Hello again! We thought we covered all covid19 topics relating to the Barn in our May 1st. update. However from all the email questions we’ve been getting, it’s clear that we left a few things out. So lets deal with a few more topics.
We keep getting asked about how we can receive payment. Until we reopen, we can only accept Visa and Mastercard payments. We will take your credit card information over the phone when we call to arrange a pickup or delivery time. That is why we always ask for your phone number.
We have also been getting photo and inventory questions. Because we carry thousands of items we can’t post photos of everything on our website. However there are lots of photos to look through on our site. We normally get photos when items first arrive. We often unpack items outside and get photos before the items come in the building. We can’t do that right now for obvious reasons. So we will be using some older photos and a few new ones, on this page until things return to normal.
As for supply chain questions. The Barn is packed and we have additional warehouses full. When things shut down in March we had many shipments enroute. Plus we had an estate that we had already committed to buying. So even though we’ve been closed we still had to deal with shipments arriving. We are not lacking inventory. We have a huge backlog of antique pieces ready for when we have space in the building. And we have extra stock warehoused of most of our Reproduction items. We buy in as large of volume as possible, that is one of the ways we keep prices low. And it means that we will never be lacking inventory.
The only supply chain issues are that once we run out of certain imported items, it will take longer to restock anything that is not already in country. And some of our made in Ontario items like Springwater woodcraft pieces will take longer for special orders, because the factory had to temporarily shut down. Also a few seasonal outdoor items will not arrive this year because of the shutdown. The good news is that about 85% of what we had planed to stock for outdoor/garden season did arrive and is in stock.
Here is an exciting opportunity! One of our suppliers, LH imports, which has an enormous catalogue online. Has created a special login and password for our customers during this unusual time to help with online shopping. This will allow you to login to their site directly. See product photos, details, dimensions, whether or not the item is in stock, and MSRP. We are offering a minimum of 35% off MSRP on anything on their site. Most pieces we can offer even higher discounts. Just let us now what pieces you are interested in, and we will quote a price. When you place an order, the item[s] will be shipped to us and then we will deliver it to you. We receive regular bulk shipments from LH imports. This cuts down on shipping costs. And no one beats us on the lowest prices on LH imports products. Our high volume allows us to offer these discounts. Plus many of their items we already have in stock at the Barn, so you can get them right away. Also, we have stock of some items they no longer have in stock. Here is the link: www.lhimports.com Login email: [email protected] Password: April2020 The password is case sensitive.
Fun fact! Our best selling item since we had to close our doors has been the giant pink flamingos. It’s nice to see that covid19 hasn’t hurt our customers sense of whimsy.
Hopefully I’ve covered everything this time. Stay well everyone!