Date:         Sun, 8 Sep 2002 20:18:07 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Vanagain Rant/New Intake Boot
In-Reply-To:  <001101c25792$d5d0fc40$6401a8c0@gumby>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> I had similar problems this past week with both Bus Depot and
> AirCooled.net...
>
> My orders arrived well packed, complete, and in less time than I
> anticipated, and at a fair cost for both.
>
> The farligan bistages.



Actually, we've made some changes in box packing over the last few weeks.
Not completely gone, but much reduced, are the days of receiving Bus Depot
orders in well-used boxes that were recycled from other vendors.

Yes, we are actually - gasp!! - buying some new boxes!  It's still something
I hope to minimize, for both cost and ecological reasons, so we'll keep
re-using old boxes as long as they're in good shape, but if they're
questionable we'll toss them and use a new box.

However, to keep our prices down, your order will still arrive in a "mystery
box" as with the Bus Depot orders of yore.  Not only will the box not have
Bus Depot written on it, but it will have some other brand name written on
it, probably with a typographic error.  You see, we're buying "factory
seconds" from a large box manufacturer - boxes that were ordered by other
companies but ended up with a printing error, were not the size ordered, or
were otherwise rejected (but are structurally are fine).  At a cost of about
half the price of a new blank box, and a third the price of a custom-printed
one, this solution will allow us to use new boxes without raising our parts
prices to cover the cost.

Also, we have made arrangements with our local township recycling department
to receive a nearly unlimited supply of newspaper for use as packing
material.   Newspaper happens to make great packing material for most auto
parts (in fact even our suppliers use it on most orders they send us), plus
it doesn't clog up the landfills like styrofoam peanuts etc.  But until now
we sometimes couldn't get enough, causing the shipping guys to skimp on the
packing matera (not a good thing). Now they floor to ceiling stacks of it,
and are motivated to use as much of it as possible, even if just to get it
out from under foot! :-)  Also, we are now buying bubble wrap in bulk.  But
we will reserve it for fragile parts, as I really don't like using such an
environmentally unfriendly product when yesterday's old newspaper will do
just fine.

In any event, the result of these changes will be better packed Bus Depot
orders, with less risk of shipping damage.  And if you get bored, you can
play "try to find the typo on the box" before you open your shipment!  :-)

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

_____________________________________________
Toll-Free for Orders by Part #    1-866-BUS-DEPOT