Black Dragon Closing

[S30Driver]

20 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

Well, I received the 1st of two orders today. I think that's about  the fastest I ever received anything from them. I was disappointed that the 260Z taillight gaskets I purchased were from two different vendors and were different thicknesses and don't line up with each other.

Steve

Did you get any shipping notification or tracking info from them?

[SteveJ]

Yes, I did. Shipping info on my second order was sent to the carrier today. I expect to see it next week.

[psdenno]

The shipping notification for my order came quickly.  I look forward to seeing the quality of the items.  Close-out sales can move a lot of good as well as "scratch & dent" merchandise.

Dennis

[RS02]

Wow. Didn't see that. Now all the parts on their online catalog is unavaluable... I guess I'll call them to see if there's anything left. I need a front bumper for my restomod! 

[S30Driver]

If I look at my order history, it has just been updated to ...  Complete - Shipments Made  USPS Priority

Ordered Tues morning, no notification or tracking # by email, just the order confirmation.

Update - received shipping confirmation Sat Morning - arriving Tues 

Edited October 8, 2016 by S30Driver
Update

[Mike]

2 hours ago, RS02 said:

Wow. Didn't see that. Now all the parts on their online catalog is unavaluable... I guess I'll call them to see if there's anything left. I need a front bumper for my restomod! 

Someone on this thread may have an extra one after they install new ones..

[zKars]

I just went through an incredibly nasty time with my Black Dragon order. 

I had placed two orders last Sunday after the feeding frenzy began. On Tuesday I called to combine them into a single order to keep shipping costs down after getting the first shipping quote. We went over the two orders in great detail, and even then there were a few small items that were not available. I was given verbal confirmation on the remaining items. Great. 

Today I  finally received a shipping quote that was way too small. So I called again. I was then told that one of my orders had been CANCELLED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, the one with the bumpers on it.  I WISH I COULD SWEAR ON HERE!!!!  ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Needless to say, I raised incredible hell, got absolutely no where with the poor girl's manager. All she could say was sorry we are closing, our stock may not be on the shelf, even though the system said it was, blah blah blah. Absolutely no attempt to make any part of my problem right. I cancelled my entire order and told them good luck with the rest of their business. 

Long story short, if you think you are getting anything from them, be prepared to get very little. I'd call them and get them to re-confirm what they actually have for your order and be prepared to have them send you something in writing if they say they have it. Very very disappointed in the level of customer service. 

Buyer beware

[ta240]

54 minutes ago, zKars said:

......... I had placed two orders last Sunday after the feeding frenzy began. On Tuesday I called to combine them into a single order to keep shipping costs down ............

........ Needless to say, I raised incredible hell, got absolutely no where .........

........ Absolutely no attempt to make any part of my problem right. ..........

Buyer beware

In all fairness as you said yourself they are in the middle of a frenzy of orders.  This is Black Friday at Walmart.  My advise would be once you get an order placed, leave it alone unless you want to go to the back of the order pile where someone else might get the last one before you.  Trying to save even more on your orders with a custom updated shipping quote cost you and that is a bummer but it happens.

From my time in customer service, raising incredible hell often gets the 'we are done' response; even if not verbal the effort is gone at that point.  The nice guys would get me to work through my lunch to solve their problem.  And sometimes there just isn't anything that can be done.   They can't make more of the parts.  Besides, as you said with the feeding frenzy of orders, when they hang up with you they've got a pile of calls and emails and orders to process for customers that aren't yelling at them.  If I had to guess I'd say they didn't anticipate how big the response would be to this sale.

Many of these prices are Saturday morning yard sale level so to expect any additional consideration when something falls through do to counts being off or orders getting moved back in the line seem a bit much.

[gnosez]

I am wondering why at this point in time did Black Dragon see that the Z parts market is no longer viable?

Did Black Dragon see a massive drop-off in demand? Did they face more competition?

Does every Z owner have all the parts they need? Or was something wrong with the business model at Black Dragon?

And is this a start of a trend?

[psdenno]

20 minutes ago, gnosez said:

I am wondering why at this point in time did Black Dragon see that the Z parts market is no longer viable?

Did Black Dragon see a massive drop-off in demand? Did they face more competition?

Does every Z owner have all the parts they need? Or was something wrong with the business model at Black Dragon?

And is this a start of a trend?

That would be be a question that only the owner of Black Dragon can answer.  Clearly the Datsun and Mazda lines weren't paying their way, so it was time to pull the plug.  Why they weren't paying their way is anyone's guess.  But for me, Black Dragon is not the first, or even second, source I think of when I need parts for my Z.  MSA, my local Nissan parts department, and local chain parts stores are my go to choices.  I have purchased from BD in the past and received good parts for a competitive price, so no complaints.  However, BD is low on my list.  I'm guessing others shop the same way.

Dennis

[DatsunZGuy]

I still recall a time when Black Dragon was Victoria British, Limited, and I would fill out their catalog order form and pay by check sent via snail mail. Even when they went online, ordering using a PDF catalog was kind a hassle, but I still obtained my fair share of parts from them

As a consumer, it not a winning proposition when the number of parts supplier dwindle as Z cars seem to be appreciating. 

Enjoy the bargain hunting while it lasts.

[9teen7t240z]

18 hours ago, DatsunZGuy said:

I still recall a time when Black Dragon was Victoria British, Limited, and I would fill out their catalog order form and pay by check sent via snail mail. Even when they went online, ordering using a PDF catalog was kind a hassle, but I still obtained my fair share of parts from them

As a consumer, it not a winning proposition when the number of parts supplier dwindle as Z cars seem to be appreciating. 

Enjoy the bargain hunting while it lasts.

While I have purchased just a few items from BD over the years, I do think that they will be missed if only from the fact that competition is always healthy for the consumer. Their mere presence has undoubtedly served our community by keeping other vendors from getting too outrageous with their prices.

Having said that, after nearly 5 years of serving the Z community with my chrome plating services, I, too, have found it necessary to wind down operations and discontinue the service. When your business model relies upon the activities of multiple vendors to fulfill your needs, and your primary customer base is experiencing static or declining trends, you find that you either have to expand your business or consider getting out. At my age, the only thing expanding in my life is my waistline (lol).

Anyway, FWIW, I will be posting a "farewell" production run so that anyone who may still be in need of my services will have a last opportunity to  have their parts chrome plated. Hopefully, we will have some new vendors step up and "take up the slack".

Mike