What did I buy?

[MattS 0]

Well I have not been doing this very long.  I just got my second shipment of vinyl in the other day.  They are small shipments.  The first batch I bought when I got my cutter was off of ebay and it was 6 year intermediate.  This stuff is strong, tough,  and glossy.  So far it is working out great for me.  So it was running low so I figured I needed to buy some more.  This time I went back to ebay and got some stuff from a different selling.  It just said it was 7 year vinyl.  When I got it the other day, I was a little disappointed when I pulled it out of the box.  The stuff seemed real thin, it wasn't very glossy, and it ripped almost like paper.  I cut on it for the first time last night and it cut fine.  Weeding was harder and easier then the other stuff.  It was easier because the vinyl ripped so easy, I wasn't having to carefully pull bigger pieces at once.  Anyway, Just going off my description, is this stuff worth while.  I haven't applied any of it yet so I really don't know what it looks like installed.  Has anyone used vinyl that fit that description and had any luck?

[Guest fivestar]

Sounds to me like the first vinyl you bought was calendared vinyl and the second shipment was cast vinyl, which is actualy better then the first.  Cast vinyl is thinner and and works holds up better then calendared vinyl does.  I know bannerjohn is going to disagree with me, but I'd be very leary about buying vinyl off of ebay as you don't know how long the vinyl has been sitting around before people on there tries to sell it.

Maybe post the links to the purchases you made and we can look at them and see if we can tell you for sure what they claim it is.

[stickygrafix 2]

does the backing paper say anything on the back of it? I had a buddy of mine buy some "7 year vinyl great for banners, pos displays etc." off of ebay and thought he got a great deal because it was like 100 yards and 48" wide for something like $50 with shipping. When I got to his house he showed me the stuff and it was CONTACT SHELVING PAPER!!!! I freaking lost it! I laughed at his misfortune for atLEAST 45 mins. and I still won't let him live it down.

So check the back of the vinyl and see if it says anything like Oracal 651 or Avery or something along those lines.

[MattS 0]

CONTACT PAPER.  Oh, I will be a little upset if that is the case.      I will look at it tonight and let you know what I find.

[stickygrafix 2]

here was the auction he bought: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290121806255&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D290121806255%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

(if this wasn't allowed to be posted I apologize and please delete)

[kneal4747 0]

Hey guys, I checked the sellers feedback, and on page 2 of his feedbacks, he sold " 35 1/2 in shelf paper to another guy also. Sounds as though thats what you got. The feedback does say that he refunded the other guys money . It has the same picture as the auction you bought in.

I dont know if my comment is allowed on here or not. Please delete if not.

[MattS 0]

The auction that stickygrafix posted is from a different seller.  The seller I bought from has a 99.8% rating for 900 feedbacks.  There was one like kneal4747 mentioned that posted a negative for low quality product.  I will get some pics tonight of the stuff and post it.  There is one thing that I noticed on this stuff that might throw up a flag.  On the backing on this stuff, there was a cutting grid just like you will see on contact paper.  I just remembered noticing this. 

[MattS 0]

Alright here it is.

This first picture is the back of the stuff I am asking about. It has a white backing.

This next picture is a ripped off piece of the stuff in question stuck on the vinyl I have been using and like.  The skull was cut on the vinyl that I have been using.

This vinyl that I have been using does not have any markings on it as far as brand.  As you can see from the second picture, the coloring is totally different.  I really don't like the eggshell type color at all.  I like the bright white glossy that I had.  I am new at this and didn't think there would be this much difference.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

here was the auction he bought: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290121806255&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D290121806255%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

(if this wasn't allowed to be posted I apologize and please delete)

2 things in that auction should have said NO... 'Vinyl paper' and 1" core. I've bought hundreds of rolls of vinyl and never got a 1 inch core.

And Fivestar,I don't disagree with you. I buy my vinyl on ebay but I only buy from people I know and trust,and I know where it comes from. The only time I got a bad roll was from an actual Sign Supply company, who just sells on ebay to get new customers. I complained,the guy overnighted me a new roll.

And, after 700+ banners and no telling how many magnets,coroplast,etc...I've not had one single complaint. Some of my banners have been hanging on billboards in North Georgia,next to the interestate,for almost a year.

The moral of this story is, Do some resaerch.KNow what you are buying.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

The Sinloihi company has been in bsuiness since 1959 and is well known for their high-quality products. That is NOT shelf paper. I should be so lucky as to find a good deal on some of that.

[MattS 0]

Really.  This was the cheapest stuff I have found anywhere on the net.  This seller has it all over ebay.

I sent an email to the seller to get all the tech specs on the vinyl as it was not listed in my auction.  The auction listed above is not the auction I was associated with.