It's called constructive criticism. Pelican could take this feedback and fix the issues or we could all just lie and say we still buy everything from pelican.

I have 2 cars that have historically been Pelican's bread and butter and I'm a serious DIYer. Over the next year I'm rebuilding the transmission and suspension on the Porsche and a handful of smaller projects on the BMW. Unless pelican changes course they won't be supplying a single part. Prices here are so bad I can often get genuine parts from the dealer, faster, for less than OEM on here.

Wayne reading this thread right now:

http://reactiongifs.me/wp-content/up...zombieland.gif

I thought that was Amazon Prime with free 2 day shipping. Place order, wait a week until they ship.

so did it sell or is it selling but not done yet ?

Using your reasoning that means Pelican or retailer. should ALWAYS have the cheapest pricing.

1)- Who keeps track of pricing on the thousands of SKU's that are carried by other online and brick and mortar retailers? Who is there to ensure that Pelican ALWAYS has the lowest price amongst it's competitors? Why should a retailer be fixated on the lowest price? Retail is ALL about the shopping minefield- that's how they make money. Some items are priced well, some not so well, bundled together it's a good deal for both. Also your "bad deal" is another person's "fair deal" otherwise we'd all be on Amazon or aliexpress.com buying fakes and waiting weeks due to poor service.

2)- Certainly Pelican has an idea of whether or not they're making money and lying about shopping here isn't going to influence that. THey have the sales figures- either they are adequate and the business makes money, or it doesn't and people who make those decisions will alter them.

3)- either way, ultimately it's still poor form to be on here complaining. It's as if people begrudge others for trying to make a buck. If you don't like it, buy elsewhere or set up your own shop and outfit. Once again it is YOUR job to find that deal you are happy with. If you disagree with the prices or service, shop elsewhere- will get the message across without setting untenable expectations of what a sales organization should be doing.

This, is just rude.

PS EAC is a pain in the ass to shop at and I've found their selection to well, kind of suck.

rjp

EDIT: PS if you expect Dealer branded items at discount, you might be at a loss. Some manufacturers are really cracking down on parts resellers. But, if that's what you require then maybe the dealer IS the best bet for you. No reason Pelican would be able to do better walking into a parts dept. and ordering these things and doing any better than any of us-or at least doing the legwork for free.

IMO It is one thing to discuss need for improvement but it most definately bad form to bring up any info on this forum that would point to who are the competitors or where they are located.

OEM as in Ate, TRW, Bosch, ZF or whoever else was the OEM
Vs
Genuine Porsche, Genuine BMW, Genuine Volkswagen

I fully expect OEM and aftermarket parts made as OE replacements (but not genuine parts) to be less from a retailer than Genuine parts from the dealer. Otherwise there is zero point in a parts retailer such as Pelican.

Having honest, though perhaps uncomfortable feedback, is valuable to any business.

We started doing surveys in our business field.

First response to bad surveys is usually to ignore it. Pretend it's inaccurate, or not representative.

But the successful business owner accepts all feedback, and acts on it. If a business is losing potential sales, I would think they would want to know why...

I loved when pelican sent 10% off coupons! Really motivated me to buy. It's been gone for years now.

Now, every week or so, I get an email asking me to buy a quick jack, or 10% off on really select items I don't need.

Bring back 10% coupons, and you are back in the game...

With all due respect, you don't have a clue what you are talking about here or how Pelican's business model works. Wayne built an amazing business on the backs of people like you who either don't know how to operate a computer and compare prices and/or think that they are getting added value buying from a place w a fancy website catalog and some forums.

The forums are a hugely valuable resource to enthusiasts but the value is all created by the users of the forum, not Pelican. All they did was set up the format, (brilliant), and the worldwide Porsche community filled it w valuable content, for free. Grady Clay, earlySman, the old German guy from Porsche who used to post in the beginning, none of that content was provided by Pelican.

If you think that their customer service, (which is usually someone on the other end of the phone telling you what you need to buy), has some great value that justifies paying 30% over a competitor w much better service/shipping, you're crazy. And yes, I just price checked some random Mercedes parts I'm about to order against the Pelican catalogue and it was 30% higher on small parts and a more modest 10-12% higher on expensive stuff like Bilstein struts. :eek:

If you think that "knowing what competitors are charging, blah, blah, blah..." is some big mystery, you are clueless. Each business sets up their own pricing program and they all drop ship the same stuff from SSF, Worldpac, etc. Pelican just marks everything up a LOT more and drop ships a lot slower. Plus charges more for shipping, (my place is free over $65 at all times, no exceptions and lightening fast.

But back to the "customer service", and a free lesson on auto parts. Let's say I need plugs for a 1991 Mercedes, because I did the other day. Mercedes-Benz specifies non-resistor plugs for the M103 6-cylinder engine. Since new, has never changed. Why? I dunno, something to do w the ignition system Mercedes designed for it many years ago. Same w the M104 engine that came after it, (mid-'90s).

For whatever reason, the big parts jobber warehouses where Pelican and everyone else gets their parts can't get these plugs from Bosch or NGK anymore, only the Mercedes dealer sells them. This is all over the forums forever. So let's see what Pelican will try to sell you for this car:

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300E 2.6 Sedan - Ignition - Page 1

A selection of resistor plugs that are 100% wrong but at least some of them are double the price of the correct plugs from dealer. The super-duper iridium plugs are the real cherry on top. They are 150% wrong. The car needs copper core plugs and non-resistor. Different core material and other "super-duper" features don't make a plug anything but wrong. Every IC engine in the world has one or two correct plugs and anything else is garbage, sorry. The car will never run optimally, no matter how many other super-duper parts you buy for it.

I'm a maintenance freak and a bit OCD about using correct parts on everything. I have extremely good luck w the way my stuff runs but it's not luck. ;) I use what is correct and don't deviate, ever. Factory filters and parts are cheaper than Autozone garbage if you know where to buy your parts.

Oh, back to the plugs and the value on forums. Here is Pelican's own forum, (from back before they bought Peachparts), breaking it down:

M103 spark plug alternates - PeachParts Mercedes ShopForum

And the best source, the good old freaking owner's manual:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511552169.JPG

If you relied on the "customer service" that you think is worth paying so much more for, they'd probably tell you that those plugs are NLA and that the super-duper iridium resistor plugs are much better. Because they don't feel like buying them from the dealer and selling them on their site, not enough mark-up.

If you go to the dealer, they know which plugs go in that car. They don't install BS resistor plugs in them, only original spec plugs. Because they have to stand behind their work and "come backs" are expensive. Here are the correct plugs, $3.00 each from dealer:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511552552.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511552552.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1511552552.JPG

The "R" in a spark plug number is always resistor and the "O" in DCO refers to non-resistor. The correct plugs are right there w a MB part# on the box, the correct Bosch # and strangely enough, in a Bosch box as opposing to a MB box.

Sorry to be so pedantic but the value on these forums is created by users posting correct information and rarely if ever by someone w a financial interest in selling you something. Including Pelican. So many people seem to have the formula backwards. These forums have created massive wealth and value for Pelican, not the other way around. I just spent $100 worth of my time during work hours to write this and I expect nothing in return besides possible banning. :)

As you were.

Denis,

what does it matter what Pelican's RETAIL pricing in regards to wholeale with any of these drop shippers are? If you're arguing PP knows what the others are paying, of course they do. I understand from running retail stores for many years.

You're not entitled to that wholesale pricing and what part of "you're responsible for finding your own best deal" is so difficult to understand?

You sound like you're mad someone is making a buck. My statement stands, don't like it start your own wholesale only gig.

rjp

Maybe we'll just all demand a fixed markup, a token 10%- no, make it 5%.

Will that fix the issue?

rjp

Not if Pelican is paying certain vendors close-to-retail prices on some items, it won't.

_

Randy, I have nothing against someone making a buck. Far from it. I've even congratulated Wayne several times for his business acumen in this thread and I mean it. Not sure how much personal interaction you've ever had w the guy but I've had plenty and he is a good man. I wish I had his business chops.

But his brilliance was building a business around the web forums at exactly the right time and having some luck in terms of the interest in older Porsches dovetailing w the time this business has existed. He's also extremely industrious in terms of writing how-to books, technical articles, etc.

The thing you don't seem to grasp is that the value of the forums, and by extension, the business was created by users for Pelican. Not the other way around. Also, the same wonderful free market that allows a business to charge whatever they want and the wonderful Internet that accommodated this business plan also works really well for consumers shopping for the best price and shipping on parts. I use the forums here and have contributed plenty of content, (not talking about PARF), :D, I buy my parts from wherever gives me the best prices and delivery. I once bought a lot from Pelican but that's a different story.

I was saying that in jest- to show the absurdity of trying to align pricing to the lowest common denominator.

No one makes money. All the retailers go out of business. The retailers die, then the manufacturers give up. There's no forum, no steady supply of good parts, nothing. You know why? No one can make enough money at this to make it worth their time to bother.

If everyone wonders why some industries are loaded with crappy products and service, it's only because of the race to the bottom. A whored out by price market is a dead market.

rjp

Someone has to pay for all this stuff, website, maintenance, intellectual work etc. etc. nothing is free. If anyone wants to profit on their personal knowledge, go ahead, don't contribute. I don't recall anyone being forced to contribute info on Wayne's behalf.

The store takes all the risk, if they can't make it worthwhile, there will be forums, no nothing.

I just don't get how many think there's some magic markup that meets both seller's and buyers needs alike. I can't see a faster way to destroy an industry by taking the profit potential out of it.

rjp

Businesses can charge whatever they want. I am all for it. I own several businesses too, and of course want to be as profitable as possible. I ain't doin' this for free :).

But much as a businesses can charge what it wants, the customer can also choose to go elsewhere. That's what this thread is showing.

As a business owner, when in that position, one has to assess whether ones pricing is competitive...

Yes. The place I buy most of my parts from for drastically less than here is in business to make $$. It's not a ****ing soup kitchen. :rolleyes:

Driving prices down through competition is a cornerstone of real economic growth.

We don't own cars so we can buy parts, we buy parts so we can continue to own cars. You take the money left over from buying at the cheapest source of an identical item and you can buy something else. You instantly have a higher real income.

Didn't Wayne post a thread 6-9 months ago in the 911 forum asking people if they were slowing down on their projects because he had noticed a drop in sales? Reading the messages in this thread, it looks like people realized that although the forums were great, there were now many other shopping options out there.

Personally, between the crap being written in PARF and Wayne's 959/962/tank purchases, I felt like protecting my wallet was more important than enriching Pelican's.

Of course, that's a given. That is, until the people who supply us can no longer afford to do so because some competitor decided to commit pricing suicide in hopes of sales- which is what I'm saying. See Airline industry for an example.

Profit is the the motivating factor for creation of business, it's tempered by sales, which is tempered by consumer options. It IS possible that a market floods, prices drop which kills everything.

It's supposed to be a game of hide and seek with shopping. Why would the store just kill itself? For some shoppers any profit = bad.

Unrealistic.

rjp