• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

A Rant About Shipping

Share this page

I have responded to the PMs. The vendor who sent me the plastic piece (he is a distributor for others) responded very quickly to my email and agreed to have it picked up and returned, and will refund the total including shipping. He also told me that he will have to eat the shipping, so he doesn't want to do business with me any more. Really? So the vendor isn't a thief, but on the other hand just doesn't get it. It's a service oriented business. The only thing he had to do was get the part right and get it out the door as promised. It's not like he had to go out and kill one for me. I feel terrible for expecting this to happen.

During this period, I missed the chance to buy a couple of real Lucas parts on eBay, as well as order it from a trusted vendor and have it in hand. So, the good news is that I'm not out any money for this mess, but I am out time and opportunity. And of course, there are no appropriate parts available on ebay at the moment. For those of you who scoff at ebay, my experience there has been 99% terrific, especially with parts for my BJ8.

Lesson learned. You only need to smack me 3 or 4 times before I get it.
 
I have had a motto for my business. A satisfied person MAY tell one other person but an unsatisfied one tells ten people. And if you eat it once and a while, make it a good experience for the them because its cheaper than advertising to get their business. Many of my suppliers have added a "fuel surcharge" which I absorb. It sucks but no one cares anymore. So what is a fuel surcharge when all they do is put it in a box and stick it in a delivery system? Must be the coffee they drink to stay awake.
 
Just when you think it's safe to go back into the water, I hear back from the vendor who yesterday emails me that they will be sending a call tag for the plastic horn. Today, he tells me that they don't want to because it will cost them $8 to send a call tag. Instead, he wants me to go to the post office and ship it to him and he will credit me the shipping when it arrives. So to save him the $8 because he sends me the wrong piece, I should take an hour and go to the post office. I asked him if he wants me to mow his lawn as well. I swear, you can't make this stuff up.

Do not, under any circumstances, get involved with anyone who treats his customers like this!
 
Having been so negative lately, I wanted to post a little good news. I installed the Bristleflex door seals from MacGregor today and they held like iron and look great. There are a couple of issues in installation, such as how they should be cut/trimmed to fit around the curve toward the rear and how the pricey clips should be installed, and Martin should put some effort into providing an installation photo for this. While he described it for me, a picture is worth a thousand words. Aside from other issues, however, the claim that the Bristleflex holds is true. So, if you have to wait for it, and have to pay for it, at least it should work!
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif SHG! They hold like a Tasmanian devil!. Glad to hear your world is looking up---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Here is a thought. You need to be smart about owning any 40 plus year old car. The Royal Mail has a web site just like the US mail. You can access that site, and see just how much shipping should be. The poor b*stards over there get raked over the coals on shipping prices compared to us. I have found that for a package of any weight, DHL is usually the cheapest. I also search ebay (and anywhere else I can think of ) for NOS parts. Nothing beats the proper part. In general, repro parts bite. I find this to be true no matter what the car is. I purchased a set of interior screws for a 65 'vette I was restoring the interior on. I had all of the originals on hand. As near as I could tell, the vendor (Well known in the 'vette business) had never seen a corvette, let alone tried matching the parts up to see if they were suitable. I have had to return defective parts, and had the vendor refuse to pay the shipping in either direction. It was a Jaguar radiator, it was heavy and expensive. Not wanting to cut my nose off to spite my face, I just moved them down to the bottom of my list of vendors.

I have noticed lately that parts from other countries, including Canada, are held up for what seems to be an inordinate period of time. I am told this is because of customs " Homeland Security" measures. I think it's ridiculous but you need to plan ahead. I had one package from Canada take 31 days to arrive from the date it was postmarked!

Any car you can't go to the dealership to buy parts for should cause you to change your buying habits. Plan in advance and be smart about it.
 
Jessebogan, Ifin I was smart, I would certainly not own
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif

40 year old cars!----Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif
 
All I am trying to say is, it is possible to out think the vendors, to plan ahead, and not be so frustrated by having to deal with people that just don't care. As to having 40 year old cars, I think that is a sign of higher intelligence. Any fool can buy a new car, it takes desire, and a leap of faith to have old British cars.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
... desire, and a leap of faith to have old British cars.

[/ QUOTE ]

And a certain defiant disdain for Lord Lucas... Prince of Darkness.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
The only three countries I have shipped Healey parts into the US are Canada, Australia, and the UK. Canada seemed unnecessarily expensive, but I understand that was because UPS was the carrier. It seemed that the Australian shipping was cheaper/easier than the UK. I have noticed that some UK vendors have greater sensitivities to our shipping problems.

Language barriers aside, is shipping better/worse/same from the other EU countries?
 
Following the advice of one of our resident sages, Anthony, I ordered a bunch of parts from Sports and Classics. I had told John that I really needed them by Friday so I could work this weekend (having lost all of the long Thanksgiving weekend). A nice big box arrived yesterday, right on time.
It's not exactly clear what he's going to charge me for the parts, but I feel comfortable that he'll be fair. The box was one part short(I was told in advance about this, though the reason for coming up short was little dubious) and missing some screws and a bolt/bracket that I will need. I can buy the missing pieces at my local auto parts store, and I've been able to jerry-rig the missing bracket, so these fall under the heading of minor issues. I will do business with John again, though I will make sure that I'm more specific about the details in the future, as things like screws and brackets do make a difference.

So, there you have the end of my story. Hope it helps others. When we have plenty of time to plan ahead, and can buy parts well in advance of when we plan to install them, I suppose that any vendor will do. When we need something right away, we need someone who can be trusted to keep their word. But that's pretty much true of everything in life.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
SHG!, I told you to ask for "Virginia T".-- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif---Keoke
 
I'm reviving this oldie but goodie because some stories never seem to end. Following up my order to Sports & Classics, I call John about the mistakes in the parts and the overcharging on my credit card. He tells me he's going to look into it and get back to me. Anthony tells me I should send an email because John's a little disorganized and Virginia will get the email.

Nothing. A week later, Nothing. Time goes on. Nothing. Then yesterday, I get an email (not a phone call)from John explaining that even though he told me the retaining rings were one price, now he tells me they're twice as much and so that's why he charged me twice as much. As far as another part I bought from him, the screws to install it (which could be bought for ten cents at any hardware store) were a dollar extra each, even though he never mentioned that they weren't included. Even though he sent me a mismatched pair of headlamp retaining rings, it's my problem now, and if I send one (not both) back to him, he'll give me a credit on my NEXT order. And as for the horn part that he just forgot to include, that he never mentioned.

Soooo, if anyone actually wants to get the parts he ordered, and be charged the amount you're told, this is not the place to go. John's a great guy to talk to, and knows a lot about Healeys. But it seems like his strongest skill is charging your Visa. I wrote John back and told him that I hope he eats well with the $25 he beat me out of, because they're not making any more Healeys and he just lost a customer.

Anybody want to buy a set of mismatched retaining rings, a horn without the bolt, or a bunch of $1 screws? Sorry about continuing this rant, but I'm still tired of being the fly on their windshield. It just doesn't seem too hard for a vendor to ship what I ordered and charge what he told me. It can't be this difficult.
 
shg,through you unfortunately i have learned a valuable lesson,that sharing my positive personal experiances with any given vender,is in no way a guaranty anyone else would have the same results,hence i will forgo any future recommendations be it satisfactory or otherwise,on this forum or any other,an individuals brokerage of a transaction is fundamentally unique,as is the outcome!as you well know ive personally inquired about your situation conserning the afore mentioned vender,and im more perplexed than even you! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Anthony, just want you to know that my experience has nothing at all to do with yours or your recommendation. I really do appreciate you trying to help out, and I'm glad that you haven't had the same problems. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that you can walk in, and the best I can do is call on the phone or send an email. There's a big difference between dealing with someone long distance and dealing with someone face to face. It's a lot easier to blow someone off when you don't have to look at him. And you've been a big help to me in many ways here, and I really appreciate that too.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...it has a lot to do with the fact that you can walk in....

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif

While most of my buying is long distance (300 miles more-or-less) I've found that a visit once in a while helps get their attention and goes a long way to easing transactions. I hope to buy interior trim in the summer and I'll give the vendor a couple of weeks notice when to expect me and what I'll be wanting to see and buy then. Helps us both focus.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
Back
Top