Web Development

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Is Parts.com a fake site?

0 helpful
13 replies

by dr dij

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I was looking for fairly inexpensive part for my van's door.

They seem to have it, and about a third cheaper than dealer list price.

But I always look for an 'about us' that includes a physical address, so I can see if they will charge tax, (and maybe if they are a 'real' company?).

On the other hand, a website address like 'parts.com' would be fairly expensive and un-likely a cash rich hacker gang would shell out for it. (Tho that money-terrorist Madoff was a total fake and he probably has an expensive website for his ponzi scheme company that sucked $50 billion down the tubes)

There is no place I can find on their website (and yes, I looked at site map) that lists a physical address. And if you don't think this is a problem, there is a website selling windoze computers for a hefty profit preloaded with a specific vendor's ERP software that is probably a stolen illegal copy, they don't have an address listed and are probably out of that major country of a billion that we out-soure so much stuff to.

Ok, my part would probably drop ship from a warehouse but still like to know where the company resides, make sure they are not operating out of a hidden russian hacker gang bank account in the Maldives islands.

Then on main page, I click on 'get 866#' up top.
This comes up with a paragraph that they have taken down the 800# because too many people call it. Well, duh, that's what it's for.

It has the first word spelled wrong also:
(should be 'Due', ok maybe just some outsourced non-native english speakers created the site and couldn't be bothered to actually check their work)

Note: Do to an overwhelming response to Parts.com, we?ve had to upgrade our phone system to accommodate the volume of calls. We have currently pulled the current number down during this upgrade and expect a solution in place by the first of the year. We are providing direct numbers on the order tickets for customers to call directly but will only answer new order question via email. We apologize for any inconvenience experience during this transition and appreciate your business and patronage.

The only other minor scary thing, was a diagram showing my part (which I selected for REAR side door) has the #s mixed up on the diagram, pointing to the FRONT door.

Anyone ordered car parts from this place?
Any problems? The parts.com site doesn't inspire confidence for the reasons I've listed above.

13 replies

by michael jay

I would not buy any car part that I cannot see.
I want to look at it and see if it looks like a quality part, and also to make sure it is the right part before I plunk down any cash.

But if any store, online or off looks slightly sleazy to you, I would say take your business elsewhere. Not worth the possible hassle of getting ripped off.

Just my 2 cents for whatever it may be worth.

Happy New Year to you Dr Dij..

by dr dij

detailed diagrams that show you what part you are buying are a good verification and give me confidence. On this site, some parts had detail diagram, some don't.

However with the #'s swapped in the diagram (rear and front door like I said), this doesn't give me confidence. Plus no physical address so I can't make a complaint to BBB or write them. And maybe the 866# WILL show up next year (a few minutes from now?)

But like you said, this doesn't inspire confidence.

I DID order a driver door lower hinge for same van and DID get it, online place was an actual same make dealer who also sold online and I save something like 40% or more off what dealer was asking. Guess I'll go back and find them again.

Which brings up my next rant: google is useless. search for 6 words including the make, model and part DOES come up with some hits, in fact 566,000 of them! The obvious problem with this is NO CONTEXT! I would like to see ONLY actual websites that are

1) SELLING something and have shown google somehow that they are, not just a quarter million garbage sites stuffed with search terms to attract people to get malware.
2) selling the general category I want (auto parts) - this alone should get it down to a few hundred or a few thousand
3) location of company - this should reduce it to a few hundred
4) sell parts for my manufacturer's brand car (again narrowing it)

Any entrepreneurs out their want to try and fix this and make the web actually useful for certain things and not the horrible jumble it is?

Yahoo's directories came a bit closer but didn't fit the bill.

by hal 9000

I personally wouldn't be dealing with them. I tried a general search for parts for one of my Wifes Classic Mercedes and got as far as selecting Classic Vehicles. Apparently this link doesn't work as it returns to the same page and can not be searched any further.

The Web Site has not been properly designed and doesn't work so I would be immediately suspicious then add to that that you have to Register to contact them and that would be it for me. Previously I've never had a problem buying some very expensive parts on line and not the type of thing that goes into most normal Road Cars either. Because these are special Parts and come from Registered Companies with a Known Reputation it's not in their best interests to muck you around.

This place however I don't have a good feeling about.

Col

by dr dij

they actually DON'T SELL ANYTHING,
they are more like eBay.

I often check resellerratings, half or more of the posters are unhappy, first hopes they will go out of biz.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Parts#reviews

two or more of them verify there is no way to contact them. appears to be worse than amazon which is mostly by email or form.

here's more:
I searched in yahoo for:
+"parts.com" +complaints

and came up with this link on epinions: huge scam, dropshipping front operated out of boiler room in india:
http://www.epinions.com/content_315088670340

(thanks Krandall2)
summary of BBB complaints:
http://tinyurl.com/254sd5
says 600+ complaints filed, (this was years ago, probably in thousands now)

other operating companies = same place:
Some of the other front companies and web sites (not a complete list):

ALL OEM PARTS, INC.
www.thepartsbin.com
www.autopartswarehouse.com
Car-stuff.com
racepages.com
speedyperformanceparts.com
All OEM Volvo Parts.Com
Autopartswarehouse
Parts Bin, LLP
Race Pages
The Parts Bin

by thechas

First, one thing you could do is check with BizRate to see if the site is even listed.

You could also Google them and see what customers have to say about them in forums.

I agree that looking at the parts.com site, I do not get that warm fuzzy feeling that I would want to place an order.

Here are a couple of other car parts sites that I know to be reputable.

http://www.1aauto.com/

http://www.rockauto.com/

I have placed an order with A1. A trusted friend recommended Rock Auto.

Chas

by maxwell edison

[b]Contact Information:[/b]

Miracom Corporation
121 East First Street
Sanford FL 32771

Phone: 407-302-1314 (the number is no longer in service)
Fax: 407-322-3893 (the number is no longer in service)

[b]Whois Information:[/b]

Registrant:
Intelligentz Automotive Corporation
ATTN: PARTS.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447

[i]c/o Network Solutions? [/i]

[b]BBB (Better Business Bureau) rating:[/b]

Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to unanswered complaint(s).

The BBB has been unable to contact the company concerning complaint(s). We have not been able to determine a valid address and/or phone number for this company.

[b]Customer Complaint History:[/b]

The company's size, volume of business and number of transactions may have a bearing on the number of complaints received by the BBB. The complaints filed against a company may not be as important as the type of complaints, and how the company has handled them. The BBB generally does not pass judgment on the validity of complaints filed.

Number of complaints processed by the BBB
in the last 36 months: 4
in the last 12 months: 3

Complaints Concerned:
Credit or Billing Disputes (1 complaints)
1 The company could not be located or is out of business

Delivery Issues (3 complaints)
1 Company did not respond
2 The company could not be located or is out of business

[b]Additional Information:[/b]

The phone numbers the BBB had for this company are disconnected and we have been unable to locate this company through all available searches. The BBB's mail to this company has been returned as undeliverable. If you have an unresolved dispute with this company you may wish to seek legal advice.

[b]Links:[/b]

http://www.orlando.bbb.org/newsearch2.asp?ComID=07330030001500

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/parts.com

http://www.aboutus.org/Parts.com

http://maps.google.com/ (Check out the street view)

[b]My conclusion:[/b]

I wouldn't buy from them.

by dr dij

Thanks Max!

May not be a total scam. That phone # thing sounds totally wrong tho. You have to buy before they'll give you their phone#.

But some companies operate on the edge, shipping some things, and screwing over customers on others. Just enuf so police don't run in with truncheons and shut them down. I've seen this particularly in online photo and electronics sites.

by thechas

Back in the days before the Internet, camera and to a lesser extent electronics mail order houses were notorious for coming and going.

With cameras, the big issue was "gray market" camera bodies and lenses. They were not counterfeit, they just did not come through the proper import channels and had no US warranty or direct manufacture support. If anything went wrong with them you either had to pay to have the repair done by the US service organization, or send the item back to the proper country for warranty repairs.

US military personnel also ran into this issue with the cameras and electronics they bought while overseas.

Then, there are the brick and mortar operations that have been "going out of business" for decades.

It does pay to be wary of the lowest price seller of any goods or service.

Chas

by dr dij

this biz is kind of like dell: you might get what you want at the price you ordered it, but they scam you on shipping, they don't actually have ANY stock but bid out on each order to drop ship from elsewhere, and if they or the people who pick the parts make a mistake you're out of luck.

(Dell has a different set of problems: they change the price you ordered it at, scam you on financing rates, refuse to ship replacement parts, ship some really cruddy systems at times, have phone people who can't actually do anything except keep you on hold for hours, listen mindlessly, transfer you to full mailboxes or hang up).

And unlike Dell PHONE HELL, this company isn't even reachable by mail or phone. Another complaint on resellerratings.com shows even email to them is ignored. probably the easiest to ignore.

NO CUSTOMER SERVICE! Nada, Zero! what a concept! Sure is a way to greedily piggy in the money! What an abomination!

Even the '32%' savings off list I found on my door part listed on the parts.com site isn't that great for mail order auto parts. The hinge I got from rock auto was 55$ with $98 list so even better discount.

This kind of company is what causes some backlash against the internet companies. I remember an ad where people were coming to a store at 4AM and wondering why it wasn't open. (spoof of internet stores being able to order any time of day).

My brix-n-mortar spoof swipe at this ad would show someone trying to reach into their computer and get something that they could drive a mile and get. Instead they have to put their credit card into internet limbo, wait several days or more and deal with companies like Dell that LIE ABOUT STOCK and endlessly put off shipment.

(Dell is not unique in performing this scummy act). Or be able to actually return it without fees for 30 days for any reason, like at Fry's electronics stores. Of course the internet has its pluses but this company appears to be the sum of all the bad parts of the internet.

The BBB link says mail is returned as undeliverable and phone# previous listed is disconnected. To put it nicely: Die, sleazy greedy scum, Die!!!

This discussion is closed to new replies.