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Apology to ACS

pa38112

Well Known Member
I recently commented on VAF expressing my opinion that Aircraft Spruce is awesome, but has very high shipping prices and slow delivery. A couple of days later I got an e-mail form Jim Irwin, president of ACS, to see if my issues were specific to a particular shipment. My profile does not have my name, but he had gone to the effort of looking up customers from my town and tracking me down. I was impressed by this, and after two exchanges was reassured by the quality of the company – yet still convinced that their shipping prices were too high and their delivery slow. Last week I needed to order caliper O-rings, and thought since they are cheap I would order from several companies to compare shipping costs and delivery. Jim, I owe you and your company a public apology !!!

Vendor, Date Ordered, Part Cost, Shipping Charge, Date Received
Aircraft Spruce, 2/12/17, $0.49, $1.47, 2/15/17
Wicks, 2/12/17, $1.10, $8.80, 2/16/17
Sky Geek, 2/12/17, $0.52, $3.67, Still waiting on 2/18
Chief Aircraft, $1.20, $11.37, Did not order do to $11 shipping cost!
 
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My experience is that Aircraft Spruce ships quickly and packs stuff very carefully. Great website. I haven't noticed shipping to be exceptionally high. Try mouser sometime to see high shipping costs.
 
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As both a vendor for and a customer of Aircraft Spruce I can't say enough good things about them.
 
I have always had good service from ACS. My only complaint is that I wish they would stop using the styrofoam popcorn for shipping. Very messy on my end and environmentally unfriendly.

Erich
 
I have always had good service from ACS. My only complaint is that I wish they would stop using the styrofoam popcorn for shipping. Very messy on my end and environmentally unfriendly.

I always thought ACS used biodegradable starch packing peanuts. I recall on more than one occasion I would eat one to prove to my coworkers they disolve! :eek:
 
I always thought ACS used biodegradable starch packing peanuts. I recall on more than one occasion I would eat one to prove to my coworkers they disolve! :eek:

You are correct, they are using the starch peanuts. While they are edible, I just lick my finger and touch them. That's all you need to do to see them dissolve.

The Mac Daddy of packing has to be Van's. I have always been impressed at how well they pack all the little parts they ship and unless the shipper runs a forklift through a box, the parts arrive in good shape.
 
Takes a real man to admit something like that

We all get frustrated and believe we are being shorted especially in the land of Big Box stores and internet anonymity.

Gone are the Ma and PA stores we loved to go to that would give you that "special" feeling of being someone they wanted back in "their" store.

The poster deserves a hand for his retraction and ACS deserves an applaud for being diligent in trying to maintain that "special" feeling for the customer.

Good on you both, and this community for trying to maintain that customer/ retailer link and keeping it "special".
 
Don't compare apples to oranges.........

I recently commented on VAF expressing my opinion that Aircraft Spruce is awesome, but has very high shipping prices and slow delivery. A couple of days later I got an e-mail form Jim Irwin, president of ACS, to see if my issues were specific to a particular shipment. My profile does not have my name, but he had gone to the effort of looking up customers from my town and tracking me down. I was impressed by this, and after two exchanges was reassured by the quality of the company ? yet still convinced that their shipping prices were too high and their delivery slow. Last week I needed to order caliper O-rings, and thought since they are cheap I would order from several companies to compare shipping costs and delivery. Jim, I owe you and your company a public apology !!!

Vendor Date Ordered Part Cost Shipping Charge Date Received
Aircraft Spruce 2/12/17 $0.49 $1.47 2/15/17
Wicks 2/12/17 $1.10 $8.80 2/16/17
Sky Geek 2/12/17 $0.52 $3.67 Still waiting on 2/18
Chief Aircraft $1.20 $11.37 Did not order do to $11 shipping cost!

I hope that everyone keeps in mind that shipping cost and time en-route is largely dependent on where you live and where the business is.

I agree that Chief is a bit on the higher side for shipping cost but since they are only 200 miles from me I can order ground UPS and have it next day without paying any extra. You will usually always do better on shipping time and cost by ordering from a business close to you.

Other service variables (receiving wrong parts, dealing with returns, etc.) are more of a level playing field.
 
One of the best bargains in home building is when you order a single small item from ACS, and they can slip it in a padded envelope and send it USPS for less than two bucks. It makes having to order a single AN fitting or the right size bolt much less painful!

Paul
 
One of the best bargains in home building is when you order a single small item from ACS, and they can slip it in a padded envelope and send it USPS for less than two bucks. It makes having to order a single AN fitting or the right size bolt much less painful!

Paul

I too have gotten spoiled to ACS's USPS service, in my case out of the East warehouse. On more than one occasion I have split hardware orders so they will be small enough to go USPS and still saved a bundle compared to a single UPS shipment. Two day service from Georgia is just a bonus.
 
ACS rocks

I really love ACS - and the Irwins are just good people.

They have such a fantastic catalog, stock so much stuff that I'm sure they sell one or two of a year, but they keep doing it to remain the most relevant supplier to the homebuilder.

Their prices are really competitive. They've taken the time to make their website very usable. They don't ignore the international customer. I love being able to keep my shopping cart for weeks or months. Can't say enough good things about those guys and gals.

I hope they keep up the good work, and I truly wish them continued success.
 
Excellent

Doing business with them in the East since the bought Alexander in Griffin. I miss Tim, but I was in the store today and was told he was in there yesterday helping out in a lunch crunch even though he doesn't work there anymore. I've never had a problem with anything there. If there is a rare error, it is remedied immediately regardless of the cost. Good owners, good employees and a good attitude is a true blessing to those of us called customers

Thanks for posting the follow up.
 
I've been an ACS customer for almost 30 years and they have always treated me right. Since moving to the Asheville NC area, I have been frustrated a few times that it takes UPS three days to deliver a package from Atlanta. Also, UPS doesn't normally deliver on Saturdays. The ACS website doesn't offer a FedEx option, but I discovered that if I put "Please ship via FedEx" in the Special Instructions, they will do so and I get faster, Saturday delivery for the same price as UPS. There have been many times when I ordered something at 3PM and ACS shipped it the same day. Great company.
 
ACS

I have nothing but good things to say about ACS.
Regarding shipping, for small items that are not time critical Priority Mail can save a significant amount of money. I am pretty close to Corona so Priority and UPS Ground are about the same delivery time. Using UPS ground I can order late in the day and have the item around 10 am the second day.
 
Being a vendor to, and a customer of Aircraft Spruce, I too can vouch for Jim and his company's credibility. Yes, Jim reads VAF, and if you email him, he will answer. Probably one of the most accessible business owners in this industry.

Tom
 
One other thought......

How many times have we seen a VAFer who in frustration hastily writes an unflattering "review" of a vendor before all facts are in hand and all avenues of remediation have been explored?

In the years I've been on VAF I recall several times someone has blasted a vendor (Aircraft Spruce seems to be a popular target) and then had to walk back the criticism after giving the vendor a chance to clarify or remedy the situation. Sometimes the problem is due to the purchaser not fulfilling their end of the deal.

Perhaps we are too quick use our keyboards to unload on a supplier before we have given the vendor a chance to resolve an issue?

We've recently seen some very harsh words written about Navworx, some even reached the level of personal attacks. Unfortunately, those statements will live in the archives even if the company regains its footing.

But.....I'm probably meddlin' where I shouldn't be meddlin'.....so please disregard this post....
 
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ACS

One of the best bargains in home building is when you order a single small item from ACS, and they can slip it in a padded envelope and send it USPS for less than two bucks. It makes having to order a single AN fitting or the right size bolt much less painful!

Paul

That's how I do it. I always have something to do while I wait for snail mail and it saves me a ton in shipping.
 
Lots of little tricks to controlling shipping costs. I like the idea of cutting things up into smaller ordered for USPS and I have benefited from that as well.

Yesterday I needed to order a few items, one of which was a couple yards of canbon fiber cloth. Made a huge difference in shipping to choose folded for shipping rather than rolled. I don't need it perfectly flat so folded is great, and saved me more than $35 in shipping cost difference. I like that they ask you which you want and let you choose.
 
Freight? What freight?

Doesn't everybody just hop in the golf cart, drive through the airport gate and walk into the store?
 
I love ACS. But my most recent shopping for a case of oil and Camgaurd resulted with the best deal with Sporty's. Shipping included. Plus, I'm entered for a chance to wind a plane!!
 
Loyal ACS customer ....

They are one of the consistently-best vendors I have ever dealt with. Products, website, service, shipping --- you name it --- they are absolutely top notch.
 
Just this morning I had a difficult shipping decision to make for an ACS order:
Standard Ground (expected delivery 2/21) $11.79
3 Day Air (expected delivery 2/23) $14.33
2 Day Air (expected delivery 2/21) $34.14
Priority Mail $6.72

After careful deliberation I decide to on getting it delivered on 2/21 for $11 instead of $34 :)

I am certainly spoiled by Amazon Prime but these are pretty reasonable shipping prices.
 
The original poster has a point.

Last year, several of us experienced unusual shipping charges from ACS and on checking, there was a glitch in their system.

I challenged them twice on orders to my buddy in Florida and corrections were made.

It may be this that he experienced ?

On balance, they have been a consistently good supplier with excellent customer service.
 
AND if you forgot something.. if you catch the order before it ships it;s easy to change.. without talking to anyone.. online! done it ..

/A
 
I'm glad you've had such good luck. Mine has been good too, right up until I tried ordering some actual aircraft spruce from Aircraft Spruce.

17 days later, no spruce... no shipping confirmation... no tracking information... and no one seems to be able to tell me what the status of the order is. I started asking on Friday, after two full weeks, and still can't get an answer.

Sigh.

Update: Now I find out, after a few days a of asking, that they won't be shipping the stuff until Friday, a full three weeks after I ordered. If they had been up front about that when I placed the order, I'd have called around. Maybe that's why they didn't tell me.
 
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One criticism of ACS

I hope Jim Irvin continues to monitor this thread and the forum.
I generally have had excellent experiences with ACS, and since I have been in CA most of the time, and now southern OR, I find that UPS delivery often beats their delivery estimate.

If I could make one criticism of where they could use improvement, it is in packaging liquids for shipment. I have had many shipments of liquids arrive with damaged cans. Some leaked, some didn't, but could easily have.

On my last shipment, I made a special request comment on the order to pack it well because I have had problems in the past. It arrived undamaged, but I think it was luck, it was still packed the same way. If you take a metal gallon can of epoxy, put it in a plastic bag, then put it in a cardboard box full of peanuts, it very likely will get damaged. What would help is a heavy cardboard wrap around the can, somewhat longer than the can at both ends, then put it in the box with peanuts. This can add some column-stiffness to help support the can.
 
I hope Jim Irvin continues to monitor this thread and the forum.
I generally have had excellent experiences with ACS, and since I have been in CA most of the time, and now southern OR, I find that UPS delivery often beats their delivery estimate.

If I could make one criticism of where they could use improvement, it is in packaging liquids for shipment. I have had many shipments of liquids arrive with damaged cans. Some leaked, some didn't, but could easily have.

On my last shipment, I made a special request comment on the order to pack it well because I have had problems in the past. It arrived undamaged, but I think it was luck, it was still packed the same way. If you take a metal gallon can of epoxy, put it in a plastic bag, then put it in a cardboard box full of peanuts, it very likely will get damaged. What would help is a heavy cardboard wrap around the can, somewhat longer than the can at both ends, then put it in the box with peanuts. This can add some column-stiffness to help support the can.

I received some primer from TP tools, with the best gallon can packaging I've seen. It had a cardboard cap attached to the top. The cap had a bigger radius than the lid ( the cap actually might have been square) to provide crush space so nothing could easily impact the edge of the lid/seal lid (the weak spot, IMO), had a cardboard wrap around the can, and was packaged inside a cardboard box filled with foam peanuts.

The can of paint I received from Summit racing was in a box inside a box. There was no crush space in the 4 areas where the lid of the can was against the sides of the box. Something dented the edge of the lid and seal through the two layers of cardboard and I won the prize of a quart or so of acrylic urethane paint on my brick front stoop.
 
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Love them, hate the peanuts!

Hey Jim! Have only good things to say about everything EXCEPT those $@&! Peanuts! Make it stop, and you win, we all win! :eek:
 
Love the USPS 1st Class Option . . .

Always super fast shipping and 99.9% correct.

I ran short of some small fasteners this week and ordered, probably 1 oz of weight. Wanted and got, 1st class - $2.76. Perfect for a $7 order. Ordered Tuesday AM, received in the mailbox Thursday noon - 1100 miles.

In the past I had to ask, not select, this option.

ACS is a good, constantly learning and improving operation, Bravo!

The .1%? A single phone call corrected each issue right away.
 
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