[tamathumper]

I'm interested in your thoughts about Pelican Parts, the website... I want to like it, I really do, but I'm finding a lot of shortcomings and I generally have to use other sites to get what I want.



1. The search engine rarely gives me what I want. I have to search through more than a few pages to find the right part usually, and honestly I have a lot better luck on other sites like AutoAtlanta. Many, many times I never find the part I want on Pelican Parts. Just try searching Pelican for "flywheel".



2. The parts diagrams could be a great feature, but they are rather poorly done. Chock up another one for AutoAtlanta, maybe.



3. The tabs like "Related", "Notes", "Tech Info", and "Reviews" could be great, but they never have anything on them. That just sets the expectation, then lets you down.



4. The prices are sometimes OK, but I honestly find parts cheaper on other sites. Not always the *same* site, mind you, but the prices aren't stellar enough to make me come back time after time, or even low enough to make me overlook the other niggling things. Sometimes I end up on Vertex Auto, sometimes on PartsGeek, and sometimes even on eBay which I don't really expect them to compete with.



5. The shipping times are extreme, even for parts coming from the U.S. I've had it take a couple of *weeks* to get a part, what with their order entry times, processing times, and then ground shipping. What's up with that?!



I know, I know - if I don't like it then go elsewhere. But coming from the distant, hazy past of P-car ownership when mailing lists ruled the day and it was damn near impossible to find parts without making calls to West coast dealerships late in the afternoon (for those of us on the East coast), I would love to see something like Pelican take off and be successful. But it takes more than promises - it takes execution and delivery...



Do you use Pelican, and does it work for you?

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[astroede]

I've bought nearly all my 968 parts from Pelican. I agree that their search engine doesn't always return what you are looking for, unless you enter the part number which I nearly always look up in the USA 968 "Katalog" before trying Pelican. I've had no issues with them yet.

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[blau]

Pelican has been a good source for some parts AND their customer service is great. I ordered some brake rotors for my wife's Mini, got a call a few minutes later from them that I also needed the set screws as they're a one-time use. Good attention to detail from those guys.



I just needed to order a bunch of stuff for the 968, have never had any trouble finding the parts that I need...but Sunset blew them away on price so I'm ordering from there instead.

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[Cobalt968]

I have used Pelican in the past for some 944 parts and I just did again last week for my new 95 white cab. It had a leaking valve cover, and I bought all the parts to fix it along with a new key blank with the black part with a colored crest for $77 with free shipping. Oh, and I ordered it Noon on Wednesday and I had it on Saturday, from CA to Iowa. They have always been a pleasure to work with.

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[DaveN]

Paragon is worse if you are trying to find a part via search or diagram; price and customer service from Jason are usually outstanding though.

Sunset is great BUT they don't do any reasonable shipping like USPS for out of country sales so we have to bend over when the UPS guy arrives. Your saving are all lost the moment the doorbell rings <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

don't blame the vendor. unfortunately USPS has not figured out a way to let us complete the necessary documentation and such, and mail things from our locations. that means that we have to go to the post office. that takes time and that costs money. we could bill you for the time, but you'd spend more than you do for UPS.



it sucks, but it is what it is.

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[BeBe]

What is the website for "Sunset" mentioned above? When I punched Sunset Porsche parts into a search engine, I ended up with a Porsche dealer website in Oregon that did not seem to have any way to search for parts.

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[bombfactory]

Sunset is fantastic on price and customer service, but they do not have a searchable website. You have to call or email. I usually email them with a list of part numbers and it works out great - very happy with them.



As for Pelican - I do use them. Their prices might not be the best, but I can usually easily find what I'm looking for, and payment via paypal is a breeze. And I've found their shipping times to be quite fast (but their warehouse isn't far from where I live).

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[BeBe]

Thanks bombfactory. I thought I was on the wrong website. Sunset comes up often as a source for parts in different threads, so I didn't want to be missing out.



My last order came from Pelican. I didn't find everything I needed and it took a while to get the stuff, but I expect I'll continue to check their site out when looking for parts -- not great, not terrible.

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[flash]

i've used pelican with repeated success. their return policy is good and quite simple. customer service is very good.



that being said, they don't heave everything, and you have to be careful if you want truly OEM parts. they carry a LOT of substitute stuff. their pricing is usually at least competitive, and often lower, though sometimes higher. what they do carry, they usually have in stock in their warehouse.



i love sunset, and when i have the time to wait for the part, i use them. great service and support. they don't stock much though, so there is often a lag time to get the part.

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