Quote:
Originally Posted by EmptySkuLL
Rorge, thanks for the quick response. A few more questions for you (sorry to bug, but I am trying to get a handle on the logistics of this for myself and my friends that are in groups 1,2 & 3).
I just re-read the opening post which brings up a few questions:
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I'm going to address all of your questions at once, and if I miss something, just let me know.
My plan is to collect the pieces to be anodized from both days of the build party (Saturday and Sunday), and deliver them the following day (Monday) to the anodizer. Does this mean that they will start working on our stuff 15 minutes after I drop it off? Probably not, and here's why...
If you know the process, you know there are multiple steps, and it is done in batches. In the other thread I wanted to gauge general numbers so I could approach vendors with a minimum quantity to get the best pricing and also establish logistics. As you can imagine, good anodizing shops do anodizing, not front-office reception, so my contribution is aggregation - the collection, delivery, pick up, and return of pieces to and from the anodizer and you. This is how they want it, and this is what I've committed to. They don't want 50 people coming in one at a time to drop off their 2 or 3 pieces each. That would be unacceptable, and would increase costs for everyone.
Additionally, these are good shops, so (shocker!) they actually have other work to do, for numerous other companies and contracts. Each shop I interviewed (that I consider acceptable) requires a 2-5 day notification before dropping off work, and even then, based on what else is being worked on, it may sit in the queue for a couple of days before being processed. Personally, if a shop told me they could get us in and out in one day, I would trust neither them nor their work. If they have so little going on that they could accommodate us that easily, what does that say about the demand for their services? Not much, in my estimation.
Regarding pick-up, regardless of the location of the anodizer, I expect to return items to a North County location, as that seems to be central to most CalGunners. There are people in Santee and Chula Vista, but there are also people in San Clemente and Vista, so a place equally inconvenient to everyone is best, yes?