Consumer Comparison

Does it meet the snow and wind load requirements for your area? We publish our snow and wind load information. Many products offered by our competitors do not. If you want a building that meets your area’s loading requirements, our competition may have to sell you a higher-priced building with more structural components and add-ons. Get the snow and wind load information in writing when you price your building.

What materials are used to make the building frame? The VersaTube® framing system is made in America with U.S. steel. Many competitors use imported steel or non-galvanized steel components. Our steel tubing has a galvanized FLO-Coat finish with a clear polymer coating that delivers twice the salt spray life as G-90 Galvanized. That simply means significantly increased rust protection. Most competitors use the lower grade G-90 product.

How long has the dealer been in business? Most independent VersaTube® dealers have been in the steel building business for several years. And they know what they’re doing because we have qualified them before allowing them to represent our product line. In a very few instances, our dealers are new entrepreneurs. Many of our competitors will bring on a new dealer with little or no experience in the building business and most have inadequate product training.

Does the dealer really know the product? Ask the dealer specific details about the product that they are selling. VersaTube® dealers have been trained and have the information you need at their fingertips. If they don’t have it, they can certainly get it from us! You should expect anyone you’re purchasing a building from to know the details. Ask them:

Can the dealer provide local references from customers? Ask the dealer to provide you with references from several customers, complete with name and phone number. If the dealer solidly stands behind his work and is dedicated to complete customer service, those customers won’t mind a phone call from you to inquire about their building. Ask the customer what their experience was with both the dealer and the product. If possible, go out and look at the customer’s installation. It’s in your best interest to look for and ask:

What company manufactures the dealer’s product? The best dealers for the best manufacturers won’t mind telling you the company they represent. If they don’t, then there’s probably an underlying negative reason and you need to look for another dealer or company.

Call the manufacturer before you make your purchase. Ask them questions you have concerning your purchase:

If you are having the building installed, who is installing the product? Most independent VersaTube® dealers have their own local employees installing the building or they employ local subcontractors. Many of the competitors use regional contractors that come from a manufacturing facility several hundred miles from your location. You should ask these questions:

How long will it take to have my building installed? Most independent VersaTube® dealers can give you a very accurate installation timeline. Since most of our dealers are local to you and they deal only with local installation crews, they know what their building schedule is. With many competitors, most of their installation crews come out of a regional manufacturing facility. The manufacturer batches several buildings to be delivered and installed in your area, so they may have to wait up to 8 weeks or even longer before they have enough buildings to install in your area. Having a local dealer with a local installation crew will likely give you a shorter installation time versus a regional company.

Who do I contact if there’s a problem with my installation? You always contact your local dealer if you’ve had the building installed. Not only does your dealer have ultimate control over the quality of the installation, he can also insure that if you have a problem with the building, someone will be out to take care of the problem in a timely manner. Since he is a local dealer, his reputation depends on it.

For the competitors with regional installation crews, you contact the manufacturer. Rest assured, those manufacturers will not send someone out from the regional facility to repair your building until there are enough buildings sold in your area to warrant a full installation trip by the repair crew. Customers have told us that they have waited as long as 16 weeks to have a building repaired.

Will the installers be on time for the installation appointment? You will need to be at the installation site to show the installation crew where you want your building installed. For most of us, we have to take off work to do so. Because our dealers have local installation crews, rarely do they miss a scheduled appointment time. In almost every case, our dealers can and will notify you ahead of time if they cannot make the appointment.

With regional competitors, missed appointments are common. Why? In most instances, regional crews are traveling several hundred miles to reach your location. Scheduling too many installations for the crews to complete in a given period, worker fatigue, transportation breakdowns and the weather are just some of the common reasons for missed appointments with regional crews. We have heard many cases where regional crews have stood up the customer as many as six times, costing the customer far more than the purchase price of the building. A dealer representing a regional install company has no control whatsoever over the installation crews.

The quality of the VersaTube® product is the best of any similar product produced in this business – just ask our dealers and customers who have purchased our buildings. At VersaTube® Building Systems, we want nothing less than a happy, satisfied customer. That’s one of the many reasons why we choose dealers that are local to you – so they can provide you with a quality product, prompt and immediate service, and a local VersaTube® representative to speak with at any time. Our reputation depends on it!