Vanguard Sunglasses Inc.
2908 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Toll Free: 800-433-1325
Tel.: 412-471-9730
Fax: 412-471-0294
Website: www.vanguardglasses.com

The Line: This company maintains an inventory of about 600 different styles of sunglasses for men, women and children, along with 300 styles of readers. The newest, hottest addition is 120 different designer like sunglass styles. There are also credit card readers, which are a card size magnifying glass, offered in a display containing six dozen units. Vanguard also carries sunglass and reader accessories, such as neck cords and cases, including cases licensed by the PGA tour.

Minimum Order/Pricing: The minimum order is $60, except for the designer styles, which are three dozen pair at $24 a dozen, which includes three units each of 12 different designs. These come tagged with a suggested retail price of $39.95 per pair. Wholesale pricing on other styles is as little as $7.20 a dozen, or 60 cents a pair. Some styles wholesale for $12 a dozen. Under one program, these are tagged at $2.99 retail, and others are tagged at $12 per pair retail.

Literature: There is no catalog, but Vanguard provides some printed sales sheets of four to five pages each. Many styles are also shown on the company website, and retailers can order online.

Special Features: A wide range of in-store display units are available, some of which are offered free with quantity orders. Inventory is maintained in a 30,000 square foot warehouse, and stock comes from China in 40 foot containers. New styles are added regularly, and orders placed by noon are shipped the same day.

Management Says: "We ship good merchandise at fair prices, and we have been dealing honestly for 45 years." -Gerald Wilson, owner