Funny I was thinking about this earlier. The stuff you see online vs. the stuff you actually receive,you really don't know if they are the same or not. I actually had a problem with a part purchased from Rockauto had a warranty problem,the warranty was denied,seems Rockauto isn't one of their vendors. So I either received a reboxed part,a counterfeit part ,a freight salvage part, doesn't mattet I didnt get the same part. My guess is counterfeit,because how can you get enough of a certain brand salvage to warant cataloging it. Doesn't matter I still got a defective part and couldn't go back in the store and exchange it. Now even if the.products are the same,how many people does O'Reilly have to hire and pay for delivery,stocking shelves,sweeping the floor , paying for the building,the whole deal. So you can walk in and usually get what you want the same day. Now how many auto.specific employees.do the mail order.places have to pay to be nationwide? How much does it cost Walmart to just pick and choose the easy stuff to add to their inventory. When we pick Wal Mart,and the internet as our primary supplier eventually they will be the only suppliers. Then what are you going to do when you need a fuel pump tonight to get to work tomorrow?O'Reilly and the like won't even be around to sell you fuel line, and guess what? Wal Mart doesn't carry fuel line. All the parts stores,that are truly brick and mortar parts stores have a way bigger cost to operate than mail order warehouses,or big box stores with . Seriously the parts store can't win,they can't compete.pricewise but if they.quit carrying silicone because you can.get it cheaper at walmart,you're going to be,who sells a water pump but no rtv. But no one questions who sells rtv,but no intake gaskets etc. They hire the cheapest labor they.can get in an effort to.keep the prices.down,thats why they don't have good parts guys. Keep using the parts stores last,soon there won't be any,and a whole lot of people will be.looking for new.jobs,maybe they'll want your job,and they'll do it for less. I cannot agree with the cheaper is better logic. Anyway Ive.said.my piece I worked at a great.mom and pop shop,employees that knew what they were doing and got.paid a fair wage,a full machine shop etc. guess what? They are gone!!! I can't hardly find a machine shop anymore. Even if the.boxes match,the Chineese can counterfeit anything,anytime I've bought something new on E.bay or Amazon I wonder is this the real deal? Or is this a copy?I'm sure I've been fooled before. Oh and FWIW I've worked at parts stores and the markup isn't anywhere near the example given somethings not right here somebody's getting a better WD price or selling overstock,blems,counterfeit somethings not right.
