What parts frustrate you because they are hard to find?

[Travis]

Forget adding "Hard to Find" parts to your inventory, reduce your shipping costs they are outrageous.

I do not know why the sponsors on this board are some of the most costly sites to buy from.

Example:

Order a "Red Clip" from your site:

Cost: $5.10 (Local dealer was $3.00)

S/H: $7.00 (UPS Ground to Houston)

So my question is why is it I should I buy from your site

[Perfectlap]

^ ouch...

well I don't about that specific instance but I know some vendors charge a little more for small popular items to make up for smaller margins on other more expensive items.
shipping is not cheap. If it can't fit in an envelope its hard to ship it for less than $8. It's the "handling" (which should be incorporated into the cost of the item) that irks me.

[RandallNeighbour]

In Todd (and Equip's) defense, I will say that sending a small, non-flat part through UPS going to a residential address about half way across the country is going to cost him $5.50 at a minimum. Fuel charges for UPS and postage hikes have made s/h rates for just about everything skyrocket. I get complaints at my mail order publishing house all the time... but my books are heavy, even if not expensive.

I pay up to 75¢ for a padded envelope, depending on size and quality. Of course, I don't buy 10,000 a month or my price would be a lot lower.

It takes about 10 minutes take the order, pick a book, put it into an envelope with the invoice, put it on the UPS scale, and enter the information and print a lable. One or two people to do those jobs and are paid an hourly wage or a commission (in the case of the salesperson). So it only makes sense to add a buck for that, which is a reasonable amount to me as a business owner.

So, $7 shipping on the red clip seems very reasonable to me, even though I am an amazon.com junkie because of their free shipping and decent discounts on a lot of stuff (which I cannot figure out for the life of me how they stay in business doing it).

Now the price of that clip as mentioned is just plain silly... I completely agree with you, Travis!

[Perfectlap]

I don't think using the red clip is a good idea anyway.
You shouldn't leave your Boxster unattended long enough or be far away enough from it with the top down to necesitate such a device to secure your car.
And it takes a toll on your interior trim and leather to leave it exposed for long periods. You should see some of the sun damage to some old car covers I used in the past and the kicker is that I rarely used them. Raise the top if you are going to park it in the sun.

[RandallNeighbour]

Perfectlap, you are correct. However, with my humps on, that clip prevents me from stupidly raising the top.

All said, that's not the point Travis and I were trying to make. The part is overpriced and the shipping seemed high. Substitute any other small part if you like and many aftermarket sellers charge far too much for these things.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

So, $7 shipping on the red clip seems very reasonable to me, even though I am an amazon.com junkie because of their free shipping and decent discounts on a lot of stuff (which I cannot figure out for the life of me how they stay in business doing it).

not only are they staying in business they are up big time over a year ago.
Stock is up 25% today to $55...arrgggg.

[Jeph]

TechArt Formula GT rims

[Sammy]

I can't find any reasonably priced clear halogen headlights. I'd love a set but I'm not going to drop $1000+ on them (I think Suncoast and Pelican are the only places I've found them). I've been trying to keep my eye out on ebay but haven't had much luck.

[EPIQTodd]

Originally Posted by Travis

Forget adding "Hard to Find" parts to your inventory, reduce your shipping costs they are outrageous.

I do not know why the sponsors on this board are some of the most costly sites to buy from.

Example:

Order a "Red Clip" from your site:

Cost: $5.10 (Local dealer was $3.00)

S/H: $7.00 (UPS Ground to Houston)

So my question is why is it I should I buy from your site

Good reason for this, although not one we can do much about. We didn't anticipate that people would buy JUST a red clip, but they have, and for that the shipping is high. Our online checkout is setup so that the shipping is based on total dollar amount spent, and quite frankly, we lose money on most of our orders. Imagine brake rotors or pads that fall in the $19 category for shipping, yet our shipping costs are more like $26, etc.

Easy way around this is to call or email us - we have NO intention of charging that much for a red clip, and we don't pay that much, obviously, so let us hook you up right - probably $1.50 shipping on that...

[super66]

silver face gauges Todd??? I want another thing for my car that I wno't install for months

[Travis]

Originally Posted by EPIQTodd

Good reason for this, although not one we can do much about. We didn't anticipate that people would buy JUST a red clip, but they have, and for that the shipping is high. Our online checkout is setup so that the shipping is based on total dollar amount spent, and quite frankly, we lose money on most of our orders. Imagine brake rotors or pads that fall in the $19 category for shipping, yet our shipping costs are more like $26, etc.

Easy way around this is to call or email us - we have NO intention of charging that much for a red clip, and we don't pay that much, obviously, so let us hook you up right - probably $1.50 shipping on that...

Todd -

Did not mean to sound rude in my post, but reading it again I did very much sound rude and I apologize for that.

Now with your above reply you answered my question:

"why is it I should I buy from your site "
By coming up with a direct answer and a solution to make the customer happy!

Good Job