Just wanted to bring some light and attention to the situation. I am sure many of you have ordered parts from GMPartsDirect before and know what this is about but I think it would be fair for me to post something about it.

Ordered some parts from GMPartsDirect.com as they claim to give you a heafty discount. So lets look over this billing sheet.

List price total for 8 parts I ordered: $211.46
However, with the discount the net price was: $109.58
So, on paper we saved: $101.88

Not bad, but here comes this "handling" charge out of nowhere for $42.66

Take into account the handling charge we really only saved: $59.22
plus, we don't have to pay tax but freight was: $5.57.

So in the end, I guess you end up saving money if you have to pay full-price at the dealership. My opinion on this matter is I just think it would be more ethical for them to incorperate their "handling" charge into the net pricing of parts. You can't tell me that it cost gmpartsdirect $42.66 to have someone pull 8 small parts off the shelf in a warehouse and package them for shipment. I just wish companies would be more honest to consumers.

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power corrupts. absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Custom GM Chip Burning | Fiero Engine Conversions | Turbocharging | dtcc.cz28.com

That is how GM Parts Direct make their money. The parts aren't cheaper for goodwill. It is listed on their site somewhere about handling charges. Well it used to be.

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quote Originally posted by Darth Fiero: So in the end, I guess you end up saving money if you have to pay full-price at the dealership. My opinion on this matter is I just think it would be more ethical for them to incorperate their "handling" charge into the net pricing of parts. You can't tell me that it cost gmpartsdirect $42.66 to have someone pull 8 small parts off the shelf in a warehouse and package them for shipment. I just wish companies would be more honest to consumers.

I was once told that the parts price is actually their cost, and the shipping charge is what they make on the deal. That's why you don't get a discount when ordering multiple items. Other places, like the Fiero Store, put stuff in one box. They don't.

quote Originally posted by fierobear: I was once told that the parts price is actually their cost, and the shipping charge is what they make on the deal. That's why you don't get a discount when ordering multiple items. Other places, like the Fiero Store, put stuff in one box. They don't.

Actually, we got all 8 parts in one big box filled with shreaded paper. The items we ordered would have fit into a 4x4x4" cube box easily but instead they came in a box about 4 times that size.

I guess the natural question to ask then is, how much money did you still save by getting it with them? I have ordered several parts from them and always ended up saving a good amount of money even with the handeling fee.

quote Originally posted by Darth Fiero: Actually, we got all 8 parts in one big box filled with shreaded paper. The items we ordered would have fit into a 4x4x4" cube box easily but instead they came in a box about 4 times that size.

You ordered online, right? They tell you exactly how much the total bill will be, including the shipping and handling. If it seems out of line, just cancel the transaction and get the parts from the dealer. If they kept shipping costs a secret until the credit card bill came in the mail, then you'd have a real problem.

I've been preaching about this for a couple of years. GMP is cheap on some stuff but you have to be very careful. The Turbo Regal hood insulator is $140 from the dealer and $104 from GMP however GMP gets $165 for shipping and handling. I can go on and on. My local dealer is usually very competative with GMP.

I agree that their shipping and handling adders are disapointing however, the Fiero Store prices oem parts at list and heaven knows the markup that you will get at your local dealer. That's why I like the internet. I check the prices at Advance Autoparts, NAPA, GM Parts Direct, Fiero Store etc. and take into account the shipping & Handling before I make my decision. You can add a lot of S&H to a $40 V6 dogbone at GM Parts Direct before it equals the $70 Fiero Store Price. Same with the battery box, dew wipes, window & mirror switches, etc. I am keeping a list of all the part numbers & comparison prices.

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quote Originally posted by Darth Fiero: Just wanted to bring some light and attention to the situation........

Wow What a great thread.

Let me see if I have this straight because I could be wrong, now.....

You'd advocate that whenever buying parts from any supplier, We should compare the total cost of those parts including shipping and handling to the total costs from other suppliers before we make our purchasing decisions.

What a revolutionary concept.

Archie

That's why I rarely do business with placed like Tire Rack. They do have great prices on the tires, but by the time I add in shipping, and then mounting and balancing once I get them, it's usually within $20 of my local price - so I just get them locally to save the time.

I only buy stuff online when I save enough money to make it worthwhile. I didn't figure that was a new concept.

Well, that, and I only buy V8 parts. (hint: That's a joke)

It still looks like you saved over 25% off what they would have been at your local dealer. Doesn't sound bad at all. Next time, you may want to verify the S&H before accepting the order, but it looks like you still got a sound deal. Also, would you have had to pay sales tax on the parts ifyou bought them locally? Around here, it would have been 8.25%, which would have raised the cost of your parts to over $230. I'd take that deal from GMP

quote Originally posted by Fformula88: It still looks like you saved over 25% off what they would have been at your local dealer. Doesn't sound bad at all. Next time, you may want to verify the S&H before accepting the order, but it looks like you still got a sound deal. Also, would you have had to pay sales tax on the parts ifyou bought them locally? Around here, it would have been 8.25%, which would have raised the cost of your parts to over $230. I'd take that deal from GMP

I agree with you but I think the original point of my post has been lost in the mix a little bit. My problem is with the description of the handling charge. You can't tell me that it costs GMPD $42 to gather and package 4 studs, a fuel pressure regulator, and a fuel pressure regulator bracket. That is my gripe. The exact same thing happens on eBay every day with people selling small items like a remote keyless entry keyfob and charging you $9.99 for shipping. It doesn't cost $9.99 to box up a keyfob, drive down to the UPS store or the Post Office and have it shipped just a couple of states away. The arguement I am making is about what I interperate as poor business ethics.

Probably a more accurate term would be "profit and shipping". I have purchased parts from them in the past (after checking ALL prices everywhere ) and my complaint is they are slooooooooooow. It took them 3 weeks to ship some dew wipes to me......Paul