What's Up with You Guys?!?!?

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by JIMCRY
Wayne,

Many of us have spent many thousands of $. Many of us also feel truly fortunate to have such a support/tech. group available via Pelican Parts. However, many of us also are very sensitive to implications that something is up with US because we're not meeting your sales projections. There's a lot of competion out there, especially for such discretional spending. The problem is not with US (if there is a problem). As far as I can tell, there is no reason Porsche parts shoud be as expensive as they are, either original or aftermarket; "exclusivity" has some value...to a point. The reality is that most people view Porsche as an overrated, overpriced status symbol. With all due respect Wayne, businesses large and small are clamoring for every dollar they can get. I haven't heard you are anyone else ask what's up with Porsche head studs, or tensioner failures or cooling problems or body sag or Targa top problems, etc...

Don't misunderstand, I am dedicated to Porsche (I own two) and will continue to support Pelican in any way that I can. But when asked what's up with me, I cringe...

Umm, you apparently didn't read all of the posts carefully. It would seem as if all of retail (and all of our customers) are slowing down purchases. The question is directed towards you guys as a market in general, not as specific Pelican customers.

As for the pricing of these parts, I think that a lot of you guys are missing some information. These cars are very uncommon, and very rare in the grand scheme of things. I am continually impressed with the way that older parts are still available for many of these cars. People complain about the pricing up the wazoo, but then when something becomes unavailable, people are clamouring for it. I would say that everyone should be glad that the manufacturers are keeping parts like clutch kits, brake parts, and other stuff in ready supply, particularly for the older cars. If they didn't, then eventually, your car would wear out, and you wouldn't be able to drive it, or you would have to have custom parts made ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$).

As for pricing, I know what my margins are, and they are very low by comparison to many other industries. The cost of the parts is not in the "Porsche markup" side of things, it's on the supplier's side. For low-volume parts sales like these, where only a few hundred of a part are sold a year, the prices must be kept high to make it worth it in low production runs. Add to that, the high cost of making items in Germany (although that is shifting) and all those labor laws...

-Wayne

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by TMH
I don't necessarily agree. I buy from both Performance and Pelican, but I put a $300+ order into Performance last week after I did a direct price comparison between Performance -20% vs Pelican -0%. Performance won out on that battle.

I prefer buying from Pelican due to the level of service they provide. Someone also said that Pelican will match prices. This I had not previously known this if, in fact, it is true. Would prefer to use Pelican in the future, but money talks...

Tom

We will match some prices on similar items. A lot of people ask us to match our OEM seals against aftermarket prices, which we can't do, since it's not the same product.

In general, our prices are about 20% less than Peformance's. With more than 100K parts in our catalog, one big challenge has been keeping the prices up-to-date with our competitors, and also our suppliers. I am working on a new price adjustment system. Some things we have been selling at huge margins, and some at prices currently below our cost! It goes both ways. I will be updating the pricing to match the recent exchange rate changes within the next 2-3 weeks. Some prices will be much, much lower, and some will see increases. There appears to be no pattern as to which way a particular part will go.

Depending upon which parts you look at, our prices are on average 20% below Performance's. Of course, they have just recently been sold, so who knows what will happen now. Their price on the Turbo Tie Rod Kits is $180 - ours is $129, just for example (yes, I randomly chose that product). Our price on a master cylinder for a 1974 911 is $109 - their's is $172. I'm sure that on some items (like Weltmeister, which we buy from them, as they are the manufacturer) our prices are very similar. For the most part, our prices are way lower than theirs...

-Wayne

[TMH]

Wayne,

I reiterate a statement made in my earlier post: I prefer buying from Pelican. With the additional information you have provided, it will be easier for me to utilize Pelican exclusively, and I hope to assist you in getting out of your Summer doldrums.

Tom

[H.G.P.]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
That's all fine and good, but of course, you want a 1969 'S' copper-plated flywheel available to you the next day. A lot of people don't understand that these cars are not too common (despite everyone here talking about them) and the market is very small. The 1969S flywheels have not been available for many, many years...

A lot of things here are special order. That is why we recently updated our shopping cart with "expected delivery times" so that you guys will better know when to expect the hard-to-get items.

-Wayne

No, actually I meant the original quote quite literally, "when I want them". I.e. usually it's on a projected date later in the week, or even the month (as opposed to "next day"). Next day would usually apply only to an unexpected surprise need, which I try to avoid with Q@A from the Board.

Further perhaps, just specify a part as, "special order."

[1fastredsc]

I've never had a problem with pelican, usually i buy from either here or eurowebparts since they both tend to keep prices around the same range and are reliable source. But when it comes to performance stuff, i'll admitt that i go else where, i usually think of pelican as the place to purchase rare items that i can't find anywhere else (like all the special tools that i had boughten about 2 months ago). Hey Wayne, my dad told me that some other places accept pca membership as a slight discount, do you? Just curious

[spyderman]

It's a 105 degrees here in Fort Worth today. Not fun to work on the car in that temp. That and I'm looking to buy a garage, with an attached house

[spyderman]

Reading above....someone needs a sphinter adjustment. Keep up the good work Wayne. I know where my parts come from.

[TMH]

Originally posted by spyderman
Reading above....someone needs a sphinter adjustment. Keep up the good work Wayne. I know where my parts come from.

What's a sphinter? Is that a Porsche part, and do you carry them Wayne?

[spyderman]

It's the part when too tight annoys everyone around you at the stop light, and when tight and then suddenly loose makes for a messy wreck...

[andrew15]

I think that people are just driving a fairly reliable car for the summer and planning for fall/winter projects. As an example -> While the engine book is great - I don't know too many people that would want to take their car of the road in the middle of summer. Most likely they will plan for a winter rebuild.

As a side note it's kind of the opposite for British cars - They are always busy during the summer . Maybe you should start carrying MG / Triumph parts as a new addition to even out the business!

Regards,
Andrew M

[GSpreeman]

Let's face it, the economy is tough right now. Just today Deloitte & Touche announced a new round of layoffs for December.

[isurferdon]

Just waiting for my fat tax check to come in...My kids finally proved good for something...