Disappointed with Mb Naperville (rant alert)

[Ian White]

Simply put their communication is lacking. The past few orders have been pending for a period about ten days before shipping. During this time, I have not received an update on shipping status, or if parts are needing to come from Deutschland, which would be understandable.

The free shipping is nice but recent test orders to MB Laredo have resulted in very short time to ship the order communication far superior. They recently contacted to inform me that some fasteners I ordered needed to come from overseas and gave me an accurate shipping estimate. That was awesome - the communication goes a long way.

With Naperville, no email and my emails/calls often don't get returned. I'm over them - perhaps time to structure a free shipping deal with MB Laredo instead. Hmmm....

 

[natejgreene9871]

For years I’ve alternated between mbpartscenter.com and mboemparts.com

I’ve been using mbpartscenter.com lately, I had a similar experience with mboem out of Naperville. Mbpartscenter is out of Scottsdale, I called them recently and they were very responsive and helpful.

 

[gerryvz]

Plenty of alternatives out there in terms of competitive pricing, and better communication. Personally, I haven't used Naperville for many years now (2018?).

 

[gsxr]

Naperville's claim to fame was reasonable prices AND ALSO free shipping on orders over $100. The customer service was ok until shortly before Bob left earlier this year... it's been pretty dismal since then. Right now, you cannot get free shipping without calling to talk to someone, because there's no place to enter the promo code during checkout. Allegedly their IT department is working on a fix to bring back the ability to enter a promo code. Until then, it's a manual process that requires talking to a live person during the order process.

Most other dealers using the now-ubiquitous RevolutionParts eCommerce platform have their sites set up to charge excessive S&H, like multiples of what it actually costs them to ship. It's not easy finding vendors that won't gouge on shipping. Naperville also has high shipping fees, but the promo code effectively erased them.

 

[natejgreene9871]

Naperville's claim to fame was reasonable prices AND ALSO free shipping on orders over $100. The customer service was ok until shortly before Bob left earlier this year... it's been pretty dismal since then. Right now, you cannot get free shipping without calling to talk to someone, because there's no place to enter the promo code during checkout. Allegedly their IT department is working on a fix to bring back the ability to enter a promo code. Until then, it's a manual process that requires talking to a live person during the order process.

Most other dealers using the now-ubiquitous RevolutionParts eCommerce platform have their sites set up to charge excessive S&H, like multiples of what it actually costs them to ship. It's not easy finding vendors that won't gouge on shipping. Naperville also has high shipping fees, but the promo code effectively erased them.

I was ordering something through mbpartscenter (Scottsdale) a couple weeks ago.
The shipping seemed really high so I called them inquiring. The guy on the phone said that sometimes the automatic dimensions in their system are wrong. He happily updated them live on the phone. I refreshed my cart on my computer and the shipping went from like $80 to $15. I don’t always think the price gouging is intentional. If something seems off just pick up the phone and they will make an adjustment.

 

[gsxr]

I was ordering something through mbpartscenter (Scottsdale) a couple weeks ago.
The shipping seemed really high so I called them inquiring. The guy on the phone said that sometimes the automatic dimensions in their system are wrong. He happily updated them live on the phone. I refreshed my cart on my computer and the shipping went from like $80 to $15.

This is 100% true! Certain items have incorrect dimensions. For example the coolant reservoir shows as $500 shipping at pretty much every online dealer. Definitely have to call and talk to someone so they can fix this.

I don’t always think the price gouging is intentional. If something seems off just pick up the phone and they will make an adjustment.

In cases like the one above, yes - that is an error due to wrong size/weight data. However, if you put the same few small parts into the cart at a dozen different online dealers, you may see S&H costs vary between about $10 and $50, when the actual cost to ship is closer to the $10 range. It takes a lot of research to find a few places with decent rates, then you hope they don't close up shop. MB of Beaverton OR, Stockton CA, and Birminham AL all shut down their online parts stores in the past few years.

 

[Alphasud40]

Often times when I order OE parts I will search the internet by part number and find a dealer with competitive pricing close to where I live. Especially for larger items. Most recent was a driveshaft purchase for a 13 Touareg. Definitely an oversize and expensive item to ship. Found a dealer in Ventura CA and shipping was only $40.

 

[Ian White]

Is there utility in attempting to negotiate a discounted/free shipping promo with another dealer?

 

[bclifton]

I was ordering something through mbpartscenter (Scottsdale) a couple weeks ago.
The shipping seemed really high so I called them inquiring. The guy on the phone said that sometimes the automatic dimensions in their system are wrong. He happily updated them live on the phone. I refreshed my cart on my computer and the shipping went from like $80 to $15. I don’t always think the price gouging is intentional. If something seems off just pick up the phone and they will make an adjustment.

mbpartscenter (MB of Scottsdale) is awesome Prices are just a bit higher than MB of Naperville, but the service is great and specific to me, it's local I can skip shipping and pick a "will call" option to pick it up (I think you still pay $10 for this though).

Lately, I've been working with MB of Chandler in person. Joe and George are both awesome - we can chat via email or phone without any issues. It's a bit more pricey though - no wholesale prices. But it's been worth every cent IMO... especially when it comes to some of the "dice rolling" purchases I used to do at online outlets (ex: you're not sure if it's the right part - but you're willing to guess and see what you get). They literally have taken all the guesswork out of those situations

I have noticed the MB of Naperville communication going downhill and I've replaced it with these local orders. There are some good folks there - but it's really hard not knowing when you will get something or if they even found it

 

[nocfn]

I put this out in other locations - But the Parts Manager retired unexpectedly a few months ago. Bob did well for us during his stint there. Many great relationships are either aging out or just moving on since the quality of replacement pools are shrinking. Societal issues, CODB/Salary required to attract folks with a level of personal pride in performance, let alone a standard that might be higher than their own is a real problem in all industry.

But, I would say that since I worked to get a relationship once, perhaps someone else will take the reins and pursue the .036 designation, our broader brotherhood of life owners of the 036 (and others) and the fact that many of us are multiple owners of classics and current models. In other words, we represent the wallet size that the brand is after. We expect premium service from a premium brand and my 10 year average parts purchase is around $3,800 with some years pushing the 10k mark. Free shipping on parts over $50 bux is a must for our forum so keep that in mind. When you couple that discount with the after market costs for much, it is cheaper and wiser to get free shipping for OE parts no doubt.

 

[gsxr]

Louis, I wasn't aware of the sales volume. Bob had told you that the forum averaged around $3800 per year over 10 years? I'm surprised it wasn't higher!

 

[nocfn]

No this was MY PERSONAL bill each year on average with 2 classics and one 2019 I bought with 6 miles.