Serious price gouging in auto parts

In some discussions on another forum, it has come to light that the same
part (same manufactuter, same part number), both on-line and in the
brick-and-mortar stores, is either $18 *or* $45 depending in which zip
code you live in (the on-line catalog has you enter your zip code before
searching for parts).

It was originally noticed as a East Coast-West Caost difference, but one
of the guys on the forum did the search for the same part with two zip
codes 30 miles apart and found the $18 vs $45 difference. Dividing line
seems to be Kansas/Colorado.

I know that they are free to charge what they want to, but that's a 150%
difference. That makes no sense. Another example of MBA-think there?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Could you provide a link to the website so we can confirm/disprove your
claim?

 

Sure. I started with www.advanceautoparts.com. It redirects to
www.partsamerica.com when you start drilling down for parts.

Here's the page I originally drilled down to for the price with my zip
code (with the same price my local Advance store sells them to me for):
http://www.partsamerica.com/SelectP...+Bar+Link+Kit&destinationpage=SelectParts.asp.


Apparently, if you drill to the same part with other zip codes (west of
Kansas), you get the $45 price.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Wow... that is crazy! I can't think of any good reason why it would be set
up like that. I emailed the website asking why the price difference, so
I'll post here if I get a response.

 

Well, I think I figured it out. This page:
http://www.partsamerica.com/HelpCenterAboutUs.asp explains that
PartsAmerica.com is a "team" including Advance, Checker, Shuck's, and
Kragen. Also, they all appear to be different names that CSK Auto, Inc.
operates under in different parts of the U.S.:
http://www.cskauto.com/Terms.aspx.

Long story short, if you come in from the home page of the chain (i.e.,
Advance or Checker) that has stores in the zip code you punch in,
generally, you get the lower price. If you redirect to PartsAmerica
from a chain that is outside of the zip code that you punch in, then you
get the higher price. Except, for California zip codes, it seems you
always get the $45 price (couldn't find a Kragen home page, except for
one complete with a Kragen logo anbd slogan that has porn links and lots
of pop-ups).

It makes a little more sense now, but still pretty screwy.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

<In some discussions on another forum, it has come to light that the same
part (same manufactuter, same part number), both on-line and in the
brick-and-mortar stores, is either $18 *or* $45 depending in which zip
code you live in (the on-line catalog has you enter your zip code before
searching for parts).

It was originally noticed as a East Coast-West Caost difference, but one
of the guys on the forum did the search for the same part with two zip
codes 30 miles apart and found the $18 vs $45 difference. Dividing line
seems to be Kansas/Colorado.

I know that they are free to charge what they want to, but that's a 150%
difference. That makes no sense. Another example of MBA-think there?>

===============================================
to add to the posts:
I used to be a "wagon jobber", that translates to peddler in NJ during the
70's.
There were many interchangeable parts, such as ball joints, u joints,
ignition parts and so on.
BOP (buick, olds, pontiac) caddy and chevy all took the same ones in some
instances, but there were at least a 3 tier price list for them.
Of course caddy was the MOST EXPENSIVE, BOP next and of course CHEVY the
lowest. Then we got into the color of the sheet, from blue to gray and of
course discount from each one.
After doing this for many years, on the "wholesale level" there was no
bottom price! CASH, VOLUME, TIME OF MONTH (that is for 2% net 10) and
hitting a promised 100,000 spark plugs bought created a never ending place
to negotiate.
When I got to Oregon (da coast) and worked retail in a parts store, it was
hard to sell one fuse, explain how it works, where it goes, and then do the
paper work for the sale.
We did have "gypsy" parts OEM and OEM Original EQUIPMENT MFG and Original
Equivalency Mfg.
BTB DELCO was made by SES (springfield electronics) and you could get
anything made to your specs and boxed as you wanted.
Seems not much has changed BUT FOR CHINA supplying the CRAP now!

 

I got a response from PartsAmerica today and it almost agrees with you:

-------------------------------
PartsAmerica.com is affiliated with two auto part chains. CSK Auto is our
supplier on the west coast and Advance Auto is our supplier on the east
coast. Depending on your location will determine which auto part chain
supplies the part. Since they are two different companies the pricing may
or may not be different for the same product.