Does anyone know if DIY Upholstery Supply is legit. I wouldn't normally buy from someone who sells wholesale to the public, but my 3 normal suppliers do not carry the vinyl I needed. I ordered the material last Tuesday, PayPal took the money out on Wednesday, but all I got was an invoice confirming the order with no tracking number. Call them and you only get voicemail and they have not as of now returned any calls. Also any emails get returned as undeliverable.
Jim
I've heard a lot of talk about DIY on a FB group. Many are experiencing the same problem as you. Long delays with no response.
Their website says they are owned by Kris and Dotie Charlebois. However, Dotie's FB page indicates that she is now widowed, and "worked at DIY Upholstery". So perhaps there has been a recent shakeup in family ownership. Sounds like a cash flow problem is delaying shipments.
Yes you can request a refund at PayPal if you dont receive goods.
Thanks for the responses. I wouldn't have ordered from them but I needed 2 yards of Naugahyde Twilight Midnight Grey for one of the hospitals in the area, and my 4 normal suppliers (Keyston, Stinson, Miami Corp and Burch) don't stock it, and DIY said they have it. I don't really mind a delay as long as you return my call and let me know. Looks like I will be contacting PayPal.
Jim
I googled their names. Kris died May 20 2017. So it has been awhile. PayPal had a different email address for contact. Going to give that a try, if it doesn't work, I will open a claim on them.
I never purchased anything from them but they have a nice web site and I've watched all of his videos on you tube. Sorry to hear he passed - that must be the problem with your order.
I never heard anything bad about them previously - maybe face book is the place to get current info - never tried face book - I'm too ugly !
SA
https://www.bbb.org/us/ms/horn-lake/profile/upholstery-supplies/diy-upholstery-supply-0543-44003874/complaints
Well sofadoc that sure does not make me feel good. Yesterday I emailed the email address that PayPal has and got an answer back from someone named Michelle. She said it shows that the order is shipping from their North Carolina warehouse and she would check and see what the status is. I am wondering if they were bought by another company, since their website only shows a Mississippi warehouse. As of this time, I have not received an update.
Anyone have a supplier that stocks Naugahyde Twilight? All 4 of mine do not. Those would be CF Stinson, Burch Fabric, Miami Corp and Keyston Bros.
According to this BBB page, the owner is Michelle Fraser.
https://www.bbb.org/us/ms/horn-lake/profile/upholstery-supplies/diy-upholstery-supply-0543-44003874
I checked with a couple of my suppliers. They said that Twilight is a dropped pattern. Masco Fabrics said that it has been discontinued for quite some time now. So even if you can find some old stock somewhere, you may as well convince your client that it's time for a change.
Sofadoc, I still figured it was still a stock item since Naugahyde still shows it with all the other vinyls on their website. I figured if it was discontinued, they would have removed it. I need it for part of a treatment table at one of the local hospitals, and it is the material the manufacturer used. Because of the uniqueness of how it looks, and since they only want to do the damaged pieces, I have to try and find some if at all possible.
After looking at that pattern online, I remember it now. I used it on ER lobby chairs at a local hospital about 15 years ago. I reached a point where I could no longer find it in stock anywhere.
You may get lucky and find a supplier that still has some laying around.
My guess is that DIY knew they didn't have it, but they took your money anyway because they need cash flow.
But some people DO report getting their orders eventually (but not without 3-4 weeks of no response).
It's been 2 days since Michelle from DIY emailed me and said she would follow up on the order. Since then, no contact and ignoring my emails. I just emailed her and told her to cancel my order and refund my money back to PayPal or I will file a complaint. That damn website of theirs looks so good that it fools you into thinking they are a reputable business.
Jim
Yes, they do have a nice website that's easy to navigate. I've often used their link when I'm referencing a particular item in a discussion. And they list some very attractive prices on many items. But like you say, they sell to anyone. No loyalty to the trade. But that seems to be the direction the whole industry is going anyway.
I fell out with them over an order of what they (mis)represented as "silk film". After a few tense conversations over the phone, I decided to just keep the plastic sheeting instead of trusting them to refund my money (minus shipping) if I sent it back. It was going to cost me nearly $60 shipping just to get a $100 refund.
They pretty much let me know over the phone that they weren't terribly concerned about losing my business. Since then, I've read many complaints about DIY on a FB group. But with each complaint, there's someone else that always comes to their defense.
Well I am surprised. After emailing them and requesting my money be refunded back to my PayPal account, they actually did it promptly. Not sure if telling them I was going to file a complaint with PayPal, and then with the BBB had anything to do with it. I found the material at another website, this one was Decorative Fabrics Direct. Actually had a customer service rep take the order over the phone, immediately emailed me a receipt, and the product shipped today and I was emailed a tracking number. Wish I had ordered from them first.
Jim
Kinda off subject but I received a cushion job from a customer today and she brought her own fabric purchased from Fabrics.com I think that was the name but anyway the fabric is a cotton print. Very good quality, rolled nicely, and packaged well in a box. The cost was 9.49 per yard. The receipt was rolled in the fabric. I should be buying from them. My cotton prints are probably 40 a yard retail. Sure is hard to compete ea?
I wonder how fast the colors will fade on that cotton fabric at $9.49 per yard? And how easy is it to get pulls in it?
I ordered 64" wide canvas from them earlier this year off Amazon. My cutting table is 60" wide and I cover it with canvas. I usually get my canvas from Rowley's in NC, which is 72" wide. The 64" turned out to be 58". I returned it and won't buy anything from them again. Fool me once...
gene
Interesting. I'm only going by the feel of the fabric and the quality of it off the roll. It works like any other high quality cotton print. None last forever. Screen printing is not the same as dyed yarn. But all in all I think it is good fabric. 55" wide, nice feel, sews well, no catches.
I'm sure it is an imported product but many are and not all are bad.
When I first began sewing, I bought a little 'outdoor' printed duck for the patio chairs. (joann) I was blown away by how long the colors lasted. As a comparison, I bought two outdoor umbrellas that were green. They faded terribly.
Extremely hard to know. Even if you're a chemist, have a microscope, and are thoroughly versed in textiles production.
Reds and greens fade the most. Like you say 65, it is next to impossible to say how things will react in the field no matter where you buy from or how much you pay for the goods. While there are some fabrics known to hold up better in the field others are not so easy to tell. Through experience it become slightly more of an educated guess on quality but by far not foolproof.
There use to be a saying "you get what you pay for" That no longer applies to the textile industry. You can spend 10 bucks a yard and get quality or 100 bucks a yard and get junk. This is why is is best to stick with known vendors that care.
I didn't know that red/green fade the most.
Funny thing, cus the neighbor just bought an umbrella - in red!
I enrolled in a textiles class at the local community college. Maybe I'll learn something new. There's a slight chance we'd go on an outing to L.A. to a textile mill.
Keep us posted on that class. You can never know too much about textiles. There is always something new to learn. Is this class specific to decretive fabrics?
Mostly, yes. It's a combo class that's geared towards students within fashion design or interior design.