----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 6:57
PM
Subject: IML: salvage yard
orientations
Most salvage yard operators/managers do or will not sell just emblems off
of a vehicle unless it's one that's going to be crushed in the future.
Meaning, if the emblem is on a saleable part of a popular vehicle, it will be
sold with the fender or whatever it's attached to, but if it's on a car that
is not popular or is still pretty pristine with many good body parts on it,
then they might consider selling just the emblem. Remember too, whatever
you find in the salvage yard will probalby have the same rate of deterioration
as what you've got on your car, unless you luck out and it's a "grandparents"
car that's been garage kept and got smashed in a wreck and "totalled".
Some salvage yard people might seem as if they don't care about selling
small parts, especially if they supply the labor to remove them, but the way
they usually look at it is that their people are more productive removing
fenders and such for sale to wholesale customers than out spending 20 minutes
for an emblem. That's just the economics of their business--productivity
and profits. That's one reason it's sometimes best to chase those things
in their "off season" instead of during the warmer months. Sometimes,
showing up in person is much better than calling on the phone too! Once
you find a salvage yard operator that will work with you, give them as much
business as you can as finding a good salvage yard operator is just as
important as finding a good parts person at the auto supply or
dealership.
Unfortunately, our modern world is run off of numbers and
percentages--especially as they relate to operating profits of the
business. In that orientation, productivity must be pretty high to
achieve the goals the business needs to keep the owners happy.
Unfortunately, that's why many parts or salvage yard people don't usually like
to wait on customers that aren't going to spend decent amounts of money with
them, not to mention other side issues too.
Just some thoughts,
W Bell