When you purchase fasteners, you shouldn’t be solely focused on price. Doing so might make you seriously consider buying them overseas. But the initially lower priced units you’ll receive won’t be worth all of the headaches and costly issues that could arise from this bad decision.

Here are some of the top reasons why you shouldn’t buy fasteners overseas.

Poor Customer Service

Buying overseas means dealing with poor customer service. The language barrier can be an issue that leads to miscommunication and frustration. As well, the time difference will mean that you’ll have to wait at least 12 to 24 hours to get a hold of your representatives on the other side of the world—and that’s if they reply promptly.

Easier to Make Mistakes

When you’re buying fasteners from overseas, it’s easier to make errors, particularly due to the chance of misunderstandings and miscommunications due to the language difference. As well, it can be difficult to fully understand what you need when you’re picking items out of a catalogue or online instead of physically seeing and touching the products.

You need to be absolutely certain that your customer service representative understands the size dimensions, materials, grade, and surface coating that are required for your purchase. If even the smallest error in calculations is made, it’s going to be really difficult and time consuming for you to return your shipment or get a replacement.

Possibility of Non-Compliance

Canadian requirements when it comes to constructing buildings and producing products are strict. Unbeknownst to you at the time of purchase, the fasteners you buy overseas might not comply with the Canadian standards—they might be illegal to use here. No one is going to risk his license to install non-compliant fasteners.

Slow Delivery

Of course, buying overseas means you’ll be waiting months for your shipment to come in. It will likely be coming to Canada by boat, which is an especially slow delivery method. Plus, weather conditions or conflicts overseas can delay your shipment indefinitely. And if customs holds your shipment for any reason, you’re going to be waiting even longer. When you buy overseas, you have to risk halting your production line and wasting time because of slow delivery issues.

Hidden Costs

Many purchasing managers source fasteners overseas because they believe the costs associated with the purchase will be lower that way. Although the initial price of the nuts and bolts might seem lower, there are tons of hidden costs to consider.

Your shipping costs in particular will be much higher than what’d you have to pay with a domestic supplier. You’ll also have to consider the import and handling fees, currency exchange, insurance fees, customs fees, duties, and taxes. All of these hidden costs really add up. Your purchase will end up costing you far more at the end of the process than you initially believed—hidden costs could put you over budget.

Inferior Quality

Counterfeit goods are common in some countries. Are you sure that you will really get exactly what you ordered? You could risk receiving inferior quality fasteners when you buy overseas. The initial price of your purchase might be lower because the supplier uses cheap materials, equipment, and machinery to produce your fasteners. And if you’re not able to jump on a plane to perform a quality check, there’s really no way for you to know if you’re going to be receiving exactly what you asked for until it’s too late.

Avoid These Issues by Purchasing Domestically

Do you really want to deal with any of these issues? They can significantly delay your production lines, increase your costs, and hurt your bottom line. And the thing is, these problems are completely avoidable. All you have to do is purchase from a domestic manufacturer. You’ll avoid customer service issues, possible non-compliance, hidden costs, and slow delivery when you buy closer to home.