Why the fuck do "auto parts store" not stock auto parts

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>>16808541
go to a different store
also try calling and asking on the phone b4 wasting your time and gas

>why cant a mcdonalds size store house all the parts for every car ever
gee man beats me

>>16808541
Rockauto
I'm a parts manager at a dealership. The last time in needed struts for my DD rockauto had KYB's for $30 a piece lower than what I could get locally with a discount. I use four different auto parts stores depending on what i need. I have the guy whose the closest & gets me stuff quick. I have another place a few towns over who are rock stars with technical stuff & overall knowledge. I have another place that are the last real local rebuilders of starters & alternators. My last guy is a A/C Delco & Mopar warehouse who gives me 10% over dealer net for factory parts.

>>16808541
>Why the fuck do "auto parts store" not stock auto parts anymore?

It's because of chinese parts resellers being online. Stocking items that aren't regular hot sellers becomes a waste of money because the customer will probably go online instead of buying it at the store.

Another problem stores have is faux customers. These people come in and use the store to check the part out in person. After verifying it is what they want, they then give some excuse to not buy it. Then they go online and buy it, thus duping the store into being the real life parts catalog for the online site.

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>>16808541
>walk into auto parts store for american cars in iceland
>ask how much a drive shaft coupler costs
300$ each and takes a month to ship
just got them for 40$ at summit and it arrived 4 days later

>>16808541
>company building my moped doesn´t exist since 15 years ago
>still get every single part of it from differen companys
feels good man

>>16808541
>Why the fuck do "auto parts store" not stock auto parts anymore?

They do stock a lot of things, but not all at one location because of competition from online sellers. The auto parts CHAIN stores do stock the most popular items that sell and send for parts from other stores in the chain. But niche items come from a regional warehouse or another chain entirely.

>>16808541
>Do you think I am too retarded to order the shit for cheaper from Amazon myself?

It's because of your (and others) attitude of buying online that retail storefronts don't stock things. If you want retail stores to carry things and the price difference is only a small amount, then buy it from the local store.

>>16808541
>Why the fuck do "auto parts store" not stock auto parts anymore?
I bet they lost over 80% of their consumables and oil/filter customers to shops like walmart and other online sellers. With the lack of spare profits, the stores cannot afford to take chances with their other slower selling inventory. And for that slower selling inventory, they certainly lost a lot of customers to online sellers such as amazon, rockauto, and other sellers.

>>16808541
Know your car you fucking idiot.

If you have an 80-00's american or japanese shit box or truck then they'll have the parts, and if not on hand than another store will, or their warehouse does.
You can get it within a few hours time.

If you have an odd ball classic or exotic car of course they won't have your meme aftermarket parts.

>>16808541
>Why the fuck do "auto parts store" not stock auto parts anymore?
They do. They just need a runner to get it from their local warehouse. You cannot demand that each and every individual franchise location stock the entire full line of every auto product ever made. That is a highly immature and self-centered attitude toward practical business.

>>16817439

Still though, why have an auto parts store that has all of 10,000 square feet of storage space to keep parts stock on hand? They can stock the most basic shit, sure, and maybe some basic maintenance bits for the top 20 most popular cars ever sold for a handful of model years, but beyond that, no matter what they'll have to order it because they just don't have the space.

Electrical suppliers have it figured out better. They have one counter, maybe 500 sq. ft. of lobby space, and the rest of the building is all warehouse. You need something, they have it. If you need something really odd, like cadweld molds for round pipe to 500 mcm copper, they can get it next day. None of this waiting a week crap. Even 500' of tinned copper 1/0 came next day, and for that one the supplier had to split the reel into two chunks so it met the weight requirement for overnight shipping.

Really, auto parts stores cater mainly to shops, which don't mind waiting on parts for 3 days, since the shop can charge you storage for the car while it's there, and the owner has no option but to wait anyway.

For hobbyists, the best bet is always going to be plan ahead and order online. It's cheaper, easier, and the part always shows up on time.

>>16817480
>For hobbyists, the best bet is always going to be plan ahead and order online. It's cheaper

If the part is within a few dollars or whatever my whimsical tolerance is for that item, I will buy it through a local storefront whenever possible. Many will lower their sales price if you show them the online competitor price. I do that because I want the storefront to continue surviving.

If enough storefronts disappeared, the online prices would go up and their quality would also go down. Free Market doesn't really work if ethics does not.

>>16817480
>Still though, why have an auto parts store that has all of 10,000 square feet of storage space to keep parts stock on hand?

The parts stores have all that storage space because there are lots of parts that are impractical to put out in the retail display space.

Those parts are small and subject to shoplifting or PARTS SUBSTITUTION where the customer brings a small part in and substitutes it for the new retail product. Other problems exist such as the customer moving price tags or even printing up UPC stickers and putting them over existing ones. Or the customer switches products inside the little cardboard boxes and thus gets an expensive Fram filter inside the cheap Wix filter box.

All my local auto parts stores, on the off chance they don't have the item I need, can and will request a transfer from the warehouse that will arrive either same day or the next day.

>>16808541
What kind of car do you have?

When I need parts for my Civic, my local store almost always has them. Or if they don't, they can get them the next day from another store or warehouse.

The parts you're looking for matter too. I needed a castle nut for my Prelude once, couldn't find a shop or even a Honda dealer in the state that had one. Closest was 4 hours away.

>>16818375
>All my local auto parts stores, on the off chance they don't have the item I need, can and will request a transfer from the warehouse

My local Les Schwab store hires senior citizens as runners. They come through a non-profit organization created to help poor senior citizens get a job for additional income. I suppose it's less efficient and more expensive, but some auto stores and chains want to be part of the community. Of course, that is probably due to Les Schwab's old policies too about being a good corporate citizen.