Excessive Shipping Charges

[HEMI]

Yesterday I called the 440 Source to order a $12.95 part(they don't accept online orders).Was told that the miminum shipping charge was $14.00,no matter where you live.
Ordered the same part,same price,plus another part online from Mancini Racing.Shipping cost was exactly half,and has to be shipped 900 miles further.
I'm not going to be doing any business with the first mentioned co.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

I normally support the little autopart shop in town, but today they told me for an Oil Pan Gasket it was going to take a week to get and $10.00 shipping for a $13 gasket (Bought four other things while I was there) so I headed over to NAPA and for $13 it'll be here tomorrow. Some places just don't have their stock in the right places or do enough volume shipping to cut down delivery costs. I still try the little place first. (Both Gaskets are Felpro, so it's the same part)

[BigDad]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

what did you need for 13 bucks ?

[Groucho]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

Years ago I ordered tail lens for a 67 Chevelle (maybe a half pound?), and from 40 miles away it was like $20 shipping. I asked WTF, and dude tells me they base shipping on value of the part and not the weight. I said OK, then ship me 1000 pounds of something worthless for a dollar shipping.

[HEMI]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

It doen't matter what I was trying to purchase,just the fact that they don't seem to want my business unless I'm paying bigger bucks.
Sort of screw the little purchaser in favor of smoeone else.

[Groucho]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

Good for you for supporting the little guy. I do the same around here. I like when I ask for something, the guy knows what I'm saying instead of looking at me cockeyed while telling me it's not in the computer. I'd rather pay a little more than deal with some idiot at Autozone. I told my Ma-Pa auto parts guy, when you retire, I retire.

I normally support the little autopart shop in town, but today they told me for an Oil Pan Gasket it was going to take a week to get and $10.00 shipping for a $13 gasket (Bought four other things while I was there) so I headed over to NAPA and for $13 it'll be here tomorrow. Some places just don't have their stock in the right places or do enough volume shipping to cut down delivery costs. I still try the little place first. (Both Gaskets are Felpro, so it's the same part)

[biginch]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

i always LOVE walking into an autozone asking for an oil filter to fit a big block chevy, or a valve cover gasket for a small chevy, or my personal favorite, a generic brass radiator petcock i wanted to install in my dart block. "what year and model sir?" then me "um, its for a race car, why not just look in your small parts bins for it" then them "well if you dont know what year its for, i cant help you" then me barely holding in the demons "i dont care what year it is for, i need a simple 1/4" pipe threaded metal radiator petcock, it probably fits forty bazillion different cars made before plastic radiators, why is this so difficult for you?", then with a shitty smirk the ignorant clown invariably remarks "well we dont sell RACECAR parts here, so if you dont know what you want, i cant find it for you.

did i mention that when i go to autozone i find an unused computer and look up my own stuff? for me it works alot faster.

the other day the faithful local autozone staff informed my buddy that he would have to just buy another battery because it was raining and they werent going to go out and check his battery in the rain. he buys the new battery, puts it in the car only to discover the starter was toast. too bad, no return on batteries after they are installed.

oreillys is better
advance is better than oreillys
napa is almost best, if they are open, bankers hours ya know.
local joint is the best, the owner there the other day spent 15 minutes looking up an electrical cable junction stud for me.

[Vette#128]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

That's my biggest gripe about Gmpartsdirect.com They have killer prices on a lot of parts, but the shipping is ridiculous...

[KJZ28]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

Classic Industries rapes all with shipping charges!!!!!! The 10% 15% discounts they give just pay for shipping!!!

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

i always LOVE walking into an autozone asking for an oil filter to fit a big block chevy, or a valve cover gasket for a small chevy, or my personal favorite, a generic brass radiator petcock i wanted to install in my dart block. "what year and model sir?" then me "um, its for a race car, why not just look in your small parts bins for it" then them "well if you dont know what year its for, i cant help you" then me barely holding in the demons "i dont care what year it is for, i need a simple 1/4" pipe threaded metal radiator petcock, it probably fits forty bazillion different cars made before plastic radiators, why is this so difficult for you?", then with a shitty smirk the ignorant clown invariably remarks "well we dont sell RACECAR parts here, so if you dont know what you want, i cant find it for you.

did i mention that when i go to autozone i find an unused computer and look up my own stuff? for me it works alot faster.

the other day the faithful local autozone staff informed my buddy that he would have to just buy another battery because it was raining and they werent going to go out and check his battery in the rain. he buys the new battery, puts it in the car only to discover the starter was toast. too bad, no return on batteries after they are installed.

oreillys is better
advance is better than oreillys
napa is almost best, if they are open, bankers hours ya know.
local joint is the best, the owner there the other day spent 15 minutes looking up an electrical cable junction stud for me.

I worked at Autozone for three years (still got one more year before my ASE cert in parts expires : ), and know exactly what you mean. I wasn't one of them, just tell me what you want and I'll ask the real questions needed to find the part. I have an Autozone store manager that really doesn't like me because I DO know what his parts are in their bins/drawers and I regularly walk in for a plug or a fitting or some trivial thing and he refuses to look in the back right were I want to look. Find some other unsuspecting zoner to take me to the drawers and I have what I want in 30 seconds. Parts people these days don't understand when you ask for something basic like my case, Oil pan gasket for a Buick 455, same questions, what year make model. For a while I had the Toyota's and Honda parts pretty much memorized too on what went across various years (just read the Felpro boxes) so I knew what covered what when the computer lists the wrong thing (which it does periodically).

NAPA I am finding is getting pretty bad, they've computerized their look up just like AZ so they can hire John Doe and provide no automotive training and stick them at a parts counter. They used to all have to be sharp and know the catalogs and have certifications (in my experiences where I shopped) and now I walk into the one by where I used to live in So. Cal. and get the same useless questions. No a 455 and 5-speed was never offered in a '77 Skylark, but that's what's in there. The local small autoparts store here is pretty good at either just handing my the catalog if they are busy or looking it up if their primitive computer look up screen doesn't have it listed.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

what did you need for 13 bucks ?

The Oil Pan gasket I keep bringing up, Skylark's been eating oil pumps, so I have to drop the pan to check for bad things :-\ I had a bad/bent distributor shaft that ate a distributor gear, I think the pickup is sucking metal into the pump :-[

[Groucho]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

You don't think maybe the bad/bent distributor's killing the oil pump also?

what did you need for 13 bucks ?

The Oil Pan gasket I keep bringing up, Skylark's been eating oil pumps, so I have to drop the pan to check for bad things :-\ I had a bad/bent distributor shaft that ate a distributor gear, I think the pickup is sucking metal into the pump :-[

[HEMI]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

I just want these knuckelheads to realize that treating small orders right leads to to repeat business.Screw me on small stuff,I won't be back with more expensive orders.

[racinguy423]

Re: Excessive Shipping Charges

i work at advance auto parts and i here you guy some people are just not all there half the people that work there ask me for help finding the easies shit to find in the store and i think to myself how did you get a job here and the thing is they started after me and they make more an hour