eBay vs Tire Rack

[SubLGT]

http://www.tyrepress.com/2017/05/ebay-begins-rollout-of-tyre-fitting-service/

Quote:
...Beginning this month, eBay will begin adding tyre fitting to the portfolio of automotive services it offers in certain markets. The online giant says eBay Motors will initially offer tyre fitting to motorists in Germany before rolling out the service in the US market this summer...

The new service gives shoppers the ability to bundle new tyre purchases with professional installation in their local area...


Are Tire Rack and Discount Tire concerned about this?

 

[dareo]

Tire Rack charges ENTIRELY too much shipping. I mean come on, $160 to ship 4 tires on wheels from Nevada to Utah? Not gonna happen.

 

[Chris142]

Thats why I dont order tires. Cheaper locally when you add shipping.

 

[dareo]

There are companies shipping tires economically. Tire rack isn't one of them. They don't offer Fedex at all. A high volume company can get great volume shipping costs. Amazon's account for example can send 50lbs for $15. Do i expect tire rack to have amazon's level of discount? No, but $20 a tire and $20 a wheel going a state away is an obvious upcharge on shipping.

 

[d00df00d]

Tire Rack now has road hazard protection rolled into their prices. When I include that and shipping, they're always comparable or cheaper vs. any other online retailer I've seen. Now that that's the case, I never buy tires except from Tire Rack. The only exception I'd make is if they didn't carry something I wanted (Nokian is the only example I can imagine). And even when they are more expensive, it's by very little -- and I'm fine paying it for their excellent service. Their product info people are top notch, and their shipping and returns are great.

 

[edwardh1]

dont buy a tire one place and have it mounted somewhere else.
you want a finished product

 

[FordBroncoVWJeta]

I have bought tires of Discounttiiredirect.com and Walmart.com

Neither have disappointed me yet. Plus free shipping!!!

 

[dareo]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
dont buy a tire one place and have it mounted somewhere else.
you want a finished product


Why not? I bring carry in work to places all the time and have no issues. I also buy from Discount Tire when the deal is decent enough.

 

[copcarguy]

I have a winter tire/wheel combo for every vehicle in my household. I regularly buy a new set of tires from TireRack when it's time for the changeover and throw the loose tires and wheels in my truck. The local shop charges me $15 per tire to mount and balance them. They always ask why I didn't buy the tires from them, and I say "would you have charged me $_______ for them including road hazard?"

It usually ends up being $100 or so cheaper doing it this way.

 

[dareo]

How do you get road hazard warranty paid out from a place like Tire Rack or other online company? It seems like they all sell it, but how do they do the pro rata online?

 

[Eddie]

You go to a place that sells the same line of tires. They will measure tread depth and any other problems and contact TireRack. Ed

 

[JHZR2]

Tire rack offers pickup. If you're not close enough to make that work, it seems like a rarity (around one set in four for me) that tire rack comes out ahead. I always shop them first though because the info for research is top notch, and I like to reward good info on a good site. But I also don't car to pay >>$100 for it, which can be the case.

I haven't needed tires since they enabled pickup in DE. I cross through routinely on my travels to Washington, and suspect the sales tax and shipping savings will make them VERY competitive for me now...

 

[Sayjac]

An outfit called TireBuyer.com does something similar to or same as this currently in the States. IME, they have not been able to touch Discount Tire out the door price. And at DT the entire process from sale to service after the sale (rot/bal/warranty/flatrepair) is kept in house. So highly doubtful b&m DT would be concerned. Don't think DTD would be either.

Might affect Tire Rack, but I doubt that too. Have noticed recently that TR is expanding the number of warehouses for pick up, which would eliminate shipping costs in some areas. Still none in this area that is a viable option, but I noticed recently they added one to the Atlanta area.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

Yes, I could drive to Tire Rack's distribution center in Reno NV to save $50-60 dollars in shipping. Not really feasible...time or money-wise as it's four hours away. I would much rather use a local seller that has a retail presence that matches or often undercuts TR pricing.

People taut TR's testing / research information but I've found that it's not particularly relevant to my tire purchases because I don't drive a 3 series BMW which is their usual test mule vehicle. While the intent is to level the testing field, I'm more concerned about relevance with this information than equivalency. My car weighs 900 pounds less with different wheel angles, suspension, and other componentry that will dictate the actual ride and performance levels.

If a local brick and mortar offers a 30 day trial, free patches, rebalancing and other services, I don't think TR provides much value other than an internet site that shows up first in a search and has specific tire information that may or may not be relevant to your situation / application. I actually find what they sell to be a bit limited so I don't necessarily feel beholden to them for any information given. If eBay or Amazon want to create a different model...knock themselves out.

 

[kbmag1]

Three successful purchases from discount tire direct. Even had road hazard for five dollars per tire and free shipping