Beware BFY obsolete parts

To anyone looking for VW parts on the net I do not recommend BFY
Obsolete Parts. I have ordered from them several times in the past for
my 63 and never had a problem, this time though was a pretty bad
experience. Placed an order back in September to rewire my 68, didnt
hear anything back for a week so I called and was told some items were
back ordered but they had the wire harness, I asked them to go ahead
and ship the harness so I could get started, they did so and I was
told the only other thing outstanding was the hood cable sheath and
that it would be in "next week".
Over the past 5 weeks I have called and asked for status, still no
sheath, last week I called and spoke to the owner and was told all
that was outstanding was the fuse block and that he would have it
tomorrow and ship my order, called back the next day and was told the
sheath was still back ordered, spoke to the owner again and instructed
him to cancel anything that was outstanding and ship the items they
had. 4 days later, today I called and canceled the entire order, I
will be looking for a refund in the next 24 hours or I will be
contacting my credit card company to report fraud. I was a dickweed
for letting it go on this long but thought others should be aware that
what they tell you about your order cannot be trusted.
There is a huge thread on Samba about the same experiences others are
having,
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/vie...ht=bfy&start=0
Wish I had seen that before I ordered. Something is going on at that
company.
Good news story is I turned around and ordered the same stuff from
Wolfsburg West at 4PM PST, at 5:58PM I got a fedex tracking number and
the package is already on the way, I selected standard shipping. Night
and day difference between the two companies.

Yep, BFY has some seriously bad mojo going on right now. I wonder what
happened to them, they used to be pretty good. Apparently they like to
lie about what's in stock. If you read that whole Samba thread (or at
least the last 5 or 6 pages) it is starting to smell like a sinking
ship. Don't think I would gamble with my money to find out. In this
day and age if you can't provide an automated tracking number for
internet purchases you really are in the bush league. Think I'll stick
with the reputable sellers. Hell, even if you got lucky and received
your purchase in a timely fashion you'd be supporting people that are
screwing other VW enthusiasts. I'll pass.

On Oct 29, 11:47*pm, Leopold Stotch > wrote:
> Yep, BFY has some seriously bad mojo going on right now. *I wonder what
> happened to them, they used to be pretty good. *Apparently they like to
> lie about what's in stock. *If you read that whole Samba thread (or at
> least the last 5 or 6 pages) it is starting to smell like a sinking
> ship. *Don't think I would gamble with my money to find out. *In this
> day and age if you can't provide an automated tracking number for
> internet purchases you really are in the bush league. Think I'll stick
> with the reputable sellers. *Hell, even if you got lucky and received
> your purchase in a timely fashion you'd be supporting people that are
> screwing other VW enthusiasts. *I'll pass.

Unfortunately i had a bad experience as well. I ordered 2 bumpers for
my 73 super at the end of May 08. They immediately charded my credit
card for them. A month later, no bumpers, so i called. They got back
to me a few days later and told me there was a hold on a part i had on
the order, and if i wished to delete that item they could get the
bumpers out right away. I agreed to this. Another month passed, no
bumpers, so i left another message. Same result. I finally received
them the end of September, BUT THEY CHARGED ME FOR THEM AT THE END OF
MAY! That was poor business practice.....they could have kept me
updated via email or anything and all would have been well. Heck, if
i did not keep calling them I bet i still would not have my order.

Leopold Stotch wrote:
> Yep, BFY has some seriously bad mojo going on right now. I wonder what
> happened to them, they used to be pretty good. Apparently they like to
> lie about what's in stock. [...]

Hold on a second. It is quite possible that the source for certain
quality ACVW parts has hit the economic wall where scarcity has kicked
in and all retailers will have trouble.

For years I purchased from John at aircooled.net and, of course, all
went very well, but even John is having trouble finding at least one
part that I desperately need. It has been back-ordered for at least four
months, probably longer.

So maybe it is time to re-evaluate what's happening for the makers of
relatively low-demand, high-quality parts.

Stephanie of aircooled.net shared this excellent explanation with me.

"Due to the age of the vehicles that we supply parts for, and the fact
that the parts for aircooled VWs in many cases are no longer
manufactured by the original company that supplied them, it is
unfortunately common for items to become difficult to acquire and/or no
longer available, and then at some point suddenly become available
again. We do our best to provide ongoing "acquisition service" for
customers who are in need of the items, but we are not always
successful. -- Stephanie, aircooled.net"

We have entered the real of scarcity!

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:14:55 +0100, John J > wrote:

> Leopold Stotch wrote:
>> Yep, BFY has some seriously bad mojo going on right now. I wonder what
>> happened to them, they used to be pretty good. Apparently they like to
>> lie about what's in stock. [...]
>
> Hold on a second. It is quite possible that the source for certain
> quality ACVW parts has hit the economic wall where scarcity has kicked
> in and all retailers will have trouble.
>
> For years I purchased from John at aircooled.net and, of course, all
> went very well, but even John is having trouble finding at least one
> part that I desperately need. It has been back-ordered for at least four
> months, probably longer.
>
> So maybe it is time to re-evaluate what's happening for the makers of
> relatively low-demand, high-quality parts.
>
> Stephanie of aircooled.net shared this excellent explanation with me.
>
> "Due to the age of the vehicles that we supply parts for, and the fact
> that the parts for aircooled VWs in many cases are no longer
> manufactured by the original company that supplied them, it is
> unfortunately common for items to become difficult to acquire and/or no
> longer available, and then at some point suddenly become available
> again. We do our best to provide ongoing "acquisition service" for
> customers who are in need of the items, but we are not always
> successful. -- Stephanie, aircooled.net"
>
> We have entered the real of scarcity!

And it is only going to get worse as the aircooled scene dwindles. In the
end you will only find resto parts made in very small quantities, by
dedicated individuals charging your gold fillings..

J.


--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:14:55 -0500, John J > wrote:

>Hold on a second. It is quite possible that the source for certain
>quality ACVW parts has hit the economic wall where scarcity has kicked
>in and all retailers will have trouble.
>
>For years I purchased from John at aircooled.net and, of course, all
>went very well, but even John is having trouble finding at least one
>part that I desperately need. It has been back-ordered for at least four
>months, probably longer.

That's understood, but it shouldn't be difficult to indicate on such
retail websites when an item is in stock or if it must be ordered. If it
must be ordered there really should be a way for the customer to check the
status of the order - still searching, long wait, whatever. Just some
simple automated feedback goes a long way.
--
Michael Cecil
http://macecil.googlepages.com/index.htm
1970 VW Beetle "Millennium Sparrow"

I have had good experiences with cip1.com.
But I have never ordered a GEX engine or an Empi carb from them.
I have been warned to avoid these manufacturers.
I have had some delays with the smaller online companies.
I am going to keep my '73 Beetle until the bitter end even if I mostly
use it for going to the grocery on weekends.

"Michael Cecil" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:14:55 -0500, John J > wrote:
>
>>Hold on a second. It is quite possible that the source for certain
>>quality ACVW parts has hit the economic wall where scarcity has kicked
>>in and all retailers will have trouble.
>>
>>For years I purchased from John at aircooled.net and, of course, all
>>went very well, but even John is having trouble finding at least one
>>part that I desperately need. It has been back-ordered for at least four
>>months, probably longer.
>
> That's understood, but it shouldn't be difficult to indicate on such
> retail websites when an item is in stock or if it must be ordered.

True. At aircooled.net the part is still shown as "Usually Ships: same or
next day".
It ain't available. It should say that.

> >Hold on a second. It is quite possible that the source for certain
> >quality ACVW parts has hit the economic wall where scarcity has kicked
> >in and all retailers will have trouble.
>
> >For years I purchased from John at aircooled.net and, of course, all
> >went very well, but even John is having trouble finding at least one
> >part that I desperately need. It has been back-ordered for at least four
> >months, probably longer.
>

Understand the scarcity issue but I don't think scarcity has anything
to do with this. I found the same parts at other sites within 5
minutes and those sites actually said whether the items were in stock
or not. It is basic customer service to inform you if something is
going to have a really long lead time, and why hold up 10 other items
you have in stock because of one thing you cant get? After the
customer has asked you not to? or give two different stories about
what they were waiting for. Something is up with that company. In this
case it is probably more likely that many suppliers are no longer
willing to do business with them if they treat them the same as paying
customers. If you review the last few pages of the samba thread, it is
a pattern of behavior that started in the last year or so.

On Oct 29, 10:03*pm, wrote:
> To anyone looking for VW parts on the net I do not recommend BFY
> Obsolete Parts. I have ordered from them several times in the past for
> my 63 and never had a problem, this time though was a pretty bad
> experience. Placed an order back in September to rewire my 68, didnt
> hear anything back for a week so I called and was told some items were
> back ordered but they had the wire harness, I asked them to go ahead
> and ship the harness so I could get started, they did so and I was
> told the only other thing outstanding was the hood cable sheath and
> that it would be in "next week".
> *Over the past 5 weeks I have called and asked for status, still no
> sheath, last week I called and spoke to the owner and was told all
> that was outstanding was the fuse block and that he would have it
> tomorrow and ship my order, called back the next day and was told the
> sheath was still back ordered, spoke to the owner again and instructed
> him to cancel anything that was outstanding and ship the items they
> had. 4 days later, today I called and canceled the entire order, I
> will be looking for a refund in the next 24 hours or I will be
> contacting my credit card company to report fraud. I was a dickweed
> for letting it go on this long but thought others should be aware that
> what they tell you about your order cannot be trusted.
> There is a huge thread on Samba about the same experiences others are
> having,http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/vie...postdays=0&pos...
> Wish I had seen that before I ordered. Something is going on at that
> company.
> Good news story is I turned around and ordered the same stuff from
> Wolfsburg West at 4PM PST, at 5:58PM I got a fedex tracking number and
> the package is already on the way, I selected standard shipping. Night
> and day difference between the two companies.

I've never had a problem with them but the last order seems to be
taking a long time. One part is fairly rare and, after I asked about
the status, was told it wasn't in stock. The second item was going to
be shipped separately so I could keep going but haven't seen that yet
either.
It will arrive eventually - there's no doubt in my mind.

Regardless, I'll cut them slack and continue to support them because
they took care of me before and would hate to see them close their
doors.