Policy for shipping times, and errors... including our errors.

FAST shipping and SERVICE... Please scroll down

$15.00 / $30.00 shipping cost... Scroll Down

After dealing with only a very few people (nuts) I now understand why there are warnings on bleach bottles not to drink bleach.

I am sooooo sorry to have to write this page.  In 18 years there have been only a few instances were a customer was less that great to deal with.  I can count them all on one hand, out of thousands of customers and a millions of dollars in product shipped.

#1. Even if we made a mistake you need to be reasonable and civil.  

If the opening e-mail includes things like "unless you do this I will have the Sheriff pursue you locally", then save your breath and get an attorney. or "I expect (at 4:45 in the afternoon) that you rectify this immediately and send me a part overnight at your expense and refund my shipping cost"  Save your breath again. There are too many companies involved and many people. Consider the economics of providing reasonable customer service and staying in business at the same time.

A few years ago we have had a bad experience from a Deputy Sheriff that claimed he did not receive four spark plugs when he (or his wife) ordered 4 spark plug wires.  We shipped the package. UPS weighed the package and charged me  a 1 pound minimum. He claimed the package arrived empty. His first e-mail included veiled threats of having local sheriffs pursuing me personally  if I did not do things as he ordered and in the time period he specified. (like I did all this work, 18,000 files, and five years time on a website, just to put the screws to him personally on a $4.00 part). His wife refused to allow UPS to inspect the box. Outboardparts.com is part of a Florida Corporation, incorporated in 1983. We will not tolerate personal attacks, or threats on any member of our staff or myself, the owner. Not even from a member of the Arizona Sheriff's Department.

I, nor my staff, will not be threatened over any situation and respond favorably.

We already pay for all the customer mistakes each year, by the hundreds.  We return and exchange errors and if the customer initially ordered 2nd day then we will return the part 2nd day without charging them a dime extra. We eat thousands of dollars of shipping costs yearly through no fault of our own. We have hundreds of "thank you" e-mails collected from customers that we helped out of a jam.

Occasionally we have a new employee somewhere screw something up. Recently someone demanded that we replace his parts because his neighbors dog chewed it up when it was left on his front porch.  It would be a circus of returned parts if we require every package to be left in the customers hand and signed for. Believe it or not, UPS actually issued a claim number. They send out someone every time to look at the box. Unfortunately, when they say they will honor a claim,  they issue me the opportunity to fill out a bunch of papers and a claim number.  Months later they would refund some or all of the shipment.  This is hardly worth the effort to fill out the forms with UPS to try to collect shipping money when they took three days instead of two. 

If you expect this (refunds for slow 2nd day shipping) from us,  please... find some other company to deal with before you place your order.

We expect that the customer will understand that, in the event of a mistake, we will ship again using the same method as was on the order. We lose money on every order under $60.00 now... without any errors.  We simply can't stay in business and do things like pay $40.00 to overnight a spark plug wire, or a $3.00 gasket.  My suppliers don't even want to see orders under $100.00. I pay them an additional $5.00 to process and handle a small order.

The money charged is for shipping includes packaging and minimum order fees from my suppliers. So $30.00 or $15.00 is not just the cost of shipping. 

No refunds on shipping for any reason except if the item was not shipped.

It is not reasonable to expect that we will pay to overnight parts if the neighbor's (it really happened!) dog ate the package, someone made a mistake, or even if  UPS lost or damaged a package. Outboard motor parts are not a human organ transplant.  

Please be honest with yourself. You probably waited till the last minute to order the part if you needed it yesterday.  Be even more honest.  Your motor sat for the last 6 months and needed that part. If you wait until the last minute then there is no room for any error, including your own. 

We will reship at our expense but only according to our terms and conditions.

FAST shipping and SERVICE

We ship fast, usually the same day.

BUT...

We do not offer Overnight, Next Day or Saturday shipping. 

We are not equipped to handle rush, rush emergency orders. The error rate is higher when everyone is turned upside down because of last minute planning. This is true in every field, even  medicine. 

Some things are drop shipped.  Orders placed in the afternoon (Eastern time) will usually not move until the next business day.  When you calculate shipping time... think business days, not weekend time. Holidays are short business weeks. The warehouse closes early before a major holiday. 

We will do our best to keep you happy... always.  If you wait till the 1st of July to order a part so you can go out on the 4th...  Change your plans.  You may have been in so much of a hurry that you ordered the wrong part, it may not fix the problem you have, you may need yet another part. Or... you will probably get the part on the 5th because of the holiday. We get this every year. 2nd day shipping or not..

$15.00 / $30.00  shipping methods and cost.

2nd day shipping is a shipping method only.  This is the shipping option that is faster than regular UPS. It is never a guarantee that you receive your part in two days. Using this method it is 3-4 days with processing. A second day package does not move anywhere over the weekend. Second day orders on a Friday will arrive the next Wednesday or Thursday when everything goes smooth.  We will not EVER, EVER give your money back if you did not get the part on the second day.  We pay other companies to box, pack and process orders so small that I am penalized for not being above the minimum order requirements. It is  a losing proposition to handle most small orders with second day or regular shipping. We are on the East coast of Florida. If you order at noon on the West coast it is already too late for us to ship it the same day. If the part is out of stock we will attempt to let you know if the delay is excessive. The local warehouse stocks every part listed on the site. We do not list things that are not everyday stocked items.   Even with 10 million dollars on hand at a local warehouse we can run flat out. The warehouse supplies thousands of other wholesale customers besides outboardparts.com.

There are charges that customers don't see,  gateway fees, credit card fees, boxing fees, fees to provide e-mail tracking services.  The service of a small order is as costly as a large one.  Errors are made on small orders more often than large ones.  People are not as careful about the small orders as they are when spending larger amounts of money. Yet, they demand tracking information at a rate higher than large orders.  The small order customers are more demanding for information and service. The errors and returns are higher and so is the amount of money lost.  Small orders are the biggest loss we suffer in both time and money.  It is offered strictly as a service to the customer. A $3.00 gasket, a  $2.00 seal or 4 spark plug wires seem to generate the most demanding service. 

When the rush season is on us we run out of something every day. If you are in a panic you need to get hold of me personally and have me check everything out for you. Is it in stock? Did we run low during that day? Is the neighbor's dog tied up?

CALL FIRST or E-MAIL

941 209-5747

E-MAIL is BETTER 

DSTIBER@AOL.COM

We do our best to process and ship each order as fast as possible,

The most reasonable customer will get the most attention and the most unreasonable customer will not. I like nice people and do not like bullies. 

We will always do our best to help you, but if your demands are unreasonable we can't help you.

Thanks,

Love you, mean it!

Don Stiber

owner outboardparts.com