MTFCA Forum

On or very near March 1, 2021, I ordered a Birdhaven Texas TParts catalog from their online website. Four weeks later, on or near April 1, 2021, I hadn't received it and called them. I told the lady that I had ordered the catalog, a month earlier and hadn't received it. She asked me if there was something that I specially wanted and she said they had it in stock. She also told me they were just getting around to addressing and mailing catalogs. I told he I would wait until I got my catalog as there might be other things that I might order. Thirty more days later, I'm still looking for the catalog that I ordered. I guess they don't want or need my business that bad, and if other vendors carried the particular part that i wanted (Birdhaven makes it), I'd order it from another vendor.

They had the part you wanted which you didn’t want to buy until you received a free printed catalog in the mail. Catalog didn’t come so now you are still going to buy the parts they make, but from someone else.

Okay... Hope that part is available when you need it... What is available TODAY may not be available tomorrow or this driving season anywhere for any cost... My guess is that mailing free catalogs was on the agenda at the time, but something more important took precedence.

There are many small vendors and manufacturers and most of them do it because they really like it and they are borderline workaholics, not because their investment and salary is outpacing their 401k by much.

One concern in our hobby is the continued survival of the small parts providers that help us keep our cars rolling. While I have occasionally been frustrated by delivery times I try to remember that I'm not dealing with Amazon or the like, and that for those small operators there are only so many hours in the day. My take is not that they don't want my business, but that they're doing the best that they can. That said, I do ask that the small providers just be upfront with me... if there are going to be delays, just tell me. I'll understand and deal with it.

The folks at Birdhaven work very hard and are dedicated to providing the best service possible. My experience with them has been nothing but positive. I'd like to kindly ask we cut them a little slack.

ModelTWoods wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 12:38 am

....She also told me they were just getting around to addressing and mailing catalogs. I told he I would wait until I got my catalog as there might be other things that I might order. Thirty more days later, I'm still looking for the catalog that I ordered. I guess they don't want or need my business that bad, and if other vendors carried the particular part that i wanted (Birdhaven makes it), I'd order it from another vendor.

How much did you pay for the catalogue you order including shipping?
You are well aware that Model T Part Suppliers (Birdhaven, Bob's, Snyders, S&J, Chaffins and even MAC's etc) pretty much sell the same parts and for the same price - all depends if they are the source or not. Shipping costs usually cause one to hold off ordering until a balance in value is achieved by adding more needed parts to the order. Suggest you, as I have done, browse some on-line catalogs to spark your interest. What you might observe is that some parts are starting to disappear from those listings meaning supplier backorders or end-of production runs. That's something you wouldn't get from a printed catalog that isn't up to date and may cause you to order before their all gone.
I realize that many T owner's prefer to order by phone but personally, I don't have time to chat on the phone to order parts or tie-up supplier's employee time. %#@*! if I'm put on "hold". There is also security issue if providing credit card information over the phone for them to copy down on a piece of paper until the order is gathered, packaged and shipping is calculated. Don't know how they dispose of that copy. If they do PayPal then I'm happy. My 2¢

Let me start by saying I am not being derogatory or trying to shame anyone, I get it but Adam & Tim I couldn’t agree more. If you take the time to think about it, we’ve lost a lot of vendors/craftsmen in our hobby from age or from passing. Some of them just couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with it anymore and stopped. I personally worry about our particular niche in the old car hobby. If we don’t have a better appreciation ie patience for the small volume vendors or craftsmen (that probably do the work on the side of an existing job) or the larger vendors that actually are supplied by multiple individuals previously mention, we will get what we may not want. I am impatient more than anyone because I want it NOW however I have friends with models of other brands of prewar cars that search years for needed parts in vain hopes of finding them and eventually have to have them fabricated as one offs (imagine that cost) or just throw in the towel. Those cars will eventually become someone else’s project (maybe) or worse become part of a future scrap metal trip. Yes I get impatient but realize I’m fortunate to have a prewar car that was produced in mass & that many parts are usable on most years. Hopefully we are doing things that will entice future young folks to be intrigued enough to carry on our hobby as we are diminished. I respectfully challenge everyone to pick up that gauntlet. We can be part of the solution and not of the demise. We will need more patience, new & existing younger vendors/craftsmen to be involved in the grand scope of things. I personally am involved with such a person, even with my limited skills and knowledge. He has a real job but does this on his free time. At 32 he is all in, learning and teaching me in most cases. He has rebuilt 4 engines now with more opportunities and increased confidence. A competent self learning machinist that is a sponge for increased knowledge, some members here have also helped him enormously, Gene, Mike, Dan, Bill & Norm(RIP) just to name a few and I thank you for taking the time to do so as I am inadequate in most cases. In the end we are all on a journey, let’s enjoy the ride by picking up more passengers along the way. Those are the memories that will echo through eternity. Best regards to all. John

There is another explanation. They may have mailed them but the USPS has always been slow delivering catalogs and magazines. During Covid they got much, much worse.

Hey heres a novel idea, order your part while they have it and ask the vendor to include a catalog in the parts order!

Visualize living in Bumfunk, North Dakota in 1920, and how long it took to
get a catalogue or parts. I have little patience for people with no patience.
My clients are on a 3 year waiting list for large projects. I happily urge them
to find someone else. More often than not, they call me back after spending
50K on bad results, and THEN get on the waiting list. This instant gratification
thing Americans seem to expect more and more just doesn't work on the scale
of low volume products and high quality workmanship. I feel for those who
actively acknowledge their part in lack of gratitude, but take great delight in
those that dig their heels in, and then reality gives them a hard spanking. A
show I get to enjoy more and more as the younger "instant gratification" folks
work their way into positions of needing the kind of work I provide. Kharma
is a beautiful thing to see in action.

Well said Mr. Tannehill.

I came name you two or three businesses that have told me recently that they are pulling the plug.

I need some parts laser cut. Can't find anyone who will do them and don't have time to look for somebody else. Last guy died.

I have no source for parts that haven't been made since the 20's. 100 years.

I got three messages yesterday and several emails from the same guy this morning. Sunday. He assumes because he is working on his car this morning that I want to spend an hour giving him free advice.

I went to breakfast and am back in the shop trying to get some carb work done.

This is not Amazon.

I have no "staff" no "tech support team." I do not have parts for your 1956 Plymouth carb.

Go daddy dumped my websites.
All six of them. I had countless hours invested in getting them working. Back to square one.

No time, working Sunday again, not answering the phone .

Call me and start cussing at me and your carburetor will be in the mail before the day is done. With a refund.

Nobody but a fool would get in this business when they are young.

I still like it but I'm almost 80.

The post office is doing better!

I got a Christmas card last week that was mailed December 7, 2020.

It had a computer printed correct address, and was not even torn, wrinkled or obliterated.

I haven't bothered to read all the replies posted to my original post, BUT I have read enough of them to see that many of you that posted, think I was "in the wrong" and being too critical and not being patient enough with Birdhaven. Maybe you are right, but I have been spoiled by Lang's and Snyder's, both much bigger vendors, yet they buy some parts exclusively from Birdhaven because they can only get them from Birdhaven. I realize that if I had ordered a part over the phone or from their website, chances are a catalog would have been included, but I was willing to take a chance that the parts that I wanted would be available when I ordered other parts. ( I hate paying shipping or postage on multiple shipments, when I can get things together in one order, and I would have placed an order as soon as I got the catalog. ) As it stands, I still have not ordered, but guess I'll go ahead and order from their online catalog ( which isn't as descriptive as a printed catalog ), simply because life is unpredictable, and who knows, I might die before I received a printed catalog. I try to spread my orders out to all suppliers, big or small, but when a vendor tells me "its in the mail", then I can only fault the mail and not the vendor. I've never bought directly from Birdhaven, but I bought from Texas T Parts when Ben Hardeman owned Texas T Parts, so I do try to support all vendors, big or small.

Honestly, if you haven't read all of the replies to your post, then you weren't looking for help or advice...face it, you were simply looking for an excuse to complain about a vendor and have a pity party. Some folks obliged you and some just rolled their eyes. Congratulations: mission mostly accomplished.

Life's full of challenges...what a blessing to have things going so well that not getting a catalog is a major incident worthy of public discourse.

I agree completely with Scott. Scott you nailed it!

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 7:49 pm

Honestly, if you haven't read all of the replies to your post, then you weren't looking for help or advice...face it, you were simply looking for an excuse to complain about a vendor and have a pity party. Some folks obliged you and some just rolled their eyes. Congratulations: mission mostly accomplished.

Life's full of challenges...what a blessing to have things going so well that not getting a catalog is a major incident worthy of public discourse.

WRONG Scott ! I wasn't looking for a "pity party". That's not my style. I don't care if it is related to a Model T or anything in life. I try to be honest and accurate in what I say and do and I EXPECT others to do the same. So when a vendor tells me something, I hold them to their word. Of all the vendors that I have had dealings with in 50+ years, including some that went out of business decades ago, I don't remember another vendor who didn't deliver what he promised unless it was on back order or no longer available for purchase.

As I said above, I'll probably go ahead and order the part which they make (or have made for them) and get it over with, since it was just one item. I'll continue to order the bulk of my parts from Snyder's, Lang's, Chaffin's, Bob's, Sacramento Vintage, and other vendors who don't give me excuses !

Well said Scott. This is a open forum. I dont understant why people take it so personal when its not even their problems. Youre right in coming here and telling your experience. Good or bad. I had yhe same problems a few years back . It was a rude lady on the phone. Im not giving her my money anymore.

It was a rude lady on the phone. Im not giving her my money anymore.

I bet I know who it was. I'm not either.

If you haven't been there

That photo looks familiar.

It was too windy to have the top up.

StanHowe wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 3:00 pm

.
Nobody but a fool would get in this business when they are young.
I still like it but I'm almost 80.

Well stated Stan! And I'm speaking from experience when I say your work product is always a thing of art and beauty. Before I got into rebuilding Model T starters and gens, I took inspiration from you and several others here and I decided that quality, fit and finish all matter. I even spent countless hours and $$ finding exactly the right replica screws used on rebuilding the units. It's the details that matter and quality workmanship takes time. Lots of it. As we get older, we (I) certainly appreciate this aspect much more than when I was in my 20's or 30's or when I raced Porsche 911's.

In a week I retire for good to Wilder, Idaho and thankfully will leave CA forever. With any luck, I'm going to take a 30-40 year vacation there. And I'll be taking my sweet time when I once again start rebuilding starters and gens and drive my T & A on the endless country back roads!

AdminJeff

Double congratulations to you Jeff !! Firstly on your retirement and secondly on your escape from the insanity of Comrade Gavin. Please don’t retire from managing this Forum. You’re creating daily enjoyment for lots of Model T enthusiasts...

In a week I retire for good to Wilder, Idaho...

I had to look it up. One of my cousins lives about twenty miles from there. He could live anywhere, and likes that area. Looks like there are some ideal Model T roads.

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 7:49 pm

Honestly, if you haven't read all of the replies to your post, then you weren't looking for help or advice...face it, you were simply looking for an excuse to complain about a vendor and have a pity party. Some folks obliged you and some just rolled their eyes. Congratulations: mission mostly accomplished.

Life's full of challenges...what a blessing to have things going so well that not getting a catalog is a major incident worthy of public discourse.

Tempest in a tea kettle...

As I stated in an edit to my original post; I will place an order TODAY for the part that I wanted and is not listed by Snyder's and Lang's. I will ask that a catalog is not included with the order, because I will be ordering everything else that I buy from vendors who care about all orders, big or small.

StanHowe wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 3:00 pm

Go daddy dumped my websites.
All six of them. I had countless hours invested in getting them working. Back to square one.

To call GoDaddy scum would be an insult to scum.

I was using them for my company's website and was treated so miserably by them, on multiple occassions, that I dropped them and paid for an expensive rebuild of everything e-commerce related, with another company.

fwiw....my retirement is now a mere two to three years away. I'm looking to be a glutton for punishment and take on something like your carb business. I'm looking around....not quite sure what it'll be yet.