Online Vendors - buyer beware

[TDHofstetter]

I'm not sure if anyone would like to know this... but some of you who shop online for parts might find it at least a little interesting.

I've just had an interesting experience with 4WD.com (Jeep Parts, Jeep Accessories, & Jeep Tops – Jeep Wrangler Parts by 4 Wheel Drive Hardware – Your Jeep Parts Source*-RH2). I ordered a battery tray, which was advertised on the Web as "stainless steel":

It arrived black, powder coated... nothing like stainless. I contacted their customer service, and they immediately changed their online advertisement for that tray from "stainless steel" to "black powder coated steel". They offered me a credit toward a DIFFERENT tray, advertised as "stainless steel", priced $20 more - nearly $20 more than a competitor's price for the same stainless tray. They also offered me a refund, LESS SHIPPING, for the tray I bought.

One more email exchange with them resulted in a quote from their online disclaimer, disclaiming any responsibility for typographical errors.

Upshot: Buyer beware.

Especially if you buy a high-ticket item like, say, a complete tub. Boy, eating the shipping (BOTH WAYS) on the wrong TUB would really stink, wouldn't it?

 

[dslywalker]

I get that in our embroidery business.Bad merchandise emails phones calls cussing all resulting in you pay for the shipping for our mistake and we'll settle up.
Mike

 

[IOPort51]

I think I am about to experience the same situation with a heater blower motor that claimed to be 2 speed and is not. I will let you know tomorrow.

 

[BajaEdition]

One of the huge reasons I buy most of my stuff local is this reason. Of course here in SoCal I can source 90% of what I want locally.
I also will not deal with Ebay for this reason.
They actually want to to eat shipping and noone will enforce the refund laws because they all do not want to go out of their jurisdiction, your end or theirs, so you are stuck.
I have found, showing an ad to a local vendor can get a price match if you agree to the price plus shipping, which a lot of times is cheaper that the local price is anyway. So you win 2 ways, price, and aplace that has to take it back if it is not correct.

 

[rumblephish]

That sucks TD. BUT........


The picture was clearly NOT stainless. If I were you I would have checked part #'s against the stainless part on Kentrol's web site or another online vendor. Mistakes happen. In the world on internet shopping you have to do a little more homework than usual. I'm sure you know that, I was just reiterating.

As for 4WD.com, I have purchased over $3000 worth of merchandise from them. My suspension lilft, interior, all the stainless accesories and more odds and ends. Of course 95% of that was 7 years ago when the original owners ran it out of Ohio ( I think). Now they have been purchased by 4Wheel Parts, which is an advitiser on these forums (see top of page). All I can say is that the service from then to now is sorely lacking. Nothing like it was before. For an examplpe, seven years ago I ordered a front double tube bumper by Pro Comp from 4WD.com. It arrived with a ding at the right corner of the top tube. I called to inform them of this and the shipped me a replacement OVERNIGHT. I asked where I should send the damaged one (not even that badly damaged. I talking about a "ding") and they said don't worry about, just keep it. When I expressed my suprise they reponded with "No big deal. Sell it at a swap meet and make a few bucks back." I was stunned, literally stunned. I went on to spend a lot of money with them over the next few months. I was always treated liek a King.

Fast forward to now and theuir service (4Wheel Parts) isn't bad. BUt it's just not as good as 4WD.com's was in the past. And their selection has diminsihed as well, as compared to 4WD.com's in the past. Sign'o'the times I suppose.....

 

[rumblephish]

and as for buuying stuff locally, well, I would absolutely LOVE to. I'd love to support my local Jeep shop (Kyle's 4wd). I'd even pay 10-15% more than online to support him. But when he's charging upwards of 30% more on the same items I can get delivered right to my front door, well, the choice is simple. I work too hard for my money to throw it away just to support the local guy.

I recently bought my SS extended brake lines from him. I paid $120 for a set I could have had delivered to my door step for less than $100. And the Crown gauges I bought were $98 with tax. I could have bought them online for $75 shipped to my door. But the upside to buying the gauges locally was that when I found out they were bad I just drove down to the shop and returned them. They're good people and I'll continue to buy things from them every so often. Just not the big ticket stuff.

 

[BajaEdition]

that is a shame Rumple, that your local shop will not deal with you.
I would think that they would see the benefit of repeat business.
My local shop,, besides having a 4 wheel parts in town which I avoid, I like the web but the store is pure pain,, is 4 west, I have built up a good working relationship with the guys there. Plus they are the only guys besides me turning wrenches on my Jeeps. Anyway they see the benefit of price matching, like I said I will give them the price plus shipping I would pay on the internet. We have worked together for so many years I can remember the counter guy I use being a snot nosed gopher punk who was only there to support some teen aged................................... Wow what a source of Jeep parts knowledge he has become, now managing the sales department of the store. I guess if he ever left I may think about transferring my loyalty to a store in LA (Dirty Parts, Culver City) that I really am good friends with the owner and can get good deals from but is 63 miles away.
Anyway, these kind of guys know a loyal customer and the difference of a one time buyer.
Kinda like the guy who buys from a dealership 300 miles away and then does not understand why the local dealership he has to deal with to get service does not move fast for him, yea customers are a part of the equation also. If you do a full round of business with a shop, instead of popping in for just the best deal and bolting, then I guess things get better.
Sorry for the rambling, took a few pain killers a bit ago. Mouth still hurts from the surgery

 

[frhrwa]

I agree with local business support, until they rape you.. my shop in the old days would sell below most other competitors, we made enough profit to stay in business and do very well, I've always believed in selling to someone that would be happy and send back 10 customers, rather than rape one customer for a higher price and lose not only his/her business, but all the referrals.. much better to make 10% and get 10 or more people back than to make 100% mark up, and never see them again.. ETHICS

 

[73CJ]

Living in the boonies, it's all Internet order for me.

4WD has been good to me as well as eBay, but you have to know what you're buying. Call and ask questions. Do your homework.

As said earlier - Buyer beware. . .

 

[Ruckus45]

Also beware of purchasing Jeeps through online vendors. My fiance was trying to get me a CJ7 from an online site called Victory Tag Sales. Long, sad story short she ended up getting swindled out of $5000. Sometimes life's lessons can be expensive.

 

[IOPort51]

just to update this, they gave me credit for the motor. Fortunately for me I had it delivered to the store so no shipping. the only thing that I was a bit annoyed with was them telling me I had a reostat switch and thats what made it 2 speed. I filled in the "remarks" on the web page but as far as I know there was no way to actually view this by anyone. Convenient??
Oh yea, this was 4WD parts.
I guess the truth is they are not any better or worse than any other parts house.

I think I am about to experience the same situation with a heater blower motor that claimed to be 2 speed and is not. I will let you know tomorrow.

 

[frhrwa]

my experience looking through all of the online forums, classified, and craigslist, "if" it looks like too good of a deal, its a scam! PERIOD.. if the person selling won't let you come look, drive, touch, see, or anything, its a SCAM... if they are leaving the country, and some delivery service, like EBAY delivery, or paypal or whomever, its a SCAM.. NEVER NEVER send money to any of these people !!! if it really looks that good to you, GO, see it, drive it, check it out, pay and take the keys, but NEVER NEVER send them money, no matter if its a PAYPAL or any other phony contraption of payment they have come up with,.... I've seen over a dozen in the past two months .. mostly on Craigslist, but they are on EBAY, Forum Classifieds, and everywhere... another give away, is that broken english typing..