Off Topic Victoria British Shipping Dept.

[carpecursusII]

My previous years of experience said that if I ordered from VB before mid afternoon that they would ship the same day. I live inside of the 1 day ground shipping radius from KS so this was great for the last minute panic order of parts you need right now without sacrificing my first born for it. Well, it seems those days are over, yesterday I ordered a few small parts and an oil pan gasket totaling ~$65 plus the $10.95 standard shipping. I sat until late in the evening hoping to get the notification from UPS that I had a delivery scheduled for tomorrow (today) but it never came. I just spoke with VB customer service and the lady informed me that it was only being packed at 1:20pm today and would be on the truck tomorrow. A fellow club member in the local area said it took his order 4 days to leave VB and a total of 7 to arrive and that was after he had called to inquire about the order three days into the process. How does it take a large parts company like LMC Truck/VB three days to pack an order with 5 pieces in it?? I am three day shipping from Moss and they guarantee same day shipping if ordered by 3PST, needless to say, my business with VB just shrank.

 

[GTP1960]

For me, out here on the east coast, Moss is the best shipper & easiest deal with by far.
Though I always like Charles Runyan's "fire side chat" email notes, you never know when a TRF package might arrive.

 

[TR3driver]

Personally, I've had pretty good luck with TRF. If I'm in a rush, I put in the notes to "please expedite" the particular parts I need in a hurry, and they usually do so. Not always of course, but usually if they can't ship within a day or two, I'll get an email from Albert letting me know there will be a delay.

Of course, if I don't pay more for fast shipping, the order is subject to the whims of UPS. I've heard that they sometimes deliberately delay "ground" shipments just so folks don't get too complacent with fast, cheap service.

By contrast, the last time I called up Moss and paid extra for fast handling and shipping, it took almost a week for the parts to get here. And I'm less than 150 miles away! To add insult to injury, the parts I had ordered from the UK at the same time (without special handling) arrived later the same day! That was some time ago, tho, so maybe they've gotten better.

 

[Popeye]

I'm sure most of the suppliers are similar in nature (the exception being Moss who sells many brands of car parts): more "mom and pop" than "large parts company" I have visited TRF on a few occasions, and they have a relatively low number of employees running through a relatively large warehouse collecting parts from many many many parts bins. And I mean many. Every special bit on our cars has its own drawer. Times how ever many models they sell for... it amounts to an incredibly large quantity of unique SKUs.

Bottom line - I am impressed that TRF usually ships within 24 hours. And I love them for doing that!! As Randall said, if you call and ask, the salesperson will "hand-process" your order within a few hours. It is not a favor you want to ask often, but as you say, when you have a "last minute panic order", it sure is nice!

I don't know VB, but suspect they are similar in nature.

 

[GTP1960]

so maybe they've gotten better.

that's the take home. As with all businesses & everything else, catch em on a good day & things are great or catch em on a bad day & things are less great.

my company is the same way. The simple goal is to have more good days than bad.

 

[rjc157]

The thing with VB is that they usually run a sale and you can get the part a little cheaper but they take forever to ship last time I bought something from them it took 10 days to get it I'm on the east coast god forbid if you pay for next day shipping it turns into a week Moss is pretty good if they have the part in their Virginia warehouse usually gets to me in 3 days wish they never left the Jersey store

 

[glemon]

I am sorry to hear that about VB, and I hope it is the exception rather than the rule. I am half a days drive from VB and for a number of years I would more often than not get the order the day after I ordered it, which is very nice when your car is apart and you want to get it back together. I too have noticed that does not seem to be the norm anymore.

I orderrd a lot from TRF and anyyhing ordered over the weekend usually arrived by the end of the week. Moss used to be the least reliable, with weekend orders often not arriving until the next week. But they seem to have gotten a little better about processing orders quickly and consistently.

 

[GTP1960]

What's really amazing to me is that :
#1. We can still get new parts at all.
#2. We even have multiple suppliers.

that's truly amazing since the last Triumph rolled out about 35 years ago.

 

[carpecursusII]

Well, I wrote an email to VB customer service, I got a canned reply saying that due to order volume its 2-3 turn around on orders. I guess I would think given the size of VB that they could pack and ship in less than three days. I've done a hefty amount of business with Moss through my local dealer and I get 95% of my parts in three days with a exception of UPS being the cause of a problem once or twice a year which I find manageable. I have had a good experience with both TRF and BPNW, the only exception being TRF not having a part in stock.

I do agree its a miracle that you can order 95% of the car right out of the catalog and have it in less than a week, that really makes working on these cars much easier.

 

[TomMull]

To add insult to injury, the parts I had ordered from the UK at the same time (without special handling) arrived later the same day! That was some time ago, tho, so maybe they've gotten better.

I've made a few orders from several suppliers in the UK out of necessity, they have more Herald stuff available, and have had the same positive shipping experience. The additional shipping costs were minimal and offset by better pricing although the actual price varies with the exchange. Still not my first "go to" but a viable option.
Tom

 

[TR3driver]

they have more Herald stuff available,

Ditto for Stag.

Not a complaint, more of an amusing story: When I called up Moss to see if just maybe they had front brake hoses for my Stag daily driver (at that time), they informed me they didn't carry anything for the Stag. The next day, I happened to see a "dealer" Moss catalog that had them listed! Wrote down the part number, called Moss to order by PN, "Oh, you must be working on a Stag. Yeah, we've got them."

 

[TR3TR6]

I only live about 185 miles from Victoria British, and my son use to live in the Kansas City area. I would usually save my parts list for when I went to visit him. What I noticed when I visited VB is that they had a very small staff working there. There was only one counter person and I never saw more than two people in the stock area. The plus side of picking up your parts at the store is no shipping charges and they give a 10% discount if you belong to a car club that they have on file which mine does. That only applies if you are picking up the parts at the store. I can see where the shipping might take longer.

 

[poolboy]

Maybe it's just that Elvis has left the building.
Seems like years ago, it's been a while, there'd be a sticker on VB containers saying "Packed by Elvis".

 

[poolboy]

Let's see how this turns out.
This morning...Friday September 23 at 10 AM Central time, I phoned in an order to Victoria British. I was told the parts were in.stock
I paid for UPS ground shipping to Sandy Hook, Mississippi.
I'll update as soon as it arrives unless it's on or after October 3, in which case I'll be headed to or at the VTR Convention.

 

[carpecursusII]

Well, I'll see you at VTR and we can share a pint and tell tales of woe

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Close PB, but it was Moss

Cheers
Tush

 

[poolboy]

:friendly_wink: Sooo, that's where he went.
OK...according to the VB supplied tracking #, the parts are supposed to be delivered tomorrow...Monday the 26th...We'll see.

 

[poolboy]

Let's see how this turns out.
This morning...Friday September 23 at 10 AM Central time, I phoned in an order to Victoria British. I was told the parts were in.stock
I paid for UPS ground shipping to Sandy Hook, Mississippi.
I'll update as soon as it arrives unless it's on or after October 3, in which case I'll be headed to or at the VTR Convention.

The parts arrived this morning (Monday the 26th).

 

[TR666]

I've had mixed results with VB, it seems they are invariably out of stock on one or two things on the order, so I end up ordering elsewhere, usually TRF. Probably 90% of the time from TRF in fact. I placed an order with TRF late on Thursday night the 22nd, they shipped it the 23rd. It arrived this morning the 26th. I live on the coast of southwest Oregon. Not too bad coming across the country in three days (one of which was a Sunday). I usually request they ship it with the Postal Service, since UPS would take seven days to reach here. I've had orders come in as little as two days through the Postal Service from the east coast, guess it depends on the connections.

 

[mxp01]

I've been following this thread with some interest as I recently cancelled a VB order. My key issue (and I think it is reflected in this thread) is the time they take to process the order once it is in-house. Once it gets to UPS or USPS then it moves according to schedule.

I have found that my Moss orders are getting filled and then dispatched pretty quickly. I can order things early in te week and have them by the weekend.