I placed my initial order, only for them to be over 40% out of stock on items, so they sent me a smaller order. My question is- Does each re-order have to be $125?

I can't find answers on their website and they don't answer their phone.

Thanks in advance

CK, like most wholesalers, has a minimum order requirement. Theirs is $125, which is MUCH lower than many companies. As with any supply company, sometimes items are out of stock. Many of their items come from overseas and custom/shipping does delay the process. Their other issue is that many of our supplies are created by us, the decorating world. They often have supply issues with small businesses because most are not set up to provide large amounts of their products. Hence, some of the out of stock items. When you place an order, in the Comments section ask them to let you know about outages. Heather will send you an email which then gives you the opportunity to order from another source. I've been a CK customer for years. If you get to know Tom, Sean, Heather and some of the other staff, you'll find that they are great folks that give the best service. Good luck!

To answer your question, yes you have to order $125 each time, However, when you place your order you can UNcheck the box to not Back Order things they are out of. If you UNcheck it, then when they get the backordered items into stock again they will send them to you. At least in theory.

And really on getting notifications of alternate sources or notices that something is out of stock before opening the box? I've been ordering for nearly a decade and I never got anything like that.

I order from there and had an item that was b/o. They told me that they only autosend b/o's if they are a certain amount. I really can't remember what it was. From then on, I never mark the box for shipping b/o because it was such a hassle for me. Other than that, I love the company and the products. I usually don't have too much trouble with o/s items and I always leave a message to them on the "special instruction" area for them to call me if it is a special order for a customer and not just stocking items for our supply end. They call me right away and let me know. They have always been good to me on the C/S side once I got to know "how it works". They are going through some growing issues and you may have just landed in the middle of that. I would try to call again to find out what the policies are. Good luck!