head liner install questions

[Norm's Coupe]

Some forum members have recently experianced delivery problems when orgering vehical specific parts from JC Whitney. Plus why pay fees to a middle man when you can buy directly from the source?

Don,

I use to sell the interior kits myself on a different web site. Some people on this site purchased them from me at the time, as well as other brand cars. As a dealer, I got wholesale price, not retail. Even if you ordered a headliner, etc., from the same company I was buying from, you would have paid about the same price direct from the company. They have dual pricing. So.........it really doesn't matter who you order from, direct or from JC Whitney. You still get the approximately the same retail price. In fact, I was charging little less than the suppliers or JC Whitney's retail price when I did it. So.......you really aren't getting that much of a deal by going direct, if you're getting a deal at all. The warranty on the product is the same also regardless of who you get it from.

[Norm's Coupe]

In addition to the last post I made about pricing. Delivery is about the same no matter where you order from. They normally don't stock old car headliners, carpet or seatcovers for a specific make/model/year car. They are made up after the order is placed. Because of that, regardless of who you buy from you are usually looking at a 2 to 6 week delivery, depending on how many orders the factory has when you order. So..........don't blame JC Whitney or other places for that problem, it's not their fault.

[Don Coatney]

So..........don't blame JC Whitney or other places for that problem' date=' it's not their fault.[/quote']

It is there fault when they promise 2 week delivery and dont deliver for 2 months or longer.

[Norm's Coupe]

It is there fault when they promise 2 week delivery and dont deliver for 2 months or longer.

Don,

I'm assuming you are talking about JC Whitney now. So..........I may give you that one. Several years ago before I switched from 16" wheels to 15" wheels, I was looking for full moon hubcaps in 16" because no one made the fiesta hubcaps in 16". I finally found the 16" full moon hubcaps in JC Whitney's paper catalog, so I ordered a set. For a couple of months I kept getting a notice in the mail that they were on back order. Finally after about 3 or 4 months I got a notice in the mail they were no longer available and they canceled my order. About 6 months later I got a new catalog and the hubcaps were in the catalog again, so I placed another order for them. This time I got them within a week.

Why did that happen, I'm not sure but I can think of several possible reasons for that. One reason is, their supplier required them to order so many sets at a time and they did not want to order that many then. The other possible reason could be the supplier had problems making the item and couldn't fill JC Whitney's order at the time. That could be because the supplier had larger orders to fill for other items they made that needed to be filled first, before JC Whitney's order came in. Another possibility is their supplier closed down completely and JC Whitney had to find another supplier.

Being a dealer for other companies products is not always that easy to do. I have a friend that started his own Industrial/Contractors tool rental & sales company back in the mid 90's. He handled all the major brands of heavy and light duty industrial tools and equipment. When he first started the company his suppliers didn't require him to buy a lot of expensive inventory. Then he started selling a lot of equipment/tools and business was great. So great he had to triple his building space, number of employees and lease several more trucks for deliveries etc. At the same time his tool suppliers started requiring him to buy so much in inventory each year. That quota increased each year also. Finally it got to the point he had to close the business due to the high quotas from his suppliers. If he had kept up with the high quotas he would have also needed to increase his building space again. So.......that could have also happened to JC Whitney with an item they were buying for resale. Instead of going deep into debt to stock someone else' product, they simply either stop ordering from that supplier or they try and find another supplier that is easier to work with and doesn't require them to stock so much of what might be a slow moving product. In the meantime JC Whitney gets a backlog of orders they can't fill, thus making the customer mad at them for not filling an order or taking a long time to fill that order.

So...........places like JC Whitney has two problems, customers like you and others complaining and also arguing with their suppliers at the same time.

Now, if the customer wants the dealer to have slow moving products in stock for fast delivery all the time, that customer has to also understand that he's going have to pay more for that product to sit on the dealers shelf.

I'm not making excuses for JC Whitney or anyone else here, just telling it like it is.

But..............as mentioned, the interior kits are not even in stock at the manufacturer. They are made up on individual orders as they get them and that's what takes so long for those.

[1947PLEVY]

I had the same problem with J.C. Whitney when I ordered my seat covers. Finally got them after about 6 months and alot of phone calls.

God Bless Us All.. John 47Plevy

[Don Coatney]

So...........places like JC Whitney has two problems' date=' customers like you [/quote']

If me "The Customer" cannot get what is ordered how can I be the problem? Guess if they did not have customers they would not have problems. Have you forgotten that the customer is always right?

[Plymouthy Adams]

in todays world..especially in the areas of little competition..the customer can go to hang as far as most business is concerned..they figure the next guy through the door for a quick sell is much better than customer satifaction issues..Don..you are failing to evolve and thus will likely disappear same as the dinosaur..you however will not be alone..I am also a dinosaur..shake the dust from your feet and move along...did Lou ever get back to you on the person woh makes his headliners? Tried to call him earlier..either he is out of town (did not try his cell#) or very busy in the shop..

[Norm's Coupe]

If me "The Customer" cannot get what is ordered how can I be the problem? Guess if they did not have customers they would not have problems. Have you forgotten that the customer is always right?

Sorry to disagree Don, but the customer is not always right. The customer just feels as he's always right. That also goes for me as a customer. However, when the customer is wrong, the place he's doing business with should explain why the customer is wrong in his thinking. Of course, if you don't agree with the dealers reasoning you can always go somewhere else to buy the item. Actually, the dealer would probably prefer that than to keep arguing about it.

[Plymouthy Adams]

business..you can't sell what you do not have....a gas station in town had their price on unleaded real low...guess why..they were out and if you pulled in you bought mid-grade or higher..now is this right..Sears did this a lot with shock and tires on sale...never in stock..but hey..we can sell you yada yada yada tires....

[Norm's Coupe]

business..you can't sell what you do not have....a gas station in town had their price on unleaded real low...guess why..they were out and if you pulled in you bought mid-grade or higher..now is this right..Sears did this a lot with shock and tires on sale...never in stock..but hey..we can sell you yada yada yada tires....

Well Tim, gas is one thing. They could have run out fast due to the low price, you should have been there earlier before they ran out. Remember, the early bird gets the worm. When it comes to Sears (and others), well, I may give you that one. However, if you have a little patience and ask for a rain check, you can then get the item that was on sale when it comes it, at the sale price. So, if you didn't ask for a rain check and weren't willing to wait for fresh stock to come in, is that Sears fault? No, it's you the customer who is then wrong, not Sears.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'd agree to some instance of running out..but when you know a person who works there...and they tell you that the items were never shipped in for the "so-called" sale..kinda makes you leery to say the least...I supposed the station could have run out of gas early..but as they were way below others..I still think it was a bait job..don't have to deliver on what you do not have...in areas or trades where there is no competition...its gouge and satisfation be danged...and where the elderly or poor single mother with no one to look out for them..its rip up the back...business preys on these people..

[JerseyHarold]

A number of years ago my wife and I tried to buy an item at a Sears '9-11 PM Super Sale'. All they had was damaged goods or re-packed returns. I asked for a rain-check and while the clerk was writing it out I said to my wife (in a voice loud enough for the clerk to hear) that we'll come back tomorrow when the good merchandise is back out on the floor. The clerk tried hard to suppress a smile.

PS: We did come back the next day and the merchandise was all fresh and undamaged.

[Don Coatney]

Sorry to disagree Don' date=' but the customer is not always right. The customer just feels as he's always right. That also goes for me as a customer. However, when the customer is wrong, the place he's doing business with should explain why the customer is wrong in his thinking. Of course, if you don't agree with the dealers reasoning you can always go somewhere else to buy the item. Actually, the dealer would probably prefer that than to keep arguing about it.[/quote']

Norm;

A buyer enters into a purchase agreement with a seller in good faith and agrees to buy goods at a set price and the seller sets a date for delivery. The vendor/seller makes an agreement to sell such goods at a fair price and makes a promise to deliver such goods at the time mutually agreed upon by both the seller and buyer. Then the seller fails to deliver such goods at the time agreed upon by both parties.

Norm, if you say the buyer is the problem in this case then I say you are full of crap:eek:

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm;

A buyer enters into a purchase agreement with a seller in good faith and agrees to buy goods at a set price and the seller sets a date for delivery. The vendor/seller makes an agreement to sell such goods at a fair price and makes a promise to deliver such goods at the time mutually agreed upon by both the seller and buyer. Then the seller fails to deliver such goods at the time agreed upon by both parties.

Norm, if you say the buyer is the problem in this case then I say you are full of crap:eek:

Don,

What you describe here is an actual contract to purchase something. Now, if the seller cannot deliver the item he could then tell the customer it can't be done. IF, the buyer agrees to a later delivery all is well and good. IF the buyer doesn't like the new delivery date, he can then cancel his order. IF he doesn't cancel the order, he has no complaint because he agreed to the later delivery date.

Now, IF the seller does ship the item in time for normal agreed delivery and the customer doesn't receive it due to slow delivery by the common carrier, the seller is not at fault either. The freight company/post office is at fault and the seller has no control over that. That clause is usually spelled out in all commercial purchase agreements between two commercial companies. The same applies to individuals. However, individuals always seem to lay the blame on the seller when that happens, AND that is also one reason why many companies do not sell to individuals. They don't want the headache of the customer calling them every day asking where my order is 10 minutes after placing the order.

If I place an order for something I never expect an exact delivery date. That's impossible for the seller to give when using commercial delivery companies. I ask for an approximate date. If they tell me 7 days delivery, I won't actually start to worry about the order until about 10 to 14 days after the order was placed. Then and only then will I call them back and ask for a tracking number or truckers Pro Number.

It is also ok for a seller to actually refuse to accept an order from someone for any reason. In the past 40 years I've done that several times with some pretty large companies like (Allen Bradley) back in the 70's while I was selling for another company. I did that simply because of the buyers attitude while talking to him. Just told him I think he should look elsewhere for the product we were discussing and walked out of his office. As I was walking out the buyer said he'd call my boss and get me fired. I then gave him the VP of sales name and his extension number and said have a great day. The VP's reply to me was, "Glad you didn't take that order, it would have been trouble from the word go!" Sometimes, it doesn't pay to take an order, no matter how large or from even a very large company.

[james curl]

If you order seat covers from Kanters you have the same problem as J C Whitney as they order from a supplier who makes the seat covers in the style and color that you ordered for your car. They may give you a 3 week date and it may take 6 weeks to receive the seat covers. If you cancel after they have placed the order with their supplier they charge you a fee for canceling.

[Phil Martin]

I got seatcovers from a guy in NY that had an add in cars and parts. He bought the stock of a manufacturer that closed. Haven't seen them yet as I am out of town but they did arrive. $99 for both seats. Not bad.

[Don Coatney]

Don' date='

What you describe here is an actual contract to purchase something. [/quote']

Contract? What I said applies to a candy bar or a Caddillac. If the seller fails to produce it is not the fault of the buyer/customer.