where to pick up discounted schlage locks?

[victorylocksmith]

I am currently looking to buy the most basic schlage locks, both deadbolt and knobset for less than what the big box companies are charging. KW keyed locks are super cheap and easy to get at MFS Supply. If anybody is looking for cheap/basic KW keyed locksets and really cheap but, crappy padlocks, look no further than MFS Supply. They also sell some really crappy but cheap lockboxes.

I occasionally go to Clark/Anixter to buy SC keyed locks and while they are cheaper than the Schlages at the big box stores, the problem is i sincerely hate the stupid latch that General Lock uses. Sometimes they have this little brim on the latch that juts out and makes it impossible to work with really snug fitting doorways. So if anyone has any other sources they are looking at, it would be much appreciated. It doesnt have to be Schlage specifically, just SC1 keyed.

Thanks again, any info is much appreciated. If anybody is around for this year's Clark Expo at Disneyland in Orange County, I would be an honor to buy a beer for you gentlemen.

[2octops]

You're selling these to customers, so you want to sell them quality, not cheap.

Ignore the prices of the big box stores. Someone will always be cheaper than you. Customers that only shop for the lowest price are not profitable customers and not the customers that you want to go after. Also if you will sell something other than what your customers can go buy at the big box store, it's harder for them to compare prices.

We do not stock or install anything less than grade 2 on anything with the exception of old mobile home doors that are to thin to accept them.

Check out US Can, LSDA, PLS and Cal Royal from your local distributors. They all make some good hardware that accepts universal ILCO cylinders that come in a large variety of keyways. Stock a couple of locks and a few of each of the cylinders that are popular in your area. That way you don't have to stock multiple different locks.

[victorylocksmith]

You're selling these to customers, so you want to sell them quality, not cheap.

Ignore the prices of the big box stores. Someone will always be cheaper than you. Customers that only shop for the lowest price are not profitable customers and not the customers that you want to go after. Also if you will sell something other than what your customers can go buy at the big box store, it's harder for them to compare prices.

We do not stock or install anything less than grade 2 on anything with the exception of old mobile home doors that are to thin to accept them.

Check out US Can, LSDA, PLS and Cal Royal from your local distributors. They all make some good hardware that accepts universal ILCO cylinders that come in a large variety of keyways. Stock a couple of locks and a few of each of the cylinders that are popular in your area. That way you don't have to stock multiple different locks.

Wow! That is some solid info. I would love to sell some high grade locks and make more money but, the company I subcontract for has the cheapest rock bottom rates so as a result, most of the clients attracted are intolerably cheap. I have had some success at finding clients independently however, they are all mostly on the cheap side.

I get all my locks at either mfs supply or at Clark/anixter. I've taken a look at the websites of the companies you have listed and will thoroughly research the locks and compare prices. I am very big on the choice of which keyway can be used.

I've been thinking about stocking on cylinders so that if I have to drill a lock, as long as I am careful, I re-pin a cylinder fast and get lockouts done fast and cost effective if I am unable to enter without destructive entry.

Thanks a lot 2octops

[cledry]

I'm not sure what part of the latch on the General locks that Clark sells. Could you be more specific. I use them all the time and can't recall an issue. A properly hung door should have about the width of a nickel gap.

[billdeserthills]

I don't know if you have an IDN branch near you or not, but they make a decent copy of the Schlage B-160/162 deadbolt locks
also they are super affordable & they are made almost exactly like the old schlage's were. Also US Lock makes a good copy of the same lock. Unfortunately I cannot get past the name, as they call it, "The Big Duty" and I always think of it as a "3 Flusher"
which just doesn't help me with selling them.
I carry both the new Schlage B560/562 and an import copy because not everyone is prepared to pay me more than Home Depot charges for the same product. One nice thing about US Lock is it says US Lock on the outside and your client cannot just drive to Lowes or Home Depot and get one, so even though you know it is imported crap, well so is the Schlage unfortunately.
I'm just saying having different price point locks is a good idea, if you can afford to do it.
All that stuff about selling Quality only goes so far and then you'll notice your competition is undercutting your prices and his new clients are gonna be sooo happy to save all the extra money!
Far as buying discount versions of the real thing, check out Key Sales. I'll try to remember to get their # for ya

[victorylocksmith]

any possible westcoast suppliers that wont charge an arm and a leg for shipping? ive been looking up a lot of these suppliers but they wont approve my registration until the working week starts again, so i got not clue how much their products are. also, there is a Clark/Anixter branch about 20 miles from me but I would love to be able to find something cheaper than General Lock, which in my opinion is overpriced garbage.

[victorylocksmith]

I'm not sure what part of the latch on the General locks that Clark sells. Could you be more specific. I use them all the time and can't recall an issue. A properly hung door should have about the width of a nickel gap.

on specifically the knobset latches, there the plate that keeps the latch aligned that you drill into the door, not the strikeplate but the actual plate on the latch. this plate has a brim on it, that juts out maybe a little more than half a centimeter. it creates huge problems when i am trying to install a lock. i used to like buying their stuff because it is slightly more than MFS Supply which retails at around $8 a lock and General Lock is about $10 but, the quality is FAR superior to that of MFS Supply. However, after i realized the little brim on the plate, it just drove me nuts having to chisel in a deeper recess to house the lock. this was especially painstaking when i have to do contracting in absolute beater houses in the ghetto, all at rock bottom prices due to the company i work for. a lot of times, the doors and frames are so badly damaged, everything is like a ticking time bomb and if anything bad happens, the blame is put on the technician. it is then his duty to fix it, free of cost even though it was a beater house to begin with.

[billdeserthills]

any possible westcoast suppliers that wont charge an arm and a leg for shipping? ive been looking up a lot of these suppliers but they wont approve my registration until the working week starts again, so i got not clue how much their products are. also, there is a Clark/Anixter branch about 20 miles from me but I would love to be able to find something cheaper than General Lock, which in my opinion is overpriced garbage.

If you want low prices & free shipping incentives try HL Flake they come up in your browser
http://www.hlflake.com/catalog.asp
Depends on where you are in relation to them but I get free freight after $125
You should get open account status, if you ask. That allows you 30 extra days to pay for stuff you buy. Just tell them you would like to get open account terms but you wanna open an account either way

[victorylocksmith]

any possible westcoast suppliers that wont charge an arm and a leg for shipping? ive been looking up a lot of these suppliers but they wont approve my registration until the working week starts again, so i got not clue how much their products are. also, there is a Clark/Anixter branch about 20 miles from me but I would love to be able to find something cheaper than General Lock, which in my opinion is overpriced garbage.

If you want low prices & free shipping incentives try HL Flake they come up in your browser
http://www.hlflake.com/catalog.asp
Depends on where you are in relation to them but I get free freight after $125
You should get open account status, if you ask. That allows you 30 extra days to pay for stuff you buy. Just tell them you would like to get open account terms but you wanna open an account either way

i ordered some stuff and selected USPS shipping but they didnt have any shipping estimation beforehand, very strange. also, they didnt even ask for my credit card number before ordering, once again very strange. im going to give them a call in the morning to figure out what the deal is.

[billdeserthills]

They aren't the easiest folks to talk with. Especially Moany, I have been calling her "Dude" for many years now. You know who has good schlage prices is Boyle & Chase as well as lots of Baldwin and other fancy hdwr. You can call Boyle & Chase at:800-325-2530

[jeffmoss26]

HL Flake is who I buy from most often.
I deal with Javi, he is very helpful.

[victorylocksmith]

They aren't the easiest folks to talk with. Especially Moany, I have been calling her "Dude" for many years now. You know who has good schlage prices is Boyle & Chase as well as lots of Baldwin and other fancy hdwr. You can call Boyle & Chase at:800-325-2530

i just got done speaking to an indian woman on the phone, you were not kidding.

[billdeserthills]

Anyone notice lately that HL Flake's key blanks are extra-pricey? I knew free freight couldn't really be free
I bought some sc-1 DND squarehead keys and I don't think 40 cents apiece is much of a deal although I just
noticed my birkenstock sandals just jumped up by $30. Is everything shooting up in price now?

[MBI]

Anyone notice lately that HL Flake's key blanks are extra-pricey? I knew free freight couldn't really be free
I bought some sc-1 DND squarehead keys and I don't think 40 cents apiece is much of a deal although I just
noticed my birkenstock sandals just jumped up by $30. Is everything shooting up in price now?

I've noticed blanks going up in price significantly all over. Same thing happening in the firearms market with ammo. I was told in part because brass, copper and lead just keep climbing in price but I don't know if that's the real reason or not. It doesn't explain the crazy issues with 22 lr ammo, but it might explain the other calibers.

- - -

On a separate issue, maybe in reading this thread I've missed something important, but there is something I just don't understand here.

Victorylocksmith, you seem to work for a company that sets the prices, and sets them at "rock bottom" and you're expected to do the job for the price they tell you. Yet, they aren't the ones buying stock, or even giving you a courtesy heads-up as to where you can buy stock at low enough prices to be able to accomodate their price list? For all you know, their price list may not even be taking into account all the recent price increases on inventory that we've had in the lock industry over the past few years. The whole situation just seems odd to me.

I'm not really doing much in the way of locksmithing anymore due to health, but back when I was into it a lot more, I really got sick of people expecting a job to be: dirt cheap, 100% guaranteed, blindingly fast and the best quality money can buy. I finally just said no. I finally just started turning down lots of jobs if the person clearly had unrealistic expectations which I could articulate back to them as to why they were unreasonable. If people wanted me to come to them, to fix their problems, I would always try to do the best quality job I was able to do, but they were bloody well going to pay me what I was worth in order to do it, or it wasn't worth my time. I started doing a lot less work. But the work I did was profitable, and the customers were always happy with it.

It always seemed the customers with the highest expectations on time and quality, who also expected rock bottom prices, were the same ones who were never happy with a job no matter how perfect it was or how cheap it was. It's as though they're pissed at you that they have to spend their money on... something. I won't deal with that type anymore, and it's saved me a lot of frustration and expense.

Or, maybe I'm just getting grumpy as I get old.

[billdeserthills]

A client once told me there are three conditions to a job; Speed of work, Quality of work & Price
he went on to say that on any average job you could pick two of the three, but you would almost never get all three

I doubt if you are getting old & grumpy, around here we call it crotchety and it is a dignified condition