Folks Of Interest Speedway Shipping

This is a result of automation of the sorting and routing systems. Almost everything is done that way these days, untouched by human hands. When computers get it right, the results are superior to human effort; when they get it wrong, you can expect anything. The one good thing about this is that given proper attention, the errors are corrected over time. Unfortunately, impatience is a dominant human characteristic.

 

Why does this surprise you? A shift knob ordered from eBay was most likely coming from China.

 

My only surprise was that it showed the location somewhere in open waters
I orderd one that came from Australia, guy has a farm and raises Redback spiders and molds them into shift knobs.
That one took a few months too

 

Hahaha! These days people are trippin'... literally! Even tracking numbers don't satisfy some folks. Many can't believe that once I have shipped something I don't have control over how fast it gets to them. I am a firm believer in patience, but many have lost the faith.

 

I miss junk yards

 

Usually tracking doesn't show a point in the ocean, just when it arrives on land.

 

I'm not the one who said that, it was the O/P; I was only pointing out a reason of how it could happen.

Don't shoot the messenger.

 

You're the dude defending it... You said why it was in the Ocean... I've never had tracking show my parts in the ocean. Seems reasonable for him to be concerned is all I'm saying.

 

"Defending it"? I think not; re-read my comments. If you have an issue with anyone, it's the O/P, not me. The whole thing is hyperbole anyway.

 

Lol. Having a bad day?

 

I was being sarcastic in an earlier post and someone went nuts.

 

Have you ever seen a picture posted by the o/really just a lot of bitching about things we can t control. Take it for what it is and move on. This thread is getting old.

 

Speedway and Summit have always worked for me. I would rather wait a couple of days than spend one minute trying to explain to the O'Reilly's guy how to find a water pump gasket for a SBC after explaining what a SBC is!

 

FredEx loves to send packages from out West on I-20 through town an extra 350 or so miles to the MetroMess and then back on I-20 another 350 or so miles to town. I understand why, but it still vexes me somewhat.

 

When posting a sarcastic comment, you should use the "sarcastic" emoji. That's what it's there for. Then people will know what you mean.

BTW, today I am having a very good day.

 

This is quite possibly the dumbest post ever submitted to the HAMB. And the, it lost its focus..

 

Holy shit, they are cool.......
http://www.customredback.com/

 

Also, UPS delivery truck routes are designed to make 90% of their turns as right turns because they are safer, save time and use less fuel.

HRTH - Are you fair dinkum? Or taking the piss? If you are fair dinkum thats interesting, I get the safety piece but how does it save time is more economical?
RodSports.

 

UPS and other courier companies have been plotting routes like that for decades because it apparently works.
Mythbusters did an episode on it and got a positive result, so it must be true.....

 

That’s the guy

 

Well, at least Speedway shipping is super-rocket-speed compared to TRJ. But then again, TRJ never takes off and often doesn't deliver!

 

Maybe it's your positive attitude? https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/trj-88.1333555/

 

I don’t mind the waiting, it’s paying more in shipping than the part costs that has kept me from ordering from Speedway.

 

I'll throw some gas on the fire! Bought a rebuilt starter for my A. Core charge was $100. Built a small crate and took it to the UPS office and was told it would cost $72 and change to go 375 miles! Told the vendor I'd drop it off next time I'm in the neighborhood.

 

So for a little insight on shipping, all of these big distributors have deals with the couriers for discounted bulk shipping. You get free shipping, but the shipping charges are added to the list prices on the parts. How do I know this? I used to work in the shipping department for a similar business and that's what we did. It's pretty standard practice across the board.
Parts costs are rising due to tariffs, even USA made parts because the rising prices are still impacting the manufacturers, so instead of putting all the increase on the parts, in some cases, they added shipping charges.
The old saying of "ain't nothing free in this world" still holds. If you get something for free, bet your butt someone is paying for it.

For some good news, I ordered a set of headers and a starter for my OT Camaro from Jegs last Friday. Packages showed up Monday.

 

I thought I read here that speed way was rip off,,, and sold paint with lead and no zinc in it

 

So how did they ship it to you to start with? 375 miles is 750 round trip. that's roughly 10 cents a mile and you can't drive it for that. Maybe if you are going that way anyway---

 

There seem to be differences in how vendors apply the shipping to their prices. For example, in Canada I can get parts from Summit cheaper than local or other online options with free shipping (over a certain dollar value of the order), and I only pay import charges and taxes.

I assume the volume that Summit purchases with makes this possible, but they've obviously chose a different path than Speedway.

 

Yes, bulk discounts on purchasing, and bulk discounts on shipping.
Here's an example: Amazon is the ideal end game for all larger distributors. Love them or hate them, they've just about perfected their business. They pay a fraction of retail for their stock because they buy and sell in such huge quantities. When I worked for them 25 years ago it used to be they only had a few large distribution centers, and they had negotiated deeply discounted shipping rates with the couriers. Prime and same day delivery didn't exist. Now they have distribution centers everywhere and they have their own couriers that only need to work locally for the most part. Now you see vendors Like Summit, Jegs, and Speedway selling on Amazon because Amazon can handle the logistics more efficiently than the big couriers can, and the parts can often get shipped from one of the many Amazon distribution centers instead of the 2 or 3 the parts guys have.

Summit, Jegs, and Speedway all have more than one distribution center, so they can ship more efficiently than if they only had one (like back in the old days when it took weeks to get parts), but nowhere near the scale that Amazon can. Depending on where you are and where your local distribution center is for your parts seller of choice, you'll get varying shipping rates and speed. Sometimes your closest distribution center won't have your part, so they need to send it from one of the other centers.

Still annoys the hell out of me to see my packages hit every damn location around me in a circle before I finally get it.......

 

Figure out what your fuel costs would be to drive the part there yourself.
Now figure out the fuel costs for one of those big FedEx or UPS trucks to cover the same distance, and the 4+ hours of labor to pay the driver. Then there's the labor for the clerk you talked to, and the guys handling the packages at the terminals. Way more than $72. It's part of the "pay someone else to do something you don't want to/can't do yourself economy.

There's a big rabbit hole to go down on how this works and how it's more efficient for these couriers to ship a part all over the place instead of just direct to you, but I have a feeling nobody wants to read all that.