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Technical Buyer Beware

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by ekimneirbo, Nov 18, 2021.

  1. BuckeyeBuicks
    Joined: Jan 4, 2010
    Posts: 2,773

    BuckeyeBuicks
    Member
    from ohio

    I loose sales all the time on eBay and this board too due to shipping cost. We can not control what the USPS and other shippers charge for their service, if you want or need something bad enough you just have to pay the piper or do without.
     
  2. panhead_pete
    Joined: Feb 22, 2006
    Posts: 3,719

    panhead_pete
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    You guys crying about shipping costs need to live overseas......
     
  3. COCONUTS
    Joined: May 5, 2015
    Posts: 1,238

    COCONUTS

    After reading all for the complains here, I think the solution would be to have the Dominos Pizza delivery guys expand to delivered car parts throughout the United States. Some of these guys can get you a pizza within 30 minutes anywhere in your town, we just need to have them expand the process. In other words, only buy items that you can travel to for the payment and pick up.
     


  4. I also agree that Rays comments are spot on!

    I do also believe though that more & more people are starting to realize just what it takes to ship/transport things. Being in the cl***ic/hot rod/exotic transporting business for 38+ years now, I tend to see less people telling me that my prices are too high & that they could rent a trailer & go get it themselves cheaper. Now most of you know me & know that I am always respectful to my customers (which is not always the case by other transporters), so I just point out the fact that they are NOT taking into consideration paying themselves an hourly rate for all the time they are on the road & that they do not have to purchase & maintain the equipment like I do. Plus I like to eat, pay my bills & have some left over to build my cars!

    God Bless
    Bill
    https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
     
  5. 51504bat
    Joined: May 22, 2010
    Posts: 5,650

    51504bat
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Saw an add on craigslist for a brand new 14 circuit wire harness from Jegs. Seller even had a photo of the Jegs part number. Only trouble was the asking price was over $100.00 more than the non sale price at Jegs and it was on sale, in stock, and had free shipping. I guess the guy didn't think people would check directly with Jegs. Go figure. Plus I'm a Rebel wiring guy anyhow.
     
    vtx1800 likes this.
  6. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,969

    BamaMav
    Member Emeritus
    from Berry, AL

    Me too. I made a lot of money selling left over project parts, but no more. If it doesn't sell locally, it's s****. I still buy off eBay, but won't sell anything there anymore.
     
    41rodderz and XXL__ like this.
  7. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,609

    manyolcars

    I live outside the city but the Post Office is too incompetent to deliver to my house so all of my stuff is shipped to a friend inside the city and ebay charges me higher city taxes, Thats not right. The purchaser (me) is the buyer, not the address in the city
     
    Fitty Toomuch likes this.
  8. 41rodderz
    Joined: Sep 27, 2010
    Posts: 6,540

    41rodderz
    Member
    from Oregon

    :eek::D:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
    I agree. You would think most of us would check new prices from vendors. I have my ‘48 F1 and some ebayers are asking high prices ($299.00) plus shipping for used vent window frames needing repairs , gl*** and seals . Dennis Carpenter has new frames for $114.99 a piece . Not going to buy their used parts then have to additional work .​
     
  9. ekimneirbo
    Joined: Apr 29, 2017
    Posts: 5,398

    ekimneirbo
    Member
    from Brooks Ky

    Moriarity was correct that I was trying to point out that it looked like someone was just reselling stuff at higher prices. Here is the original ad. I superimposed (pasted) the verbage onto the picture. Apparently the item would still be shipped from the manufacturer.
    Grizzly Brake.jpg

    As for the 20 gage (.0375) rating............ or basically about a 1/32 roughly. You should realize that rating is when you are bending something the full width (12"). If you are making smaller parts, it can bend somewhat thicker metal. I bought one to do little small brackets and stuff because its little enough to be "handy" with smaller stuff. I have a 4' Finger brake but its not as handy when doing the smaller stuff.

    Shipping............Now there is a topic that I'll never understand. Yep, I get the idea that bigger, heavier, and farther drive costs up. The thing I see is that individuals really get screwed sometimes. Having gone thru several shipping fiascos, I have seen the wide variations in shipping costs. I have to admit that ordering from Amazing Amazon, I am often surprised that they can deliver many small items as cheaply as they do. Then on the other hand I sometimes see that they want more for some item even though they ship cheap. What really gets my dander up is when the shipping costs are vastly different. I shipped an item a while back on a pallet that weighed maybe 150 lbs. It was slightly over that I believe. Quote was $1,000 . Friend with a business told me with his discount, he could get it shipped for $500. Still too much. Went to a site called Freightquote and they supplied me with multiple quotes from different companies. Pulled a little packing out and a couple of free parts I was throwing in, and got the weight just under 150 lbs. Company shipped it from Ky to Montana(or Wyoming ?) for just over $200.

    Decided I wanted to buy some Rubber Mulch. Stuff is pretty expensive at Home centers and the bags are smaller than other mulch bags. Checked on line and found a company in Philadelphia that would sell me 2,000 lbs of it AND ship it to me for about $500. The pallet was appx 4' square (or whatever a normal pallet is) and the bags were stacked about 4.5/5 feet high. Now they not only sold me a TON of the stuff, but got it shipped to me.....$500.

    The Grizzly shipping charge ($149)seems excessive for a company, and I believe any individual could probably ship it by UPS for less than that cost. You would think their shipping rate is lower. I can't believe that Eastwood would eat that much shipping cost on a $265 item. Whether they add whatever shipping costs they have into the final cost of the item is only relevant when you get your final total. Sure they have to include something into the final cost, but the bottom line is shopping around a little can often save you quite a bit of money.:) Now get out there and buy something. Tell your wife I gave you permission.............:p
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2021
    Truckdoctor Andy likes this.
  10. The shipping charge is just another way for them to bolster profits..... I give a guy in Seattle (150 miles away) the same freight charge as a guy in Wisconsin (2,000 miles away), and I make more $$ off the Seattle guy. And both of them feel good because of my low price, but cuss the shipping company. Easy money!
     
  11. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,005

    Roothawg
    Member

    I generally go to Grizzly and pick mine up. It’s about 4-5 hours away, but I just wait til Im going to be in Springfield for something else.

    You have to pay sales tax, so you kinda hafts weigh it out and see which way is cheaper.
     
  12. WiredSpider
    Joined: Dec 29, 2012
    Posts: 1,287

    WiredSpider
    Member Emeritus

    Most of it boils down to common sense and doing your research.
    I had a pair of tires that a guy in Washington state wanted but the shipping was $145.
    That killed the deal.
    I think I,ll be just selling big stuff locally
     
  13. LAROKE
    Joined: Sep 5, 2007
    Posts: 2,088

    LAROKE
    Member

    Due to the way our dear leaders all over the world have screwed up the supply chain for the foreseeable future, it's gonna get worse before it gets better.
     
  14. shipped 4 tires from tire rack cost $134.70 one had a defect ordered a new one10 days later it cost $74.00 to ship that one, all they would say was rates must have gone up.
     
  15. Budget36
    Joined: Nov 29, 2014
    Posts: 15,351

    Budget36
    Member

    I’ll gladly pay 100-200 shipping for anything more than a 3/4 hour drive unless I just happen to be going that way. That’s basically spending a day in my truck on my day off.
     
  16. williebill
    Joined: Mar 1, 2004
    Posts: 3,488

    williebill
    Member

    Way OT, but I'll be brief. I have suppliers who can ship me a large box for under $25. If I immediately ship the same box back to them, it'll be closer to $150 I'll pay to ship. Why? They ship so much, they have huge deals with UPS, FedEx, etc.. Me, I have no such deal.
    My prox numbers were before everything went nuts. All my numbers would be higher today, but the difference would be the same.
     
    ekimneirbo likes this.
  17. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,346

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    I have a supplier that can ship a sizeable box to me for 85 dollars. Next day air. Ground is for 45 dollars. They must ship alot.
     
    Truck64 likes this.
  18. Truck64
    Joined: Oct 18, 2015
    Posts: 5,325

    Truck64
    Member
    from Ioway

    It is (for example) when they put a tiny part in a Big *** Box and charge $20 when they literally could have put the part in an envelope with a couple stamps on it, yeah it can be a little skeevy. I know why they do that, and it is wasteful. But they can charge more on "shipping" which helps their bottom line, as noted they get special rates you or I can't get.

    I needed an oil pressure sender the other day. It's about a $8 part. I don't know what the auto parts folks pay for it, a lot less. Probably buy them by the pound. The guy looked it up, they didn't have it, but said they could get one here in a couple days. OK, sounds good. All of that takes time, somebody to answer the phome, look it up, somebody to flag it wherever they found one, pick it, make sure it gets on the right truck and on to the right store location. A manager or somebody called the next day and said your part ordered is here. That takes time too. A lot of labor involved for a part they aren't making any money on.
     
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  19. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 3,708

    twenty8
    Member

    Some people make their money this way. The guy probably didn't even actually have a harness. As soon as someone coughs up, he buys one from Jegs to send to his (not too bright) customer. I had a niece that did this sort of thing with clothing and did quite well. Talk about "work from home"......................:confused:
     
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  20. Beanscoot
    Joined: May 14, 2008
    Posts: 3,661

    Beanscoot
    Member

    A couple years ago I ordered a valve seat for an old Briggs engine from my local Auto Parts Store. The parts guy spent a fair bit of time with me looking up seats by inside diameter, outside diameter and thickness, and checking that he could actually get it since it wasn't a regular item for the store.

    He did manage to get it after a couple weeks, it was a $3 part. But he did seem genuinely interested in my Briggs project. Above and beyond the call of duty!
     
  21. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 3,708

    twenty8
    Member

    I am having trouble seeing how buying something at retail price and then listing it and selling it on for 'retail plus' is adding any value, other than to the bank balance of the bright spark entrepreneur. I must also say that I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone lazy or stupid enough to be caught by this practice.

    Granted, if you were to add another element of service, backup, ease of purchase, or similar into the equation, then value has been added in some form.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2021
    bchctybob likes this.
  22. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,346

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    So basically, a seller buys an item(you don`t know what he paid) and sells for above retail. You complain cause the price is high. He has a brick and mortar store with overhead. He has to advertise on social media cause it costs to much otherwise. So you order a part online for the cheapest price you can find. Then complain about shipping costs. So the idea is to produce a part the cheapest way possible. Sell it cheap and ship it for free with no taxes. Then if the part is bad , it`s time to jump on social media and complain you got ripped off. No wonder the world has gone to hell. Did I leave anything out.
     
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  23. XXL__
    Joined: Dec 28, 2009
    Posts: 2,137

    XXL__
    Member

    Grubhub: bring me food I could have picked up myself.
    Personal shopper: buy stuff you think I'd like because I don't know what I like.
    And so on.

    "Retail" is a construct. In some markets, retail is manufacturing cost + margin. In others, it's mfg cost + distributor markup + wholesaler markup + reseller markup + 'deployer' markup. The key is value add. We don't know the value add being offered in the OP's story... I offered up a few possibilities. And one of those possibilities is real... the "I can't be bothered with being an informed consumer by researching lower cost offerings." If we took a poll, I'd bet approximately 100% of us know someone like that, and a frightening percentage of them might actually be our significant others *cough cough*. While I agree with your "lazy and stupid" sentiment, those are relative. If I'm a high roller executive 'worth' $5000/hr to my business, taking time away to save $250 is just dumb (something I've had to remind my SO more than once when she tasks a $100/hr medical professional to reorder pencils for the stockroom).
     
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  24. Truck64
    Joined: Oct 18, 2015
    Posts: 5,325

    Truck64
    Member
    from Ioway

    Yeah, and that makes one more inclined to do future business, if they handle a small order well. When I picked up the sending unit I also bought about $60 worth of odds and ends I needed "just because", and also made a point to thank them for getting the part quickly. I probably could have found somebody else who had it in stock, but it's nice to see somebody in retail who understands how this stuff actually works.
     
    ekimneirbo likes this.
  25. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 3,708

    twenty8
    Member

    Just that you have taken my post out of context and totally misunderstood my point.
    I was referring only to the recent practice of reselling on social media sites for more than the product is retailed in stores. There is no value added in this case, and although all seems fair in love, war and commerce, I can't help but think of it as a swindle. But, as the thread ***le states, it is a case of "buyer beware", and some do not................beware, that is...........:)
     
  26. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,969

    BamaMav
    Member Emeritus
    from Berry, AL

    I've been shopping for new tires for my 47 Lincoln online. Looked at Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct, DTD has lower prices, better selection of brands, and in many cases, free shipping. How they do it, I don't know, but do know they will get my business in the spring when I get ready to order them.
     
  27. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,346

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    I was referring to this whole thread and the way people think today.
     
    williebill likes this.
  28. twenty8
    Joined: Apr 8, 2021
    Posts: 3,708

    twenty8
    Member

    Ok. No harm, no foul.............
     
  29. fuzzface
    Joined: Dec 7, 2006
    Posts: 1,823

    fuzzface
    Member

    What gets me is some of these b/m stores that give free shipping over a certain number. Like last week I was going to order 6 boxes of this one item and the price came to $30 and shipping was $5.99. But if I would spend $35 I would get free shipping. So I changed my order to 7 boxes that basicly gave me 1 free box and saved me .99 to boot.

    Then on top of that the order came from 2 different warehouses in opposite directions. 3 came from Green Bay Wi. , p*** my town to Chicago, Il, then p*** my town again and up to Menominee Falls where they delivered from and the other 4 came from Fl. I sure hope those b/m stores get a major discounts on shipping because I cannot see how they made out on this deal seeing it came in 2 different order and they had fedex here twice for something that was billed in 1 order.
     
    ekimneirbo likes this.
  30. alanp561
    Joined: Oct 1, 2017
    Posts: 5,581

    alanp561
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Not to mention the fact that a lot of the time, you might be dead-heading to pick up a load. It still you the same to move your hauler down the road whether it's loaded or empty.
     
    Bill's Auto Works likes this.

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