Local dealer vs Partzilla etc.

Kyle_E

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So when I did my rear tire the other day, I noticed a clip missing from the rear caliper. Not a big deal.

Partzilla. Part is $7 + $8 shipping no tax. $15~ total.


Just happened to be next to the yamaha dealer yesterday so figured Id save on shipping and maybe pay a tiny bit more for the part itself.
Local dealership. Very competent, friendly parts counter guy looks up the part I point it out on the schematic and get a price of $16. Okay whatever I'll pay the extra $1 and get it today. Nope. Directs me to go pay the cashier, I figure hes going to go grab the part. Nope. I pay and hang out a second hes still at his counter. Go over and he asks if there is something else I need. "Nope just need the part." "It will be here maybe next Thursday or that following Monday"

Not griping about waiting for a part or anything, but I could have saved a $1 and had it sooner by buying from partzilla or the like.
Then to top it off as I was putting the receipt on my desk I look.... they charge a friggen $1 "service fee" to talk to a flipping part counter guy. SERIOUSLY? You charge me a $1 service fee to order a flipping part because I talked to a live human?
 

RCinNC

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Bike shops don't keep a lot of parts on hand, especially when they service multiple lines of bikes. My experience has always been that they also have to have a minimum aggregate dollar amount in order to place a parts order. They usually do it once a week, but if not enough people have ordered parts, they wait until they have enough orders to reach their minimum. Last time I was in a shop I had to order brake pads, because they don't even keep those in stock. That's understandable if you look at the big picture; if you figure they serve Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Grizzly, and Polaris, with the number of different brake pads that go with each model in each line, they could fill a shelf in the parts room with just brake pads.

If I need a part right away, or I need a lot of parts and need to save some money, I order from Rocky Mountain ATV or a similar place. If I don't, I try and order from the bike shop. I can't remember the last time I went to a bike shop and they actually had the part on hand, but it was probably back when I owned a Harley.

As for the dollar service fee, I've never heard of that before.
 
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holligl

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The closest dealer to me will price match online or give a veteran discount. Most likely have to order non-maintenance items. The dealer I "grew up with" doesn't even sell bikes any more, only ATVs.

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blitz11

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The closest dealer to me will price match online or give a veteran discount. Most likely have to order non-maintenance items. The dealer I "grew up with" doesn't even sell bikes any more, only ATVs.

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In high school and college (the first degree), i worked as a motorcycle mechanic (started 41 years ago). At that time, we stocked mostly maintenance parts, and a few parts which would chronically fail. Now, the owner says that he runs it like a "convenience store" - oil, filters, plugs, nuts, bolts, etc. He can order parts for bikes in the service bay, but over the counter parts sales are rare because of the internet.

It's too hard for local brick & mortar stores to compete with the interlink, so to survive, you have to find your niche.
 

Sierra1

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The closest dealer to me will price match online or give a veteran discount.....
That's how mine is also. There's been a couple of times/items, that the discount has been $100.00+; from MSRP. It like Mr. blitz advised, they have to find a way to get your business. My theory is my dealer doesn't go for a big profit per sale. Instead, because people return to a good dealership, he makes his smaller profit on the big number of sales. Bikes or parts, there's always a discount. And, since he's Yama-only, he can keep a larger inventory of parts.
 

holligl

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The closest dealer to me will price match online or give a veteran discount. Most likely have to order non-maintenance items.

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No more... Stopped by this morning, they are out of business. I guess I didn't support them enough.

Another one bites the dust...

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bamajoe

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what was the old song from the mid-'80s? "Video Killed the radio stars" well the internet has killed a lot of parts and mom n pop stores. And everyone says when they are gone, man, I wish that place was still there. I work @ a dealership I see it every day. The $1 fee maybe it was to special order or a CC/debit card fee? never heard of it, but, I know card fees eat us up.
 

Kyle_E

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what was the old song from the mid-'80s? "Video Killed the radio stars" well the internet has killed a lot of parts and mom n pop stores. And everyone says when they are gone, man, I wish that place was still there. I work @ a dealership I see it every day. The $1 fee maybe it was to special order or a CC/debit card fee? never heard of it, but, I know card fees eat us up.
Paid cash. Just went and looked at the receipt its marked as "$1 non tax support fee" I take that to mean I paid $1 to talk to a human.

FYI it would be illegal to charge a credit card fee. They can give a cash discount. But if they have something marked $5 on the counter they can only charge you $5 for that if you pay cash or card.
 

RCinNC

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I’m also someone that likes to support dealers but sometimes it’s crazy.
For sure. Sometimes that 25%-50% markup can be hard to take, when you know you can buy the part from an online supplier for a lot cheaper. Couple that with a three day wait for a part from RMATV compared to a week or two from the dealer, and it starts to become a bit of a tightrope to walk between throwing business to the dealer and just getting the parts online. For me, the deciding factor can be how good the customer service is from the local shop. I'll be honest, I haven't had really good customer service at a motorcycle shop since I owned a Harley. I can recall a Yamaha shop I went in a couple years ago where the first thing out of the mouth of the guy at the counter was "yeah, whadda you want?". Needless to say, I didn't go there again.
 

Cycledude

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Paid cash. Just went and looked at the receipt its marked as "$1 non tax support fee" I take that to mean I paid $1 to talk to a human.

FYI it would be illegal to charge a credit card fee. They can give a cash discount. But if they have something marked $5 on the counter they can only charge you $5 for that if you pay cash or card.
When picking up the parts I would be asking about that extra $1 fee.
One of my local dealers has a sign saying you have to pay for the parts when you order but they have never asked me to do that.
As far as it being ilegal to charge a credit card fee that used to be true but these days all kinds of outfits are charging $5 extra if you use a credit card to pay, VERIZON is one of those outfits.
 
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RCinNC

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If it's illegal, then the subcontractor for the North Carolina DMV's website is breaking the law. They charge a $3.00 service fee to renew your vehicle registration via credit card through their online site.
 

Kyle_E

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If it's illegal, then the subcontractor for the North Carolina DMV's website is breaking the law. They charge a $3.00 service fee to renew your vehicle registration via credit card through their online site.
That is a "convenience fee" those are legal they have to dance around a bit on how they do it, as they can not call it a credit card fee, but they can call it a fee for letting you pay it online like in @Cycledude case they might not charge that $5 to go pay it in a store (but then they probably charge $5 as a in store convenience fee lol) There are some regs about not being able to charge convenience fees on debit cards (part of the old days trying to get people to accept using them) but those are going away.

What they can't do is say we are charging you a 5% fee because you used a credit card in some states. Some you can, but not in my state. Also convenience fees wouldn't be legal in a brick and mortar store here, as they typically accept cards as well as cash. They could only charge that in a case if they did not typically take a specific form of payment on a typical business day. Like if I wanted to pay in bitcoin, they could say sure but we want a 5% or $5 fee.
 

RCinNC

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It's not universal amongst all states. NC has no statutes regarding charging credit card fees on transactions; the only rules are the contracts between the merchant and the credit card companies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 11 states and territories (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas, plus Puerto Rico) have statutes that prohibit merchants from charging consumers extra on credit card transactions.
 

Kyle_E

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It's not universal amongst all states. NC has no statutes regarding charging credit card fees on transactions; the only rules are the contracts between the merchant and the credit card companies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 11 states and territories (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas, plus Puerto Rico) have statutes that prohibit merchants from charging consumers extra on credit card transactions.

As I said....."Some you can, but not in my state. "
Nevada should be on that list. We don't have it spelled specifically "No CC Fee" but we have language that you can not charge more depending on type of payment for transaction unless it is a transaction payment atypical from normal business operations (my bitcoin example). Sure you could find an easy work around for that, but it simply would not be worth the time or energy with processing fees as low as they are. 3% + 30c per transaction are about as high as you will see really in America.
 

squarebore

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My local Yamaha dealer (only yamaha) didn't even stock oil filters for the s10 and that filters fits half their line up. They had them in the workshop but they were for bikes they serviced. I ordered them online cheaper anyway.

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jeckyll

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My local Yamaha dealer (only yamaha) didn't even stock oil filters for the s10 and that filters fits half their line up. They had them in the workshop but they were for bikes they serviced. I ordered them online cheaper anyway.

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I like to support local shops, but when I read this kinds of info, it makes me wonder if they realize the impact on their customers.
 

Sierra1

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My local Yamaha dealer (only yamaha) didn't even stock oil filters for the s10 and that filters fits half their line up. They had them in the workshop but they were for bikes they serviced. I ordered them online cheaper anyway.
Yeah, that's NOT how you build customer loyalty. I wouldn't feel bad ordering on line if they're going to do business that way. My dealer has me, and all of their customers, spoiled.
 
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