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Date:         Sat, 6 May 2000 08:36:17 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject:      BIG news at the Depot!  (Catalog, Toll Free #, Europe Shipment,
              More)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Lots of great new stuff happening that I need to let you know about...

NEW ILLUSTRATED PARTS CATALOG: I'm really excited about this. Many people have been asking me to do it for years. Yes, there's the website, but a nicely indexed and illustrated catalog can be easier to use (particularly when you're not near a computer :-). What an incredibly huge job this was! I've never worked so hard on anything in my life, and I'm a hard worker. Lots of all-nighters downstairs on the computer while Evon and Haley slept. Still, I think it was almost worth it. It's not perfect - I've already discovered a handful of typos and other relatively minor flaws that stand out like neon to me, but probably won't matter to anyone else - but it's a decent first effort if I do say so myself. While the website still lists more products, the catalog goes into more detail on what it does cover, such as exhaust diagrams, shift linkage diagrams, cooling system diagrams, sheet metal and body rubber, air conditioning parts, etc. And I find it faster than the website for looking things up quickly. I think you'll also find it a very useful reference particularly since virtually all of the part numbers used are actual VW part numbers. It features a bunch of new items you haven't seen before - such as Stainless Steel exhaust, Coolant Hose Kits, and more. The catalog is $1.00 if you add it to any parts order. (A few oil filters, tune up parts, whatever). Otherwise, sent separately, it's $3.00 but comes with a $5.00 off coupon toward your next purchase, so you actually come out ahead $2.00 if you place an order from it. If you're placing an order via the internet, you can add it to your order for a buck when you check out. (There's an option there for it.) Or you can request it when placing a phone order. To order it by itself, you can either send $3 by mail (4801 Gravel Pike, Perkiomenville PA 18074), or call with a credit card number. I know some people may not understand why they should pay for a catalog when Motorworks etc. mail them out for free. Nothing is free. Those who offer "free" catalogs are simply incorporating the cost of the catalogs into their parts prices. I will NOT raise my prices to fund this catalog. You will continue to pay the cut-rate prices I always offer, plus a buck if you want a catalog.

TOLL FREE NUMBER: It's 1-888-819-DEPOT. This starts on TUESDAY. Please try go easy on us Monday because we are still backed up from Friday! This number is _strictly_ for ordering BY PART NUMBER. The people I'm hiring to answer this number do NOT know how to look up parts, answer questions about parts, etc. They are simply phone operators; they are there to take your order, and that's it. Again, this goes back to keeping my prices low. It costs me money to give you a toll free number (about 7 cents a minute every time you call.) It also costs me money to train/pay people to look up part numbers and answer questions. I can afford to do either, but not both (unless I raise my prices, which I refuse to do). So it's your choice which service to avail yourself of. If you can do the lookup work, you get to call on my dime. Look at my website or print catalog (suggested), look at a Motorworks catalog, check with the local dealer, read the number off your old part, I don't care. On the other hand, if you need customer service, part number lookups, answers to questions, checking on orders, etc., the regular number (215-234-VWVW) or sales@busdepot.com will continue to reach people who can do this, just as before. As to why it's an "either/or" option, we're back to the "nothing is free" theme. My goal is to keep my prices as low as I possibly can, without sacrificing parts quality, and while maintaining decent customer service. This is what it takes to do that. Anything more would raise my prices. Note: please be a little understanding if you call over the next week or two, since we do have some new people answering the toll free number (and are also short two people all next week). Gradually they will be faster and better at it, and hopefully there will be more of them.

SHIPMENT FROM EUROPE My latest container came in this week. There's so much stuff that it took 4 people 8 hours to unload it all. Highlights include genuine VW body rubber for '68-79 (much of it offered for the first time in years, and for _less_ than the cheapo stuff that others are selling). Stainless Steel Exhaust. Vanagon sheet metal and body rubber. Brand new front calipers for all years. Syncro CV axles.. Dual battery relay kits. I'm just mentioning a few that come to mind offhand. If you order the catalog, you'll find it there. Most is also on the website (some on the Bargains page, much more interspersed throughout). Worth checking out. Much of it has never been seen before in the U.S., and some will not be seen again.

LIST MEMBER DISCOUNT Until now, I've basically handled list member discounts personally, looking at each invoice and taking a buck off here, five bucks off there, depending on whether the items you ordered were profitable to begin with. Problem is, when I wasn't in, no one got much of a discount, which wasn't fair to people who happened to call when I was gone. And also, the guy who just by luck happened to order all low-margin parts didn't much like being told nothing qualified for a discount. So I'm going to average it out from here on in. The discount is 5% off the top, on any order over $50. This roughly offsets the shipping cost on most orders, so you can look at it as pretty much getting free shipping on almost anything you buy. Given that my prices before the discount tend to be a good 10-20% cheaper than anyone else's to begin with, I think you'll find this hard to beat. Engines, transmissions, special order or made-to-order items (i.e. carpet/upholstery/curtains), items that we have to buy from VW themselves, Specials/Bargain Page items, or items covered by other offers/promotions are excluded, because we don't make much on that stuff to begin with. Of course, the discount does not apply to shipping charges or core deposits. Also, I will continue to post special offers to the lists that are exclusively for list members, as I always have. Note: You must SPECIFICALLY request this discount when placing your order. The website shopping cart will not calculate it, but if you mention it in the "comments" section we'll manually deduct it prior to shipping.

Sorry for the long e-mail. I was going to break it into separate e-mails by subject, but figured that one big one would be easier to delete. :-)

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. http://www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW


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