AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Sounds great but the OP isn't in the Cummins parts retail business.
It seems like ethics are missing and some are okay with it.
It seems like ethics are missing and some are okay with it.
You want to know why everything is so expensive?
- Thread starter Jimmy_Russells
- Start date
Maybe Cummins is expensive for parts .
You need someone assigned to purchasing to hunt down better prices. I see that spring for $5.61 + ?? shipping or $13 free S/H.
INTERSTATE-MCBEE® M 138805 SPRING - GREEN - 5.19 COIL FOR CUMMINS®
Your Source for thousands of Premium New, Remanufactured and Good Used Parts for Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, International, John Deere, Mack, Navistar, Volvo, Renault Engines and the Trucks and Equipment they power. Professional Support, Extensive Coverage, Competitive Pricing and...www.woodlineparts.com
INTERSTATE-MCBEE CUMMINS Spring - Green - 5.19 Coil M-138805 | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for INTERSTATE-MCBEE CUMMINS Spring - Green - 5.19 Coil M-138805 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
$17.50 spring and they also have the plug for $26.50, same $16 S/H charge might cover both items.
Cummins Genuine Part 138805 SPRING,FUEL PUMP TORQUE
138805 - This is a genuine part for Cummins; not an aftermarket part.sleequipment.com
Cummins Genuine Part 3029300 PLUG,O RING
3029300 - This is a genuine part for Cummins; not an aftermarket part.
Even those prices seem high, I once contacted a spring company about making springs and it was more like $3 each for something that small, in quantities of a few hundred. Just sayin', you make up the profits in doing more volume, if you have the right price to attract customers.
That’s fine if I (and my customer) don’t mind waiting a week and either paying like $50 to ship to Canada or spending two hours round trip going to our P.O. Box just across the border.
I have hundreds of Dipaco and Interstate McBee Cummins and CAT parts in inventory. These specific parts in question aren’t parts I use every day (or every five years) so having large quantities in inventory makes no sense.
I didn’t open the bag personally so not 100% sure but I would imagine something to absorb moisture
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Probably a vapor/corrosion inhibitor.
Mike B
Same reason a restaurant marks up the price of food. No one gives you parts at cost and the just bills every expense in labor.
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Not sure where the ethics part is missing. Maybe I can be educated?
1) The OP agrees he doesn't want to take the time to make the part
2) The OP doesn't use this part often enough to stock the part
3) The OP doesn't want to wait a week to get the part from a different source that is much cheaper
4) Presumably the owner of said vehicle doesn't want to wait to get his rig back either.
5) presumably the OP knew the price for the part when he ordered it, and no one was holding a gun to his head to do it.
I am certainly not saying the part is cheap, but there is a lot more to the value in something beyond the part itself - there is time place utility. The fact that the part is available readily has a value. The seller has to make (or buy) then stock the obscure part, then wait for someone to order it and delivery it promptly.
Its like paying $8 for a beer at the ball game, when you can buy it for a buck at the grocery store. Time/place utility.
FWIW I don't go the ball game and if I do I don't buy the concessions because they cost too much, but the point would be that some people think its good to have it available and be expensive, than not be available at all.
So where did I loose my ethics on this?
^ You make good points, and it seems justified to charge a "small" price premium but not so much this large.
Ethically it would be taking advantage of someone in a desperate situation, and/or unethical for a manufacturer to produce a product then not provide the customers with reasonable repair options. If we extend the argument, it results in a lot of waste, pollution and adding to landfills needlessly, if products are prohibitively expensive to repair, and that's bad for humanity.
I'd also argue that it's a bit unethical to prevent people from bringing their own beer to ball games, if they allow beer as evidenced by selling it themselves. Attendees of course agree to that, but only because they have no choice. Ethics and legality don't always align.
Ethically it would be taking advantage of someone in a desperate situation, and/or unethical for a manufacturer to produce a product then not provide the customers with reasonable repair options. If we extend the argument, it results in a lot of waste, pollution and adding to landfills needlessly, if products are prohibitively expensive to repair, and that's bad for humanity.
I'd also argue that it's a bit unethical to prevent people from bringing their own beer to ball games, if they allow beer as evidenced by selling it themselves. Attendees of course agree to that, but only because they have no choice. Ethics and legality don't always align.
Things cost what they cost because a crisis is in the making. People agreeing to these prices by making purchases only adds to the issue.
I think when the retail price for a simple widget gets high enough, matching a man hour of skilled labor, something is wrong somewhere... For sure the costs of manufacturing, storing, and distributing parts is not zero, but for maybe $5 in manufacturing, for parts with no special storage needs and no expiry date, surely Cummins can sell them for less and make good money.
I guess Cummins knows that many corporate customers don't care really, just get the truck fixed and back on the road, but obviously there is some money to be made by making widgets for Cummins repairs so hopefully competition is tooling up!
He's not wrong, but I agree with you.
This isn't my first rodeo, I've been doing this a while. I ordered the parts, didn't ask the price, paid for them because I had a bigger job, for an even bigger job (truck) that needs to get back on the road. Cummins knows this - It's why people buy a $10,000 set of injectors from them, because they can't wait a week or two for something less expensive (and probably also better quality, believe it or not).
The thing is, I know what this stuff costs them, and they are straight up gouging. None of the aforementioned points changes the fact this practice is driving up costs for everybody. There is a reasonable profit to be made, and then there is taking advantage.
The world is awash in excess credit consequently prices rise because each newly created unit of credit causes all units of credit to be worth less.
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I agree with you 100% on this part, there making 95% margin and decent profit.
They get away with it for the exact reasons you state - for $110 bucks you have a quality part the next day and your on the road. Wouldn't you rather have one for $110 than not at all. There is an opportunity cost. Cummins is only going to do things that make money, so if they don't make a bunch of money then they will just stop and tell you to buy a whole new pump.
And yep, we all pay in the end. Isn't the free market grand. A good friend of mine grew up in the Eastern block under communist rule. He will tell you $110 dollar springs that are available are a wonderful thing.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Not referring to you. US MSRP on the parts is crazy expensive for what they cost to make. Today's exchange rate is $1.34 Canadian so $94Cad to $121 is only 30% over converted US MSRP price. This is from Cummins not a reseller.
And then Jimmy_Russells has to add his markup. It may be worth his or his companies time to have someone find lower prices as mentioned above. Someone asked why does he have to mark it up? In business if you sell anything for what you bought it for you lost money or in the case of time+materials you didn't get the margin you want.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
A comparison of the cost of the same tires 4 years ago and now would be a more valid example of inflating prices.
The Cooper tires that I put on the Xterra in 2015 for $760 all in from Discount tire would be $950 today.
There is time to acquire parts , process and deal with them.
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I completely agree - except what is a reasonable fee to source parts? Many shops add a lot more than a handling fee - like a 2 or 3X cost markup - for a part Napa delivered to them. Not referring to the OP - just making a general comment.
We can pay less than $50 for a small steel spring while still giving employees a fair living wage. This is GD ridiculous.
I really like this baseball beer analogy. If the Cummins has generally held up well and the long-term cost of ownership is good, maybe the owner is OK spending this much for this particular repair. Like the baseball fan who doesn't go to games every day... when they do go, they are prepared to spend the money on the things they really want/need.
I was going to reply with a scathing remark to the overall thread, something like "We can pay less than $50 for a small steel spring while still giving employees a fair living wage. This is GD ridiculous." In fact, this was my exact thought but then I decided to read through the remaining replies.....
I really like this baseball beer analogy. If the Cummins has generally held up well and the long-term cost of ownership is good, maybe the owner is OK spending this much for this particular repair. Like the baseball fan who doesn't go to games every day... when they do go, they are prepared to spend the money on the things they really want/need.
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