alexandre

I usually stop by Ace in smaller towns or when the bigger stores aren't easily accessible. I usually find what I'm looking for, although occasionally I've missed the larger selection from Lowe's and Home Depot.

Strengths: One stop shop. Decent pricing. Usually conveniently located.

Needs to improve: Store qualities vary.

I have a power drill and circular saw, satisfied with both. Sturdy, ergonomic design.

Strengths: Good quality products.

Needs to improve: None I know of.

I've been really disappointed the few times I've had to fly with them. They seem like a dying company.

Strengths: They have a nice logo.

Needs to improve: Charges for everything. Inflexible staff.

I appreciate The flexibility offered around travel with rapid rewards points. I often book multiple possible travel dates in advance, and it's easy to cancel the flights I don't need and get them instantly credited back to my account.

I also take full advantage of their 2 check-in, 2 carry on policy as I often travel with art in hand. They've been very fair about fudging the rules for me to make sure I get my artwork on board. I've gotten the occasional sneer from a flight attendant when bringing larger pieces aboard, but they're just doing their job.

Strengths: Great prices. Rapid rewards program in conjunction with rapid rewards Visa. Check in luggage is still free.

Needs to improve: No assigned seating.

I go to Newegg for the little things: flash drives, cables, etc. Their sales are hard to beat.

Strengths: Great deals. Fast shipping. Good customer reviews.

Needs to improve: None.

Generally happy with my Chase business account. However, gave their Paymentech mobile card processing service a try-- don't bother. It's overpriced (penalties if you don't meet the monthly minimum of sales, which happens during my offseason), cumbersome app, reader needs to be charged. I thought it would make sense to keep all of my transactions in house, but I'll stick with Square.

Strengths: Ubiquitousness. Friendly, personable customer service. Convenience. Great rewards cards (Southwest, Ink).

Needs to improve: Various, seemingly unnecessary fees. Their mobile card processing service is lacking and underpriced.

I've always been well taken care of when ordering from GPP.

Strengths: Great , personable sales team. Quick turnaround. Robust selection.

Needs to improve: None.

I prefer Lowes to Home Depot, although it may just be for aesthetic and layout reasons. They do have a robust selection of shelving solutions, and area where I find Home Depot to be lacking. Off the top of my head, they carry around 5-7 different brands of complete track and wall hanging shelving solutions, allowing for virtually any type of customization for your workspace.

Strengths: Clean, organized warehouse. Good pricing. Robust shelving system selections.

Needs to improve: --

I've used eBay for years. It's a go to to hunt down the best prices on supplies. Despite many fears around scams, you can avoid issue largely by doing your homework and buying from reputable sellers.

Strengths: Serves as an international used marketplace, better than retail pricing

Needs to improve: The anonymity can lead to scams

Simply the best selection for storage solutions. Good return policy to try after buy. Pricey, and getting complete systems adds up.

Strengths: Variety, innovation

Needs to improve: pricey

I use Office Depot as a good standby for inks in a hurry, recycling my inks (getting a $30-50 credit every so often is a nice perk), and for occasional office purchases (laser jet printer, file cabinet, office chair) during sales and promotional events. Their online shipping, for me, has usually been free and overnight, which can't be beat. Still, their general pricing is on the higher end.

You can use them for UPS and USPS services after hours (although your packages won't ship until next day). Convenient services, but their staff I can sometimes be unfamiliar with UPS/USPS procedures so you may have to bear through a lengthy process.

Strengths: Variety of services- printing, shipping, copies. They offer credit for used ink cartridges. Good rewards program. Lots of coupons available.

Needs to improve: Office supplies pricey, esp. compared to Amazon. They mainly offer inks for desktop printers, not large format. Many branches lack good cs.

I've used their Shortrunposters and Xeikon prints sites. Very happy with their service, unbeatable pricing and turnaround times. One package arrived damaged and they sent another run out shortly. I once picked up an order when passing through Nashville, albeit after-hours, so they left my package for me at the restaurant across the street. I really appreciated that flexibility and personal touch.

The one downer is there's no way to ensure color consistency from run to run. I understand, given the volume of orders they process (which is their business model- lots of orders at low prices), that they wouldn't remember what to look for in my images when my orders come 3-6 months apart. I've been able to send a sample print to them to know what to correct for and thus gotten the consistency I need, but this method can complicate their otherwise easy to use system and quick turnaround time. Still, you can't beat their pricing and generally good quality for custom poster/print orders.

My above concern may not apply to everybody, but I sell fine art prints and they offer archival quality printing, so my product should have quality consistency throughout their runs. I know a fellow artist who uses more pastel colors with less tonal gradation in his work, and the print differences at Cumberland don't affect his art as much as mine.

Overall, I can do vouch for what they're offering. They are a quality company with limitations.

Strengths: Unbeatable prices, fast turnaround, good cs.

Needs to improve: Prints aren't consistent from run to run (color tones, saturation). Understandable given the nature of their business, but important to know if print consistency is crucial for your business.

I've ordered a handful of customized stamps for imprinting my logo on packaging. Their turnaround is quick, stamps are quality. I price matched on the net and found there's to be amongst the best, plus their file uploading was amongst the most user friendly for my taste.

Strengths: Quick turnaround, quality product, competitive pricing

Needs to improve: None for me

I rarely ship with FedEx- I find USPS and UPS better for me needs. But, I receive shipments via FedEx seamlessly for the most part.

I did have a claim for a lost package that I'd shipped. The process was a hassle. The rep assigned to my case was pretty mechanical and didn't respond to my urgency around the situation. I had to wait a mandatory period for them to search their warehouses, followed by providing them with receipts for my lost items; relatively standard but time consuming and kind of disappointing considering I had to repurchase, repackage, and reship my items without additional compensation for time, etc... I started back at zero weeks later.

Strengths: Overnight delivery, Lots of drop off centers

Needs to improve: Claims dept for losses was a hassle

I switched from T-Mobile for more reliable communication; I travel a lot of interstates and would lose service outside of metro areas w/T-Mobile. Verizon is much better, but still not perfect (I lose signal around state borders and many remote areas). Service is almost 2x as much, but you pay for reliability.

Strengths: Best reception, rural reception.

Needs to improve: Pricey.

I have owned two Canon large format printers- IPF 8300 and IPF 6450, as well as numerous all-in-ones. I'm very satisfied with the performance and print quality. They can be intimidating to take on for a small business owner like my, but their tech support has consistently been patient, well-informed, and helpful. I've had a few OS X and Canon compatibility issues come up, and they exhausted all options to help me resolve them, leaving me better informed and more autonomous in the process.

My one gripe is their moving procedure: I've had to move both printers- one when I sold it and another in my own cross-country move- and the process is pricey and complicated. The printer has to drain the inks from their reservoires to avoid internal spillage, so if any of your cartridges are low, in order to fully prepare you for the move you'd have to have extras on hand (starting around $150 each, be prepared for a surprise hidden expense). On top of that, the drained inks get dumped into the maintenance cartridges, filling those up. One tech agent I spoke to said I should have 3 extras on hand, another said 1-2. Mind you, these aren't items that you can find at Office Depot or any big box chains. You'd either have to order online (and pay for expedited shipping if your move is time-sensitive) or find an authorized dealer. In my case, the nearest dealer was an hour away, and their person who specialized in Canon was out on a field call. So, I waited a couple hours to confirm they had my maintenance cartridge in stock, made the two hour round trip, and grabbed three cartridges just in case. Turns out, the job finished using just one of the 3. A lot of hassle and uncertainty in what I hoped would be an exact science.

Strengths: Excellent product. Knowledgable tech support for their large format printers. Keeps software up to date.

Needs to improve: Moving procedure for their large format printers (daring the inks and cleaning the maintenance cartridges before long distance move) is complicated and expensive to say the least.

Love Amazon. Prime membership pays for itself; having supplies shipped to my door in one to to days has really saved me from making store runs when I'm in a workflow. I use their review sections to compare products. Their prices are as good as any.

Strengths: Two day shipping with Amazon Prime. Great pricing. Vast selection. Reviews section really helpful. Great customer service- I've always gotten a live person in less than a minute.

Needs to improve: None that stand out.

I'm the sole proprietor of a small business, so I appreciate their low membership rate and early morning hours (they're open to business members 7-10am before they open to the public). This has gotten me out of a last minute jam more than once. They've always treated me well, no matter the branch, when I've needed customer service attention.

Strengths: Early hours for business membership, good selection and, of course, bulk pricing.

Needs to improve: Can't think of a meaningful one at the moment.

I use Paypal for merchant services, invoicing, eBay payments, and personal transactions. They've changed how we move our money around.

Strengths: Ubiquitous. Trusted. Reliable.

Needs to improve: None I can think of.

Great store. Use their online coupons. I wish they had odd numbered sizes for their heavy duty stretcher bars in stores. Otherwise, I always have a good experience in store.

Strengths: Great selection. Excellent website. Lots of coupons and promotions. Knowledgeable staff.

Needs to improve: Some of their brick and mortar stores are pared down, leaving more incentive to shop online. Also, prices are sometimes better on their website (online coupon codes).