I got my order almost 4.5 weeks after I placed it. It took about
4 calls and I finally got it.
Parts were packaged poorly (Rubbing against each other in the box) and
arrived damaged.
He didnt have any replacment parts but offered a refund. I had to have
the parts to finish the car so I had to use them.
I realize he's a one man show and they are hard to find parts but it
was a $400 order...
I know many here have ordered from Kennedy with good results. My
limited experience is:
1. A website that is poorly designed w/no opportunity to contact him by
email
Actually, Kennedy's website is one of the better ones, as it
has a internal search engine. Not many do, even bigger Ford, Chevy and Mopar
sites don't, so this is a plus. However, as with any site, just because it is
listed don't mean it is in stock, something I point out repeatedly on my site!
Jeff had to have his website developed also, and I believe his son (geez, was
just a few years ago we were catching froggies in St. Louis, now kid has
'gurls' texting him) but I believe little Jeff keeps up
maintainece.
2. Prices higher than the competition (Spark CTO from Kennedy almost $38,
from another, $8.99!) I ordered a window felt from Kennedy, paid $80. I bought
the next from a competitor and paid $70. Same exact product!
Yes and no. This is why I have had a monster vendors list on
my own website (and no thank you, kiss my ass, suck my hot throbbing xxx, not
anything from any fo the people listed there! Ok, Edrie Marquez said thanks 8
years ago.) But I encourage people to shop around. I have said it before and
will say it for the 1000th time since 1980s: 'a educated hobby is strong
hobby' and again, while some vendors are pissed at me for HAVING a 'VENDORS'
list they are silent about the massive free traffic and exposure it has
generated for them for the decades! One vendor in Florida told me 'there are
too many players in the amc hobby' to whihc I snapped back 'what part of
capitalism do you not understand?' You have to remember at one time there were
only 5-6 major AMC vendors....the only games in town! Now there are people who
might make only ONE part...or carry a whole stock of stuff, and it might be
cheaper! The unnamed vendor was barking mostly about several vendors on ebay
who sell carpet kits, and another that sells stripes, and another that sells
weather strips 'so low he can't match them'. I told him bluntly, 'why don't
you Wal-Mart them?' That is, match, or DROP their prices lower than
competition? There was silence. Think about it, the AMX kit weatherstrip
on ebay sells for $249, mark your's down to $229. You lose a few dollars but
not only your long time name recognition is in your favor, but since you stock
ONLY AMC shit, the buyer is more than likely to get more than that from you;
sort of like a convienence store, you stop there to get gas, and end up
walking out with $1.89 140 oz Big Gulch soda and bag of $1.49 Doritos and $1
gum...all massive markups. Read between the lines on my site
here:
and while I encourage people to shop around, I also tell
people to go AMC Vendor first!
3. Slow shipping. If you are in a hurry, Kennedy is probably not the way
to go. Regarding the window felt, I waited 3 weeks for Kennedy. The other
came in three days!
Eh, can't comment here, as it is AMC FEMA line around here!
I can however tell you that I get 20-50 emails per day and usually 5-18
letters per day. On top of raising kids, working on my own cars, filling
orders, taking a dump (ya'll could have probably done without that visual)
feeding dogs, mowing grass, washing dishes, throwing out drunks, battling
Pakistanis on I-10, answering phones, I can tell you that it is easy to get
buried. For instance I have taken 30 minutes to answer this letter from a
vendors view. Granted, I do only a fraction of business Kennedy does, but I
bet I get more stuff done per day than he does; I'll have to ask him next time
I see him!
4. No photos of the parts on the site. You better know exactly what you
want!
Just my two cents.
Agreed and noted. However, you will find a majority of
website's do not list part numbers. So for those of you who have spent a
lifetime learning your part numbers, you are now screwed. I'm boxing up as I
write 3632854 and 3632855 left and right. A free 1974 customer SPECIAL SALE
flyer (real nice!)
to whoever is the first who can ID those two part numbers
above. So what I'm saying is the photos are nice (and is extremely helpful)
but again, just because it is shown don't mean in stock. Not sure how many of
you have gotten off work at 3am and the whole crew heads to IHOP or Dennys.
You ever wonder why the menus are laminated and have lots of photos? To clean
off the vomit, but also next time you in there, watch people point and order.
Food Good! Mongo want #3 here, no larvae! Seriously, next time you in a place
like that after bars all shut down, watch the drunks drool and point at
photos.
Anyways, as usual, with anything AMC, my advise is to simply
shop around. A fellow called me the other day asking if I had a altenator for
a 72 Javelin. I said yes, it is on my 72 Ambassador. I asked if he had
internet. He said yes. I asked does it work. He said yes, and had found me on
the web. I asked him if he ever heard of Auto Zone, he said there is one less
than mile from him. I said there is your altenator. I told him i had just
bought mine new for $69 there. He was surprised and said he never thought of
that and had been 'looking only on the internet' for one. A lot of folks rely
way too much on internet and amazing never try local parts stores! Just my two
cents I guess, also adjusted for inflation!
Eddie Stakes
Charlie
"Cool Factor X"
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