Why is mustang plus parts so much higher than mustangs unlimited?

mustang plus are very high on their prices and i tend to think they are gouging the consumers. i'm sure they have the same buying power as MU and others so the prices they buy for are probably about the same as what everyone else buys their stock for. personally i think they are just a bunch of greedy bastards, but that's just my opinion.

as an example though, remember when they became TCP's exclusive distributor? they marked up all of the TCP stuff outrageously, which is basically what put TCP out of business i think. so there's my take on mustangs +

Could be a lot of factors such as buying power, volume sales, payroll and efficiency of management.

i would say location for one, remember california has some pretty high property taxes, real estate is not cheap there either. then you have corporate taxes, payroll, and other overhead, silly little things like power, waste disposal, environmental laws, and other regulations that must be followed. on top of that shipping(from the warehouse of the wholesalers ot the retailers) is also added on to the retail price.

rbohm said:

i would say location for one, remember california has some pretty high property taxes, real estate is not cheap there either. then you have corporate taxes, payroll, and other overhead, silly little things like power, waste disposal, environmental laws, and other regulations that must be followed. on top of that shipping(from the warehouse of the wholesalers ot the retailers) is also added on to the retail price.

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Give that man a Cee-gar! California is a Gawdaweful place to have to do business. I am sure they have a cost structure that would make MU or LMM blink, gulp, and swallow hard.

webshot said:

Yea I guess business matters can be a reason, but man some of the things cost double there. It sucks tho because the shipping (from MU) equals out to their price (M+). I talked to them about it yesterday, and they basically said that. Quote "Well if you order from them you have to pay shipping, and since you are local you dont have to pay that". I asked "Well does your price include shipping for the folks not local" They said "No".

SO basically they are charging a convenience fee. I think that is a *****ty business policy and not a very honest one. So basically they are taking advantage of the locals and not really giving a crap about their internet business. Which is why their site has not been updated in a couple of years. SO the site is no where near the catalog in terms of stock.

I dont think I will do business with them, even tho they are local for me. I'll drive 150 miles and go to mustangs only in Oakland.

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mustangs unlimited has free shipping on orders over 300 bucks, except of course for oversized items like hoods and stuff

I just did a price comparison on a few parts I needed to order, and they were the same price on those parts-

gas cap
passenger side window moulding
headlight bucket
hood prop rod

and a few other odds and ends-

they were the same price down to the penny....

maybe they are using different vendors for some parts-

If you're talking sheet metal parts, there has been a recent shift up in all of those parts. Fiberglass is going up as well. The primary ingredient in fiberglass resin is petroleum.

First, I think Mustangs Plus' prices are higher across the board. Check the prices on the same part from most other vendors and you'll see a fairly hefty increase. I visited their store once and found them to be very freindly and helpful. For about a year after my purchase, I received a monthly "mini-magazine" which was more of a catalog than anything, but it did feature a nice little newsletter and a tech tip and was a nice little read, as well as advertised the occasional special, or at least let you know what they had to offer. The newsletter was 100% color and very well put together and it was free! But nothing in this world is free and those high prices we're all familiar with are likely how they pay for the newsletter as well as the two yearly shows at their shop. Personally, I'm on a budget and nice guys or not, I can't afford to shop at Mustangs Plus when I can get the same exact part on ebay for 1/2 price or less. Want an example? They offer a pop-open gas cap for '67 Mustangs (pn 10215) for a whopping $145.95. I bought a very nice repro pop-open cap for $49 from ebay and it came with two different emblems. Say what you want, but the guy I bought it from wasn't selling them for no profit, so how much mark-up is Mustangs Plus getting?