I can find things much cheaper at other sources. I want to know why their pricing so high along with shipping too.

it isnt i buy from them and ship to england cos its cheaper than buying here!

You will tend to get better support and service from IPD (and RPR and FCP Groton, and other places that aren't the cheapest around) than you will from the cut-rate places.

IPD at least puts out seasonal full color catalogs, and packs em with various tips and suggestions. I can't imagine that's cheap. Similarly the IPD web site often lists prices incorrectly (sale prices take a while to be updated). On the flip side you will rarely, if ever, hear anyone complain that they are unhappy with the outcome of an IPD purchase.

Everyone will make a mistake from time to time, it's just a matter of how they fix it. That's why I do business with three Volvo parts places: RPR, IPD, and FCP Groton.

Just look around for some horror stories about the fly by night companies.

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alex

I don't know unless they think we don't know about other places, I now throw the catloge out because I can get most everything at half of what they want.

You pay for good professional help a functional website, some no where else to be found parts and their great catalog. Shipping to the east coast is a killer too. They get a share of my business and I’d like to see them continue supporting Volvos for a long time.

I agree with javalion. Every old Volvo owner has a stake in the continued survival of IPD. They've gotten about 20% of my business despite prices that are a little above average. If you want to see high prices, just wait until we get down to one supplier!
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'88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244

The few that would "donate" to IPD with some sort of enlightened self-interest motive won't sustain them as a business. I've often wondered about the pricing of their commonly sourced catalog items as if they were a single source, concluding either no one was minding the store or savvy customers were still an insignificant portion of their market target. Or, maybe the subie enthusiasts keep the phones ringing too much to afford time to examine the catalog. If they did fail, I imagine the price of sway bars would rise.

"Enlightened self-interest motive," Art? A pretty turn of a phrase that manages to both mean absolutely nothing and completely misrepresent what I said in my post. Nobody is suggesting that we band together to establish a socialist cabal dedicated to propping up a bloated, wheezing IPD. Volvo owners are nothing if not pragmatic. The company is meeting a marketplace need and satisfying customers or it would not have survived this long. I stand by my statement that old Volvo owners need a company like IPD if we are going to indefinitely maintain these vehicles as daily drivers.
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'88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244

I believe there are two market forces changing faster than IPD is: competitive online parts availability and online product knowledge. This board supplies a good deal of the latter, while IPD continues to excel with those who can use or prefer to use the telephone. Given they've survived "this long" does nothing to address its current or future direction.

What I can't second guess from my armchair is the proportion of business derived from mere replacement parts to that in which IPD's niche is virtually unchallenged - suspension and enthusiast aftermarket. Could be, for all I know, that calls about od relays and water pumps are merely goodwill for the sway bar customers.

The problem may not exist for a majority of potential customers yet, but for me, I keep looking for an excuse to order something from IPD, other than a bar, just so I can receive that work-of-art catalog they produce. Just a few competitive prices would draw more traffic "through the store". I was a bit surprised to see your 20% estimate.

I personally love paper catalogs over browsing websites (being able to flip through the pages looking at many different parts / prices, etc) and the fact that I can call IPD and talk with a real person to ask questions. That being said, I don't blindly buy from them. When I needed a new front turn lens, I bought one from www.volvoworld.com for ~ $55 after shipping (it actually was mailed from Swedish Car Parts near Chicago), IPD wanted ~ $125 or so for one.

Here's my order with IPD this past Friday (haven't gotten it yet), are these prices really way out of wack? They are definately cheaper than the local Volvo dealer, and I'm saving a ton of money by doing the work myself. But if there is a place where I could have saved a lot of money on these parts, let me know and I'll check them out in the future.

For my '93 945 turbo:

Water pump: $50.40

60,000 Mile Extended Service Kit: Bosch distributor cap, rotor, NGK spark plugs, air fuel and oil filters, spark plug wire set, timing belt, flame trap filter, injector seals, fuel filter seals, differential gasket and oil pan drain plug: ~ $166.

Visor CD holder: free (a promotional item for having an order of over $25)

Total = ~ $225 after shipping.