Is it me or what am I missing here

I get to the forklift place, get what I need, he also had the O.E.M. repair kit for the vaporizor, thinking it can't hurt and that the diapragms may be leaking, causing the hards starts after it's been running, effectively choking it out, OK, I'll take one of those kits too.

Well the safety valve was $31.00, the hose and fittings not worth mentioning, no beef there, but the darn vaporizer repair kit ummmmm that will be $71.00 please !!!! WTF? Knowing that 2 of these kits just went for $16.58 on e-bay, I questioned the price, he had his office at the main location on the phone, nope that's the price, and I really need to get the mowing done here, it's been dry a few days, need to get it done, I walked in with 164.00 in my pocket, the invoice was $164.03 ! Yeah buddy, you want me to go digging in the ashtray ?

The mechanic was a good sort, he's like you got enough gas to get home ? ( joking ) I'm like, ( No, I was going to use the change from this purchase to get some gas), and I was below a quarter tank, good thing it's a little mercury capri 4 cyl. turbo, that is excellent on fuel economy, still like a truck better, it's saved me some $$ on fuel though. At least I've still got a sense of humor after this !

I am by no means a stickler, penny pinching, haggler type, I do my research usually and do the best I can, call it a day, but this rebuild kit has me irked for some reason. Many times I'll compare prices, I don't buy price, I buy the best quality I can find and or afford, whatever it may be, parts, tools, equipment, as long as it will do the job and I'm comfortable with what I'm getting and I've done some research, never go in blind, no problem, don't take much to make me happy, there's a lot worse things in life out there if you think about it.

2 kits mind you, identical to the O.E.M. one I bought just went for $16.58 on e-bay and an entire vaporizer unit can be had for $79.00 plus shipping on e-bay. Something seems off here, sellers showing O.E.M. shipping aftermarket or what ? I've been subject to highway robbery is what I'm thinking here.

Well, I e-mailed the auctions to the their lead parts guy and questioned their pricing based on them, very nicely, and politely, in a professional manner, and out of curiosity, stating here are some current auctions for the same items, any reason why your prices are so high ? I can't wait to get their response.

Now being the detailed person that I am, might as well get the inner and outer O-rings for the 33lb. forklift size tanks, the forklift guy does not have them, but 2 buildings away in the same industrial park is the welding supply house, who also fills most compressed gasses, including propane, both my propane tanks were supplied by them and I have bought 2 miller trailblazers, another small portable welder that was like $1000, 2 complete oxy acetylene burning rigs and all kinds of other supplies when I was an Ironworker superintendent, somewhere into the $10,000 range including everything in the last few years.

Well I tell this guy at the counter what I need for the tanks, 2 sets of O-rings, and how the forklift place literally cleaned me out, I've got no money and nowhere near an ATM, the regular guy who knows me well is busy with a manager,and I know their boss too ( they don't like him either )LOL

So he calls a guy in the back and he's got them, mind you, they technically own the tanks, but whatever, they fill and maintain them by the truck load, so of course they have spare gasket and o-rings, the guy said he'd give them to me but next time I'd have to pay, as if I was trying to work him over for what you would think is a very low cost item, however, the local autozone nailed me for $8.00 for an assortment box of o-rings of which I only needed one, maybe these flat gaskets and O-rings are not a .25 cent item, but being a long time customer, who steered all his business their way, even his employers business, you'd think when in a bind such as I was ( no cash in hand ) they might be happy to be of help. Well the next time I go in, I'll insist on paying for those and I'll want the manager to price them for me, and I'll insist on them double checking to make sure they got the correct amount for them, the counter guy will enjoy that I'm sure.

I dunno, maybe it's me, or is it that the integrity and character of todays business's as well as the people who run them becoming undermined by greed or some other detriment to the moral fiber of what made our country so great ?

COMPLETE UNIT $79.00
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• IMPCO LP Products

Call him back, ask for the parts number for the vaporizer and also for the rebuild kit, check your receipt again.

I doubt it was on purpose, mistakes happen. But I have seen that one before personally.

I do the same as you, check ebay prices, online store prices and call local prices before I head out to buy stuff if I can. I will buy local as much as I can as long as it's within reason.

Well, business is business and I'm the first one to maintain the integrity of a price and so on, but after having been a customer for years, and for an item like this, I'd have to dis-agree, mind you I'd pay regardless, that is how I am, do not expect something for nothing, trust me on that, but this was a one time circumstance, I was right next door and I offered to pay the next time I come in or the next time one of us ( yes I've also recruited many other customers ) goes over there, it's about 15 miles away. He was ok with it, and gave them to me, but they've made plenty on everything they have ever sold me, full ticket price everytime, so I'd still expect some courtesy in a pinch, not give away the store, just some common courtesy. I can steer some business elsewhere and play hardball, it just gets old, you get tired of haggling with people over non-sense, then that relationship sours so you go back to the previous supplier, I've played these rat race games for years in the business, who needs it, give me fair market price, and good service and I won't beat you up on price constantly, and will do my best to pay on time, which should be done regardless.

When I was in the construction business, all my suppliers were paid on time, or kept close in the money loop on oustanding invoices when things get tight, and they do get tight on occasion, it's the nature of the beast, especially when a G.C. is holding your money. Point being they knew the money was always good when I was involved, ( all suppliers I dealt with ) but when I needed service, I told them, I'll do my darndest to make sure your money is good, but I want the best service possible when I need it, within reason of course, but still, it's like tipping the bartender properly, he remembers you and you get a cold one when you need it. I used to get a lot of compliments on my policies with suppliers, from the suppliers themselves, even though I was a company person, not in the accounting dept. I made sure they kept payables on my jobs up to date, you can't imagine how many times you will need something in a pinch, like yesterday, if I'm buying volume, and paying early or on time, and paying full ticket, I think it's reasonable for them to meet you half way when in a bind, it's not like you are advertising free supplies and they are not making a profit on your regular business.

Now if I beat em up constantly on price, hold their money until they become irked and all the other tactics many companies typically practice, yeah I'd expect to get charged for breathing the air when at their place.

Currently I do some repair work for a few customers, to keep busy, the overall jobs are always profitable,and decent enough to pay the bills, the guy calls me to change a light bulb in a hard to reach location, I may not charge him at all to do this, but the next job I do the cost is absorbed there, in the bigger picture, the service is always there regardless of some of the little things that I do for them. I keep track and know where to include the cost of any odd or small quick jobs I do in between the larger ones, it all works out and no one is losing money. Or I could be the guy who everytime you see him, you pay, no matter what the job is, I think it's a better relationship the other way though, more bees with honey than vinegar philosophy, which I've been criticized for by harsher associates than myself, especially in the NYC arena where everyone is a stickler, worked great for me though.

Sounds like a little price gougin' to me.

Allan

I read the instructions on this kit, supposed to use a mini- torque wrench, screws to be set in a pattern at 32 lbs - oofla, assuming I'm close, they were all only hand tight when I took it apart.

I always just used a screwdriver and made sure the diaphram was indeed placed around the indexers.

Never had one that ever leaked after the repair.

Allan

Yeah, kind of like posting an image that is too big, you have to scroll vertically, is there a code you can use to make the text wrap here ?

I can get a bit long winded, spent most of my day on this yesterday, still fresh in my mind, should have gone out early like usual and start working on something other than the keyboard LOL !