Posts Tagged ‘Traffic Cones’
How To Save On Traffic Control Products
Most people are surprised at the cost of traffic safety products. They assume a traffic cone is $5 and a traffic drum can’t be more than $20. The reason it’s more than most would imagine is because of the safety standards the products need to meet and the reflective sheeting that needs to be applied. But the reason for this post is to help you save the most money possible on your next traffic safety purchase. Here are some tips:
Buy In Bulk
If you purchase a few pallets of product three or more times a year, consider buying all at once. For one you can negotiate a better price per unit when you buy in larger quantities. Two, you save a lot on shipping. For example, if you are shipping twenty traffic cones you will probably pay $4-5 per cone for shipping. If you purchase one hundred cones it may be closer to $1.50-2 per cone for shipping.
Find The Nearest Manufacturer
Once you know who the nearest manufacturer is, you can begin to search for that brand of product. A lot of companies (including us) drop ship our goods straight from the manufacturer. If you are in New York find a northeast manufacturer then go from there. Otherwise you may end up purchasing from a manufacturer in California and pay the freight cost to bring the product cross-country!
Manage Freight Costs
Freight can be 20% or more of the total cost of your purchase. Be sure that whoever is shipping your product gets good freight discounts. If the price seems a bit high and you are part of a big company/organization, there may heavily discounted shipping accounts that you can use. Ask a higher up about any LTL (pallet shipments) or UPS/FedEx accounts your organization may have. For us, we get great rates because we ship through the manufacturer’s account and they get large volume discounts. But when shopping elsewhere, it never hurts to ask around.
Need Just A Few Traffic Cones?
When I tell people about my business and what I sell, the first response is usually asking if I can sell them a few traffic cones as they want one for their apartment, dorm, a race in their backyard etc. While I (and I am sure other traffic safety vendors) would love to be able to sell small quantities, the manufacturers don’t. They want to sell 100’s at a time!
So here are a few resources for finding those 1 or 2 or 5 cones. First try your local home depot, I have seen them sold as single units and for not a bad price! If you don’t have a home depot or they are all out, try your local hardware store. Even a mom and pop shop (like what I have in my hometown) could carry them because utility companies, the local police, cable companies and more all need small quantities at different times.
Need your cones to be colored? Well now it gets a little more difficult. Obviously they typically come in orange. To find fluorescent green, pink, red etc you will most likely have to look online. To find a company that doesn’t have a minimum order look for those that keep their products in stock. That way the manufacturer’s don’t have to be hassled to send out 3 green traffic cones.
And finally, if you live in a big city (New York City, LA, Chicago) there is most likely a brick and mortar traffic safety company within the city. I don’t imagine minimum orders apply there.
If you happen to need 10 more more we can help you out! Come to our website www.trans-supply.com and shop around!
How to Make Your Traffic Safety Products Last Longer
Traffic safety products are temporary in nature and are designed to be replaced every now and again, however this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your equipment to make it last as long as possible. Keeping them clean is the first step in helping to prolong the life, but here are some more specific tips:
Plastic Products: When your plastic products (such as traffic cones, plastic traffic barricades etc) are stored, try to keep them out of direct sunlight. This will help to stop the breakdown and fading of the PVC plastic and reflective sheeting. Otherwise the sheeting will become brittle faster.
Wood Barricades: If your wood barricades are in shrink wrapped pallets keep them in a dry place. This is because if the pallets end up getting wet and don’t have a chance to dry the dampness will turn to mold ruining the barricades. If you are going to put them in storage, you must remove the shrink wrap.
Stacking products: Most traffic safety products (besides delineators) are stack-able with or without the bases attached which saves a bunch of space. However the weight of the bases can cause the products to get stuck together depending on a) the weight of the base and b) how long they have been store for.
To see our full line of traffic safety products check out our website www.trans-supply.com
Be Careful of the Traffic Cones
Crazy night out on the town and you see a traffic cone, what’s going to happen? Many people will take the cone and run with it on their head for a while, some may even decide it would be a great addition to their dorm room or apartment. But not so fast, stealing a traffic cone is actually grounds for a FELONY.
How many cops are going to give you a felony for stealing a traffic cone? Most likely a very small majority, but just be smart out there. You give them too much of a hard time and you never know what could happen. This goes for all traffic safety supplies you see on the road like barricade lights and parade barricades. Think twice before you grab them!
5 Places You Didn’t Expect a Traffic Cone to Show Up
Aside from their most commonly held real estate both in road construction and airport runways, traffic cones have notoriously been an item that show up in the most bizarre places. Because many times traffic cones are left out for days or weeks at a time, they are easy to sneak away with. Although we don’t condone stealing cones we have to chuckle when items that are intended to direct traffic wind up anywhere and everywhere besides the streets. Here are five places you would never expect to see a traffic cone:
Parties
Okay I guess a traffic cone showing up at a party wouldn’t be the weirdest thing.. but they are certainly used in the weirdest ways. Looking for a quick Madonna costume? Take two traffic cones and tape them to your chest. We’ve even seen a person paint themselves black and attach cones to them as a street costume. They can also be used as a fun party game in a backyard as an obstacle to jump over, around and even on. Hey, whatever floats your boat.
On a beach
You’re heading to the beach and you’ve got your sunscreen, towel, beach ball and music. But do you have your traffic cones? Everyone likes fun beach soccer game and cones make the scoring more official. Cones could also be used to make sand castles, hold drinks and mark your territory.
In a bakery
In this economy, who isn’t looking to save money? Cones can be used like funnels would be used in a bakery setting. Looking for a tool to squeeze frosting out of? How about an easy way to separate egg whites? A small cone might be what your bakery is missing.
Inside a Bedroom
It’s hard to find unique furniture. There is no shame in using a traffic cone as home décor like as a lamp shade, flower pot or table stand. It might not always be the most attractive piece of furniture but it will always be the brightest.
On a polar bear
Enough Said.