[roy381]

Just want to vent! As we all know restoring these car can cause a bank account to scream.. But when you try to buy a just few screws ( and its only a few screws and plastic grommets) to install a dash cluster and the hardware kit costs $5 and then our host wants $10 to ship them it pisses me off!

Thanks for listening enjoy your day!

[Jim Zeek]

then go to home depot and buy your screws or get a cheaper hobby. you people are a bunch of whiney ass crybabies. if you don't want to pay for shipping then pay them to find a smaller box and cheaper way to ship it. your gonna pay one way or another. people pissing and moaning about shipping pisses me off.

[roy381]

Hey Jim that's exactly what I'm going to do! I never said I didn't want to pay for shipping I said there shipping price was ridicules for a few screws. Appropriate shipping cost is good business and I won't pay out of principle. And no I won't find a cheaper hobby I love restoring my car. You must be wealthy enough that paying over priced shipping doesn't bother you. Well for me I don't have a money tree in in the back yard and I work hard for my money. Oh yeah nice job on the name calling if that makes you feel good have at it. I think you a JERK OFF and you PISS ME OFF!

Have a nice day

[Heybuck]

Originally Posted by roy381

Just want to vent! As we all know restoring these car can cause a bank account to scream.. But when you try to buy a just few screws ( and its only a few screws and plastic grommets) to install a dash cluster and the hardware kit costs $5 and then our host wants $10 to ship them it pisses me off!

Thanks for listening enjoy your day!

We all have to look at the bigger picture. Running a business is loaded with costs. Packing a few screws takes the same time and effort as it does to pack 100 screws. Or even a much larger order.

It takes the same amount of time to generate a shipping label no matter what size is the order. Takes the same time to get it to the shipper.

And someone has to pay for all that. Honestly, I think a $10.00 minimum shipping charge is not unreasonable. Calling it "Price Gouging" is going a bit far.

Jim Zeek might have been fairly blunt in his response (and you could hardly be called polite in your reply), but he's right in that sometimes we need to look at the alternatives when we need small and triffling items.

JMHO

[roy381]

My reply was not so polite as I took offense to the name calling by Mr. Zeek. My intention of the thread was to express my opinion. Not to start a war of words. This is the Ames customer satisfaction forum and I was expressing my dissatisfaction..

Thanks again!

[AMES-TECH]

Originally Posted by Heybuck

We all have to look at the bigger picture. Running a business is loaded with costs. Packing a few screws takes the same time and effort as it does to pack 100 screws. Or even a much larger order.

It takes the same amount of time to generate a shipping label no matter what size is the order. Takes the same time to get it to the shipper.

And someone has to pay for all that. Honestly, I think a $10.00 minimum shipping charge is not unreasonable. Calling it "Price Gouging" is going a bit far.

Jim Zeek might have been fairly blunt in his response (and you could hardly be called polite in your reply), but he's right in that sometimes we need to look at the alternatives when we need small and triffling items.

JMHO

Heybuck said it well and even so we always try to accommodate the best we can by offering postal shipping when possible which saves a couple dollars. If you want you can PM me your invoice number and I can review your order for you.

[lfdsteve]

I just ordered 20 1/8 aluminum cable stops(edit, dif vendor) . Arrived at my door in 4 days in a small brown padded envelope marked 2.35 shipping. I get that there are “associated costs “ will all orders big and small but in this case I’m with the OP (so probably against most of the minions as I know Ames is God). A bit “excessive “ on the mark up.
That being said, if people continue to “give” people will continue to “take”. Thats the good, and bad side of capitalism. Express your opinion here on line, then back it up by shopping elsewhere. The message will be received if enough people send it.

[nashcar]

It's the cost of being in business. How many people do they employ just for shipping? How much should they be paid? Should minimum wage be a living wage? A lot of expense involved, unless you're an employer these things are never thought of.

[tom s]

Most biz just cant afford to stock every envelop or box to be just the right size for the product.I have received merch in boxes that are 3 times bigger than necessary.The smallest USPS if it fits it ships box is $7, I trust it a lot more than a padded envelop for most small items.Tom

[Sirrotica]

If you have never owned a business, you should try it, everyone should own a business for at least a couple years while on this earth. You will then have a much different abstract of what a business owner and management team goes through day in day out.

Pleasing customers is job one, but there are some customers that are next to impossible to make happy. Losing money, or not making enough, is a real concern, and if you're going to be around for any length of time in any business you have to strike the balance and keep it on the profit end. That's tougher than it sounds, believe me.

There are going to be times that customers feel they are being taken advantage of because maybe at some time they have been on the receiving end of a less than scrupulous business. Ames has this sounding board because the want to retain their customers and try to keep a good reputation in this hobby. They already provide the best Pontiac forum in the world for no charge, sponsor a huge Pontiac event each August, so somewhere along the lines of the they have to make enough to give back to the hobby.

I'm retired now and have to watch my money more so than I did while I was working so I appreciate people on tight budgets. I'm not condoning excessive shipping costs, but put yourself in their shoes for a second and get a perspective of what the owners deal with and how they really make an effort to return the favor to the people who do business with them over the years.

"You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time", good and true adage. The people that fall through the cracks is why Ames has this section of the forum to try to get as near 100% as possible, not all businesses have a section for customers to level criticism at them, better businesses do want to know how they're doing in the customers eyes.

C Cass as well as Steve Ames have been in the Pontiac resto parts business for years, they have made a living at it as well as bringing the Pontiac faithful together. They or their companies aren't perfect, but they do strive to make customers happy as much of the time as possible. As a former business owner I believe they have done a pretty good job at it as they have made it their life's work, both have passed the torch on, but their philosophy is still alive. I'm done, carry on.

[Chief of the 60's]

The OP should be complaining to the shippers not the seller. The seller has no control over what the shipping crooks charge. I had a fender to a Fiero sold for $40.00 to a guy in Arizona. The box was 13 lbs. and UPS wanted $196.00 to ship. Needless to say the buyer passed and I didn't blame him one bit.

In the same token, you cannot expect a $5.00 sale where the seller may be making $1.00 to ship for free.

Like mentioned, go to Home Depot or place a bigger order.

[GruntedCatalina]

honestly, Im a home depot guy. can usually care less where my hardware comes from. just the cheapest bet. I MEAN WAS. honestly been doing it for years since, i was 15 putting together a car. Its always a nightmare. id rather pay the shipping and get the right stuff nowadays. I always chalk it up to the deal with the beast. you wont ever get a good deal, its just something you always gotta deal with. ****, i remember when i got charged 15 dollars shipping and handling because they were loose bolts and needed special attention to keep them together.

[steve v]

There's also a cost involved in going to Home Depot to pick up that $5.00 worth of hardware.

My truck will take $6.00 worth of gas to get there and back and there's the wear & tear on everything. After searching thru their bins @ HD you'll find they only have 5 screws & you need 10 so now it's off to Lowes to see what they have in stock. Then the chance that some idiot will back into your truck or let their shopping cart roll into your door while parked there is pretty high.

While you're standing in line waiting to pay your $5 for the hardware and the guy in front of you has two dozen or more plumbing fittings with each one being scanned individually....... you soon realize that $10.00 charge to have it shipped right to your door isn't really that bad.

[tom s]

I was at the PO today,the small padded envelope was $6 to mail and the small box was $7 to mail.Take your pic.You can bet when a CO. does free shipping someone is paying for it somewhere.No free lunch.Tom

[roy381]

Although I have bought many parts through them unfortunately I have soured on there customer service. I recently purchased a couple cans of spray paint from them. Of the two cans one sprayed fine while the other would spray blotches. I called there cs dept. and the tech all bud told me I didn't know how to use a can of spray paint and insinuating I was lying to get another can. After 15 minutes of several times being asked did you shake the can are you holding it back far enough did you clean the nozzle, I had enough. I said I just spent $25 each with shipping for the paint I will return the paint on my own dime so you can see the problem. Only after that he reluctantly said they would send me another can but not without an attitude.

My original post was to vent about the price of shipping. And maybe I should have looked at the big picture. But as you see I'm not a fan of their cs dept. as well.

Once again just venting

Thanks

[burd]

I'm a tradesman, I still use Lumberyards, and a good hdwr store, those places sell junk.
One day I was there when the store opened to grab something for a job, it was next to Starbucks, only reason I went, my coffee dumped on the floor, a guy showed up w/ a mop, how did you kow I said? He said we were watching you on camera. I said why don't you show up when I'm on a goose chase here looking for something, or when the bin is empty?

[TransaxleTempest62]

I agree with Mr Zeek on all accounts, maybe you should have read the first couple of pages of the Ames catalog, it clearly tells you what to expect your shipping cost will be based on the amount of your order. They also state they do the best they can to keep shipping costs low.

If you were smart, you would have ordered more parts or even an Ames T-shirt to justify the shipping costs. The $10 charge is for $10-$50 order.

[AZ64GP]

I agree that shipping can seem excessive at times, especially when placing a small order. I do believe that Ames also ships very quickly which is advantageous too when trying to work on your project car. I live in AZ (other side of the country from Ames) and I'm surprised how quickly I receive my parts. I'll gladly pay an extra $4 or so if it means getting my parts in a few days compared to waiting a week or more. I'd rather pay the extra $4 for a small order and get my parts soon enough that I can get an extra day or two that week working on my car than saving the $4 and being able to enjoy my hobby less often as I wait for parts.

I try not to order 3 screws at a time from Ames, or from anywhere else for that matter. Unless I really need something and need it quick, I try to plan my purchases in groups if possible. I plan ahead and try to order whatever I think I may need for the next month or two, so I can place as large of an order as possible to avoid paying $10 to ship three screws.

[dataway]

Every small business has a somewhat different plan when it comes to shipping. Unfortunately for Ames they are in a business where they can ship anything from a single washer to a bumper or hood. Very hard to tailor an efficient shipping dept. in a small business when you have to deal with that kind of variability of size and weight.

With any business, always a good idea to review the shipping costs before hand if possible and tailor your order to get the most for your shipping costs. With Ames I always make sure I order enough product that it's worth it to me to spend the $10 on shipping. And it costs the same for me, as you, and I'm a two hour drive away.

And at least for me, I take into consideration their support of this forum whenever I shop there. That value will vary with how much time a person spends here, and how much they have learned here.

[Heybuck]

Well, I live about as far away from AMES as you can possibly get and I for one am totally supportive of their shipping and handling charges. In fact, I am staggered that anyone would have the temerity to order only 3 screws but from what I'm reading, I guess they accept and ship all orders no matter what is the value.

Every business has its good and not so good points. From what I have experienced and from what I read, in general terms the good at Ames outweighs the bad by a zillion miles. Sure, they might have someone who answers the phone and is rightly sceptical when a client complains about a missing inner fender seal or a paint can that farts and stops but that would be only because in the world we live, there are always opportunists seeking redress when the real fault might lay elsewhere.

I sympathise with the customer service people who have to handle these calls and handle them in a way that does not get the customer off-side yet not give too much away to the detriment of their employer. Can't be easy.

We should ALL be grateful for the fact that Ames exists for our hobby. I read too many negatives in this Ames Customer Satisfaction Forum and far too few people who take the effort to give them a pat on the back.

Ian