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Best place to buy vinyl

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Im new to this and was wondering where the best place is to buy vinyl? Im not going to be cutting vinyl for customers. Im just going to cut it for my race car. So I was wondering wheres the cheapest place to buy vinyl/transfer paper?

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Oracal 651: USCutter. $13.49 for a 15"x10 yard roll of black or white, $14.99 for colors. Flat rate of $9.99 for shipping. Best price I've found. For application tape I like RTape AT60. Oracal 651 is a great all-around vinyl. Good for most uses.

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Oracal 651: USCutter. $13.49 for a 15"x10 yard roll of black or white, $14.99 for colors. Flat rate of $9.99 for shipping. Best price I've found. For application tape I like RTape AT60. Oracal 651 is a great all-around vinyl. Good for most uses.

:thumbsup:

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:thumbsup:

You'll want 24" rolls for numbers and graphics. If you live on the east coast, try beacon graphics or Jsi. I use vector from beacon and it is good quality. You can purchase 15 inch rolls but I do not. The generally sit in the corner here. The only think I use with 15 inch is sponsor logos sometimes. But 24" will have less scrap or waste. Just about everything on a racecar will be either 18 to 24" tall and same in length. I would recommend using transfer rite ultra clear from beacon or any supplier. It's a clear see through app tape that can be reused on applications if your careful as to not get it stuck to getter. It is about 100 shipped, but it is a better deal. It can even be dried after wet applications and be reused as well. plus no need for registration marks! I will use both on cars now. I use traditional app tape for single layer stuff and then the clear for multiple layer stuff.

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unethical = promoting buying products from other companies on USCutter's forum , products that USCutter sells . That would go over like a loud fart in church anywhere else . USCutter is too nice & should tighten that up IMO . Put your-selfs in the position of paying for a forum & seeing it used to undermine your business :huh: Loyalty is not a 1 way street .. at least not for me !!! To me that seems like getting a free dinner at a restaurant & wearing a T-shirt for the competing restaurant across the street . Not only no loyalty , but no appreciation for what is being given . my 2 cents :)

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unethical = promoting buying products from other companies on USCutter's forum , products that USCutter sells . That would go over like a loud fart in church anywhere else . USCutter is too nice & should tighten that up IMO . Put your-selfs in the position of paying for a forum & seeing it used to undermine your business :huh: Loyalty is not a 1 way street .. at least not for me !!! To me that seems like getting a free dinner at a restaurant & wearing a T-shirt for the competing restaurant across the street . Not only no loyalty , but no appreciation for what is being given . my 2 cents :)

How soon we forget those who gave all for years and was dissed - fivestar, firemalt, kenya, and so many more. when no appreciation is shown none is givenohmy.gif all the old mods except John are gone for a reason . . . . personally I see your point to a certain point but for me it is about an honest opinion now - honest unbiased reviews and opinions without being swayed by an salesman. I have given the p-cut and other products a great review but would I give a better one to a graphtec - hell yah. will I give a great review on a product that I have not tried just because someone sells it - no way! I have owned refine mh series (2), p-cut, copam (2) roland gx-24 (1) graphtec ce5000-60, fc-4100-75, and comment on those. I have also owned a sunie heat press still in use and 3 hotronix. the hotronix is a far better press but the sunie is so reliable I won't sell it . . . . . .

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unethical = promoting buying products from other companies on USCutter's forum , products that USCutter sells . That would go over like a loud fart in church anywhere else . USCutter is too nice & should tighten that up IMO . Put your-selfs in the position of paying for a forum & seeing it used to undermine your business :huh: Loyalty is not a 1 way street .. at least not for me !!! To me that seems like getting a free dinner at a restaurant & wearing a T-shirt for the competing restaurant across the street . Not only no loyalty , but no appreciation for what is being given . my 2 cents :)

Well that may be true, but I live a few hours from beacon graphics and if I where shipping from washington, would cost me much more in shipping than what I pay now. If UsCutter had a place to ship closer to me I would more than happy to buy my vinyl from them. I hardly ever order from JSI and on top of that I can wait a week or better to receive my material for a job here in NY. With it costing me three times what it did just 4 yrs ago to ship. I have to look at the bigger picture. I don't undermine them at all to where i coming from. I have purchased a copam and all the parts and supplies to even shipping it back to them when I had problems and not having a cutter for two weeks was fine with that. I Am buying my new heat press, and sub printer and supplies from them as well. Something I could buy from beacon but choose not to based on overall value and customer service. This forum is a great asset to a company such as UsCutters and there devotion to there customers, and equipment.

I should have answered the question in the end, If the OP is living on the west coast, or even mid west, then I would buy almost everything from Uscutters.

Plus I get nothing for mentioning/plugging anyone. He asked the question. I answered it to the best of my abilities.

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Well that may be true, but I live a few hours from beacon graphics and if I where shipping from washington, would cost me much more in shipping than what I pay now. If UsCutter had a place to ship closer to me I would more than happy to buy my vinyl from them. I hardly ever order from JSI and on top of that I can wait a week or better to receive my material for a job here in NY. With it costing me three times what it did just 4 yrs ago to ship. I have to look at the bigger picture. I don't undermine them at all to where i coming from. I have purchased a copam and all the parts and supplies to even shipping it back to them when I had problems and not having a cutter for two weeks was fine with that. I Am buying my new heat press, and sub printer and supplies from them as well. Something I could buy from beacon but choose not to based on overall value and customer service. This forum is a great asset to a company such as UsCutters and there devotion to there customers, and equipment.

I should have answered the question in the end, If the OP is living on the west coast, or even mid west, then I would buy almost everything from Uscutters.

no matter what/how much you purchase, except LARGER cutters, the shipping is a FLAT $9.99 and they do have a sister site called Signuniverse.com which they ship from Memphis, Tenn also, I live in Indiana so they ship my items from Memphis, even though I purchase on USCUTTER

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no matter what/how much you purchase, except LARGER cutters, the shipping is a FLAT $9.99 and they do have a sister site called Signuniverse.com which they ship from Memphis, Tenn also

I don't use sisser, I never knew of any sister site. I can't wait a week or better to receive vinyl from the west coast on any case seeing I never knew they shipped from memphis, Everything I have ever ordered was shipped from the Washington. I have never received any notice of being able to buy and get items shipped from memphis. I order only 24" in 50 yard rolls and order 10 to 15 rolls at a time and I am pretty sure I will get charged shipping.

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I have never used Vector vinyl so can not comment on the quality.....But how do you deal with only have 30 colours to pick from?....

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I don't use sisser, I never knew of any sister site. I can't wait a week or better to receive vinyl from the west coast on any case seeing I never knew they shipped from memphis, Everything I have ever ordered was shipped from the Washington. I have never received any notice of being able to buy and get items shipped from memphis. I order only 24" in 50 yard rolls and order 10 to 15 rolls at a time and I am pretty sure I will get charged shipping.

I only order 50 yrd rolls also, and the shipping is $9.99 for the TOTAL shipping. No matter how many rolls you order. SignUniverse.com has been open for almost a year

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I have never used Vector vinyl so can not comment on the quality.....But how do you deal with only have 30 colours to pick from?....

Mostly, Thats all you need, with the addition of florescent, holographic, glitter, metallic, and other specialty vinyls. Racecars are very easy most of the time. If the customer prefers something different, I include a price option for higher quality vinyls. But most of the time racers being on budgets choose the latter. So thats why I use Vector. Though I have sent back blemished rolls for credit because they where unacceptable quality. I don't need longevity for these cars. They only look that way at best for 6 months and then they replace the body with a new one.

For commercial purposes, I choose to leave it to the customer and offer a wide range of brands, Not just sticking with one particular brand. I use GMI, Avery, FDC, 3M, and others. I give the customer a price tier, good better, best and let them decide.

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I only order 50 yrd rolls also, and the shipping is $9.99 for the TOTAL shipping. No matter how many rolls you order. SignUniverse.com has been open for almost a year

Well I guess I know where my next order is coming from. Trust me if I had known I would have bought from them more often.

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Here's my HONEST opinion. I came here around 5 to 6 months ago, reading what everybody had to teach me about vinyl, printers, etc..

I then priced vinyl from all over the place. I found that USCutter had the cheapest prices on vinyl, plus they ship for $9.99 total, doesn't matter how many 50 yard rolls or whatever you buy, it's still $9.99. They have great customer service, along with the great friends I've met on here and with all their help they've given me.

I would NEVER post another place on this forum for any reason. When you have the best why mess with the rest???

Let me show you for instance. I have a forum on my website ok.... if someone came on it advertising another business ie. competition I would boot them right off of it, not giving them a chance to remove it like USCutter did! Why? Like one of the other ones said, I believe Rodger.... they "pay" for the website we are on right now. If you want to post other businesses then go to another forum to do so, or call up google and tell them you want to "pay" them to list your site.

Yes, I see your point of view about other sites you like, etc. I love others as well but I show respect where respect is due. One of you was speaking about the other mods, I saw where they were advertising other sites and disrespecting USCutter by doing so. I would have kicked them off my site in a second, no questions ask. As far as USCutter disrespecting someone, I DO NOT THINK that they disrespected them in any way. I just saw reference to other sites they were advertising for.

Anyhow I wasn't around here at the time but the evidence is still there.

DAK I've been to your site man, in no way would I disrespect it in any way. Listen, every forum has it's problem's, trust me, I've been an admin for them for years and years. I know the guy's that left were some good ole Joe's by the way they helped people, BUT, you CANNOT advertise for someone else on any site that I know of at all. Ok, for instance, one of them had a link to another forum, OK, you go to that forum and guess what, they are advertising for someone else on it. IE. you loose your business.

The thing about it is that US Cutter is still cheaper than those guy's, I've done my homework on this issue, as far as vinyl prices are concerned. Yes, you may have a place you like better and it's closer to you, but do us all a favor that likes US Cutter and keep it to yourselves if you will.

We like US Cutter and their forum and want it to stick around so we can talk vinyl as we please. If you don't like or want to advertise someone elses business please go elsewhere so we don't have to suffer for someone elses mistakes.

Yes, I have my favorites lol BJ, STETSON, ROXY, SCREENPRINTR, RODGER, BAY, SIGNPAD, NUK, DAK and quite a few others here. Not because your not nice, but because these are some of the ones that helped me along the way.

Rodger and BAY have me spitting coffee everywhere in my office "EVERY MORNING" from laughing at them so much, those boys are a real hoot. It's better than reading the sunday comic's on this forum hahahahaa

Anyhow, I'm not being jerky in any way to any of you, I like all the ones here on the site and would not hurt your feelings on purpose for any reason, I'm just saying let's show them respect that's letting us chat on their stuff.

My 5 cents

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And checkout Greenstar if you need a local price point....

I buy from 2 places..US Cutter....and my local supplier. US Cutter has better prices, and My local supplier delivers once a week for $10...so it comes to about the same thing. HOWEVER, for most of what I buy (except coroplast), US Cutter has prices that are anywhere from 5 to 10% LESS than my local supplier.

I do buy a lot of Vinyl from a guy on ebay but it's FDC which I really like and USC doesn't carry it.

Most of you East of the big River should get 2 days, 3 Maximum, from Memphis. IF you are in a hurry, I suggest CALLING your order in, or calling to make SURE that the item you need is in stock in Memphis.

Lately, any order I place before noon ships the same day. I can't say enough about the excellent service in Memphis. And I'm not saying it because I am a mod...(unpaid,btw)..those of you who know me have seen that if I don't like something, I say so.

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How soon we forget those who gave all for years and was dissed - fivestar, firemalt, kenya, and so many more. when no appreciation is shown none is givenohmy.gif all the old mods except John are gone for a reason . . . . personally I see your point to a certain point but for me it is about an honest opinion now -

I was not thinking or posting meaning any connection with the drama that had many leave this forum . I think of 5 & FM alot ... they are great guys :thumbsup: . I choose not to get into the middle of personal conflicts . I have had friends get to hate each other . I stay nuetral with both . I think the guy who replaced Ken had a severe uphill job . Ken is 1 of the best & he was USCutter to many of us for years . There was behind the scene drama & I don't know or want to know what all happened . I know the guy who took Ken's place took more crap than I would have . Respect begets respect & vice versa .

Here's my HONEST opinion. I came here around 5 to 6 months ago, reading what everybody had to teach me about vinyl, printers, etc.. ......

Let me show you for instance. I have a forum on my website ok.... if someone came on it advertising another business ie. competition I would boot them right off of it ....

... I show respect where respect is due. ..... you CANNOT advertise for someone else on any site that I know of at all.

My 5 cents

Ash The part of ypour post I quoted is EXACTLY what I meant :thumbsup: . I used the word " unethical " but i really think it is very disrespectfull . There is a very helpfull member who has " I have moved with others to " insert other forum here " . The way that is said would tick me off ( it does tick me off :D ) . The way that & many other things were said is like shoving it down someones throat ... hardly any way to take it but offensive IMO . Nothing wrong with the other forum at all !!! just IMO , but there are much better / less offensive ways to do the same things .

I do buy a lot of Vinyl from a guy on ebay but it's FDC which I really like and USC doesn't carry it.....

......... I'm not saying it because I am a mod...(unpaid,btw)..those of you who know me have seen that if I don't like something, I say so.

I buy stuff from that guy also . He has short ( 3" up ) rolls of stuff he sells at great prices . I don't consider him competition for USCutter as USCutter does not sell what he does . I have mentioned him in posts ....

John is VERY honest & loyal . John is & has been a vital part of this forum since before I got here ( will be 4 years in June ) . John , Dakaota ( Scott ) & Skeeter are the most helpfull members here . There are plenty of other helpfull members , but these guys are at the top of my list :thumbsup: .

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DAK I've been to your site man, in no way would I disrespect it in any way. Listen, every forum has it's problem's, trust me, I've been an admin for them for years and years. I know the guy's that left were some good ole Joe's by the way they helped people, BUT, you CANNOT advertise for someone else on any site that I know of at all. Ok, for instance, one of them had a link to another forum, OK, you go to that forum and guess what, they are advertising for someone else on it. IE. you loose your business.

Just to clarify it is not my site - I hang out there with a bunch of great people but I do not own or run it. nobody sells anything there (other than personal sales)- they just share great knowledge that has been accumulated over many years. Helping and supporting each other with no corporate over site. opinions are shared without respect to who is paying the bills. something i personally respect. I believe USC has a place in the business as do many others and believe I have helped many people with mh (refine), p-cut and copam cutters - along with other brands. You do nobody justice if you claim every product from any supplier is great when they are not - then YOU have an integrity problem. I believe there will always be different opinions in most matters - otherwise LBJ had it correct "If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking. ~Lyndon B. Johnson" I find very few people I agree with all of the time. if you agree with everything someone says you are just a yes man and have a credibility problem with others. Marcus has made a great business importing and selling Chinese cutters and then expanding into better named products to sell to people who upgrade or want a better machine but usc was built on the lower priced cutters and maintaining his cost by having a policy of making the customer pay to send it back if it didn't work and couldn't install parts to fix it by him or her self. this is clearly stated in the return policy that few read before they need it, but it is there. many of us had to pay to get their new cutters repaired - we should have read the fine print! this was a decision made to protect his cost from becoming too great getting the cheaper cutters to market. They sell a lot of cutters, it is a business model that works to make a lot of money. The other end of the spectrum is Sawgrass, My ricoh gx7000 died after 11 months. a replacement printer was not immediately available and they sent a loaner printer out the next day - no cost with ink included. if I needed something bigger printed until I got my printer back they would print it and overnight it to me. when the new printer came available the sent the new printer with new ink included and would either pay to return the loaner or I could buy it at a great price. if I had chose to return the printer I would have had 0.00 out of pocket expense and almost no downtime. which method would you like the most? USC sells sawgrass ink and some great equipment including roland and graphtec, etc. - Graphtec handles there own support and I would hope the ricohs they sell have the same great support I had thru another vendor that I had met and talked to at a trade show. I continue to praise the products I have used with great experience but will be truthful when asked about the ones that didn't work so great. I consider it having integrity and refuse to be a yes man to anyone. Honesty and integrity are first. if you lose your integrity you have lost your most important trait and nobody will trust or respect you - they may say the do to your face but will say other things behind your back. If open conversation is not encouraged then this is nothing more than a sales tool with the credibility of a shady used car salesman . . . .honesty sells!

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The review of a machine is WAY off base from the subject . I agree , a realistic honest review is what benefits everybody ( integrity & honesty is beneficial :thumbsup: ). Promoting products ( specifically vinyl that USCutter sells ) to be bought from a company other than USCutter on USCutter's forum is what I consider disrespectful . Put yourself in the position of having a forum & members doing that . I would warn anybody & delete the post/thread . Try to post something like that on a forum owned by any other company that sells those products & see what happens . I bet it won't be there 4 long . USCutter either does not monitor the forum close enough or does not bother to interfere :huh: They have asked for members NOT to do that !!! To take advantage of the benefits of this forum for whatever reason each member does & then to use bandwidth to advertise competitors is something I would want brought to my attention if I had posted something like that .. just in case I had not thought of it as a business owned forum . Not like it is the McDonald's dining room in the am where I see many discussing all sort of things . Being a guest here should cause everybody to show respect , not disrespect . Hmmm I wonder if the people I see in the McDonald's dining area in the am , would wear Burger King shirts , promote Burger King & still expect free refills of coffee :huh: I think the manager if worth a damn , would ask them to leave at once & not ever do that again ... I would .

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Dak, I wasn't speaking anything to you about that site. Yes, I thought you owned it, but no I wasn't saying the linking to it was a bad thing, I liked the site and thought it was very informative. I was saying advertising for someone else on USCutter forums is a bad thing. I for one do not agree to everything, and sure I'm not a yes man. I debate thing's just like anyone else does, as long as it's not computer related. I do not want to talk computers, this is my relaxing place hehee

But anyhow, like I said, the site I was referring to in your aspect had nothing to do with the conversation. I was just referring to me not abusing or disrespecting you in any way as far as what you own.

It's like a cousin of mine (that I do not claim) I was talking to other people when he comes up, he states "I can't wait for that guy to leave that house over there". I said why? He said "Because he's giving them a price on those tree's over there". I said and.... He said "I know that guy, he owns a tree service just like I do". Then he goes on to say, "When that guy leaves, I'm going over there and tell those people I'll do it for $100.00 or $200.00 less than that guy will do it for." Anyhow, his new nickname is "Hitler" to all the one's that were standing there. We call it back stabbing someone, I call it disrespect like mad. This kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach. Anyone trying to get a business started, or that owns a business sure doesn't need that kind of reputation. No one has any respect anymore in this world. They don't respect themselves, much less anyone else.

This comes down to this forum. It's like you said Marcus owns this site, it goes along with his store. it's like standing at the front door of his store and passing out fliers to another vinyl equipment supplier. I just wonder how many of you would like, or welcome someone to stand at your front door and sell their decals or whatever you sell to "your" customers., don't say it, I know your answer. I saw a guy at the local Walmart passing out fliers to another store. The manager came out and ask him to leave and never come back. Just like Marcus, it's the same thing here, I'd boot them off and tell them to never come back around. It's called respect no matter how you look at it. It's also good business ethic's. I for one would NEVER do business with him, why?, because he let me see what kind of person he was right off the get go.

Anyhow, it's just my 2 cents. Back to my coffee and laughing at Rodge and BAY heheheehheeh

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It's like a cousin of mine (that I do not claim) I was talking to other people when he comes up, he states "I can't wait for that guy to leave that house over there". I said why? He said "Because he's giving them a price on those tree's over there". I said and.... He said "I know that guy, he own's a tree service just like I do". Then he goes on to say, "When that guy leaves, I'm going over there and tell those people I'll do it for $100.00 or $200.00 less than that guy will do for." Anyhow, his new nickname is "Hitler" to all the one's that were standing there. We call it back stabbing someone, I call it disrepect like mad. This kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach. Anyone trying to get a business started, or that owns a business sure doesn't need that kind of reputation. Noone has any respect anymore in this world. They don't respect themselves, much less anyone else.

This comes down to this forum. It's like you said Marcus owns this site, it goes along with his store. it's like standing at his front door of his store and passing out fliers to another vinyl equipment supplier. I saw a guy at the local Walmart passing out fliers to another store. The manager came out and ask him to leave and never come back. Just like Marcus, it's the same thing here, I'd boot them off and tell them to never come back around. It's called respect no matter how you look at it.

Anyhow, it's just my 2 cents. Back to my coffee and laughing at Rodge and BAY heheheehheeh

Hey Ash ,

I don't think what your cousin did was disrespectfull , that is just business ... tacky but ok . The guy standing in front of Wal-Mart was disrespectfull . If he had been off of their property , tacky , but ok also . When posting on this forum ... we are on USCutter property :thumbsup:

p.s. I laygh at Bay also... i also laugh at myself . It makes some of my friends mad when i laugh at my own humor ....

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Rodge, to be honest with you man, "if" I had to do business like that, I would go work for someone else. Just imagine, that guy had to drive at least 30 miles to get here. My cousin is sleezy at the least, it's really disrespectful to me period. I was taught growing up that you do business with respect. It was disrespectful to the guy to watch him and then steal his business from him using sleazy tactics. Look, if the person having the job done called me and I went out to them and the guy was there is one thing. But to sit out in the bushes waiting for the guy to leave so he can tell them he would do it for so much less than the other guy that just left is another.

Anyhow, that point I made with the cuz is just the way I don't do business. It's my opinion, I thought it was sleazy to say the least. I just hope the guy that went before him doesn't need any food anytime soon.

Just call me a big ole boy, with a great big heart, and yes, I'm a sucker for man kind. I care about people and their feeling's, but, that was the way I was raised to be. I think everybody has feeling's, whether they show it or not. I ignore ignorance, it bores me to death hehehehe

P.S. heheheeh yeah, I've made some mad at me as well. oooops undecided.gif

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Rodger, I must say, I really appreciate the support. I am going to go against the grain a bit here. It is against our rules to put competitor information, but we are pretty lenient with this rule. The primary reason for the rule is so that we can be proactive about removing posts that we think are coming from competitor plants, and even that said, as Rodger has eluded to, we are a lazy about removing any posts and pretty much leave that up to John. I really want this forum to be a great forum for all sign makers regardless of whether you are our customer. Having a great forum with our name in it is enough to justify the effort and the cost of bandwidth. I don't want to give anyone a reason to go elsewhere, so the rules are meant to support our forum rather than us. This isn't open season for brining on competitor's posts, but an occasional question like this can be met with critical answers.

I am confident in our capability as a business and our business model. I think that even if we allow posts about competitors (but not 'by' our biased competitors), we will win in almost every category for product quality / price and if we are not, we need an invitation to do better.

And for clarification on the shipping locations: We now ship more than half our product from Memphis. Most sign vinyl to the eastern part of the US will ship from Memphis and it will be 1-2 days ground shipping anywhere south or north up to New York (3 day). This is regardless of whether you order from USCutter.com or SignUniverse.com. We unfortunately have a manual method of determining where product is shipped from, and it is not always the ideal location. We are taking steps to turn this into an automated process and it should improve the situation drastically in the near future.

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:thumbsup: . I think that most posts like the 1 addressed are done by members not considering the situation . When reminded most all respond well as in this case . I like different perspectives , so I can consider ... then agree or disagree . I constantly adjust my perspectives about everything after considering others input . That is a big part of why I give my perspectives ... to benifit who I am talking to & to benifit by what they say in return .

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