When I first started working on my own cars, I did most of my business with a small independent jobber that carried name-brand parts and catered to service professionals. If I needed a part on a Sunday or wanted something cheaper, I had another option. They sold stuff that today might be considered appearance or specialty items, such as chrome exhaust tips, Hollywood glasspacks, babymoon hubcaps and floor mats.
They also covered hard parts with things such as oil filters for less than $1, motor oil – both virgin and re-refined – and a lot of stuff by manufacturers that I had never heard of in plain white boxes. The place reminded me of a walk-in version of the catalogs I used to get in the mail from those discounters that sold everything for every vehicle ever built in the last 75 years. That store is long gone. I don't remember a whole lot of other discount parts houses back then, so I'm not sure how unique the place really was. But it was always an interesting trip when I went.
What brought it back to mind was a simple request for brake parts. I was asked for a complete set of brakes, drums, rotors, hardware, and wheel cylinders for a 1986 Celebrity wagon. Not only was it all in stock, we had four grades of friction material and a choice of premium brand-name drums, rotors, hydraulics and hardware, and it was all available in the value-priced line. Not bad, considering General Motors stopped using that brake setup in 1991. It's also something that I don't think I could have offered in my store when I started back in 1983.
Being an independent jobber can be a pretty rough road to travel. Being an independent jobber without some sort of group affiliation these days has almost certainly got to be the road to ruin. Belonging to a group such as Parts Plus or NAPA brings with it an identity as well as buying power, and a big part of that identity is group-branded parts.
While many of these parts are top-quality, name-brand items, many are not. I don't mean to say that company-or group-branded parts are inferior or not up to the job they were designed for, but there are differences. What can be difficult to explain, however, is why a premium brake rotor that sells for $50 can be replaced with one that sells for $9.98.
Trying to play up quality can give consumers the impression that the less expensive parts are junk, while playing up price can make it look like you overcharge for the premium line. Sometimes the whole concept can be hard for a customer to understand, especially on something as seemingly one dimensional as a brake rotor. They're both round and made of iron; both will fit the vehicle. So how much different can they be, right?
Today's consumers have become accustomed to being offered choices in price and quality levels in almost everything they buy. The idea of "good-better-best" or store brand-vs.-nationally known brand has become ingrained in most consumers' buying consciousness.
Having it all in one store means I stand a 50 percent better chance of making the sale than the two stores I used to deal with when I was younger. I now get to wear both the hats that they did, 'Brand Name' and 'Catalog,' usually at the same time.
The only thing I'm having trouble with though is finding a wolf whistle horn for my '31 Ford. I just can't seem to find a listing for it anywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
MIKE GORDON is a 20-year counter sales veteran who works at Sanel Auto Parts, Concord, NH. In addition, Gordon writes a monthly opinion column for Aftermarket Business magazine, a sister publication of Motor Age that serves the aftermarket wholesale and retail distribution sector.
