Why do some Vendors ignore small orders??
 

Hello guys

I am not sure if anyone here has experienced this issue with some of the Vendors in the Forum, but I am sharing my experience with two Vendors here who have ignored or in other words did not proceed with the order.

Some Vendors do not list every item in their online store and claim they can supply whatever the client wants, and this could happen through paypal invoice or a call to the Vendor to place the order.

I do admit that the items I wanted to order did not cost much or lets say did not exceed $100.

Why do some Vendors ask to email them the list parts needed in order to issue a paypal invoice. Later on when they find out that the total price of the items are not much or less than $100 or whatever reason it might be, they ignore the request and never hear back from them.

I understand your frustration, I still like the "old school" way of picking up the phone and actually taking to someone to place a order...

I used to call and place orders but the issue is when it comes to ordering parts from different suppliers and making calls from overseas. So i found it easier to place online orders, but it seems like going the old fashion way is still advisable

That less then 100 part might actually be the most important part there is to completing your car on time. I had a customer that needed a -16 90 degree fitting that day or he would not be able to race that weekend. So we called everyone that might have one for him and on the last call found a brand new one on the shelf of and old sprint car race shop. He made the race and went all the way to the finals.

I think people ignore these parts because you probably ordered a part they don't stock. So they are looking at the shipping charge that they will get for just one part and the margin is so small on that part they think they have bigger fish to fry. What they don't realize is that if you show your effort in the small things you will be rewarded in the big things. Our website is growing and growing with new parts, but I try not to carry parts that will be come a nightmare to get. Last year I was working with a wiring harness company that wanted to build custom EFI harness's for me with bulk head connectors at a really reasonable price. Well It take forever to get a call back from him. And even longer to get the price. I won't sell a product that I'm going to have to make excuses for the supplier on a regular basis.

Sorry soap box rant over. It's amazing how difficult some people make it for people to spend money with their business. It should be easy and fun to take peoples money in a business transaction. HAHA

The biggest advantage to using email is you now have a permanent record of the transaction; with a phone call you do not. As far as not responding that's a common problem in pretty much all industries, and the ones who do it the least usually are more successful. There is no excuse for it; sometimes things "happen" but for others it's pretty common.

I've not experienced many of the problems with vendors I keep hearing about on this and other automotive forums, but then again, it's been 10 years since I was ordering part after part for a project. You guys have me a little concerned about starting on the Firebird!

I really appreciate your time guys in reading my thread and Sharing your experience with.

I am not trying to make a big deal out it but sending a reply justifying the reason for not processing the order is much better than ignoring and making the client to wait for days or weeks

Luckily there are so many vendors who supply the same parts and I am luck to have a first gen camaro for which lots of parts can be found and purchased.

Although I understand that this is a duplication of the job but when I order anything or for that matter have any dealings with someone on the phone I blast a quick email to them after, starting with " As discussed on the phone today" and I can not tell you how many times that email has saved my butt. I do a lot of dealings with different people in business for a living and communication clarity will always be the bigest hurdle.

I'we also a experience I would like to share but it's something that is currently happening.
I ordered parts for a total of 22725 $ from a vendor in Florida that was recommended from a friends friend here in Norway. I will not name the business yet, but this is what has h append.
I wanted a lsa crate engine with a lot of extra parts to get this in my 70 camaro that I'm currently building. The vendor told me he needed 2 weeks to get my parts and to get these ready so they would be shipped to Norway, well it's now gone 4 1/2 weeks :bang: :bang: :bang: and he is not answering my email's and not answering my phone calls so I really concerned for what is wrong.
I don't now how the customer support is usually in the USA but in Norway we inform the customer when things are not as they were as we did agree on.

By the way this is not I small order, not in Norway

Everyone knows who you are talking about, and this is a situation where it pays to do research in advance and not trust a friend or a friends friend, as people can and do shift from being great to being essentially thieves, so one person may have had a great experience two years ago, and you may get robbed.