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2wheel_lee

I've been wanting to buy some spokes to relace the wheels on one of my BMX bikes. So Jenson shows the spokes I need on their website as "Ships Tomorrow." Although I was about to pull the trigger to order them (linked via STR), a week and a half ago, I realized I was going to go by their store/warehouse in Ontario. I checked Thursday, and it still said that the spokes ship tomorrow. On Friday evening, it said ships Monday, which I assume is because they don't ship on weekends. So I drive to the store, and they say they don't have them - never did - and that they'd have to order them. I asked what the meaning of shipping on Monday was, and he said the website always says that for all items for the weekend. I didn't get a good explanation of why it previously said that the item ships tomorrow.

What's the deal with that? Does their idea of "shipping tomorrow" or "ships monday" mean that it gets ordered from their distributor, ships to Jenson, then ships to me? That's really lame, I think. I'm hesitant to order them, because I don't want to wait three or more weeks while they get shipped from the distributor. I've seen in the past and on other sites that it'll say "out of stock" or an expected arrival date. I didn't expect this kind of runaround from Jenson.

I guess this is an example where purchasing items via website are risky, and you should always place orders over the phone, so you have a better chance of getting useful inventory status. BTW, I say better chance, because another time I did call, and the guy said they had a large quantity of the item I wanted in stock, and when I got there, they had the parts mislabeled, and didn't have anything that I wanted.

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allison

May also just be an oversight by them? I imagine with that large of a stock it's hard to keep track of everything. It happens with multiple online dealers, I think. Usually if I order and then later find out it isn't in stock they are cool with cancelling the order.

That being said... mebbe you should just call up a shop in Tustin and see what they've got

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2wheel_lee

If they can't keep track of inventory for only a few thousand items - seriously - maybe they are in the wrong business.

The shop in Tustin doesn't have them in stock. But it looks like I will be ordering from there since Jenson may not have a good inventory management system.

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Rockinthecasbah

You have to check the in store status on the site if it says ships monday its usally drlop shipped form a distributor they have a link on the site that shows the in store status ive went in to corona store and bought stuff they didnt know they evern had because it said it was in stock

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Winger

Did you do an actual check of the store inventory before you went to the store?

Perhaps they either ship from a different warehouse, or drop ship straight from another source.

TURNERob

I believe Jenson outsources their wheel builds so not sure if they stock a whole bunch of spokes or not

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Rockinthecasbah

yea you can check store avialability on the site when your looking at an item they drop ship alot of items. By the way i speak highly of the customer service of jenson in corona

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2wheel_lee

But everything that is seemingly in stock says that it ships tomorrow. It's a lie, I tell ya! (or at least that it is stock at their warehouse in Ontario)

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Rockinthecasbah

yea most of its coming from theyre distributor in MN I had that prob with some SS stuff i ordered i thought it would ship form ontario and get here fast and it took almost 2 weeks from MN

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2wheel_lee

Anyhow, if there's a chance that it ships from elsewhere, I don't want to bother risking however much time it could take to get to me from across the country. I order from Jenson because it is convenient, and I think it will arrive soon (which orders used to). However, if it's going to take a week or more - and again, they give me no idea - then I may as well order from other mailorder houses, and not have to pay California sales tax (and ground shipping from Jenson is already overpriced).

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Abui

Some vendors ship direct from offsite with the merchandise never going through the store. It could be that the spokes really were ready to ship tomorrow - if you made a web order. If items are in short supply a web order is the way to be first in line.

I have more confidence in the status provided by the web (linked to inventory) than what some guy thinks he sees on the shelf.

stinkyrider

Just bought some Hayes BFL levers from Jenson. The status said "ships tomorrow". I ordered and it was shipped directly from some distributer in the midwest somewhere the next day. It took about a week and a half to arrive. No biggie.

2wheel_lee

I understand the concept of drop shipping.
However, when I think something is coming from Ontario, I'd expect it to arrive sooner. In fact, if I think it's coming from Ontario, I'd think it would only take a day or two. If I needed something for the next weekend, I'd be frickin' pissed to wait a week and a half! Again, if I'm going to wait that long, I don't want to pay California sales tax!

What I've learned from this is that you just can't beat The Path. They're straight up with you (well, mostly. It did recently take a month to get a Fox spring because the order guy forgot to order it).

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dstepper

There was a time when I ordered from Jenson or Pricepoint and the stuff was on my doorstep the next day. Maybe I was just lucky or odered common items. Lately orders from both stores seem to take longer. Sometimes it takes two days just to get the shipped today e-mail with the tracking number. If it can't ship tomorrow please don't tell me it will...now it seems like a sales pitch rather than a promise.

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elab

Couldn't agree more.

Jenson's not so convenient anymore.

mechmann

last time i ordered from The Path or Bluesky i got the items next day.

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Abui

I ordered from PricePoint on 11/19. Goods were delivered on 11/20. Saved me a lot of gas and time.

BrewMaster

Sounds like you assumed too much Lee. Ricky is right, check the in store status if you plan to buy in store. Makes sense, no?

I've ordered stuff online for in store pick up (to save shipping) and Jenson has called me personally to tell me the items would be ready in a few days. They were always ready sooner.

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GP_pilot

Although I have made only one order w/ Jenson, I had one box of parts 2 days later and the remainder appear 8 days later. I find this happens a lot w/ mail order shops w/ store fronts. I shop at BB, but only cuz this crack store is on the way home from my work bike commute.

After my past experience ordering lots of motorcycle parts and shady camera equipment stores who lure you in w/ cheap prices, are more than willing to take your order, but never have it in stock, I had to formulate a routine if I needed parts sooner than later:
"Hi, Yes, I was checking to see if you have part XYZ in stock? No?
Ok, then does your warehouse have it? No? Oh, I see.
Could you check the distribution center? Out of stock and on back order, yes I see.
Ok, thanks." (click)

2wheel_lee

After looking around, I finally found the "Store Availability" tab. I've never seen that before. On my screen, those tabs are a very light gray, so they difficult to see. I vaguely remember the inventory status being shown where it now says ships tomorrow. Perhaps the website was revised over the past few years, and I never saw this. Learned something today (value to this thread!).

Sure enough, almost nothing [I need/want] is in stock.

Nonetheless, out of all this, I've learned that Jenson is no longer convenient or reliable (I have no idea when to expect to receive an order). And they're especially not as convenient as when they were in Brea.

I hear you on that one! I was pissed one time when Jenson split up my order without contacting me, causing me to pay multiple shipping charges.

__________________
Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... that's what gets you.

May the air be filled with tires!