Congratulations! You might just be the first dealership ever to have an owner appreciate all that internet sales can do when done right. You can tell them the potential but they just can't understand it until they see how much can be done. Good luck with this new venture.

 

Hopefully the new operation will see fit to ship to Canadian customers too.

 

I've ordered several parts from Gene/Jeromy at Fred Beans and never had a proble, including the body-colored handles and rear plate frame - took 5 days to receive, as promised. They have to order them from GM then GM drop ships them to you. I would call them directly (not email)at 610-495-1700.

PS: Bob at Ken Fichtner is also very good, just takes a while to ship from Montana to the East coast.

Good luck.

 

Congrats Gene!

As for being the first though, Performance Nissan in Duarte CA has been running an awesome online program for a couple of years now. Gene, it might be worth checking their site out, www.mynismo.com

 

FWIW, I ordered parts from Gene and it worked out fine (although l received the parts later than I thought, my fault for unreasonable expectations on special order, not Gene's performance). The prices are great and Gene answered the mail when I questioned him. I have no complaints and will use him again.

 

I've ordered eveything from oil filters to body parts from Beans and have had nothing but good experiences with them.

 

Eventhough our dollar does not worth that much...we pay twice for shipping, have to clear customs and wait longer we still like to spend our money down south

 

Couldnt be happier with Gene!!

 

Have placed several orders with Gene with no problems and received the parts within a few days. Gene has taken the time to search out the correct part numbers to make sure I was ordering what I really wanted. I would not hesitate to buy from Gene again.

 

Congrats Gene and Jeremy!!! Was my Silver Z06 spoiler ordered yet?

 

A couple of comments:

One, I have tried to deal with Gene on something I wanted to buy. At first he was very helpful. But then he did not respond to at least two, and I think three e-mails directly to him. I finally gave up and did not order (that was last August - September time frame).

Two, I have heard that it is not "proper" to charge a credit card before shipping. I don't claim to know if that is true or not, but I remember someone stating that in the past.

Three, I'd like a clarification - what does "direct ship" from GM mean? Does that mean that Beans does not stock it and must have it shipped in, or does it mean that GM ships it directly to the customer, and not to Beans (to be re-shipped to the customer)?

Thanks

 

I don't mean to get between you and Gene, but he was referring to parts NOT supplied by GM. He said:

"We run into problems with this because we sell more of these items that we can keep in stock. Then it becomes a waiting game from the manufacturer. Parts like this that don't come from GM can be nightmare for us."

I'm sure that Fred Beans has a monthly invoice relationship with GM. However, when Fred Beans buys from outside vendors in limited quantities, I expect those vendors want their's UPFRONT...and that should help justify charging the card in advance. Also, since FB has no idea when the product will be shipped, they have to assume that if they are told it's in stock, it will ship immediately.

Since the supplier then ships direct to Fred Bean's customer, the supplier is somewhat off the hook for delayed shipments and customer satisfaction...Gene takes the heat when they dog off and provide bad service.

Gene, I hope this promotion doesn't mean we'll be seeing less of you...I seem to have missed you around the Forum for about a month now (No more monthly specials? ). I figured that internet site must either be highly successful, or it was eating your lunch.

 

When I bought several OEM accessories from them last month they did pre-charge my credit card, but I knew this ahead of time.
I ordered some body colored accessories and the CD changer.
I wouldn’t expect them to front all the money for the stuff and then risk me not showing up to pay for it.
Especially something as expensive as the CD changer.
And suppose I ordered several hundred dollars worth of LeMans blue parts and then they had to put them on the shelf.
I completely understand this practice on special ordered parts.

 

I've ordered some brake stuff from him on a couple of occassions. If they don't have it in stock, it is sent by GM, or by another dealership who does have it through GM's sprint system. When this has happened, the other dealers have overnighted it at no extra cost.

 

Whether they are GM or non-GM parts, my question does not change. Does it mean that he has them direct shipped from the manufacturer to the customer, or do they ship to Beans, then re-ship to the customer?

 

I've ordered from Beans for almost two years, and I have had the kind of service I wish I could get at my local dealers, and the prices are right!

 

Neither do his words change...see the sentence in Gene's post before the ones I quoted in my previous post:

"What we told you is that all of the items that you had ordered were ship direct and come directly from the manufacturer".

Ship direct, drop ship...they both mean the same thing; you order an item from one business, and they in turn order the item from the manufacturer, and give the "Ship To" address as their customer's address. It saves the vendor the freight cost, their manpower, and their time for handling. If they don't keep the item in stock, there is no point in having the item sent to them...it will just increase the cost to the customer. But, sometimes...the manufacturer doesn't care if the vendor's customer is happy or not.

My experience is that some (most?) of the CF vendors stock very little...they have the manufacturer ship items you order direct from the manufacturer to you to reduce expense and hopefully pass the savings on to the customer.

In the case of Fred Beans, I am fairly confident that virtually ALL GM parts are shipped to FB, then those GM parts are re-shipped by FB to the customer. Large, special-ordered items may be an exception. But, when a supplier is other than GM, and FB doesn't maintain a large stock of the item, then those items are per Gene's post, ordered from the manufacturer, and "ship direct" from the manufacturer to the customer.

 

I’ve placed 4 orders with F. Beans; 3 have gone great, the fourth order has gone south and I am trying to resolve it right now. I hope to be able to resolve this order amicably and continue to do business with F.Beans and Gene; they have the best prices, prompt shipment and I buy GM parts continuously for my two street/track Vettes.

Gene,

This is in reference to my order #13047541. This is the ZO6 spring that you drop shipped to me from GMSPO via 2 day Fedex. Thanks for the prompt shipping. As I have explained to you via email and phone, and as the Fedex records show, this order was delivered to an incorrect address (the Chevrolet dealership on the other side of town!). I have visited this dealership twice in attempts to extract the spring from them with no success (they claim it was returned to Fedex).

Yesterday while on the phone with Fedex and GMSPO I learned that GMSPO’s fedex contract is one in which no claims cn be filed by GMSPO for lost Fedex shipments (in return for lower fedex rates presumably). I could not get a clear answer from either party as to whom is responsible for absorbing the cost of a lost shipment…but it doesn’t appear to be Fedex. Gene, can you explain how GM Service Parts Organization's contract with Fedex works and how lost shipments ordered through you, and drop-shipped by GMSPO are handled?

Gene, I noticed that you stopped responding to my emails after it became apparent that Fedex had misdelivered. Prior to that my emails were responded to within 24 hours. I hope this is due to your hectic schedule at Beans.

This is an unfortunate situation because it was a Fedex screwup and Gene went out of his way to get me this part fast. I need to either get the spring or a credit card refund, and it looks like Beans is the party I have to go after. Gene, what is the best way to handle this? -Dispute the credit card charge, file a small claims suit, rant and rave on this forum, show up with my shotgun and take the spring by force, or ask you politely to handle it?

Best Regards,

Linc A.

 

That would get you some jail time. I think it is in bad taste to even mention something like this. Could be taken as a threat especially since you put it in print. Hope you were joking!

 

I'm well aware of what a direct ship is. I'm in the wholesale supply business. That's why I was asking him to clarify if that's what he meant. The reason I ask has to do with charging a credit card before the shipment is made. As I said, I have heard that it is technically a violation of Credit Card rules to debit a customers card before the shipment is made.

I'm under the impression you and others must think my post meant as a complaint against Beans. It's not. I'm simply asking some questions to help understand the issues at hand. It makes a difference to me as to wheather I buy from Beans or a dealer who is local to me. I plan to order about $600 worth of equipment in the next few weeks that Beans is a potential source for me.