Paying Steve Young

[Wotto]

Can it get ANY bloody harder !
 

GREAT supplier of Gottlieb parts but man he needs to put the T model Ford in the garage and step into this century 

[goodolddays]

Yeah .. it annoys me every time I have to pay for an order .. go to the credit union  , pay $20 something for a bank draft and then the postage to mail it, but with mostly old EM's in my collection I don't have much choice and his prices are really good, especially with the $ like it is now.

[Strangeways]

The most common question to PBR - "Why can't you list all your parts on a website and have a cart system like everyone else ?"

Simple - They have 100,000s of parts, and they would be spending all their time taking photos etc. Then they would not be able to process orders and speak to customers on the phone.

The International payment is a problem that is fairly easy to work with. I have credit at PBR - I go to the bank, write up a cheque for over US$1000 ish (whatever I have left over for parts). Costs me $30 to write the cheque, post it off to PBR and I can order without worrying about paying and invoice. With the US$ close to parity, there's no better time to order GTB parts etc. If you don't need anything, then the value is there once the dollar drops again.

[Creech]

He should just accept PayPal payments with an extra 3% fee added to make up for the $$$ PayPal skim off the top.

[Wotto]

I have NO issue with a ( say ) $20ish fee for moner orders etc.

Trouble is they dont do money orders anymore ( because EVRYONE uses Paypal the PO told me - go figure hey - it IS 2010  )
So I try Auctionchex - that Steve suggests - trouble is THEY operate in GBP - so you have to work out your order value in GBP- convert THAT to US - convert THAT to Aussie and it is HIGHLY confusing.
So I guess it is  off to the bank to buy a bank draft?

If I get an email from PBR stating I havent paid yet - I will BLOW UP LARGE       as I have Been TRYING to pay from within one hour of recieving the parts 1 week ago.

There is NO need to 'cart' it all - therefore requiring a website revamp.
Why cant he just tell you to PAY the invoice amount via Paypal  I would HAPPILY pay the 3+% fee
It is NOT HARD  - I can personally offer to accept Paypal for ANYTHING I sell privatley if I wish to.

Oh - and then there is that other thing - what is it again.......it's been around since the 60's - A CREDIT BLOODY CARD 


If the guy had some foresight and accepted these payments his business MAY double - he could then spend on someone to upgrade his website and who knows - it MAY double up again 

[millsy]

Agree Wotto
All they have to do is open a PayPal account & add link to page - Takes about 10mins

[Caveoftreasures]

If u dont make it easy for the customer , then the customer will not come back or shop with you.$

As someone says, he needs to move into this century. Not listing your stock properly cause its too hard, is not good enough. Some people are great at working in a business, but should never run a business.

Perhaps this fellow shld look at Marco Spec, Bay Area and Mark C (PSP) to see how it is done professionally. !  

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Maybe the guy is happy with his bussiness the size it is
Maybe the international buyer is a PITA with the extra paperwork anyway

[Strangeways]

If u dont make it easy for the customer , then the customer will not come back or shop with you.$

As someone says, he needs to move into this century. Not listing your stock properly cause its too hard, is not good enough. Some people are great at working in a business, but should never run a business.

Perhaps this fellow shld look at Marco Spec, Bay Area and Mark C (PSP) to see how it is done professionally. !  

I don't think you have ever dealt with PBR to form that opinion, Brett. No doubt PBR move much more stock using their "old methods" than the others put together. PBR have been around MUCH longer than the others, and their stock level far surpasses everyone else. You WON'T FIND EM or SS parts as easily as the others. You WON'T be able to call up other vendors and discuss parts / assemblies. Try ringing up the others with an obscure part - I know what they say "If it ain't on the website, we don't have it". Give PBR a Part Number from any manual, and the chances are always higher that they either have the part, or a substitute. If they don't have that part - they will pass you on to someone that can help.

BTW - PBR SUPPLY all those other Business' - Just thought I'd mention that.

Marco spec are easily the worst to deal with. Overpriced shipping, parts are MUCH more expensive and their "packing" leaves a lot to be desired - they ALWAYS place all the parts in a box that is too big - so they can charge you more. Always a last resort, and very unprofessional.

BAA are MUCH better on all fronts, but still more expensive.

No one compares to the service of PBR. If you get sent the wrong or defective part, they immediately send you the replacement. I agree - that if you need to order $50 worth of parts, $30 for a bank draft is a bit steep. That's why I ordered over $500 for EVERY order I ever make.

I've bought over $10,000 worth of parts over the years and dealt with all the USA suppliers. My experience has been that I prefer customer relations and honesty, to being able to tick boxes and enter credit card details only to find that things are wrong, overpriced or missing.

Ironically, people always whinge about paypal - but it is VERY convenient when we want to buy parts   and then there are problems with fees and of course they are 2-3 cents LESS than the exchange rate  

I believe PBR had some issues with paypall fraud or something similar years ago - might be on RGP, but I'm sure there is a very good reason that they don't use paypal.

PBR (Steve Young) is one of the pioneers in restoration parts - he has been there longer and will be around when Marco's, BAA etc are gone.

[ddstoys]

That's the best way order truckloads of parts then the $20 for the draft is minimal.  Still a pain getting to a bank  when your working but pbr understand this.   Couldn't get to a bank for over a fortnight one order sent them an email to let them know and they were fine with it.

I must start building up a new pbr order one of these days

[pinnies4me]

I'm lucky, I can get a bank draft in US at decent exchange rates from Bendigo Bank for $8.00, and $2.00 postage. I'm pretty sure I make that $10.00 over any of the other suppliers mentioned here on any order. If you have a Bendigo Bank nearby might be worth a try.

[Retropin]

Yes, paying PBR is not as straight forward as paying most places. Steve doesnt trust online payments and i dont blame him.. too many scammers. Yep he is a bit old school and YOU the recipient of the goods have to work that little bit harder to pay him.
But lets not forget that once you have set up your account ( which takes 1 order - the first order) and have your account number, you can order parts and they will be sent out BEFORE you have even been to the local Western Union outlet or visited your bank. My parts often arrive before ive sent the cheque off.
He also has parts that noone else has or would even want because they would not sell enough to warrant the stock and lets also not forget that the postage costs for a PBR order are exactly what it costs him to ship. In fact he will quote you AFTER he has made up the box and weighed it so he can be precise in his charging.
Without PBR, many machines would just not  be restored... who else makes NEW woodrails for 50's machines? Who has all moulds made for new bumper caps? In fact i wanted "star burst" caps but in a different colour to what was available. Once i had shown Steve that these were in fact an original colour, he had them specially made for me!

I often feel that Steves attitude to getting paid is that if he cant see it or touch it then he cant be 100% sure that its there.... must admit, i wholeheartedly sympathise with this approach

[ddstoys]

Wow outstanding service made up custom color caps for you that's awsome.   And your spot on Gav. Brand new ciggie holders for woodrails and practically gives them away.   

[Wotto]

Yep- never said anything was wrong with his service or parts 

[Boots]

I have NO issue with a ( say ) $20ish fee for moner orders etc.

Trouble is they dont do money orders anymore ( because EVRYONE uses Paypal the PO told me - go figure hey - it IS 2010  )
So I try Auctionchex - that Steve suggests - trouble is THEY operate in GBP - so you have to work out your order value in GBP- convert THAT to US - convert THAT to Aussie and it is HIGHLY confusing.
So I guess it is  off to the bank to buy a bank draft?

If I get an email from PBR stating I havent paid yet - I will BLOW UP LARGE       as I have Been TRYING to pay from within one hour of recieving the parts 1 week ago.

There is NO need to 'cart' it all - therefore requiring a website revamp.
Why cant he just tell you to PAY the invoice amount via Paypal  I would HAPPILY pay the 3+% fee
It is NOT HARD  - I can personally offer to accept Paypal for ANYTHING I sell privatley if I wish to.

Oh - and then there is that other thing - what is it again.......it's been around since the 60's - A CREDIT BLOODY CARD 


If the guy had some foresight and accepted these payments his business MAY double - he could then spend on someone to upgrade his website and who knows - it MAY double up again 

Got to agree.
I have purchased smaller orders elsewhere just to avoid the hassle with western union payments.
Even though his prices are better, with smaller orders the Western Union fee makes his price around the same as others who accept Paypal.
You are all right, he does have a good stock and good prices but he is missing out on orders by not having Paypal.