I had a run-in with ECS tuning this past summer, which soured me on buying from them again any time soon: I bought a complete cooling overhaul kit from them, and they just dropped everything (radiator, water pump, pulleys, etc) in one big box, and as you can imagine, it got mangled. It was mangled so badly that FedEx returned it of their own volition - they didn't even bother trying to try to deliver it. It took days for ECS to even acknowledge there was a problem, and then a few more days to get off their collective asses and send me new parts. The same trunk monkey who packaged the first box packed the second, so I still got broken parts.

I like Pelican's customer service. However, I do shop around on price AND shipping cost. You guys in the CONUS get free shipping, or to me, reasonable shipping costs. Shipping to AK, HI and elsewhere blows, but Pelican offers USPS, which does save a bit of money. Sometimes I buy from Pelican eventhough the part is more expensive, because I can make up the extra cost via shipping savings.

I started using Amazon for a lot of my car parts, I look up the part # then google it and see if I can get on there. It is 10X easier to deal with and the shipping is free since I am a prime member.

A couple of years ago I ordered some grommets and clutch line nipples from here for my E30, I needed them in a hurry, I coughed up the $45 overnight shipping for them so I could get the car back on the road faster.

7 days later the parts shipped.... over night.

7 days later...

I got an email asking how I liked the service at Pelican and I told them I was not happy with the 7 day wait. It would seem when I clicked on overnight and paid $45 to get $15 in parts overnight, that would indicate an urgency. No response.

Well, 2 years later, one of the plastic nipples cracked, I searched the part number on google, found the same parts, cheaper on Amazon and in the prime section, I ordered extras this time to keep on the shelf and had them in 2 days. Not 9.

I very rarely order from the typical parts houses anymore, I use Prime as much as I can.

If this place was sold the timing was perfect I think there is going to be a big shift in the car parts online buying game over the next couple of years.

One thing I noticed is that everything I have ordered from Pelican seems to be drop shipped from somewhere else and it takes 10+ days to get to ATL from Cali. Why can't it be shipped within a day of ordering?

Thank you all for your input - we're continuing to work on ways to improve your overall experience and make sure that you're always getting the most bang for your buck. Please know that we do value your comments and are continually whittling away at many (if not more!) of the issues that have been discussed here.

I dont buy from Pelican often... I can can use WorldPac, Keystone.. or order direct from a number of vendors... and can get things from PMNA.

I decided to take advantage of a special Pelican had recently...for some Stomski 911 motor and trans mounts...

11/8/17 Order placed

11/15/17 Notification of delay ( Original targeted ship date has been delayed due to difficulties sourcing the following parts:)

11/17/17 Order shipped

Granted I took advantage of the free shipping and discount...

But seriously.. 7 days to notify me me order is delayed a day?

Getting these parts next day isn't what I need, in fact they are going into a project car...

But a week to process an order and tell me there is a delay is not what I remember the bird being a few years back

Wayne's timing in cashing out is impeccable.

So has it been confirmed that Pelican has been sold?

If the rumor were untrue, the employees would definitely be allowed to correct it.

Consider it done. :cool:

That would explain why the "For Sale" sign on one of those outlying Hawaiian islands was taken down

For the new owners of Pelican, be aware that your competitors sell the same items for considerably less and drop ship them so fast it makes your head spin. :)

Wayne built a brilliant business using these web forums, mainly the 911 tech board. The days of selling millions of dollars in parts, (at a healthy profit), while ignoring the competition are probably limited.

That's a fact. The words "God created man, Sam Colt made them Equal" related to the cheap and easily produced revolver. Smart innovators like Wayne create cool new businesses, the internet makes them equal. There are dozens of sites online now selling Porsche and BMW parts now, all drop-shipping from the SAME suppliers. It's almost a commodity business. Service, ship time, and ease of online experience is the key to survival.

PARF is probably what drove Wayne away.

I've always felt a bit guilty being a member of this forum and not buying much from Pelican. I used to order things back in the day, especially when I had my '74 930 project going, but my 993 just never needs anything, because its driven so little.

That being said, Wayne made a LOT of profit from Pelican (great for him... he's a smart guy). Enough to purchase a tank with his pocket change. That is really saying something.

I heard from someone very into the Porsche world that Wayne sold Pelican to ECS tuning . Just passing along what I heard have no way to confirm it .

I'm sure he made a lot, but I'm also sure the sale proceeds are yuuge.

Wayne should write a book about it. It's a classic American success story, that has a lot of very interesting twists and turns.

From what I recall:

1. Seven years of non-profitability to start. That takes a lot of fortitude to endure!

2. A 50% partner who eventually couldn't stomach it, and got out (only I'm sure to later be kicking himself big time).

3. Building up what seems (based on his personal, public spending) to be a highly lucrative business. Which is always amazing, but even more so in a business field that was already fairly saturated and highly competitive, with very small margins. I wonder how much of a role the Forums played (which is interesting, because basically people are participating for free and building up the business), v. how much the superior web page and order system played (because the way parts are searched and ordered is or was way ahead of the competition, most of who seemed to rely on phone in orders for a long, long time).

I think it's a remarkable story, what Wayne accomplished was amazing, and I'd love to read about all of the details some day.

I think a good part of the success was being early to the game; all of the other circumstances being equal, I don't think it would fare as well today.

If it did get sold to ECS... well, that's unfortunate.

I buy (as much as I can) from here to support this board. I feel thats the right thing to do. Running this board costs money.

That said, I bet 99% of folks who purchase from here are NOT big users of this board, and feel no such obligation.

Prices on here are quite a bit higher than other places...

Recently was going to buy the Porsche engine gasket set from here, but on a fluke googled it.

Was $400 from here, $300 from the DEALER.

Also, most other places have free shipping or charge $6.

Hopefully feedback like this is useful to the new owners...

Bo

Well said! I discovered Pelican, the wealth of shared tech info and later OT :). Glad to have been along for the ride......thanks Wayne!

....and to the other Pelicans too ...

Their online catalog is fantastic and really contains a lot of parts plus it's easily linked to all of the forums, of course. They definitely have some Porsche parts that you're not going to find on other sites, (although the other sellers could get the parts w the part#), I think that Pelican is also linked directly to the Porsche parts database.

At one time, when I first joined and had a 911SC, I bought quite a lot of parts from them. The thing that no one seems to be able to figure out is that you can walk into almost any dealer parts counter, (including Porsche), and talk your way into a decent discount if you know how to proposition it. I've done it countless times, for Porsche it was extra easy because I used to work at the dealer in question and some of the same people were still there. I get wholesale pricing on Mercedes parts from the dealer that beats any reseller.

At one time, maybe 8-10 years ago, a place I buy a lot of German parts from in town was selling $20-30k of parts to a guy a month who was simply listing them on eBay for a profit and having the business drop ship them. He never touched the parts, he did not have to pay for them until after he was paid the higher amount, and everyone was happy. This was a zero investment business for both middlemen, other than the time it took to list it on eBay and of course the infrastructure of Pelican or the place I'm talking about. There is no investment in the inventory they are selling.

This is exactly how Pelican, (and all of their cheaper, faster shipping competitors), do business. When you call Pelican on the phone and they tell you that they have something "in stock", tell them that you'll be there in 15 minutes to pick it up. That's where it gets awkward. They will tell you that it's in their warehouse but it's not their warehouse. It's Worldpac or Longmarch or whatever huge multinational parts jobber's warehouse. They are the ones who actually ship it to you w a Pelican, (or whomever), label on it.

It's a great business model and the reason so many places are doing it. Pelican is the absolute Rolls Royce of the business w their huge web presence and how-to books and customer service people on the phone but somehow the most important part of the transaction after price got lost in the mix somehow. If they can't drop ship fast, there must be a monkey wrench in the machine somewhere. The place I buy most of my stuff from drop ships it so fast I can't believe it. Huge orders arrive one or two business days later w free shipping. You have to understand that the stuff is sitting in warehouses all over the country, even though the business is in another state, (no sales tax-yay!), the parts are shipping from 40 miles away most likely. :cool: