Date:         Thu, 13 Jul 2000 19:07:50 -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:      Re: First Order from Bus Depot
In-Reply-To:  <000a01bfed1c$9f99fec0$84526dcf@sttl.uswest.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

My comments ...

> It took me 2 weeks to get my order. I got the impression (though I could
> be wrong) that many items in the catalog are not in stock. Otherwise,
> why would it take them 9 working days to get something off a shelf, put
> it in a box, and mail it.

We say on the website to allow 7-10 working days for delivery. (That is, for
it to reach you, not before it ships.) Often we don't need this long, but
sometimes we do. We do our best to ship within 1-2 days of receiving an
order, and right now we're at about that point.  But, for example, two weeks
ago, we were behind by about 5 days. This is the busy season.  I'd rather
promise you 10 days and deliver in 3 than the other way around. Also, bear
in mind that of that 7-10 working day period, more than half of it may be
time-in-transit (standard UPS/Mail delivery time), which is something we
can't control.

About 3/4 of what's in my catalog, I either stock or can typically get
next-day from a local supplier.  Of the remainder, most is made-to-order
stuff such as carpet kits, etc. The rest is stuff that is very rarely
ordered, and usually available within about a week.  We're talking stuff
that gets ordered maybe a few of times a year here.  If you had to pay my
overhead to stock this rarely-ordered stuff, all of my prices would be
higher.  This is not to say that things don't go on backorder.  That happens
all the time in this business, and when it happens a backorder can last a
day or a month. This is not computer hardware, these are parts for 20 year
old vans.  I try to stock up on items that I expect to be difficult to get
in the future, but there is not always a way to predict this.  Sometimes you
have some warning because the part gets harder to find before it becomes
impossible to get.  But other times, the most commonplace items go
inexplicably unavailable for a month for no reason that I can fathom.

> So I would buy from the Bus Depot again, but if I was in a hurry I might
> investigate other sources for the parts first.

If you are in a hurry, order via express shipping (i.e. next-day,
second-day, or third-day UPS).  These orders get prioritized in front of all
other orders, and are the first ones I look at every morning.  It will cost
you a little more in shipping cost, but given that my prices are already a
whole lot less than most places you'll probably still end up saving money
and getting better quality parts.

> The Bus Depot often does not respond to emails. The most reliable way to
> contact them is by phone, which is a long-distance toll call if you are
> enquiring about an order. And don't call early, they don't open until
> 11am - a fact which is not prominently shown on their website. So I got
> a recording on my first call and wasted my money

Jerry tries to respond to email within 2 working days. He's as backed up as
we are during the busy season but he just hired more help to speed things
along.  Yes, you can always call if you need a faster response.  You must
call the customer service number (215-234-VWVW) since the toll-free number
is staffed by operators who can ONLY take orders by part number and nothing
else.  Incidentally, our hours are clearly noted on the second page of the
website, which is a page that every visitor must go through in order to
browse our website.

> As a listmember I did not get any discount when ordering. Perhaps
> there was some secret code I should have entered somewhere but if so I
> did not know of it.

Every time I mention the listmember discount on the list, I also make it a
point to mention that you must specify when ordering (over the phone or in
the "comments" section of the order form) that you are a list member.
Indeed, it has to be "secret," or else everybody would get it and it
wouldn't be a listmember discount at all.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  http://www.busdepot.com