Questions You Should Ask
Before Buying a Steel Building on the Internet

Over the years we've talked to a lot of folks from all over the country about buying a steel building or carport. Through these people, we've heard a lot about how other companies operate and we've seen a few casualties from those who ended up experiencing less than pleasant business practices. Sadly, some of those casualties dealt with companies that on the surface seem reputable; after all, they aggressively advertise nationwide on TV and radio.

As a result of this, we've decided to post this on our website which should help you, the consumer, pick a good company to do business with. Of course we hope you will be doing business with us. But if not, at least you will know how to sort the wheat from chaff…the truth from the lies.

The following Internet postings about the Colorado Attorney General's activities are somewhat shocking but gives one a good dose of reality as to the dark side of the subject matter:

Take a look at the information at this link:
www.ago.state.co.us/press_detail.cfm?pressID=127

Here are some of the questions and topics you should ask and/or know about:

Engineered plans

Most companies require you to put down a deposit which includes your engineered plans. (If obtaining a permit, engineered plans with all structural calculations are usually required for permitting purposes.)

What they don't tell you is that your engineered plans do not include your concrete/foundation plan. Of course, this means their structural calculations are completely bogus since the concrete/foundation plan is required in order to properly compute the structural calculations!

This also means you will have to find a local engineer to prepare your concrete/foundation plan for you. This will cost you in the range of an additional $500-$1000.

Our plans include your concrete/foundation plan. Always.

This means you will probably only need to produce a site plan (hand drawn is usually fine) to have a complete "permit package".

Absolute Steel never requires you to put down a deposit on a building. We'll hold the price while you get your permit--we wouldn't consummate a purchase before we had a permit in hand!

Manufacturer / Fabricator or Merely a Broker?

Most of the companies selling steel structures on the Internet purchase their buildings from one of two manufacturer/fabricator companies. They might have a special bracket or something along that order that's welded to another part (these manufacturer/fabricators will make to order) but all in all, you're getting the same building from one company to another.

As most people want to deal directly with the manufacturer/fabricator, especially since that's what is usually being represented to them, the key question becomes how can I tell if I'm dealing with a manufacturer or a fabricator and not just another broker?

Probably the easiest way to tell from our own hands-on experience if the company is not in your local area is the delivery time. If the company you are dealing with has a six to eight week delivery time, 9 out of 10 times, they're a broker.

Absolute Steel has a delivery time of 14 to 21 days. You see, when you're the fabricator, you have a handle on the timing. At all times, you know your pending orders, the status of your inventory, and what your people can handle.

Sadly, most people who deal with a broker end up waiting far more than the "six to eight weeks" originally promised. You see, he has no grasp of the order fulfillment process because he is not the source.

Do you think the actual fabricator who never took your money cares a hoot about what you were told? In most cases, you will never even talk to them!

"Factory Direct Clearance Sales" and "Unclaimed Buildings"

The fact that most of these companies are brokers means that the claims of "factory direct clearance pricing or sales" are hogwash, right? "Unclaimed buildings" or buildings clearance priced because of forfeited deposits are usually just sales hype too.

Point in Fact: Absolute Steel sells hundreds of buildings nationwide every year. Truthfully, we've only had one building in the last three years in which the purchaser decided not to accept delivery. That building was subsequently sold at a discount...how? We put the prospect directly in contact with the building owner and they worked out their own price!

We never use "tactics" to pressure a customer. You won't get a call from our "shipping department" telling you about some building that a customer refused but that you had better hurry up and buy because several other people are considering it.

Here's how it really works: the shipping department ships. That's all they do. At Absolute Steel our shipping department is too busy shipping to have the time or inclination to call you about anything other than to notify you that your purchase has shipped and when to expect it.

But isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

So that's what we do here at Absolute Steel; we are running a business the way a business is supposed to be run. We're very grateful for all that the Internet has done to expand our markets and it bothers us when we see it abused.

Enjoy all the information within our website, it's probably the most comprehensive website on the subject, and give us a call at 877-833-3237 with any questions you might have.