Factory Direct or Tailgater?

Do you know the difference between a factory direct dealer and a tailgater in the garage door business?

A factory direct dealer deals directly with the company/factory that makes the garage doors, springs, and hardware.

A tailgater is a garage door company that has to buy through a distributor of garage door, springs, and hardware.

A Distributor  iis the factory authorized/direct dealer with the factory.


So what is the difference you ask?

A factory direct dealer can offer a lower price than a tailgater because a factory direct dealer does not have a middle man trying to make money from the sale. The factory direct deal goes directly to the factory to buy the goods.

How does this effect you?

As a customer you want to buy from a factory direct dealer simply because you can get the lowest pricing available. You do not have to pay a mark-up twice since a factory direct dealer gets their material direct. A tailgater pays mark-up to the distributor and then passes on the mark-up to you in the sale of the product to you. So in turn you are paying twice the amount that an item should cost.
 

Not all garage door companies are created equal! So look for companies that are factory direct dealers, and if they don't advertise then ask them if they are. If the company sounds vague about what you are asking or avoiding the question then they are most likely a tailgating company that buys through a distributor and will charge you additional mark-up on all of the items sold to you.

Grove City Garage Door Inc. is a factory authorized direct dealer of Clopay garage doors, Mid-America garage doors, DoorLink garage doors, LiftMaster openers (LiftMaster also makes Chamberlain openers), and Linear Openers. We buy all of our hardware from various other local factories to reduce the amount of shipping costs on the goods. So we at Grove City Garage Door Inc. can pass on substantial savings to our customers! We have the lowest prices in town because we are a factory direct dealer!

What does it take to be a factory direct dealer?

It takes good corporation credit, longevity, and long standing good relationships to be a factory direct dealer. Not just any company can become a factory direct dealer. In fact, here's a story for you on how we became a factory direct dealer of LiftMaster products: I went to garage door shows for years in the beginning to meet and greet companies at these shows. There were many garage door companies, opener companies, and hardware companies at these shows presenting their products to all of the garage door dealers. You could find the latest and greatest products, get to know the sales people, and start building relationships. Once I went to three or four years of shows and people started recognizing that my company is here to stay, I started building relationships, and I was finally able to gain the trust of many companies which lead to Grove City Garage Door Inc. becoming a factory direct dealer with LiftMaster. And once you are trusted by one company, many others start following suit! So it takes time to build relationships to get a good standing with any corporation, and at the same time you have to build your reputation in the business. Grove City Garage Door Inc. has built an outstanding reputation in the business over the years due to our customer service skills and relationship building skills! Our customers are what make us the best in the business! We treat all of our customers with respect and try to meet most of our customer demands to the best of our ability! Without our GREAT customers, Grove City Garage Door Inc. would not exist! Thank you customers for coming back and passing on our name to others!