Do any vendors actually have inventory?

[JWMotoring]

We stock some stuff, but there isn't much incentive to stock most of the parts available. Some manufacturers charge a bit less for shipping direct to the shop vs drop shipping. Usually around $20 or so. That's not worth having capital tied up while the parts collect dust. The consumer usually pays less as well (1 shipping charge vs 2).

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

Rally sport direct does. Remember if you are using vendors that are barely making margins by price matching everything under map, chances are you are going to wait for the item. If you want it the next day use a larger vendor and pay map.

This. I have paid a little more a couple times to order from Rally Sport Direct including my GFB boost controller. Ordered this Sunday, shipped from their warehouse on Monday, should arrive on Wednesday. Hard to beat that.

[ModBargains.com]

Originally Posted by Gen

So my question is, do any vendors actually keep inventory of their own or do they try and bring the cost of doing business so low that they're just a website and a telephone number? If they just function as a middle man for ordering, what is the point of going through them? Seems rather antiquated.

I'll let the pictures do the talking. We have two warehouses, one main one with the sales office, the lift, mounting/balancing machines, and the other warehouse is purely for wheels for now, and some additional things here and there like body work.

That's just some of it but the reason why we do it is to further provide our customers with even better service we now stock a large amount of popular products for all types of vehicles. Stocking these parts allows us to have the fastest shipping times possible, and to ensure all of our customers receive parts in perfect condition as we quality control every item that passes through our warehouse.

[Vicious LED]

At Vicious LED, everything we sell is in stock 95% of the time! And if it happens to be out of stock when you're ready to order, we let you know it's availability and let you decide if you'd still like to order or not! We don't believe in lying to our customers to make a sale, it's unethical and just plain bad business!

[Evasive Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Gen

It seems any time any product is ordered from a car parts vendor, there is always a delay in shipping while they 'wait for the part to come in'. Most recently, after placing an order, I was told the wait would be longer than I would like. I requested the order cancelled as it just wasn't going to fit my schedule and was informed there is a 6% processing fee to do so. As someone that has worked on a multimillion dollar eCommerce platform, the only way this makes sense is if they are placing an order themselves once an order is received from their website. Otherwise, in the industry, it is ubiquitous to not charge a card until the product has shipped. The reason being, when you type in your credit card info on a form, only an authorization is placed on the account, which should cost the vendor nothing.

So my question is, do any vendors actually keep inventory of their own or do they try and bring the cost of doing business so low that they're just a website and a telephone number? If they just function as a middle man for ordering, what is the point of going through them? Seems rather antiquated.

Hey Gen

We do stock a lot of parts for FR-S and BRZ! Right now stuff is really flying out the doors right now so its hard to keep things in stock. Some items we have listed are special order from Japan also and on wheels most wheel are made to order in Japan. Best is to call in before if you want to check stock.

-Randy

[GuerillaRacing]

We keep some smaller items in stock at our shop, but for other items we have live inventory updates from our manufacturers that we deal so while it might not be in stock at our shop, we know that it is in stock and can be shipped within the same day directly to our customer's house. We are starting to stock more wheels that are limited editions or hard to find.

[Muller Performance]

Originally Posted by GuerillaRacing

We keep some smaller items in stock at our shop, but for other items we have live inventory updates from our manufacturers that we deal so while it might not be in stock at our shop, we know that it is in stock and can be shipped within the same day directly to our customer's house. We are starting to stock more wheels that are limited editions or hard to find.

same with us. We have items in stock, but it's select right now. Most of the time, it's faster to order straight from the distributor, who has it in stock. Luckily, our one distributor is about an hour from my location, so it's pretty easy for customers around the area.

[Justin.b]

I like to buy from vendors who stock themselves. I'm generally shopping for multiple parts for the same car - from different manufacturers. That's where the drop-ship model blows donkeys because I'm not paying multiple shipping charges subject to the whims and policies of multiple shippers.

I like to deal with vendors who can stock because they know the car and know what to stock / what they will be able to sell. These are the guys who will have the hardcore parts or multiple versions of something to suit your tastes. I like to support these vendors because the alternative is someplace that considers universal shift knobs a performance modification.

-Justin