Back order Bob Drake strikes again!

[Bruce in southern OH]

Have met at Hershey, very personable fellow, have purchased running boards, lots of items over a number of years, no problems here.

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by uncle buck

Those would actually be from Scott Drake , Bob's younger brother. Scott got his start working for Bob many years ago and has built himself a First Class Wholesale only operation in Nevada and supplies parts to all the Mustang parts retailers.

Sorry, you are absolutely correct they were SCOTT Drake parts not Bob Drake. I stand corrected. That project was three years ago, my memory of the name slipped

But, SCOTT Drake parts that we received were very good, fit like a glove. That seems to be more of what we see in early Mustang parts anyway as compared to the V-8 stuff...................

[Barry-ct]

To muddy the water some more, I get an email from BD informing me that they had the incorrect address on my account and to fix it. So I go in and lo and behold, there is my current address in the bill to and ship area. I called them and was told they were shipped to my old address of 10 years ago and returned to them. She listed my old address in her system and said they said I had it wrong in my on line account. Then she says I have 2 accounts. I never did find the first account. So they had 2 different orders with the same order number. How messed up is that? And as to the credit for the knobs that were shipped, she said it would be a while as they had a huge pile of returns to process. I completely understand it's a busy place and mistakes are made, but it seems I had a few mistakes made all along the way! Murphy's law and SNAFU all the way.

[1938 Coupe]

Maybe I should have talked with Bob directly. He may be interested in how his company is being managed by people that don't seem to care. I did lodge a complaint with the Oregon BBB and someone other than the csr responded with another excuse for why they had returned the bumper to me. I like the company and have nothing against Bob personally just how they treat good customers. I know Bob is manufacturing some of his own parts, but most can be found elsewhere for less. Mac's sells far more items and never seems to be out of stock when I order..... Just saying!

[johnh7]

You can add me to the unhappy list. I finally received a response today after several inquiries over a three month period. This is the response,

" Hello, The item 91A-7526 is on back order. We do not know when this part will come back in stock. We will contact you as soon as it comes in. Thank you."

The receipt I initially received showed shipping method Fedex, but no tracking number was sent. I am sure he will say the receipt just showed the shipping method they planned to use, but in my mind it was deliberately misleading. After seeing the other comments here, I will not purchase anything from him again.

Merry Xmas everyone!

[john greco]

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I agree , never will buy from him if I can help it , like his catalog deal years back , I bought a stainless gas tank for a 37 ford , china on it , would not fit , sent back , never again

[Barry-ct]

After reading many replies, more than I ever expected, there seems to be a detour into the quality issues with some of what he sells. I wasn't going in that direction. I do see a inconsistency in his service. Some get quick replies, some don't. Parts are shipped quick, some end up with delays. I can't answer why. It's too bad Bob hasn't read some of the replies, Maybe he could answer.
I ordered my knobs from Dennis Carpenter and received in 4 days. And they're USA made!

[white64]

Aw crap..., I was reading this thread when it started, seemed to be 50/50. So I figured well I'll take a chance and ordered a bunch of stuff for my basket-case '40 coupe a few minutes ago. Just as I hit the send button I noticed that over 50% of the stuff was on back-order... (its a faded checkbox) aw crap...

Should I give it a couple of weeks or is this just some sortah scam to get orders lined up first and after a number quota is reached...get the items manufactured, in stock, then sent out. That takes MONTHS!

I was pumped to get started, but for now I'm burning propane in my garage for no other reason then to keep the spray paint rattle cans from freezing.

[V8COOPMAN]

Back Order Bob didn't earn that moniker for no reason! DD

[1938 Coupe]

Good news!.....Free shipping has been extended for 9 more days! 9 more days to be disappointed that everything you want is on back order and the free shipping counts only on in stock items.....such a deal? Someone needs to explain the value of inventory control to them before they should offer free shipping or 20% off!!!!

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by 1938 Coupe

Good news!.....Free shipping has been extended for 9 more days! 9 more days to be disappointed that everything you want is on back order and the free shipping counts only on in stock items.....such a deal? Someone needs to explain the value of inventory control to them before they should offer free shipping or 20% off!!!!

I received a BD gift certificate for Christmas. Will place an order with free shipping in the next few days. Will report back if I am disapointed, but I doubt if I will be, have not been disapointed with anything I have ordered from BD in the last 25 years. Maybe I am the only customer who gets treated well

[RAF]

I have been ordering from Bob Drake for a number of years and have to say most times I am very satisfied with the parts and the speed of the delivery. When there is a backorder I try to buy it from other early Ford parts vendors but most times it is on backorder there also.

[Steves46]

Originally Posted by RAF

When there is a backorder I try to buy it from other early Ford parts vendors but most times it is on backorder there also.

Good point regarding dealers. I've had great luck finding Bob Drake parts at Joe's Antique Auto.

[shake-n-bake]

Have a friend who thought he'd order up a big list of stuff because of this "free shipping" offer. He told me the other day that about half of the order was out of stock and on "back order". I know of a couple of other suppliers who are pretty bad at not having the stock needed to offer a special sale or free shipping. It can be damned frustrating, to say the least.

[white64]

The misleading thing about the free shipping offer, as mentioned by others, is the fact that if its back ordered the free shipping doesn't apply to the back ordered items! So then one has to ask, are the items really backordered or are they trying to get out the free shipping deal in the first place? Especially if the item arrives a few weeks later?

If the items are backorderd it would be nice to know when they expect to have to item in stock when the order is placed, a month! 2 months! years! it's anyone's guess!

[TJ]

white64, I've received back order items and got the free shipping.

[Fred A]

Originally Posted by white64

The misleading thing about the free shipping offer, as mentioned by others, is the fact that if its back ordered the free shipping doesn't apply to the back ordered items! So then one has to ask, are the items really backordered or are they trying to get out the free shipping deal in the first place? Especially if the item arrives a few weeks later?

If the items are backorderd it would be nice to know when they expect to have to item in stock when the order is placed, a month! 2 months! years! it's anyone's guess!

I can sure see where White64 can get such ideas. On 20% plus shipping day, I went to work ordering all that was to be needed for another '40 project totaling more than $2500. Before amassing the order which was mainly small items, checked availability of the big items and found many were not in stock and were not included in the big order. Quite a bit of work went into making and placing. Still less than a third was in stock on a dollar basis. Went over to the often user unfriendly Macs to find some of the most critical pieces in stock at an equal to the -20%price and free shipping. Without the promotionals it may have taken me some time to find that some important items have disappeared from the market. Be assured that I will continue to buy from all and any vendor that has what I need. We need these guys to be out there. Just be smart and stay tuned. Good Luck: Fred A

[51504bat]

Just sent an email to Drake's today regarding a steering wheel that was out of stock when I placed a somewhat large order during the 20% off and free shipping promo. I asked if it would ship for free at the discounted price when it was back in stock and if not I requested that the order be cancelled. Waiting on a reply.

[Chris]

I called on Tuesday to place an order and about 1/3rd was backordered. It did not surprise me, I called on the (then) last day of the sale knowing that a lot of buisnesses try to run the inventory down by years end and will not restock until after the new year. Probably why the sale...depleat inventory. Most everything I needed can wait, I simply placed the order to take advange of the shipping anyways. Bob Drake is not perfect but without him and similar suppliers our hobby would be ina world of hurt