Moss Distributors

Macy's Garage

A Family Tradition Since 1932

You see this phrase tossed about quite freely in advertisements from the smaller British auto related businesses: “Moss Distributor”.  When I first started scouring Hemming’s and all of the British car magazines for Triumph bits, I didn’t understand the impact those 2 little words could have on my wallet.  After all, traditional wisdom says that I’m better off buying direct and eliminating the ‘middle man’.  What I didn’t realize, until many thousands of dollars later, was that most (but not necessarily all) parts distributors sell parts at a discount from published catalog prices. 

You might ask, “Why would they do that”?  There are 3 reasons that I can think of. The first answer is to entice you to order from them instead of directly from the catalog source.   Most large catalog parts companies have a 3 level price structure, with retail (list or catalog) price being the highest, and what most of you will normally pay.  They also offer dealer and distributor discounts based on sales volume to legitimate businesses, which leads me to the second reason that distributors sell at a discount.  We need your help to keep our annual purchases high enough to retain our discount status (and thus spend less of our own money on parts for our own cars!).  The third and least important reason is that we make a few cents on the spread between distributor cost and your price.  I sell special-ordered parts at a 10-12% discount, while other distributors may have some other method of determining the price you will pay.  Figuring the time involved in helping a customer with an order, passing it on to my supplier, checking it in on arrival, invoicing, and then getting the parts into your hands, I figure that I  loose a little on each part….but make it up on volume!

OK then, why do the big parts companies offer volume discounts to dealers and distributors who will undercut their profit?  My guess is that it’s less expensive to process 1 large order for a distributor than 5 smaller orders from individual customers.  There’s also market share to consider.  If they are shipping parts to a distributor, who will pass those parts on to the car owner at a discount, the savings might prevent that owner from placing his order with another parts company.  I don’t profess to know all of the nuances of the car parts business, but this explanation works for me!

Now that I have the background out of the way, let’s talk about how all of this affects you.  There are times when it is to your advantage to order through a distributor, and times when you shouldn’t.  The “should not” times are easy--if you’re in a hurry.  Nothing beats picking up the phone and having it shipped right to your door when you needed it yesterday.  Some of the times you should consider ordering through a distributor are as follows:

1. You’d like to have something small, you’re not in a big hurry, and the cost based shipping on that one item alone would be ridiculous.  Your order can be combined with several others to split the shipping, or in many instances qualify for free shipping to the distributor.  If you can pick up your part from the distributor, you win even after paying the sales tax.  If you need the distributor to ship it to your home, you’ll need to evaluate shipping costs and possible sales tax against the savings on the parts.

2. You need a large number of parts, or you need an expensive part.  Here the savings add up rather quickly, and even after paying the sales tax (Ohio residents only) and possibly shipment to your door, you’re still going to save a bundle!

Be sure to check with your distributor of choice even if the big catalog company is having a sale.  At times when they offer specific parts at sale prices, and also when they offer the blanket discounts, the dealers and distributors get additional savings that can be passed along so you’ll save even more!  With the requirement that distributors be legitimate businesses, most will have numerous parts sources, so be sure to check with your favorite distributor at any time you need something for your car. 

For Triumph parts, you can check me even when you’re in a hurry.  I am slowly building a TRIUMPH parts inventory for emergency repairs (yours AND mine!).  With the cost of maintaining an inventory there won’t be as great of a discount, but there will be times when it’s better to find that part in town today than to pay FedEx and wait until tomorrow for it to arrive.