It’s no secret that tuners have taken to the Web in their endless search for carbureted eye candy, but where exactly are they going, and how do parts distributors and retailers keep up with this activity?
One such place may be TunerBargains.com, a newly launched Web portal that serves as a commerce hub and aims at finding bargains for the discerning tuner. The site is ultimately geared toward the enthusiast, says Jake Dacillo, advertising program manager and one of the site’s founders.
“My intention was to create a resource center for tuners in that they’ll have a specific site to go to,” he says. “With so many vendors out there, it takes quite a bit of time. We’re not selling any products. We’re bringing forward special deals that vendors are offering.”
The fact that TunerBargains is not actually selling anything seems to be a misconception in the marketplace, Dacillo says. “The concept is pretty new and taking a lot of convincing that we are not actually selling products.”
Rather than some e-commerce hubs, which allow any willing vendor to peddle their wares, and others that have automated systems to connect buyers to sellers, TunerBargain’s staffers personally sort through vendor choices — some submitted to the site, others ferreted from other websites. “If the deal is a good deal then we’d like to share it,” he adds.
The site launched last October, and Dacillo claims the traffic is increasing at an exponential pace, with a ratio of 77 percent shoppers to 23 percent vendors.
Future plans for TunerBargains.com include a forum section so buyers and sellers can discuss their transactions.
Internet message forums are integral to the tuner community, asserts James Innes, vice president of GSC Motorsports, a Hilton Head, S.C.-based retailer that conducts most of its business online.
A number of manufacturers and distributors also advertise and interact on these forums, which are specialized to cater to enthusiasts of various make and model vehicles.
Along with finding out which parts are hot for which particular vehicle, forums also are a great place for installation tips, says Innes. “(If) someone’s out working on their car in the driveway, they can make a thread on the message board and get a response in 10 minutes,” he adds.
With message forums, consumers can sift through the waste that’s out there on the Web, says Innes. GSC can be found online at www.gscmotorsports.com.
Look for more tuner-related marketing information in our quarterly In Tune supplements this year.
