Not when you give attitude.
Parker brothers close shop
- Thread starter klr_guy
- Start date
Not when you give attitude.
Sounds like they were willing to discount the other stuff you bought by the value of the shipping, to me. There were no additional items to discount, the second time. Advantages of personal service.
When you think something like a clutch cable is different for pretty much every bike on the road, it makes sense that they're not going to stock it.
I tend to order most of my parts from Snow City. Call them with a part # and ask them to order it, they call me in a couple days when it comes in, I go in and pick it up. Price is comparable to online, and more often than not, cheaper once shipping and fees are calculated in. Works for me and I get to support a local business that treats me well.
Maybe my expectations are too low, maybe yours are too high. Personally, i don't expect a dealer (especially a multi-line one as most are) to carry model specific parts. Most parts departments are pretty smart, if they see that they're frequently getting orders for a specific part, they're more likely to stock it. If they sell only one of xyz part a year, it's a lot less likely.
I was going to count how many models Yamaha has on their site for 2013, but there are too many for me to care. Stocking parts that aren't generic is asking a good bit.
How many different part numbers for "clutch cable" do you think (for example) Honda has, in total?
Honda doesn't use the exact same clutch cable on every model and year ... They probably have hundreds of different clutch cables if you consider every model and year combination. Slightly different lengths, slightly different end configurations, slightly different coatings, etc.
The next person that comes in isn't going to be looking for a clutch cable ... they'll be looking for a valve cover gasket. Next person is looking for a footpeg. Next person is looking for a right lower fairing. Next person is looking for a rear brake lever. Every one of those is different between models and different between years. Dealers could never possibly stock every conceivable part for every model and year in stock. It ain't gonna happen. That's what warehouses are for.
Just as an example, I looked up a clutch cable on an '09 CBR600RR, a pretty generic bike that hasn't had a groundup redesign since '03. That particular cable only applies to '09 and '10 models. The '03 cable is only good up to '06, then '07/'08 is another. Ron Ayers hasn't updated the fiche for RR's past '10, but it's probably a safe bet to say '10/11/12 is one cable, and the restyled '13 is another.
By my count that's five cables over 10 years for what is essentially the same bike. Now multiply that by how many models Honda sells.
Worse, add in a multi line dealer like Snow City that sells Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki. Could you just imagine how many cables they would have to stock to cover every model sold in the last 10-15 years?
The reality is those shelves aren't piled with parts, those are piles of money. If the inventory is financed, that part gets more expensive the longer it sits there. When UPS/purolator ect. can ship coast to coast overnite, nobody will keep "one of everything" and if the dealership is paying the parts guy a bonus on turns and earns, and margin, only parts that leave on a regular basis will be stocked.
Long gone are the days when an entire bike was in pieces on the shelf waiting for a customer.
Long gone are the days when an entire bike was in pieces on the shelf waiting for a customer.
I'm sure that everyone understands that tying up revenue in dead inventory is a bad thing, but it gets rather annoying when everything that you want to buy is a special order. At what point does it start to make sense that you cut out the middleman?
vkhamphi
Well-known member
That's the issue. Why do I need Joe Schmoe to order something for me and wait a week when I can do the exact same thing from home and have it delivered to my door? So many dealers in the US have online parts for sale like Ron Ayers but I can't find a single Canadian dealer that offers the same.
GP Bikes comes to mind, with free shipping over a preset amount. I'm sure there are others.
If you need some advice as to what to order, then said Joe Schmoe is earning that extra money. If something is a rubber stamp order, then not so much. I shouldn't have to order oil filters and crush washers, for example.
GP Bikes is good, so is Blue Streak Racing. Free shipping over set amounts.
rbjeepthing
Well-known member
Bingo. I sent a quote off to three shops two in Canada and one in the States. I assumed Blue Streak Racing would be the best price cause Tony always seems to be accurate and strives for buisness. One shop I got no response and they are local to me. The US one got back within a day and best of all Tony got back to me as well in less then a day but his prices were identical to the US one. Now I just have too wait till the wife gives me her credit card...lol
Which is what I couldn't understand about A Vicious Cycle. On their website it asks you to shop Canadian, but they won't budge on shipping. I can understand charging shipping on small item/price, but usually over 100$ and it's free shipping.
you don't have that number memorized? :lmao:
rbjeepthing
Well-known member
Depends on how the product margins are produced. I run an online/storefront business. We dropped our prices to the same as US or less. Doing this made us have to charge for shipping unless you purchase over $1000 because at that point we are making enough to re-coup the shipping cost. Our competitors have a higher retail price but charge less or not at all for shipping. Obviously having a lower retail price is better in our opinion for everyone especially people who want to pick up items.
You end up paying for shipping somehow whether it be a line item or included in the cost of the part.
vkhamphi
Well-known member
I was talking more about OEM parts. There are no Canadian dealers in Canada that has an online parts ordering website. Don't know if that is an issue with Honda Canada but in the US there are lots of sites like Bike Bandit that have online fiches that you can look up parts and then order.
