We FedEx parts that have to be ordered as part of our S.O.P. and simply include the cost into the price of the part. The vast majority of customers have absolutely no idea that we received a part NDA and take the quick turnaround for granted. It’s what’s working for us.
I grew wearisome of the 2-5 day hassle places and we avoid those vendors like the plague. However, especially with some dealer parts, they have to go through their system and even if we do opt-in for FedEx, they won’t drop ship it directly to us, they ship it to the dealer. By the time we get the part, the day is all but gone.
I’ve found that virtually every new car dealer is having SOMETHING FedEx’d in every day and we can often “piggyback” our order with a pre-existing NDA shipment and save a lot by splitting costs. Some of our local dealers have a flat $10 FedEx fee because they know they are going to have a FedEx order every single day and by combining orders, it’s even possible for the dealer to come out ahead, if there’s enough orders combined.
I shop vendors in this order:
1. Ease of doing business and service. (don’t keep me on the phone}
2. Quality.
3. Price.