly scuffs.

Payed a little more, but was able to sell the money clips as a relatively high-end item, as opposed to the Simba clip, that was virtually unsaleable.

Maybe things have changed since, but after an experience like that, I'll never know.

I think that's the idea suppliers need to keep in mind.

Count me as one to have no problems with Tropar. I buy the great majority of my plaques and acrylic as well as clocks from Tropar and love dealing with my 'rep' Kathy Woods. Everyone in their organization I've met or spoken to has treated me like I'm part of their family.
To me, it's a matter of numbers. The more you buy, the better chance something will go wrong. It's what a company does to rectify the problem that makes them 'worthy' to me.