@db4590 , thanks for the comment about Costco and Snap-On. There are no Costcos around here so SO going through Costco is a new one on me.
It does sound odd that Snap-On wouldn’t go after anyone who is bootlegging products under their name though.
Several decades ago Harley Davidson started going after vendors who were selling unauthorized parts and apparel with the HD brand and they still do. Harley sends trademark enforcement people around to motorcycle rallies and some vendors have ended up facing Federal charges over trademark infringement.
As to online vendors I’m not a big fan of any of them although I have used a few of them on a very random basis. My preference is to deal with someone local and if there’s a bump in the road with the product it doesn’t involve countless phone calls, emails, shipping charges, or flat out stonewalling by the vendor.
Just curious, what do professional auto mechanics shops do for parts? Do they send someone to the nearest parts store?
Most mechanics near me use Sanel brothers - which is a local chain. That’s the place I buy my parts at. Each of the stores have a fleet of trucks that deliver the parts to the mechanics. They have two different price structures…full retail and discounted retail for the mechanics. Most of the good mechanics will then mark their parts prices up to meet the full retail price. The full retail price is competitive. And I know I’ll get quality parts.
I’m a little surprised that any company of appreciable size (especially one big enough to be listed on the S&P 500) would let people get away with blatant trademark infringement. By law, trademark holders have to actively defend their rights or they risk losing their trademarks altogether, and then anyone can blatantly rip them off with no real legal threat. That’s partly why companies sometimes seem so overzealous and aggressive in going after potential infringers, such as “little guys” who wouldn’t otherwise seem to pose a competitive threat to the trademark holder.
I'm a little surprised that any company of appreciable size (especially one big enough to be listed on the S&P 500) would let people get away with blatant trademark infringement.
I guarantee that snap-on sold the rights to those stores to sell those products. It’s not their trademark tools. And it generates good money for snap-on and the retailer.
Yeah, I would prefer to buy local but when I want a Delco part at a reasonable price, sometimes Rockauto makes the most sense. I want to change fluid, hoses, and thermostat in my G6 as a PM, so when I was at the dealer for a recall I was going to pick up a thermostat as I was collecting the necessary parts. They wanted $75 for an OEM. I expected $30+ but $75 was way out of line. I think I paid $35 at Rock. Of course NAPA, AZ, etc. just have after-market. In the old days again, I could go to a local parts supplier and get either OEM or after-market at a reasonable cost. They served mechanics too, you just didn’t get the discounts. Now if I want OEM, its a 45 mile drive to a Delco supplier, the dealer, or Rock.
So its a two way street if you are doing it yourself. OEM and quality parts need to be available at something less than outrageous prices.
I suspect Mike is right about SnapOn.
I’ve noticed that Craftsman tools are now being sold at Ace Hardware stores too. And Dunkin Donut shops have long since moved into some big-box grocery stores and into gas stations. The landscape is chock full of these type of licensing and leasing (as in Dunkies) arrangements. They’re lucrative. They make good business sense.
. And Dunkin Donut shops have long since moved into some big-box grocery stores and into gas stations. The landscape is chock full of these type of licensing and leasing (as in Dunkies) arrangements.
My brother looked into opening a DD franchise about 10 years ago. Their business model was every 3-5 years you must open a new DD in you franchise rights area. Within 2 miles of my house in a town of 15,000 there are 7 DDs.
Wowwe have 1DD in our town, Have not been there yet, hope they still have the buttermilk baseball like doughnuts and good coffee, maybe tomorrow. @mikeInNH that does sound like a recipe for over saturation of the market, loss leader to be sure. 1 DD for 100k population, sounds like that may change. It has only been open less than 1 year!
We don’t have one at all in our 20,000 city. We are really scarce on bakeries and don’t have one real one left. Used to have two good ones and a DD and a real donut shop. The grocery stores pretend to be bakeries and the gas stations but nothing like the old days. Saturday mornings I’d always go down and get a dozen of a variety. No more. Now there is a bakery in a little town of 500 on the Minnesota/South Dakota border that has unbelievable long johns. Taste better than any I’ve ever had in my life. I can eat a dozen of them at one sitting. I told them they need to franchise the recipe but so far they are sitting on it. Funny thing is the bakery has changed hands about three times but the recipe is part of the goodwill and goes with the fixtures to the new owners.
Made me hungry. I’m sorry, you folks didn’t want to talk about donuts.
@bing, I used to live in Grand Forks, and had Great grandparents that owned a meat market in Moorhead I believe. Now I can drive my car to 3 independent bakeries, do you know kringle? One bakery the guy has been there since 89 when moved into town, great stuff and he looks young and strong, must be good exercise making doughnuts, pastries, and something others wil not know probably bismarks!. So it is so hard to eat a sugar coated bismark while driving, sugar all over the place, then raspberry jelly oozing out on to hands and clothes, is it wrong to eat doughnuts and drive?
The grocery stores pretend to be bakeries and the gas stations but nothing like the old days.
Some of the grocery store chains have huge bakery departments. In upstate NY there’s a chain called Wegman’s. In their bigger stores the bakery department is 2-3 times bigger then any independent bakery I’ve ever been in and the quality is very good.
For a good bakery I have to go to Boston North-end…with the exception of this Dominican bakery in Lawrence (in an area you don’t drive in at dark)…they make fantastic breads. Hardly anyone speaks english, but they are very nice people and make the freshest and most delicious breads.
“Some of the grocery store chains have huge bakery departments. In upstate NY there’s a chain called Wegman’s. In their bigger stores the bakery department is 2-3 times bigger then any independent bakery I’ve ever been in and the quality is very good.”
Wegmans expanded outside of the upstate NY region quite a few years ago, and I am glad to say that we have…probably…about 7 of their excellent stores in NJ. IIRC, they have now expanded as far south as Northern Virginia. This year–as they have on 3 prior occasions–Consumer Reports named Wegmans as the top-rated supermarket in The US, based on surveys of CR readers.
Not only is their quality excellent, but many of their grocery items are priced lower than at the supposedly-cheaper stores, like Shop-Rite. Weggie’s makes most of their profit from the big mark-up on their prepared foods and bakery items, and they are actually very reasonably-priced on staple items.
Just to keep this on an automotive track, I can tell you that their parking areas are better-policed for stray shopping carts than any of their competitors, and as a result, you are far less likely to have the sides of your car damaged by a flying shopping cart in one of their parking lots.
Wegmans expanded outside of the upstate NY region quite a few years ago, and I am glad to say that we have...probably...about 7 of their excellent stores in NJ.
Yea I know. We have a couple in MA now. The one in Burluington isn’t too far off the beaten path on my travel to work.
This year--as they have on 3 prior occasions--Consumer Reports named Wegmans as the top-rated supermarket in The US, based on surveys of CR readers
They’ve been ranked in the top 10 places to work (all businesses - not just grocery stores) for several decades.
The one thing that’s annoying sometimes…is don’t ever forget your ID if you plan on buying beer or wine. They card EVERYONE. You could be 95 or 22…doesn’t matter. The sale won’t even go through until they type in the ID number.
That’s the law now, my friend. Meanwhile, drunks keep getting their cars and their licenses back, people keep getting killed by drunks, and life goes on as usual. Except, of course, for us honest people. We get to be carded. These are our tax dollars at work.
I was a little ill so I’m not exactly for sure what state it was but think it was Indiana. I stopped for gas and the place had converted its old service stall to a drive through liquor store. Its been a while since I’ve seen anything like that.
That’s an indication of how serious the politicians REALLY are about stopping drunk driving. NH builds liquor store complexes right on the highways on all its major interstates, right over the borders on the NH side, complete with their own exit and entrance ramps. Pull right off the highway, pick up a bottle or three, and drive right back on the highway. And only the state liquor stores can sell hard liquor. What a great system!!!
And there are no restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, or anything else at these complexes. Just booze and bathrooms. And the liquor stores DO sell lottery tickets… to draw in more customers for booze. Although having other services available is being considered.
That's the law now, my friend. Meanwhile, drunks keep getting their cars and their licenses back, people keep getting killed by drunks, and life goes on as usual.
Nothing to do with law. That’s been Wegmans policy for 30+ years. I don’t get carded if I go to Shaws or Market Basket.
I dont like a smart aleck counterman who is too willing to give you His opinion on the best car make or aftermarket parts,I 'm the reason He has a job,humor Me a little,for Petes sake(one reason I like “Parts Geek” and “Rock Auto” so much now,plus I get to peruse the selection)-Kevin