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Qudratec vs Amazon

5K views 31 replies 23 participants last post by  StarBrite 
#1 ·
I have been Shopping from Amazon for a decade now, and since i got the jeep started buying from Quadratec.

Both provide good service except when it came time to return a defective item. Returns shipping to Quadratec are at your cost, Amazon always sends me a return shipping label.

Are there any jeep specific online shops that pay return shipping on defective items, if not, I know where I am going for my shopping now. Amazon !!
 
#2 ·
I prefer Amazon for smaller items (Prime member) as they get here faster and as you've indicated are easier to deal with for returns, however as I live in Texas I pay sales tax at Amazon (8.25%) whereas I don't with Quadratec so on a more expensive item the tax savings is enough to get me to go with Quadratec and the horrible inventory, shipping notifications etc. Once you get used to Amazon level communications (Ordered, Shipping, Shipped, On a truck, at your door etc.) Quadratec is like going back 10 years in e-commerce experience. If you have a 4wheelparts store near you,you can order online and return to the store so no return shipping issues there, though you will pay tax on everything if they are in your state.
 
#3 ·
I was in the market for jk tube doors, they were almost $100 cheaper on amazon, for the same doors, and got to me in two days.
 
#4 ·
Don't forget that most of the big vendors like Quadratec price match! When I ordered my Rugged Ridge XRC MOD bumper I really shopped around and picked up the phone when I had all the details together and got a GREAT deal. I also had a great customer experience with Quadratec, 2 problems with the order, one their fault, one mine (or at least partially mine) and they issued RMAs with shipping labels without blinking an eye. I couldn't have been more pleased with the service I got from them!

--Jeff
 
#5 ·
I have luck with both. However, the few times I had to return things to Quadratec, it was never on my dime. One time, I received a defective wheel. I called them, and they either sent or emailed me a new shipping label. The other time, I warrantied some shocks and they did the same thing.

Amazon is great too when it comes to customer service. The couple times I contacted them about a part (non-jeep) that failed on me, they mailed a replacement out right away...or reimbursed me. Both times, I never even had to send back the failed part. Plus, you cant beat the free shipping.
 
#6 ·
Here lately I have had the opposed experience. Great luck with Quadratec and not so much with Amazon. Amazon has recently made a change to shipping where they send items out FedEx or UPS and they deliver to the USPS. USPS then delivers to your door (maybe)... It has added days to items I have bought. This missed the guaranteed delivery date and totally negates the Prime shipping.
 
#7 ·
Ob1ofwis, I have had that problem to. "sure post" or something like that. I've called and gripped about it to Amazon several times. I PAY for prime which should get me 2 day delivery on any prime item, "sure post" is definitely NOT 2 day! That stuff infuriates me to no end!!!!!

Jeff
 
#9 ·
I usually buy wherever I can get the best deal and value. For instance, I got my TF 2.5 lift from Extreme Terrain. I got the forum discount and free shipping and that beat Amazon even with Prime. Best part, the lift was drop shipped from TF and I'm right next door to Utah. I had it it two days.

But I got my 9000XL shocks from Amazon. They were cheapest there and shipped from Amazon. I also had a rebate card from my wife's contact lenses. At Amazon, you can use those to buy gift cards. I dispose of all my rebate cards that way since most places won't let you use two forms of payment. Amazon does if one of those is a gift card and you can buy a gift card with those rebate cards you have $2.57 left on or whatever.

Amazon is great if you get it from Amazon or it's sold and shipped from Amazon but a third party. But you have to watch. Sometimes the lowest price they show you isn't Amazon's price and it ships from a third party and you pay for shipping...slow shipping. Sometimes, you're just ordering from the manufacturer, like Spiderweb Shades. They sell on Amazon but they ship themselves. Not bad if you trust to company and you have a another rebate card to dispose of ;)
 
#10 ·
I buy lots of smaller-to-midsize stuff on Amazon, mostly because I can have it delivered to one of their Lockers. FAR more convenient to pick stuff up there, especially after I had a rash of packages stolen off my front porch. Since then, anything delivered to the house means I have to wait until Saturday and pick it up at the post office counter. So, I try to order from places that have local pickup options (Amazon, 4wheelparts, etc).

I buy from Quadratec and have had good experiences with them, but since their stuff ships from the East coast, it always takes considerably longer to get here (SoCal). So, between the longer ship time and the lack of a local pickup option, if I can find it elsewhere, I usually go elsewhere.

Both get my business in the end, though. :)
 
#11 ·
I have used both, but being on the east coast, things from Quadratec get here just as fast as Amazon. I bought my Spiderwebshade from Q-tec with free shipping on an over 50.00 deal = free ship. 3 days later I found something I wanted for only 24.99 and was gonna have to pay 8.00 to ship. I called customer service and said I wished I culd have put it on original order because anything over 50.00 shipped free, they said no problem and shipped it for free. I have only had great experience with Q-tec.
 
#12 ·
I was very impressed with Quadratec and their fast shipments. I live in NJ, so I am sure that helps. I was getting items NEXT DAY. Im not ordering anything crazy, just accessorizing for now.

Never really had bad experience with Amazon.

On a side note. Ive also realized that ordering from Target and Walmart online for Toothpaste , toilette paper and other household items is a lot cheaper than going to the local store. Better pricing, access to more coupons and if you get to $50 you get free shipping.
 
#13 ·
In my opinion, to many times people get caught up in "who has the lowest price" mentality. We can all thank Sam Walton in part for that.

I always try and remember this, the free market is a 3-legged stool. Those 3 legs are the best product, the best price, and the best service. As a consumer, you can usually count on getting 2... getting all 3 is like finding a slipper made from Unicorn fur.

I always try and give Quadratec a shot for one main reason, they still publish one helluva catalog. I'm old school and love flipping pages on my porcelain throne, plus I have had great service from them over the years.
 
#14 ·
In theory I like to support the "community," which means Qtec, XT, etc. But I gotta admit, the biggie for me is convenience. When I'm shopping at night on my iPad, Amazon means click one button, it fills in my password because I'm using my known device, and then click on "BUY NOW" or whatever the final button is. I've paid more for an item for no other reason than I didn't want to go fill out the info on yet another site somewhere, or remember the password I set up with them six months ago so I can log into my existing account. (and no, I don't use the same password everywhere; I have the easy, low-security password, the must have at least 6 letters, the must have 6 letters plus a number, and finally the must have 6 letters, a number, a CAP, and/or a character like ^. I'm so lazy that I always go with the easiest one if I can, LOL.)
 
#15 ·
Customer service and delivery time have been good with Quadratec and it's a fun site to look around but for overall price and ultra easy shopping experience Amazon is hard to beat. I love that all my Info is kept on file and as stated above it's just a few clicks to buy on Amazon. For Jeep specific items and when you factor in the member discount Northridge 4x4 seems to have the best prices for most things in my experience.
 
#16 ·
When Amazon lists something, its in stock or says otherwise.. Qtec lists it then you find out a day later through email that its out of stock.. Its been said over and over, i shouldn't have to call and "price match" to other people. Have the best prices already, which is never Qtec. You just cant beat Amazons 2 day shipping, even Northridge took 3 days for my spiderwebshade to arrive and i live 2 hrs away from store.
 
#26 ·
+1. Drives me nut when Quadratec doesn't have the item in stock. Why can't they post the status of an item on their website?
 
#17 ·
Yep, Amazon has been a great source for me too, and I like their availability honesty. But you do need to watch pricing though, often times you can find stuff a lot cheaper elsewhere. On a similar note, I just bought some 35x12.50/17 BFG KM2s from Amazon at more than $50 cheaper per tire than anywhere else I could find That's actually my 2nd order of 35 KM2s from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/BFGoodrich-Mud-Terrain-Off-Road-Tire/dp/B004QGZCE8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406183269&sr=8-1&keywords=35x12.50%2F17+KM2
 
#18 ·
I don't like dealing with Amazon much anymore. Their shipping costs and shipping times keep going up, nothing ever arrives when it is suppose to.

Quadratec has amazing customer service, in my experience. They are great to do business with and I live 20 minutes away from their location in West Chester PA. I can pick up my order and look it over before leaving, I love that my very expensive parts don't have to be shipped.
 
#28 ·
There shipping costs are free Missy. At least for Prime members, which I am as I buy a lot of stuff from them!
 
#19 ·
I wanted a certain Jeep item so I went searching. I found it listed in stock on ebay, Qtec, Amazon, and a few other places. Prices varied about $40, between $360 and $400, shipping was included on all.

After doing what I thought was decent research to start with, I called Qtec, and asked if it was in stock. No, it's not, next shipment is in 2 months! Ok, wow. Called some other places, 4WD, 4WP, etc. Nobody has it in stock. The local 4WP did take the time to call the warehouses and get told that it would come in 1-3 days before I really needed it - and they ordered a set for me with a little money down in case I couldn't find it elsewhere before then, they knew I was looking. Next step, Amazon, where they are in stock too. I email the vendor, yes, we have them was replied. I order it, and get an email saying out of stock - wait I just checked stock with you, you said you had them. No. Refund my money, done. I check on eBay, again I find a set. Email them, no reply. Call them since they are a 'store' and have a phone number. Talk to a nice girl, she looks it it, yes, one set left in the warehouse. Great, can I buy them now so I get that last set. Yes. I buy them. Three days later, email saying they are out of stock arrives. What?! Again? Call back, tell them to refund my money, got refund. In the end - the day before I leave on my trip, the first set from 4WP arrives at the store, I was lucky I called again to check on them because otherwise they would have been sent back to restocking because I wouldn't have picked them up until after I got home weeks later. I never got a call saying they had arrived.

Lesson learned - you always have to CYA and do the footwork to get what you want. It's easy if the product is common, it's a pain when it's not. I know this already, my customer service expectations are LOW. I'm impressed when something IS in stock and easy to order. In saying this, a few places were upfront about being out of stock, and were upfront in saying they didn't know when it would come in. 4WP did let me put a small amount down and place the order, knowing I may cancel it if I found it before then. They also warrantied the item out after it arrived damaged, and I had to return it after the trip - it was usable, just cosmetic. The Amazon dealer updated the listing to "out of stock" after I was refunded, at least they did that for others. The eBay dealer did nothing to their listing.

I do shop a lot of different stores - a lot see a little of my business.
 
#21 ·
Yes, the shipping change has made the deliveries a day longer, and the vendors at Amazon are now waiting to ship according to the delivery date. Earlier I had noticed, and some still do that, they used to ship as soon as the payment was processed.

Even then I am leaning towards Amazon now, even though I wanted to support a jeep specific shop. Why, first cos it often is better value to buy from A, and secondly the customer service (if needed) treats me like a customer. With speciality stores (I have called a few and bought from few) it's like they are doing us a favor by selling it to us and always seem to be willing to wrap you up to go to the next call.
 
#22 ·
I wonder about this shipping change. I have not seen any evidence of it, zero. If it says prime, I get it for free in 2 days. Sometimes 1 day! I order a lot of things as late as seven- or eight oclock and it still gets here two days later. They NEVER miss the delivery and it is always delivered from UPS or FedEx, never from the USPS. And I'm not an occasional user -- I've put over $6000 into my Wrangler since getting it in May -- 56 items. And over 40 of those came from Amazon.

I don't know if it is because I have a commercial account or something -- it is through my biz and we buy a lot more stuff from amazon than I buy personally. Or if it's because I ship nearly everything to my office, which is in a tiny office condo complex surrounded by residential neighborhoods. But they are spot-on with everything, at least so far. The addition of state tax collection this year was a suck-wad, but I understand the reasons.
 
#32 ·
I never had this problem with amazon and Sure Post until I moved out to BFE, Texas. When I was in West Palm Beach it was UPS or FedEx all the time. I wonder if they use the SurePost service out in the sticks to save their drivers from having to come all the way out.

That change isn't for Prime. Prime is two days, period. But Prime is only good for products sold by Amazon or stocked and shipped by Amazon for third party vendors. Third parties that only sell on Amazon and ship themselves have their own rules.

And I've found UPS will delay packages to meet the ship date. My FedEx driver told me FedEx does the same thing. They can't charge higher rates for faster shipping if they are delivering the lower priced, slower shipments just as fast. I've tracked my UPS shipments and watched them sit for a couple of days so they aren't delivered early.

That's part of the problem but Amazon Prime is two day and those are delivered in two days as promised. It's the regular old ground shipments that get delayed. UPS and FedEx are getting to efficient for their own good.
I've been hit with the same SurePost delivery snafus on items I know are on Prime, like my Subscribe and Save orders. And it's happened on other things, too. And I ALWAYS check for the Prime items and order from amazon, even if another seller has it with free shipping for less money. I want AMAZON on the hook if something goes wrong, not have to worry about a third party seller.

Negative. I am sorry but that is not my experience. I am prime, always order prime items, and on 3 occasions have received items shipped via "sure post" (delivered by the USPS).

In addition, it may add more than just one day in some areas. I've watched tracking and seen it take 2 days more in STL.

I was trying to look at my history in hopes of posting a picture, but without opening every invoice it was hard to tell. I wish you were correct, and I am glad you've not had it done to you, but it most certainly has happened to me. Enough that I called in to gripe and am seriously considering not renewing my prime membership.

-- Jeff
X2!

I've contacted amazon three times in the last two months because items that were supposed to be here in two days didn't make it because they were transferred to SurePost. :rant:

I actually have had three free months of Prime added to my account to make up for those three screw ups. They just don't seem to understand that I don't want free months, I want them to DITCH SUREPOST!!!
 
#23 ·
That change isn't for Prime. Prime is two days, period. But Prime is only good for products sold by Amazon or stocked and shipped by Amazon for third party vendors. Third parties that only sell on Amazon and ship themselves have their own rules.

And I've found UPS will delay packages to meet the ship date. My FedEx driver told me FedEx does the same thing. They can't charge higher rates for faster shipping if they are delivering the lower priced, slower shipments just as fast. I've tracked my UPS shipments and watched them sit for a couple of days so they aren't delivered early.

That's part of the problem but Amazon Prime is two day and those are delivered in two days as promised. It's the regular old ground shipments that get delayed. UPS and FedEx are getting to efficient for their own good.
 
#24 ·
That change isn't for Prime. Prime is two days, period.
Negative. I am sorry but that is not my experience. I am prime, always order prime items, and on 3 occasions have received items shipped via "sure post" (delivered by the USPS).

In addition, it may add more than just one day in some areas. I've watched tracking and seen it take 2 days more in STL.

I was trying to look at my history in hopes of posting a picture, but without opening every invoice it was hard to tell. I wish you were correct, and I am glad you've not had it done to you, but it most certainly has happened to me. Enough that I called in to gripe and am seriously considering not renewing my prime membership.

-- Jeff
 
#25 ·
As long as Amazon has what you want, they are hard to beat. Especially if you have an Amazon Prime account.

I always check Amazon first and if they don't have what I want, I move on to Quadratec. The thing about Quadretec was that their shipping cost is a function price and not weight (some exceptions). So beware if you order an expensive lightweight part from Quadratec.
 
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