Price watch Wayne!

[Mifintifin]

Wayne, I have noticed lately on a couple of items that the Porsche dealer's prices have been lower than Pelican's! Most recently on a set of rear drop links for my 82 SC. Pelican's price is H-333-071-00 $69.00 for the left and H-333-072-00 $69.00 for the right. The dealer price is 93033307100 $42.50 for the left and 93033307100 $42.50 for the right. For both links that’s a $53 difference!

While I don't mind paying a little more for Pelican parts over the other usual third parties, I don't expect to pay more than my local dealer! Having to "shop" the price all the time with my dealer is something I really don't want to do and I'm sure my feelings are shared by the other board members! Please stay competitive so I don't have to worry about it!


Thanks,

Mifintifin,

82 SC Coupe
83 SC Cab

[juanbenae]

dealor? maybe we have found the breakdown here?

[Mifintifin]

Oops, sure wish the spell checker was working!

Mifintifin

82 SC Coupe
83 SC Cab

[beepbeep]

Yeah, i noticed it too when i shopped around for trailing-arm for my 930. Parts were cheaper at my local Porsche dealer.

Example:

Rear trailing arm for 930 @ Pelican: $1895.00 (+ 25% swedish taxes), = $2368.00 plus around 100$ in shipping cost:

Bill: $2468.00 for Pelican trailing arm

Rear trailing arm for 930 @ Porsche center in Stockholm: $843.00 (including 25% tax and my 10% PCS discount)

Bill: $843.00 for original Porsche trailing-arm

Some things are cheaper at dealer and some are not...it's always worth to call around.

[speeder]

I will just add that as a price-consience shopper, (I cannot afford not to be), that I price-check every part I buy, and on some parts the dealer beats all. Plus I get a discount form them, all I did was ask. It's a strange business, I have found that Pelican has very competitive prices on some items, not at all on others. You have to shop 'em, if you care. Pelican may have a price-matching policy, however, in which case I would give them the business every time.

[zuerchers]

i'll just add that i recently discovered this message board and pelican parts. i have ordered many items and am pleased with the prices and quality. i am MOST pleased with the customer service i have received. one rep in paticuliar, named thomas, has been outstanding. he has even gone as far as calling ME at home to let me know there would be a slight delay (2-3 days) in shipping out a part i needed. how often does that happen? i know when i place an order that i am getting a fair price, a quality piece, and that my business is appreciated.

[Wayne 962]

Some dealers will indeed give very agressive pricing. Pelican offers almost all of these esoteric and hard-to-find parts for the 911 over the internet in an easy to find format. When we purchase parts directly from Porsche, we do not get a very good margin. So, for the stud that goes into the inside of the intermediate shaft side of the case:



we placed that in our catalog at Porsche list price (when we did the catalog. Porsche, like every other company, will adjust prices up and down all the time. I don't necessarily have the manpower to adjust our prices each month to frequent price changes. I don't even have access to this data, except through a once-a-year printed price book.

Some dealers are more aggressive on pricing than others. I will not doubt that you may be able to find these esoteric parts for less cost elsewhere from some dealer. However, as I have found too, most dealers shun the owners of older cars, the guys behind the counter don't really know what they're looking for, and you have to go to the dealer, order the part, and then pick it up some other time.

On the OEM parts that we do not purchase direct from Porsche (the mainstream parts like brakes and clutches), we can undercut Porsche's price significantly, because we're not purchasing it from the 'Porsche network.' However, some of the odd-ball specific parts can be difficult to match the pricing on...

We made a decision when we expanded our catalog to offer all of these parts. The downside is that on some of these hard-to-locate parts, it may indeed be cheaper to purchase directly from the dealer. This is because we effectively have to purchase these parts all from a 'dealer network.' We're not allowed to purchase directly from Porsche.

Also, keep in mind that different exchange rates and shipping (from Germany to the USA) also affect pricing as well. Also local tax rates affect pricing too. It can be quite complicated...

Either way, if you do find a lower price from a dealer, we will do our best to match it. Dealers in foreign countries can be tough to match. It's definitely not black and white...

Hope this helps clear it up a bit?

-Wayne

[beepbeep]

Yeah, the part about dealers shunning us who come there and ask for parts for old cars is unfortunately true.

Clerk behind the counter doesn't understand that i spend more on parts this year than flashy guy for his Boxter-lease.

[bell]

great response wayne, very proffesional

[Doug E]

Good thread and interesting information - I had never heard of the "Porsche network" before.

[Bigbartguy]

I agree, my closest Porsche dealer parts people have been LESS than helpful for older cars:
me: can I get an electrical diagram for my car?
dealer: it will be $1200 for a full manual set. did you want me to order them for you?

The service area is sometimes worse:
me: I dropped my dipstick into my oil tank. How much for you to get it out ? Can I just leave it in there?
dealer: We'd have to install a new oil tank.

I'm dead serious on both of the above instances.

I'd still price check any large items, but Pelican seems pretty good on service and price.

Tim
1985 Targa

[DByers]

Thanks for the info Wayne and it’s the same wherever you go. Being in distribution for over 15 years I have learned that there will without a doubt always be someone cheaper. By supplying the whole package; great customer service, product knowledge, availability, & competitive pricing, you create a business that will be around for a long time to service its customers. Just my .02

[fstar]

Concur with Bell, very professional...another reason why I will continue to purchase from Pelican, being a newbie I have lots to spend....as much as i can here!

[Chris Lovell]

Just chiming in for superior service from Pelican. Reliable quality, interested and thorough staff, and willing to talk about, and as appropriate match, price is above and beyond. I admit to purchasing some product from other sources but only when the variance is severe. Just one consumers opinion...

[Wayne 962]

Wow, never intended for this thread to go in this direction.

Thanks everyone. Pelican is growing, so the formula must be working. I know that we're not perfect, but we keep trying to improve...

-Wayne

[88911coupe]

I have to say my experience has been that Pelican is very competitive. I've HAD to buy a couple of things from the dealer due to being in a pinch or they had the car and were installing the part so I had no choice. I've been shocked at the $ I could have saved if I'd had a chance to order from Pelican. I just ordered a cyl temp sensor and didn't even shop around b/c I think overall Pelican is very fairly priced and provides and excellent all around shopping experience. Not to mention the loyalty I have developed as a result of this board. I hope listers think about how much $ this site has saved them and consider that when they order parts.
Just my 2 cents....

[Victor]

Wayne: "However, as I have found too, most dealers shun the owners of older cars, the guys behind the counter don't really know what they're looking for"

Too true, I remember well calling Porsche Centre Melbourne and being asked if my '89 3.2 was "Automatic or Manual" and arguing the point because I thought that was an incredibly stupid thing to be asked by Porsche themselves.

Cheers, VC
'89 3.2

[GRAYBEARD]

In the past three weeks I have purchased from Pelican on three different occassions. All three times I did shop around (Perf.Prod., Tweeks, Porsche dealership, etc.) and even though I would have purchased from Pelican even if close to the same price, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in all cases Pelican was considerably lower.

Thanks for this forum and the great service you provide,
Graybeard

[Marty Fareri]

Being in the sales profesison, I find that people typically buy from people they like ! Aslo, their is an added value that you can't just put a price on, like technical support, going the extra mile, and customer satisfaction, oh and did I mention trust and credibility? I will pay more if I feel comfortable with the quality of the relationship. As a newbie, I already placed 2 orders with Pelican and feel very confident with the advice and support they demonstrated. I agree that "cost" is important, but its only a part of the equation when I decide to purchase!

My 2 Cents -
Marty

[KTL]

I'll second GRAYBEARD'S comment. The rear spring plate covers are $60 list from the dealer. With a 25% discount at a dealer I sometimes use, the price would be $45 plus shipping. Pelican sells these suckers for $14.95!!!!!!! Porsche part # number sticker right there on the part. Thanks Wayne!!!