WarmGlass.com

I have noticed there are a few members from Australia on this forum.
I am looking for a source of reasonably priced fusing quality glass.
Many dealers here in Austrlia charge ridiculouly high prices.
I am happy to buy direct from the USA if I need to.
Beau Lyons
Glass sculptor

If you are set up as a small business, try to set up a wholesale account with one of the regional distributors (if you can find one). The pricing you can get at wholesale will be less expensive than your local glass dealer (it probably won't be the same discount they get because of the volume, but it's still less expensive). Here in the US, often you just need to submit a business card, tax ID, and business license.

Dana W.

Keep shipping costs in mind. Ther dealers have already factored that in for you; if you order direct you will have to add on packing and shipping, and probably insurance, too.

Lynn g wrote:Keep shipping costs in mind. Ther dealers have already factored that in for you; if you order direct you will have to add on packing and shipping, and probably insurance, too.

I have found it significantly cheaper to buy wholesale, even when considering shipping costs (for instance, when I buy an 80 piece crate of Spectrum clear). Basically my dealers are getting the glass at the same place I am, though I am sure at a better discount. But they add a significant markup (which I understand), and given that I have to drive 100 miles to get there, if I can do an order in one fell swoop, I come out much better in price.

Dana

Of course it's better to buy wholesale. Beau seems to be in Australia, though, and shipping costs from the US can be quite horrendous! I just wanted to be sure that he included that consideration and did the math before making a decision. I know what it cost me to have about $1000 worth of glass shipped from BE (Portland) to Central Calif...thank goodness they've opened their Bay Area Resource Center, so now it just costs me one tank of gas and driving time!

I'm still hoping for "Beam me up, Scotty" to become a reality!

Yes I am aware of the freight costs, but the retailers here charge that and much more. The market here is not so big and therefore not very competitive.
I buy lots of stuff from the US and even with freight costs it is generally cheaper to do that.

Beau Lyons wrote:Yes I am aware of the freight costs, but the retailers here charge that and much more. The market here is not so big and therefore not very competitive.
I buy lots of stuff from the US and even with freight costs it is generally cheaper to do that.

Perhaps if you were a retailer and have that kind of overhead you'd understand why they charge what they do...just sayin'

Andy T,
I am attemping to buy a Taurus 3 ring saw here in Australia, I was quoted $1,800.00.
Currency conversion is USD$.98 -AUD$ 1.00.
So I will not be helping the poor Australian retailer to rip me off.OK

Beau Lyons wrote:Andy T,
I am attemping to buy a Taurus 3 ring saw here in Australia, I was quoted $1,800.00.
Currency conversion is USD$.98 -AUD$ 1.00.
So I will not be helping the poor Australian retailer to rip me off.OK

Well, I'll admit...that is a bit steep.

Beau Lyons wrote:Andy T,
I am attemping to buy a Taurus 3 ring saw here in Australia, I was quoted $1,800.00.
Currency conversion is USD$.98 -AUD$ 1.00.
So I will not be helping the poor Australian retailer to rip me off.OK

Beau, I bought my Taurus 3 Ring saw from Delphi in August 2008. The US $ price at the time was 434.95. Today they are US$ 367.95.
Postage & fees came to US$ 110.86, a total of US$ 545.81 The total cost to me in AU$ in 2008 was 619.63.

The ring saw is now US$ 367.95. Postage is probably about the same as it was in 2008. There is a much better exchange rate today, (US$ 1.00 : AU$ 0 .975) than when I bought mine.

I just tried going onto Delphi's site and going through the motions of buying one now but they wouldn't let me proceed to checkout, to get postage costs, without going through a whole registration process so I didn't do it.

Hope that helps, Jen
(PS where in Oz are you?)

Hi Jen (buttercup)
I am generally based in Brisbane, but I travel around a lot by Caravan.
Currently we in Bathurst NSW enroute to Melbourne to see my grandchildren.
I have been a sculptor for 35 years, and I am drawn to glass fusing as a new medium.
Where are you located?
Regards,
Beau Lyons

Beau, I sent you a PM. Jen

I think the cheapest fusing glass and supplies in Australia are from these guys.

http://glassfusing.com.au/

Pete

I am planning to do small sculpture pieces, not jewellery, so i will be using a fair bit of glass per item.
Can I take clear float glass, coat it with high temperature enamel paint, fire it. and then crush it up to make cheap float glass fritz.
Then use that fritz in a mold, firing it again.

Yes, it is a very small market so there's not much competition, or sales for those companies anyway. We've about the same land area as the US and 1/10 the population so freight around the country is steep too.
Try http://www.axessglass.com/About/Location.aspx who are in Broadmeadows, north of melbourne
and http://www.bluedogglass.com.au/ in Oakleigh just south of city centre.
You need a business set up to get wholesale, huge difference. Both have been very good to me.
I don't think paint on glass would be much good. You could look at recycled but have to keep parts seperate. Rosanna among others does terrific work with recycled.
Peter.