Vendor Rant Options

[Bulldog9]

I've spent a lot of $$ the last 3 years..... I try to use P car specific vendors, and like most of you have had good and bad experiences, most, especially 914 have been outstanding. I will say though that some need to get their crap in gear. This Monday I ordered 2 parts. 1 from Summit, 1 from Pelican. Standard shipping, nothing special. I receive the part from Summit on Tuesday afternoon and as of 6 pm nothing from Pelican.

This has happened many times from Pelican and though I value their contribution, 50% of the time I order and PAY only to find there is a delay, and it always takes 5-8 days to get the part. Frankly, that's why I dont/wont use them for parts unless necessary. It is unfortunate because they provide such a valuable resource for us.

Why do I only find out the part is delayed until after I pay? Many websites let you know when you order it it is not in stock. BLUF, this is the last time I will order from Pelican unless it is my only option. I understand that suppliers like CFR, Rebel, Original Customs, 914 Rubber etc. are builders and enthusiasts first and suppliers second, but their customer service turn around and response are outstanding..... Companies like Pelican and Summit present themselves as parts suppliers and IMO SUmit is rocking it..... FWIW, I wont order from Rock Auto anymore for the same reason.

rant over............

[a914luvr]

I don't want to make any excuses for Pelican but I will try to enlighten;

1) Unusual parts such as certain grommets, unique bolts, etc. for your 914 are typically sourced from Porsche. We are at their mercy as to availability and the timeliness in which delivery occurs. We have no way of tapping into Porsche's inventory count. They typically don't notify us if a part is NLA or in Germany until about 2 days after we've ordered it from them. The Ontario distribution center is roughly only 30 miles from us, but if a part comes from there, it still takes 3 days to get to us. If it has to come from Germany, they charge Pelican 20% additional and that is passed down to the customer. Parts coming from Atlanta take about 5-6 days. Porsche will not drop ship for us period.

2) Speaking of drop ships, Pelican will drop ship as much as possible. Some vendors will drop ship, some won't. Some that offer to drop ship charge a fee and others, for various reasons, are asked to send everything to us. Then there are certain vendors that we do so much volume with that we just have everything come to us automatically.

3) If any part of an order is drop shipped, the entire order is billed immediately. The thought process there is Pelican will simply refund your credit card if something doesn't show up or is canceled. If the entire order is assembled at Pelican, the card is not billed until it's shipped.

4) Now, speaking of shipping, I don't want to get into that too much but I will tell you Wayne has worked really hard to make it fair and efficient to US and Int'l customers when it comes to cost and timeliness. Pelican does NOT make any money on shipping. Matter of fact, I'm sure it's quite the opposite. The minimum is $4.75 for USPS 1st class mail. Pelican will only do that on small parts with minimal value. I think they've had too many things get lost and too many customers receive empty, torn open envelopes. Free shipping happens at $179 as long as the order isn't excessively heavy or large. If the order does get free ground, it's free regardless of how many packages you end up getting.

5) Pelican is a rather large company now. They have a good upper management staff that is constantly working to improve things and evolve. It's constantly a learning process and some changes work better than others. Many of the changes made are the direct result of the customer surveys and comments received by you. Trust me on this one, your comments are read. Every last one of them. Take the time to state your opinion.

6) Pelican relies heavily on email. Keep an eye on your's after you've placed an order and check your spam folder. They try hard to keep you informed but sometimes there are issues and/or delays we are not made aware of right away.

7) It will be 11 years for me in April. With all the ongoing changes to operations, the catalog, shipping, etc. even I don't know what to expect sometimes with regards to a parts order. With that said, if you aren't sure about something or want an inside opinion on what to expect before placing your order, just call me on ext 240 or email me; glenn at pelicanparts dot com.