Shopping for your car parts is hardly a money making opportunity. In fact, it's not.

 

It is not a cost to the shopper (as a verb not a noun) unless it is purchased specifically for shopping but it is a cost to the person who purcahsed it (not always the Internet shopper). Unless you quantify percentage of time shopping compared to surfing the web and posting on evom, you can't justify that. What percentage of time do you spend on the web doing actual shopping for a part that you are GOING to buy or DO buy (not just dreaming or drooling)? I spend maybe 2% of my web time. I guarantee you that if I calculated the price of my vehicle(s) and what percent I use them to buy things, the cost would be MUCH higher than 2% of my computer setup cost (which is zero right now). So if I took a bus to the library and used the Internet for free and .25c to get to the library (or walked), which is more expensive? Wow, I am on a tangent.

I am trying to figure out what you are talking about. Are you talking about a shopper as in a buyer for web services? You're right about that but we are talking about car parts (which you can buy locally if you want - Internet is not the only choice - remember 1994 before Al Gore invented the Internet?)

 

Maybe he is selling tails at an inflated price because he CAN. He is obviously moving his product at that price because otherwise his shelves would be piling up with unsold items. Maybe his main line of business is some other item. He will keep tails available so that it looks like he has a wide range of products and he sells a few tails to suckers willing to pay the inflated price.

I know a guy who owns a gas station. It's a traditional gas station with a garage and he makes all of his money from car repairs. His franchise contract requires the sale of gas, but he doesn't want to waste money paying somebody to be a cashier. He charges a nickel a gallon more than all the other gas stations in the area so that his guys can spend their time fixing cars. If somebody is stupid enough to drive up and buy gas for a nickel over market prices then that's just gravy. Only in the USA .

 

it's just supply and demand. Also it's how much the shop is willing to get rid of their inventory and take the loss.

Also, there is mass purchase discount that dealers get on certain items, so that translates into customers discount. Some shops don't buy in masses.

That's why we all shop around. It's not a complicated thing to understand.

The shop has to continuously stock different parts, and they need money to purchase different items and if you have stuff that's not selling or needs to be cleared out, then they'll sell it cheaper than others. If they don't need room for new inventory, they'll keep it at the same price without taking the loss.

Why sell at cost when you could hold on to it and make profit?

 

Inventory is an expense until it is sold. That is why you don't want to just leave it on the shelf. I understand supply and demand and that it is the basic and fundamental answer to all economic questions. However, it is also a copout answer because the question arises, Why? My question is if you do not want to compete in a segment or market (no one is REQUIRED to stock taillights - it is not gasoline) then why buy into it? I am not really questioning their unwillingness to sell at a lower price. Obviously as a consumer I can find the lowest price if that is what I am looking for. Shopping around is not the issue. I am more concerned with company practices I guess. Even though I shouldn't care personally, which I don't, I thought it would make for a good discussion.

 

Yes inventory is an expense until sold but for many internet dealers they do not carry inventory, they have your order drop shipped from the manufactuer or distributor. I went through this a few months ago with buying a digital camera. Prices on the same thing from $320-$700, the guys on the cheaper end had the camera drop shipped and really could not tell you about availability while a more expensive dealer actually had it in front of him and sent it the next day. Also for cameras and electronics you have the whole gray market thing and "Store" vs manufacturers warranty.
As for gas my dad worked for Mobil for years and in that business your past volume, day of the month, current sales, pricing region and lease conditions all enter into the pricing. It' a complicated formula even before the individual station starts looking at it. Sometimes stations next door or on opposite corners have greatly different prices.

 

traditionally a profit of 20% is concidered good... Of course its better to make more every year but in my eyes 20% is great...

 

Keep in minds we are not talking about selling gas on the corner. I am surprised how often that has come up in this thread. Anyways, can you justify charging 140% higher price(s) than your competition (that is just as easy to access and buy from) just because you can get the product out a week earlier (and in most cases at the same time - I have never bought JDM body parts). This also happens with domestic parts though. These vendors cannot really expect to compete online with the same philosophy that makes them successful in their local area can they? I guess just as it is easy for us to buy online, it is easy and cheap for them to sell online and it is just sort of a "me too" or "sure lets try and see what happens" type of thing for them. And then they snag the occasional impulse shopper or uninformed buyer.

It seems like if you sell 5 items at 2 dollars profit/ea. you will make more than if you sell 2 items at 4 dollars profit/ea.

 

Careful, if you're not taking full costs into that. 5 items at 2 dollars profit - .75$*5 for shipping = 10$-3.75$ = 6.25$ vs 4 at 2 - .75*x2 = 6.5$ ... but by profit I hope you mean revenue minus costs (labor to package, get from inventory, fill out the reciepts..)

 

naturally.

 

its a supply and demand and of course overhead. I have run into the same thing. You get these high priced jack asses that think that their S**t dont stink and they can charge whatever thay want and people will buy it. Some shops are fortunate enough to not have as much overhead so they can afford to sell at a bit lower price. Then you get those companies that may buy in bulk and get a better price versus those that only buy a few at a time. As far as the gas station comment regarding why the same name stations are selling at different prices from one corner to the next will also be summarized by their competion. If its cheaper to travel a few extra miles to get the gas at a cheaper cost then you have sacrificed a little more gas it took to get there, or many people (like myself) are pretty lazy and just pay whatever the cost is to save time. Anyway, I hate gas companies because they know we need to have it.

 

it's also how the owner feels that day and how much stuff he has. If he carries cheapo stuff, he'll sell it at price + a lot of profit. however, if the owner carries high end products and if he sells one of those he'll make up for the loss, then he'll let the cheapo go cheap to clear room in his inventory.

 

After reading the replies, I think I missed some views on your question regarding some vendors charging more than others. Here's my .02

Some people don't buy internet.

Some businesses just want their presence known in one particular market (Internet), but don't really wish to be competitive in it. They offer it as another benefit or service to their exsisting market customers.

Others are willing to pay for an experience rather than an object, to be waited on hand and foot, to look someone in the eye, for personal reasons, etc....yadda, yadda.

I personally like to support my local shops and find someone close to me for a little more complete service. I don't mind a premium of $50-100 (others mind less or more). I get benefits in other ways and self-justify the extra expense. I think a cost based business in a commodity like market won't last long term. (cheapest parts avail computer businesses are another)

 

While agree with your post, I have to question this. So it would be ok to charge 20 dollars for a pack of gum as long as the clerk smiles at you?

Also, what about Walmart, Sams, Costco, etc. WalMart is the largest company in the F500. The items they sell are more "commodity like" than some EVO MR tails among almost every other car part. What do you think?

 

He's not talking about the part. Parts are the same anywhere you get them, provided they don't arrive broken.

He's talking about service. It's more than just a smile. Some shops will actually field questions about parts, install the parts, warrant the parts, etc.

It's hard to get an online retailer to do that. Like Bob said, some places are just an online storefront. They don't actually carry an inventory; they simply ship the order straight from the factory. As such, they may not have the technical expertise since they don't work with the parts on a volume basis.

Again, you get what you pay for.