Rock Auto Outrageous Shipping

Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
1,638
Location
sw ohio
Was going to purchase 2 oil filters and an air filter at Rock for $25. But cheapest shipping was over $21! Fogetaboutit. Got to reconsider buying from Amazon again despite their reputation. Or back to WM.
 
In my business I charge a flat rate fee of $8.95 an order and I insure everything.
Most of the time I get soaked but the customers still cry because they want a $3 part.
Like you if i don't like the shipping I bail and go elsewhere...
 
Was going to purchase 2 oil filters and an air filter at Rock for $25. But cheapest shipping was over $21! Fogetaboutit. Got to reconsider buying from Amazon again despite their reputation. Or back to WM.
I bet they are shipping from multiple locations. The trick with RA is to pick parts that will ship from the same location, then your shipping cost will be decent.

A lot of times, I notice RA has a much lower price for an item, but when you factor in their shipping vs Amazon's shipping, the shipped cost is about the same. Then you gotta look at how fast it will get to you as another variable. Just like for any item, if you want the best deal you gotta do a little legwork. Jumping on here and complaining isn't going to lower the shipping cost and likely will have someone like @kschachn bomb you with dozens of links to other similar posts.
 
I don’t understand the fascination with super cheap oil filters bought on line.

Just bought a filter for the Tundra. $5.98. Full retail price, at the Toyota dealer. No shipping. The best quality you can get. Certain authenticity.

How much are you really saving with Amazon or RA?
 
I wanted to buy a exhaust pipe from RA, the pipe was a WALKER 47839 and cost $119. I ended up buying it from Amazon for $135 and got free prime shipping. I see Walmart has the same deal. This is why I didn't buy it from RA.

RA Shipping.jpg
 
I bet they are shipping from multiple locations. The trick with RA is to pick parts that will ship from the same location, then your shipping cost will be decent.

A lot of times, I notice RA has a much lower price for an item, but when you factor in their shipping vs Amazon's shipping, the shipped cost is about the same. Then you gotta look at how fast it will get to you as another variable. Just like for any item, if you want the best deal you gotta do a little legwork. Jumping on here and complaining isn't going to lower the shipping cost and likely will have someone like @kschachn bomb you with dozens of links to other similar posts.
I chose the best shipping combinations that were available. This was the best I could do.
 
I don’t understand the extreme anti Rock sentiment. If it doesn’t work , it doesn’t work. Repair shops don’t exactly order from rock or Amazon.

I recently got 5 Wix XP oil filters included with $11.99 shipping, that I was already paying for other parts.

Why 5? Because when I put 6 in my cart, the shipping went to $22.98, and parts came from another warehouse. I didn’t post that shipping on 1 more filter is outrageous, @ $10.99. Instead, I ordered 5.
 
But were all items shipping from the same warehouse?
No- oil filters came from another warehouse. One would think a warehouse would have both oil and air filters for that engine.
I once had a math prof that had a Phd in combinatorics. Its getting to the point that you may need one to deal with RA shipping games. LOL
 
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The subject of excessive shipping at Rock Auto has been beaten to death here. There are a lot of variables that affect the cost and sometimes it's cheaper elsewhere. Overall, I found RA is generally the best deal.

The Brembo rear brake pads I bought last week for a Mercedes S550 shipped for $8 and cost $40 total. They would have been $50 shipped on Amazon.

Last month for my Impreza I ordered a wheel bearing, front brake pads, rear brake pads, parking brake shoes and parking brake hardware. Shipping was $11 and their 5% discount effectively brought that down to just $1.
 
I don’t understand the fascination with super cheap oil filters bought on line.

Just bought a filter for the Tundra. $5.98. Full retail price, at the Toyota dealer. No shipping. The best quality you can get. Certain authenticity.

How much are you really saving with Amazon or RA?
I buy filters I want to try that I can not get elsewhere easily - and usually add to an order I am already placing only if they ship together. I have got to try Hengst, Mahle, Denso (non toyota application) and Champ XL. Maybe I can find these at the local auto parts store, but I never go there so RA works for me.

Back when I only used Wix i would order 10 at a time so the cost was still far less than the same filter at Napa.

Ordering a couple by themselves, no that won't work.
 
I think a lot of these places, (Rock Auto for cars, and Midway USA for guns), are realizing just how profitable shipping can be. I used to buy a lot from Midway, but no longer.

As soon as their automated, "Nitro Express Shipping" went into effect, I noticed a large increase in their shipping costs overall. They're making money on their shipping.

When I buy from Amazon, I usually get free shipping. Especially if you piece together several items. So they are getting more of my business. While Midway gets much less. Amazon ships much faster as well.
 
I don’t understand the fascination with super cheap oil filters bought on line.

Just bought a filter for the Tundra. $5.98. Full retail price, at the Toyota dealer. No shipping. The best quality you can get. Certain authenticity.

How much are you really saving with Amazon or RA?
The majority of members here bash dealerships and many are unaware they are paying more but are thrilled to go around the dealer. The norm here.
 
I don’t understand the fascination with super cheap oil filters bought on line.

Just bought a filter for the Tundra. $5.98. Full retail price, at the Toyota dealer. No shipping. The best quality you can get. Certain authenticity.

How much are you really saving with Amazon or RA?
It can work out well if you stock up to amortize the shipping cost over several items.

A few months ago I bought an oil filter for an older lady we know. She had been recently widowed, and I had volunteered to help with routine maintenance.

All prices in C$:

Our closest Walmart had only the high-end Fram OF for her Nissan - $14.98 + $0.50 eco fee + 12% sales taxes.

A couple of weeks ago I bought three oil filters (Bosch?) from RA for her vehicle @ c. $6 each, no eco fee, and only the federal sales tax (5%).

I'll cover the shipping because I also ordered a tool and three oil filters for our van.

The tool was mandatory, so I chose the filters for both vehicles based on shipping from the same warehouse.
 
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The subject of excessive shipping at Rock Auto has been beaten to death here. There are a lot of variables that affect the cost and sometimes it's cheaper elsewhere. Overall, I found RA is generally the best deal.

The Brembo rear brake pads I bought last week for a Mercedes S550 shipped for $8 and cost $40 total. They would have been $50 shipped on Amazon.

Last month for my Impreza I ordered a wheel bearing, front brake pads, rear brake pads, parking brake shoes and parking brake hardware. Shipping was $11 and their 5% discount effectively brought that down to just $1.
You always get the guy that will argue about anything. I'm just trying to state my experience. Geez
 
At least BITOG is not like the BMW forum was 20 years ago. If the keyword "girl" appeared in a post, the thread blew up. Really.
 
I always cross shop RA with (5%off plus shipping), with Amazon (prime member), other online sources and local AP stores.

When it comes to filters though, oil filters specifically. I've found minimum 6 bulk purchase required to mitigate shipping costs. That said, only bought oil filters twice that way(bulk) with the US made Bosch Premium for an excellent price. Generally though, find Amazon the best place for couple oil filters. After that, for a single filter purchase, local parts stores or Amazon.
 
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