Silly Rant

[frayne]

Rainy day so thought I'd get a new spark plug and filter for the Honda mower. Auto Zone out of the type of plug I need and the filter was $14. Amazon had the plug and the filter for $7 and it will be here Monday. No wonder even speciality type brick and mortar stores are losing business to on line entities such as Amazon. I realize they can't keep a gigantic inventory but a common specific lawn mower spark plug ?? Geezzz !

 

[Red Badger]

I gave up on Auto Zone years ago. Too much car bling at the expense of too few parts.

NAPA - no bling, just parts. And their counter people appear much more knowledgeable than that other store.

YMMV!

 

[97guns]

Yep, everything I buy I’ll see if I can get it online cheaper first, even the $3.17 can of fuel injector cleaner I bought today from Walmart got price shopped online.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

We have farm/fleet big-box stores that whip the FLAPS at basic stuff like oil, filters, batteries and spark plugs. They also outcompete the hardware stores on wiring, bulbs, sump pumps, etc.

They're also the go-to stop for jeans, socks and work shoes. They're pretty competitive on pet food, too.

 

[audreyh1]

Rainy day so thought I'd get a new spark plug and filter for the Honda mower. Auto Zone out of the type of plug I need and the filter was $14. Amazon had the plug and the filter for $7 and it will be here Monday. No wonder even speciality type brick and mortar stores are losing business to on line entities such as Amazon. I realize they can't keep a gigantic inventory but a common specific lawn mower spark plug ?? Geezzz !

Yeah - for the past few years our motorhome replacement parts have been ordered from Amazon.

We were quite impressed last year when we’re were able to order a new motor and another piece for our door motorized step.

This year DH ordered new reverse taillights - the complete piece - lens, bulb.

These are somewhat esoteric parts. Not like a lawnmower parkplug.

Hadn’t ordered tires or chassis or marine/golf-cart batteries from Amazon yet though. Fortunately Costco is selling a good quality marine battery now.

 

[Lakedog]

Amazon had the plug and the filter for $7 and it will be here Monday. No wonder even speciality type brick and mortar stores are losing business to on line entities such as Amazon.

Have also been ordering auto/RV parts from Amazon quite a bit. Engine and cabin air filters are way cheaper from Amazon, also recently ordered a set of replacement rear hatch lifts for an older Honda @ about 1/4 of the price I could find elsewhere.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

DW tried her best to buy her new tennis shoes from a local store that's been in business since well before I was born. They ordered a pair for her, but after four weeks and several phone calls she finally gave up and ordered from Zappo's. It arrived on our doorstep in less than 24 hours.

 

[LOL!]

In the old days, one ordered from the Sears catalog, so what goes around, comes around.

 

[MRG]

I gave up on Auto Zone years ago. Too much car bling at the expense of too few parts.

NAPA - no bling, just parts. And their counter people appear much more knowledgeable than that other store.

YMMV!

Many years ago, 1977, I delivered auto parts(best job ever!). I could see the price, from ours, to the dealership and consumers.

As a rule, every time any part changed hands the price doubled.

It was funny, we sold Walker mufflers, pipes, and clamps.So did NAPA, Kmart, Sears... labeled as their respective brands. Same exact part from the same factory with a different name on the label. We would receive tractor trailer loads of them, some with mixed labels. The principal owner insisted we totally remove the original label and replace it with our homemade ones!

 

[JPatrick]

Routine auto parts (filters etc) get a lookup on Amazon followed by a comparison with Wal-Mart. Click of the mouse gets it shipped or gets me on the road to the Wal-Mart 1 mile away. Seems 5 times out of 10 they are priced the same and the other 5 they are within pennies.
Elapsed time for all that research--about 3 minutes, and that includes time for a couple of sips of coffee.

 

[CRLLS]

It is not a silly rant. When buying from the brick and mortar store, there is only a finite amount of shelf space available. When buying from Amazon, they have many warehouses to ship from plus their 3d party sellers. the 1st place ribbon for product availability has got to go to Amazon.

I find it easier to shop online because 1) I can generally wait for the part. 2) I don't have to go from store to store to find the part I want 3) I get the part I want and not some other manufacturer's part.

I recently had to buy some special color mixed paint that I couldn't buy online. Ace Hardware was to only place I could find. I had to go to 3 Ace stores before I found someone who could actually mix what I needed. I have to say that the clerks at each of the stores spent a lot of time trying to help me. I almost forgot how nice good, personal service could be.

Auto parts, I search RockAuto.com, Amazon and e-Bay to find the best price & delivery. I seldom use local parts houses. They are almost always much to high-priced.

 

[davebarnes]

For me, price no longer matters.
Convenience matters.
Ease of ordering.
Inventory.
I can wait for delivery.