Bratton's 2012 catalog

I first met walt at the 1992 MAFCA meet in Dallas. Walt was at all the seminars and assisted those who were making presentations. What impressed me about him was his way of doing business. On the back table of the seminar room he had hundreds of his catalogs stacked up free for the taking. This was at a time when most suppliers wanted to charge you a fee for their catalog.

Ever since then I have been doing business with him and a catalog shows up in the mail each April. This year it is early. If I want an extra for the shop all I have to do is ask and it shows up in the mail, free. A Bratton catalog is also a source of mechanical drawings that are indispensable.

If anyone is interested, the price for a complete set of differential bearings went up about $10, I am sure the courtesy of Timken.

Tom Endy
 
I like the parts I get from them but I think their shipping out west is too high. They seem to have a flat intial rate for the smallest of things and I paid over $11 to send a few things that would have cost a few bucks postal service.
 
Bill Goddard said:
I got my new cat too. I live close enough to buy stuff in person. Last April I arranged a joint tour of the facility for our two local clubs. What a candy store. Most of the people you talk to on the phone or see in person own Model A's. I really like Walt's procurement policy - "Make it like the Ford print or forget it - I'll find someone who will!" Bill G
Click to expand...

We lost our "cat" a few days ago. Coyotes got her. (Sorry could not resist)
 
Many of the parts houses have a high shipping rate. It gets worse when you find out how much they actually pay at the bulk rates.


I think that keeps the small transactions down some since you are less likely to call up and order just the $1.50 part. I also believe they need to keep a bit more a of a cash flow going to be able to attempt to have quality parts produced. That is I think some of their profit margin on parts is made up in the shipping of the parts, not in the true profit of some of the parts.

I know I try to plan my orders so I have enough parts to make the shipping cost worth while. If it means they manage to produce a few more usable new parts to keep the A's going then I would say it was a good value.
 
Any good business is going to have a solid shipping/handling fee, which starts with ordering in the parts, recieving/recording inventory, stocking shelves, taking the order, pulling the parts, wrapping/ boxing, labeling and scheduling delivery. Taking all that into account, you are lucky not to be paying more, with numerous parts suppliers you can't count on all your sales profits to pay for this, you would price yourself out of competitive market. If you figure in 15 minutes per order and are processing a hundred or more orders a day it really ads up. I think poeple who have time to complain on shipping charges should try to do the same on large scale and see how it does affect the bottom line. Given Walts ability to listen to and adjust his shipping policy is just another feather in his cap.
 
To determine the cost of shippping is tough to do in advance. Costs depend on weight and size. Unless you have a computerizes system that "knows" the weight of each item to determine the final weight of the order and the "knows" the size so it can pick the right size box for things like flat rate shipping how are you going to give the customer an accurate price in advance?

If someone were to buy a $5.00 item. It might be able to be put in an anvelope and sent first class for a few cents but think about it this way. The order comes in, employee reads the order, gathers the part from the stock room, prints an invoice, checks to see that payment is made and accepted the part and invoice are put into an envelope address label printed, and applied the part is place in the out going pile for pick up.

How long do you think that would take, 15 20 minutes? How much does the employee make an hour divided by 4 for the 15 minutes, add the envelope, lable, paper for invoice, ink etc, etc. How much money did he lose on that sale?

The giant warehouses like Amazon have such a computerized system to pick, pack, and ship so there shipping rate are closer to real (plus a little profit).
 
I just received an order from Bratton's two days ago. The box was about 15" square and the weight included several transmission bearings, a number of pedal and clutch release shafts, a dozen pedal bushings, two quarts of 600W oil, and a number of other smaller items. Eighteen part numbers in all, some multiple quantities. The shipping cost was only $11.50 and it arrived here in five days. Maryland to Southern California. No complaints about that.

Tom Endy
 
I've found that Bratton's had the least expensive and fastest shipping of ANY parts house. This is from Md to Mi.
 
Tom Endy , nice looking car....I kick myself in the *** everytime i think about the 190A i let slip thru my hands... What a solid car that was and original except the paint job. Last i heard it was out in Greenlawn , Long Island N.Y. [a Dentist bought it] and he died and did not hear any word where the car went to. maroom /black with red wheels
 
Got my catalog this past week also. I've been buying from them for a few years, since I first got my A. Never a problem, great service. Thank you Bratton's.
 
Brubaker said:
I'm a big Bratton's fan too. Small detail, but I like the index to be all the way in the back(as it is).
Curious if the photo is 'old' or staged(?). Very nice either way!
Click to expand...

That's an old original photo. You can buy a nice glossy print of it or several others on page 160.
 
I received my catalog here in Ohio on Monday. Bratton's goes out of their way to be fair and honest. I once ordered a new set of head studs and when they arrived the two longer studs were replaced with two short studs. When I called to tell them about this, they said to keep the studs I received and they would send a new order, three days later they were at my front door.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top