They are higher, but once you get CJPP's shipping rates, they come in below what your final price ends up being. I'm sure CJPP has its "sweet spot" for some... but for major items (to Sherrifs point, sheet metal) or large components, other options seem to be better, not only with the shipping costs, but to many of the comments above...the service aspect.
As mentioned, I'm lucky to only be an hour away from NPD, and to Steve's point above, I have never had bad service with their team. I've had guys from NPD personally call me back on my cell phone with suggestions on things that I spoke about during a purchase, just because they genuinely wanted to help.
Plus it gives me a reason to take the coupe out for a two hour shopping ride!
- PBR
Hey, this is good news!
If you come up on a weekday, email me first, and I'll make sure you get a chance to stroll through our collection. It'll definitely make your trip worthwhile. My email is
[email protected]
And you have definitely put a spotlight on a major point that I'll elaborate on below... The total delivered cost, including whatever "fees" are involved, is what counts. There are plenty of old-school (and slimy) business tactics that are still widespread on the internet, not just in restoration parts, but in everything you might buy...
This is to everyone/anyone reading this thread, random thoughts/points, likely in random order LOL!!!
* As has already been pointed out, price and price alone does not paint the full picture. We have
plenty of competitors who make it a practice of setting low-ball prices for products, only to bend you over at the checkout counter. The total cost, delivered, is what matters. Truck freight items is a common one, where the advertised price lures you in, but the shipping fee gobbles-up all of your perceived savings.
* Handling fees, Insurance fees, exorbitant shipping fees, these are all manners in which companies clamor to have the lowest prices when prospective buyers are comparison shopping and doing spreadsheets, only to get all of that money back (and then some) at checkout. We just don't do it. Never have, never will, regardless of the consequences. We give hobbyists the benefit of the doubt, and the respect, that they'll figure things out for themselves in the long-run. We've never felt that it's good business sense to treat customers like suckers.
* Insurance - What a joke, what a money-grab that is. Is everyone aware that UPS automatically places $100 insurance on every standard ground shipment? It's free. And if something more valuable than that is damaged, you can still claim with UPS, and assuming the items were packed to UPS standard specs, they compensate. If NOT, i.e. if an NPD shipment is damaged, and the UPS claim is denied due to inadequate packing, then NPD shoulders the responsibility to replace the merchandise. We self-insure, we don't place the onus and expense on YOU to ensure that your stuff arrives complete and undamaged. Why should you have to pay a fee to ensure that we do our job correctly?? Insurance fees, and insurance up-sells, absolutely blow my mind. I don't know how these folks sleep at night.
* Sometimes we're more expensive. That happens. We can't be cheapest on everything. But also, please understand that in many cases the product that we are selling is not the same manufacturer/quality/correctness that our competitor might be selling at a lower price. The notion that "all reproduction parts are the same, made by a handful of actual manufacturers" is pure bunk, absolute B.S.. Especially with the Mustang market, which is huge. NPD alone sources to over 1,100 active manufacturers and distributors, and in more cases than not, there are choices on a product-by-product basis. We have been laser-focused for almost 50 years now to ensure that everything we're carrying is the best version of that item we can possibly get our hands on. It's our matrix of sourcing, and our constant attention to it, that (I believe firmly) sets us apart. And in cases where the various choices also vary considerably in price, we'll usually offer BOTH (sometimes 3 choices), so that you have the ability to choose based upon your budget and priorities. We also read every single product review that comes through, acting on those where/when we can.
This industry is so competitive, that there's almost always a ying to the yang, a robbing of Peter to pay Paul, a give and take, when it comes to the overall levels of quality, service and speed you'll receive. You're not just buying parts, you're buying the research that went into identifying/sourcing the best. You're buying the pay-rate of the phone salesperson who's been with the company for 10-20 years solid and knows what they're talking about. You're buying the service-after-the-sale, should something be defective or go wrong in any way.
All of those things come at an expense. And the companies that tend to be the cheapest on the parts, tend to not have enough money left-over from the transaction to fund the product/sourcing-research, or to retain good sales personnel, or to be able to afford to self-insure and make-good if stuff goes bad down the road.
So it's a matrix, and our matrix is what it is.
Sorry so long folks!!! I get going, and I can't shut up!!
Rick
NPD
