You may have heard that our pricing runs higher per ton. That’s fair, and the number on a quote tells only part of the story. What a load of stone really costs depends on how reliably it arrives, how long your truck spends picking it up, and how much inventory you carry to feel secure.
Reliability comes first. The La Niña winter at origin slowed harvests this year, and we’ve stayed stocked on Buttons, which many yards are struggling to source. Two generations of importing and long-standing partners in Mexico mean we have the stone on hand when your customer calls.
Time at the yard matters too. Our yard is organized and right off the freeway, with modern equipment that keeps loading quick.
Deep inventory helps as well. Orders can often be delivered the next day, so you can skip keeping an extra truckload on the yard as a cushion, which typically costs a fifth to a quarter of its value each year.
Here’s how it adds up for a dealer taking about six loads a year.
Value point | Assumption | Annual value |
|---|---|---|
Fast loading | 1 to 2 hours saved per pickup at $110/hr, 6 pickups | $660 to $1,300 |
Supply reliability | Stone on hand during a two-week shortage: about 6 tons of sales you’d otherwise lose, at $150 to $250 profit per ton | $900 to $1,500 |
Photo library | Replaces one product shoot (year one) | About $1,000 |
That’s $2,500 to $3,800 a year. Spread across the roughly 144 tons you’d buy (six loads of about 24 tons each), it works out to about $18 to $26 a ton. These are example figures, so plug in your own truck rate, profit, and volume. Whatever your numbers, a competing quote has to come in at least that much lower per ton before the cheaper stone saves you money.
Tier pricing adds to that. Silver and Gold dealers receive a discount on material, and Gold dealers also get the online order discount.
Want to run the numbers for your own yard? Your sales rep can walk through them with you and show you where your volume puts you on our tiers.