don't ya just love tire rack

EricM wrote: Vilven Tire Co 101 W Main St Royal, IL 61871 217-583-3277 And they ship the tires like I like my women, shaven.

vladha wrote: Plus, they informed me that Goodyear would no longer be making my size tire. Mark

205/50-16 GSD3?

I've never had a problem ordering from Tire Rack... about a 1/2 dozen sets to date...

My only recent grumble is two days ago, they showed the Hankook RS-3 in a 225/45-15 size... yesterday - gone... ...but I'm not going to bug them about it or dig further until I'm actually ready to buy.

I wish the wheel selector was a little less restrictive... I know a 285/35-18 tire isn't a standard fitment for a VW Mk IV... but I also know for a fact it can be made to fit.

I know when the RE-01's went on clearance they had 6 sets in stock on Monday morning~ 9am. By 10am there was one set left and I bought them.

keethrax wrote:

wbjones wrote: several other places had the same policy.. must be new since I've never had a problem in the

Call your credit card company. You can get them to add additional "billing" addresses (that aren't actually billing addresses) for just such an occasion.

It's often called an "authorized address" by the bank. Almost all of them will understand exactly what you mean. We've required this for years, at least for the first order from a customer.

As for the 225/45-15 RS-3, that's a real problem. There's obviously been a supply problem on Hankook's part. The tire had been pulled from the site. It's possible it was added back in if a shipment was expected, then it had to be pulled again after that didn't pan out. It's frustrating, as there aren't many tires in that size.

what size tires does your canoe take? are they in stock?

In reply to wbjones:

I've bought from nobody else for the last 20 years and I've never had a problem with them. I just ordered tires for my wife's SUV today and I'm pretty sure they'll be at my house tomorrow. Can't complain about that. Plus they support SCCA autocrossing and other grass roots auto racing.

I've always had good service from Tirerack. I have not ordered from them in a while because of price.

Got my Toyo R1R's from www.treadzone.com They had best price with shipping. Plus I had them in my garage within 3 days of ordering.

They also offer a contingency program for racers.

Keith wrote: Prices on tires fluctuate all the time. I have no idea why.

First I'll get this out of the way, the Tire Rack is AMAZING for Canadians. They "get" it.

Second, I do have a problem with this. Tires are ordered in batches, once a batch is shipped, you don't get anymore until a new run has been processed. So how something that was bought, paid for, and delivered XX days ago can have it's price fluctuate while sitting on your shelf is beyond me. It's cost to you hasn't changed, so why does the cost to the consumer?

HiTempguy wrote:

Keith wrote: Prices on tires fluctuate all the time. I have no idea why.

First I'll get this out of the way, the Tire Rack is AMAZING for Canadians. They "get" it. Second, I do have a problem with this. Tires are ordered in batches, once a batch is shipped, you don't get anymore until a new run has been processed. So how something that was bought, paid for, and delivered XX days ago can have it's price fluctuate while sitting on your shelf is beyond me. It's cost to you hasn't changed, so why does the cost to the consumer?

Same reason why gas prices fluctuate even though it's the same gas they bought for the "old" lower price that they have in the tank.

Forecasting. They have to make enough to cover their purchase of the next batch of tires, yet retain their profit margins.

Wait.... companies have to make profits? I thought they were just in it because they loved puppies and unicorns and liked to do everything for free? Huh...maybe that's why I'd be a great politician.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Same reason why gas prices fluctuate even though it's the same gas they bought for the "old" lower price that they have in the tank. Forecasting. They have to make enough to cover their purchase of the next batch of tires, yet retain their profit margins.

Let me get my math right for a second;

They buy something for $20, and sell it for $35. Except the next shipment will cost $25 each, so they raise the price to $40 halfway through.

So then they sell tires they bought for cheaper for the same price as the more expensive batch... and earn more profit. Sounds like a good way to screw the consumer.

HiTempguy wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Same reason why gas prices fluctuate even though it's the same gas they bought for the "old" lower price that they have in the tank. Forecasting. They have to make enough to cover their purchase of the next batch of tires, yet retain their profit margins.

Let me get my math right for a second; They buy something for $20, and sell it for $35. Except the next shipment will cost $25 each, so they raise the price to $40 halfway through. So then they sell tires they bought for cheaper for the same price as the more expensive batch... and earn more profit. Sounds like a good way to screw the consumer.

It's the same profit.... Actually, it's even a lower profit percentage in your example.

This is not just TireRack and gas stations that do this.... pretty much the entire retail industry does this, and has likely been doing this for a century or more. It's basic business sense. I'd do it if i were in their position as well. Without forecasting, a business goes under.

Remember, the more expensive batch is no different, other than the fact that cost of materials went up in the meantime, which means cost to distributor went up. The consumer isn't paying more for an inferior/old product, they're paying more to help offset the cost increase to the distributor for an identical product.

It's all about the profit percentage. You can't really expect a company to continue to sell a product at the same price even though their cost went up, can you?

trucke wrote: I've always had good service from Tirerack. I have not ordered from them in a while because of price. Got my Toyo R1R's from www.treadzone.com They had best price with shipping. Plus I had them in my garage within 3 days of ordering. They also offer a contingency program for racers.

yeah I just joined up with them... R1R's to my house in 2 days... promptly turned around and won a 2 day / 1 day event (combined event, second day was a stand alone and the deciding day of the 2 day event) for a sweet start to their contingency program ...

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

HiTempguy wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Same reason why gas prices fluctuate even though it's the same gas they bought for the "old" lower price that they have in the tank. Forecasting. They have to make enough to cover their purchase of the next batch of tires, yet retain their profit margins.

Let me get my math right for a second; They buy something for $20, and sell it for $35. Except the next shipment will cost $25 each, so they raise the price to $40 halfway through. So then they sell tires they bought for cheaper for the same price as the more expensive batch... and earn more profit. Sounds like a good way to screw the consumer.

It's the same profit.... Actually, it's even a lower profit percentage in your example. This is not just TireRack and gas stations that do this.... pretty much the entire retail industry does this, and has likely been doing this for a century or more. It's basic business sense. I'd do it if i were in their position as well. Without forecasting, a business goes under. Remember, the more expensive batch is no different, other than the fact that cost of materials went up in the meantime, which means cost to distributor went up. The consumer isn't paying more for an inferior/old product, they're paying more to help offset the cost increase to the distributor for an identical product. It's all about the profit percentage. You can't really expect a company to continue to sell a product at the same price even though their cost went up, can you?

the only flaw in your theory (which I realize is actual not theory) is they don't drop the price quite as quickly to the consumer when the supplier lowers their prices....

wbjones wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

HiTempguy wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Same reason why gas prices fluctuate even though it's the same gas they bought for the "old" lower price that they have in the tank. Forecasting. They have to make enough to cover their purchase of the next batch of tires, yet retain their profit margins.

Let me get my math right for a second; They buy something for $20, and sell it for $35. Except the next shipment will cost $25 each, so they raise the price to $40 halfway through. So then they sell tires they bought for cheaper for the same price as the more expensive batch... and earn more profit. Sounds like a good way to screw the consumer.

It's the same profit.... Actually, it's even a lower profit percentage in your example. This is not just TireRack and gas stations that do this.... pretty much the entire retail industry does this, and has likely been doing this for a century or more. It's basic business sense. I'd do it if i were in their position as well. Without forecasting, a business goes under. Remember, the more expensive batch is no different, other than the fact that cost of materials went up in the meantime, which means cost to distributor went up. The consumer isn't paying more for an inferior/old product, they're paying more to help offset the cost increase to the distributor for an identical product. It's all about the profit percentage. You can't really expect a company to continue to sell a product at the same price even though their cost went up, can you?

the only flaw in your theory (which I realize is actual not theory) is they don't drop the price quite as quickly to the consumer when the supplier lowers their prices....

Why should they? You bought them just the same at the higher prices.

But you may be on to something. I wish we had realtime data to see if what you say is actually true.