Jim, I do not owe anyone money. I have refund I sent this week because a customer went in a different direction with his fuel pump. Those kind of statements stick and are not true.

And the people I owe parts if they are mad I have not heard it in my conversations.

As for making them responsible, I have said it at least 10 times the customer shoulkd not have to call, can't say that enough. In the same sentence when I am running arund with my hair on fire a reminder helps. As I said a dozen times, I have cooled the sales so i can finish the build out, and get this going.

And I will say it again, if there are a LOT of people upset I owe parts to, tell the mods, but PLEASE call me

And if I owe someone money, I really need to know about this.

Just a thought..thinking out-loud. How is a guy to run a company with little margins,give service and beat other prices. We have all tried to price things direct,usually 30 points higher and have to pay shippng. Credit card companies usually take 2-4%. This problem with Frank will be fixed im sure,but as far as big ticket items,i think it will stay take time.You guys are amazing how civilized u keep ur chats. GREAT JOB. Wes

Really? I started listing company names then realized this is the wrong thread for that. I should not list names, but I promise that more then 50% of the companies we deal with will not take your order without payment, even if it is a 4 to 6 week build item. Order a subframe? A Chassis, A motor? Order a set of wheels from anyone? Your paying 50% to 100% up front.

90% of the product we buy is charged at the order, not the delivery. SOME companies as of late that have got into back orders situations have started charging when products ship. But that is a problem for us also as we have zero warning and usually get a UPS notice it is gone, and if we have not collected, to bad, to sad.

Truly, our answer to a lot of this will be inventory on hard to get items and we plan to load the shelves with this kind of stuff, tomorrow, not yesterday! This business has simply out grown drop ship statues

FWIW, everybody's beloved DSE charged my CC for the full amount of my Vintage Air front runner. Took about a month and a half to get it. This was several years ago but it did happen.
Darren

I expected this response, but not everything is a custom ordered part and the most troubling complaints are that customers are charged for parts which are then not ordered for weeks or months. For my part, when someone has thousands of dollars from me, I'd like them to act as if it's also important to them and to follow up on their commitment.

Your response appears to be that Prodigy will continue to charge customers when orders are taken, regardless when the order is placed with the manufacturer, when Prodigy has to pay for the part, or when the part is shipped.

I guess that model is working for you so far, and my cars are mostly built and equipped, so the loss of my small amount of business won't hurt Prodigy.

Good luck.

Mike, Almost everything we sell is a order part from the manufacturer and that is why we are going to inventory that stuff as we grow.

Wilwood brakes, Baer brakes, AME subframe, DSE subframes are not on the shelf right now, Vintage Air, Chassis works suspension, 2 to 4 weeks right now are all order itlems with options and secifications and take 2 day to 2 months! And out of the ones I listed all but (2) charge instantly.

And when we can avoid charging knowing we have a back order, like with Carbuffs order, we will postpone charging until we have a idea when stuff will come in. That T56 Magnum close ratio back order was nasty, no one knew for sure when they were coming in. I have 3 distributors and all 3 were guessing at when they might see one.

Was the order placed close to the date of payment is the issue. Delay like I stated happens. But people paying and the order not place for months don't fly.

The difference is not in backorders, it's about a company charging the customer before that company has placed the corresponding order with the vendor. If any random company had charged you immediately and then placed the order 5 weeks later it would be treated the same as this situation.

Worse still would be if you had to call 5 times before you pushed the company to order the product you had already paid them for.

Bottom line guys is we have had multiple members , including friends of the moderators being charged for parts and been told it's on backorder or whatever. Then the customer calls the manufacturer directly to find out it's in stock or it takes two weeks to get. Mind you it's already been 3 months. That is the issue.

Talking about how long, backorders , etc if fine and dandy. It happens in all line os work. It's the issue of payment and order date.

Vendors might want payment now, half payment that's great. Just order the dang parts when the payment is made!!

Actually, you are incorrect about this statement. I had several vendors charge me in full, the day that I ordered the part. I can list them if you want, and you be shocked on how many charge the day you order the item. Then you start the waiting game. I have ordered from Frank before and it took about 3 months to get my parts. I just kept pinging him either email or phone. I do that with all vendors and I always got my parts. Typically, a subframe, wheels, etc is 50% up front. Although, some now are going to making you pay in full, and you wait 2 months before they ship your part.


Frank, this will work. Although, you have to figure out on how many items of inventory to stock. Majority of the manufacturers are using Just-in-time, but it is really hard on the suppliers that stock the part. The problem is that inventory on hand costs you money at the end of the year.

Jeff