Tool Parts Availability
A feature that we have had for awhile on eReplacementParts.com is the ability to see the availability of tool parts in real time. I never wrote about this before, so I figured now would be a good time to tell you about it.
This allows you as the customer to see if your desired parts are currently in stock, special order, or on back order from the manufacturer.
Here is a snapshot of a typical listing on our site:
Here is what each of these terms mean on our website:
In Stock: This status means that we have these parts in our warehouse, and they are available for order right now. Hooray! This is the best case scenario, because it means that (barring any problems) they will ship out within 24 hours. As soon as you place your order you will see our stock levels decrease, because we have specifically reserved these parts for you. That way, we will not have two people try to reserve the same parts, and leave someone disappointed. Of course our system is not perfect, but we are constantly improving it to make your experience as seamless as possible.
Special Order: This status means that we do not currently have these parts in our warehouse, but we can bring them in from the manufacturer on your behalf. There are over 100,000 possible parts that you could order on our website, so it would be very difficult for us to stock every one of them. We try to stock as many parts as possible, and our inventory will improve with time. The lead time of special order items will be listed on their respective parts page. This can range from less than a week to over a month. Just know that it will take us awhile to get the parts to you, and we promise that we will try to get them to you as soon as possible. We are placing these orders to the manufacturer on your behalf, so we consider it our duty to call you if it is going to take longer than expected.
On Backorder: Now the hard part is that we are sometimes at the mercy of the manufacturer when it comes to getting your orders to you. Manufacturers do place items on backorder, meaning that they cannot send them to us until a specified future release date. This is very frustrating to us (and to you of course) because these back orders are nation wide, and there is often nothing we can do to get parts to you any faster. Again, our commitment to you is that we will let you know what is going on and give you options on how to handle your order. For example, if your parts are on back order we will give you the option to wait for them and have us ship your order complete, or to cancel your order and get a full refund. Again we want your business for the long term, and we want to accommodate you as best as possible.
I hope this is helpful. Long ago, we decided that the more information that we can give you, the better your experience with us will be. Rest assured, we love what we do here. Our goal is to be the best at it. As always, we welcome comments and complaints.
