[abefromen]

Was going to place an order for a set of window sweeps for a '66 A-body.....until I was quoted a shipping price of $24 to Illinois. :eek:

An email I sent asking about this excessive charge got a reply saying shipping was on a "tier" system. An order totaling between $100 and $250 would be charged $24 regardless of size. Great if I was placing a big order but in this case it's an excessive charge.

This order thru PY before the takeover would have been half that amount to ship.

Is this a sign of things to come? Unbelievable.

[Ccass]

Ames is going to contact you. In the meantime, they are learning how to participate here on PY and soon you will be able to get a reply here.

[abefromen]

I've exchanged a few emails already with there "customer" service.

Let's just say I'm gonna miss buying from PY......

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by abefromen

I've exchanged a few emails already with there "customer" service.

Let's just say I'm gonna miss buying from PY......

Try and give them a break for a bit before casting any judgements. Remember, none of their staff had any idea what was taking place until Monday morning. What their staff is taking on is an overwhelming task.

[BOB VIDAN]

So Ames didn't have customer service before and never shipped anything?

[Greg Reid]

Interesting...you can go down two or three topics and find at least two threads complaining about PY's shipping costs. Just goes to show ya'.....

[67GTONUT]

Yeah...... rough crowd....LOL

I called Ames today for some questions and pricing on some stuff for a customers car we are working....

They were great on the phone..... no complaints ......

This merger will have hiccups, I think we should all be patient until they work out all the kinks.....

[nhpontiac72]

We appreciate your concerns. We are considering changing the shipping schedule adding zones, east/mid/west. There are pro's and con's for our current shipping just as there are pro's and con's for the PY way. If your order was $40.00 Ames rates are $10.00 and PY's are $14.00 If you placed a $400.00 order Ames shipping would be $30.00 and PY is $42.00. If it was a $1000.00 order Ames is $40.00 and PY is $70.00. These rates are based on your mid location if west the PY rates go up and if east they go down. So you see there are pro's and con's for our shipping rates as well as PY's. Ames Customer Service did offer you the option of USPS shipping for your order. I don't think they received a response. This method would most likely be less than the regular UPS rates.

The Ames Team

[citrusz]

First thing I noticed was that the Ames part prices are a few dollars more then PY. They also dont offer 5% discount on internet orders over 500.00. You need to mail in a check or mail order for the 5%?

[Red Goat]

Originally Posted by citrusz

First thing I noticed was that the Ames part prices are a few dollars more then PY. They also dont offer 5% discount on internet orders over 500.00. You need to mail in a check or mail order for the 5%?

Ames has offered a discount for larger $ purchases for many years. The breakdown is listed in the front of their catalog.

On another note, I've purchased thousands of $ in parts from Ames over the last 12 years for a variety of Pontiac projects and have always received excellent service. Has every transaction been perfect? No... But they've gone out of their way to make it right on the on the occasional mix up.

Chris is right in that this should be a good thing for the hobby!

[rsavage]

Originally Posted by citrusz

First thing I noticed was that the Ames part prices are a few dollars more then PY. They also dont offer 5% discount on internet orders over 500.00. You need to mail in a check or mail order for the 5%?

I believe the discounts are as follows:
3% discount using credit card on orders over $500
8% discount using credit card on orders over $1000
5% discount using check or MO on orders over $500
10% discount using check or MO on orders over $1000
Obviously it costs merchants money to have customers use credit cards.

I have found the prices to be nearly identical in either case. However, if I found a difference I would call and ask if they could match (not only PY but the Parts Place too) and in nearly all cases they would.
I have spent thousands at both PY and Ames. Whenever I was going to my daughter's in Delaware, I'd make a point of putting together an order for PY and pick it up on the way home as they are right off 476. Still had to pay 6% PA sales tax. Large orders through Ames had the advantage of saving me sales tax. My experience with both companies has been outstanding. Ames has great people to work with just as PY did. They also have a vast array of parts and they indicate the quality of the parts they sell.

[sixty8ragtop]

Originally Posted by nhpontiac72

We appreciate your concerns. We are considering changing the shipping schedule adding zones, east/mid/west. There are pro's and con's for our current shipping just as there are pro's and con's for the PY way. If your order was $40.00 Ames rates are $10.00 and PY's are $14.00 If you placed a $400.00 order Ames shipping would be $30.00 and PY is $42.00. If it was a $1000.00 order Ames is $40.00 and PY is $70.00. These rates are based on your mid location if west the PY rates go up and if east they go down. So you see there are pro's and con's for our shipping rates as well as PY's. Ames Customer Service did offer you the option of USPS shipping for your order. I don't think they received a response. This method would most likely be less than the regular UPS rates.

The Ames Team

Please consider offering USPS Priority Mail shipping options to all your customers. Small box Priority Mail flat rates are currently $5.75 at the Post Office, from $5.05 for Commercial Base and from $4.95 for Commercial Plus with tracking and insurance included. This would be appropriate for your customer base that requires a small part that would be delivered at least three business days prior to your current minimum UPS shipping option.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by sixty8ragtop

Please consider offering USPS Priority Mail shipping options to all your customers. Small box Priority Mail flat rates are currently $5.75 at the Post Office, from $5.05 for Commercial Base and from $4.95 for Commercial Plus with tracking and insurance included. This would be appropriate for your customer base that requires a small part that would be delivered at least three business days prior to your current minimum UPS shipping option.

That's a good idea. I ordered a lot of stuff recently, including a set of interior door lock knobs...well, I thought it was a set. I only ordered 1 knob. Now there's no way I'm paying the normal shipping for something that weighs less than the envelope. So I'll wait until I need a bunch of stuff again.

[6TEE8GTO]

If I may offer some input, as an owner of a parts distribution warehouse?
Using a system where you charge shipping based off of dollar amount is bad idea. We sell some small interface boards that weigh less than a pound, yet can cost $200.00
If we charged a higher tier shipping cost simply because of the price of the item, people will move on and shop elsewhere. Also what people need to realize is that businesses that ship large products are facing a tremendous issue that started with the new year. Both FedEx and UPS got together and decided to start charging "dimensional weight" on packages that exceed a certain amount of cubic inches, regardless of actual weight. What this means is a package that Ames might have been able to ship to you in December of last year might have cost them $12.00, now costs as much as $25-$30! It's created a huge problem for many business people. We had to reprogram all of our shipping API's to properly calculate shipping costs. My son actually wrote a script that reports daily on every order we ship, showing the actual part numbers, the amount we paid for shipping and the amount the customer paid. We are able to see to the penny if we lost money, made money or broke even. It's helping us clean up some items that didn't calculate properly, perhaps because we did not enter the proper package size dimensions. It used to be that all you had to do when adding a new item to our store, we had to just enter the actual weight. Now you must enter the dimensions also, or else,you are in for a BIG surprise when you print that label! We offer our customers the ability to enter their shipping zip code and get price quotes on shipping from UPS, USPS and FedEx, and since January, many customers have opted for USPS. I'm sure the rep from AMES knows full well what I am talking about.
There may be some growing pains for them with the PY merger, as well as dealing with this collusion between FedEx and UPS. I would suggest they change their shipping model, or else people will look to other sources if they possibly can.... Not intending to step on any toes, it's just that I happen to be in this business (we do not sell automotive parts) and how you choose to price your shipping can have a tremendous impact on your business....

[abefromen]

Originally Posted by nhpontiac72

Ames Customer Service did offer you the option of USPS shipping for your order. I don't think they received a response.
The Ames Team

Because I ordered elsewhere.

Originally Posted by 6TEE8GTO

Using a system where you charge shipping based off of dollar amount is bad idea.

These days a tier type system is outdated and a great way to lose business.

[6TEE8GTO]

Originally Posted by abefromen

Because I ordered elsewhere.




These days a tier type system is outdated and a great way to lose business.

I think we are in agreement on that...

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by sixty8ragtop

Please consider offering USPS Priority Mail shipping options to all your customers. Small box Priority Mail flat rates are currently $5.75 at the Post Office, from $5.05 for Commercial Base and from $4.95 for Commercial Plus with tracking and insurance included. This would be appropriate for your customer base that requires a small part that would be delivered at least three business days prior to your current minimum UPS shipping option.

USPS on priority mail has lowered the standard included insurance amt to $50. A good 90% of what I shp is consideraby above the less than $50 range. So, lets say that the item you are shipping out is $99, that extra $50 worth of coverage through Priority mail is nearly an extra $3.00.:(

Don't get me started on the shysters @ OOPs. Heres a point to ponder, road diesel has dropped well over a dollar a gal since Sept. How about Oops and FedEx adjusting there rates downward... Oh, No we can't do that.

[jimib]

The annexation of PY or merging of the two companies or whatever it’s called has been a “slight” disappointment from my perspective. Over the past year and a half in to my ground-up resto and half completed, I have spent thousands on parts from PY. This earned me “zero” shipping cost and delivery times typically were four days (good post (14) by 6TEE8GTO above). This has now terminated. I recently bought an aluminum radiator from Ames (PY why didn’t have it before the merger) and shipping costs from Keene NH to Ft Lauderdale were $70, seems rather high but I’m no shipping expert. I ordered a 7-blade fan from Ames which was shipped 02/24/2015 and expected delivery (UPS page) will be 03/02/2015. Really, 9 days? I’ve had parts from California arrive quicker than that.

I still have a long way to go on my resto. Although I’m considering other restoration companies to complete my build, I do want to be objective and patient as the merging of the two companies may be a bumpy road at first. As for professional and well-mannered customer service; I think Ames does a fine job in this regard.

[jimib]

Correction to my post above; I forgot there are 28 days in Feb; therefore 6 days for shipping, not 9 as I previously said.

[6TEE8GTO]

It's probably somewhat off-topic, but it is worth mentioning. Our FedEx rep took my wife and I out to dinner and wanted to know why our volume has dropped like a rock with them, and I told her straight-up: You guys have shot yourselves in the foot with this "demensional weight" thing and you might want to re-think this policy. We are able to save our customers and ourselves a lot of money with USPS. We went from filling a full FedEx truck every day to only a 1/4 full, and now USPS sends TWO trucks to our dock daily, plus we are getting a better discount on our commercial USPS rates due to the high volume. Hopefully this is happening to them on a national scale and they decide to change this cash-grab policy they decided to force on businesses...