Sorry Rick, but I think you are completely missing the point of this list.
Our whole reason for being here is supposed to be to share our love for our
hobby and to help each other out.
If Steve had purchased his part from NWIP and then went into Ed and Lawrie's
shop and asked them how to install it, I would agree with you. But that is
NOT
what he did. He purchased a part from a reputable LOCAL supplier and then
(as most of us would do) he asked the LIST if there were any specific problems
that he should be aware of prior to installation of the part.
Saying that we should all consult the list prior to every purchase and/or
we should
buy ALL of our supplies from list members is ridiculous. If we had to get
a list
approval before we did any work on our cars, no work would never get done. :)
So lets just try and use our experiences to help each other out.
(Regardless of where our parts are from.)
-JW
At 10:53 PM 10/2/99 EDT, REwald9535@aol.com wrote:
>Flame suit on, here is my $.02
>Ed and Lawrie and other pro's that are on this list have three things to
sell
>parts, labor, and knowledge. When they take time away from their business
to
>answer a post they are losing money several ways.
>First they are not selling knowledge at that moment (yes it is true that
they
>might get more business from people that become aware of them through the
>list, but nonetheless they are not selling knowledge at the time they are
>answering a post). Secondly they are not twisting a wrench (parts / labor)
>while they are answering a post. (In a shop, money is made when wrenches are
>turning)
>
>I have sold parts both retail and mail order, and I can understand the
>frustration that Ed expressed in his post. I have had people (I won't say
>customers, because they had not bought from my store) come in with a part
>they had bought mail order for a maybe $2.00 less then my price and want me
>to send 1/2 hour giving installation tips. When it did not work right, they
>would then want me to straighten out their screwed up installation or
>warranty the part. Being part of a large company I could not tell them
FOAD,
>so I would grin and try not to get an ulcer. My other favorite exchange was
>always the phone call
>"how much is a pressure plate for a 62 Rolls Canhardly?"
>"$62.50"
>"XYZ sells them for $25.00" ( way below my cost BTW)
>"That's a good deal, go buy it there"
>"XYZ is out of stock"
>"Well sir, when I am out of stock I quote them at $9.95, but when they are
in
>stock they are $62.50"
>
>In any transaction there are three possibilities
>1. Price
>2. Availability
>3. Service
>You can have any two not all three, so pick the two that are important to
>you. If you want the part now and good aftersales service call Moss they
>will have it on FedEx today. You will pay for the privledge, but you will
>have the part. In a recent thread there was much discussion about VB it
>seems as I recall if you call them you get price and availability, but no
>service. A while further back there was a thread about a supplier (name
>escapes me) who had killer prices and knew their stuff, but never had any
>stock on hand. See how this works? If you will need after sales service to
>install stuff make service one of the required and then pick between price
>and availability as need dictates.
>
>IMHO the best thing listers could do if they like getting technical info
from
>guys like Lawie, Ed, et al is to call and buy stuff from them. If the choke
>kit costs a couple of bucks more think of it as tuition in a course in
>advanced LBC repair.
>
>With all of that said, I think Ed would catch more flies with honey than
>vinegar. A post that went something like
>"There are two different kits make sure you have the correct one, if not
sure
>contact your supplier. If they can't or won't help return the part and call
>me, I have both in stock and will get you the correct one with all the help
>you need when installing."
>
>Rick Ewald
>
>In a message dated 10/2/99 6:36:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
bkrueger@ici.net
>writes:
>
>> I'm not out to defend Ed of JustBrits. He's a big boy, let him take care of
>> himself. But --- what I've seen from his sarcastic remarks to people is a
>> hidden mesage that chides people for not taking advantage of some of the
>> expertise that's available to us on this list. Somebody just posted a
note
>> about a problem he's having with a Pertronix/Distributor combination that
>he
>> got
>> from Moss. If he'd gone to Skip Kelsey of Shadetree Motors he'd have
>gotten
>> the
>> Pertronix for a good bit less than he paid to Moss, and he'd have Skip's
>> expertise ready to help him.
>>
>> Sometimes it makes sense to engage our list-fingers before we put our
>> checkbooks
>> in gear.
>>
>> Bud Krueger
>> 52TD
>> 77MGB
>
=================
John Walker
john@rmartin.net
drone@d23.com
CB'74 MGB
"in progress" :)
=================
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