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A blog by Son of Samurai in General

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Why Using OEM Parts Should be SOP

Son of Samurai

Entry posted by Son of Samurai

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We've all been there: you're looking up the part that you need for the job, and the price tag about knocks you out of your chair. No way that heating element costs that much to produce! Maybe your concern isn't just for yourself -- you're interested in saving the customer some money.

Despite the sometimes exorbitant prices, there are many good reasons to go with the OEM part over a generic one.

  • OEM parts are generally better quality and make for a more reliable repair. You're going to be held accountable for the repair you make, so you want the part you put in to hold up.
  • You'll spend more time, but make less. Finding a suitable generic replacement park takes more of your time in research, yet will result in lower revenue, since part of the job quote is based on the markup on the part.
  • The specifications aren't always the same. Even if they're only a little off, this can affect the performance and reliability of the appliance, leading to customer complaints. 
  • If the customer isn't happy paying what it costs for an OEM part, odds are they're not a winning customer anyway. Customers who value a smaller price tag over a more reliable repair generally aren't customers that you want.

I'm not saying there's never a situation where you can use a generic part -- for example, most oven ignitors are perfectly interchangeable. But for the vast majority of cases, it's not good for your business to use non-OEM parts, and neither is it good for the customer in the long run.

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14 Comments

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EthanRanft

EthanRanft

Posted

I agree with this hands down, and has always been my SOP

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Techonamission

Techonamission

Posted

I agree as well. NEVER get samsung idler pullies or belts off amazon. But LG washer water inlet valves have served me well. 

budget appliance

budget appliance

Posted

Samsung dryer elements got Way expensive, online ones, fraction of $$

cant tell the difference 

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Terry Carmen

Terry Carmen

Posted

I'll use non-OEM dryer heating elements and ignitors all day long, but almost all the other parts, I go with OEM. 

Especially with rollers and belts. The replacement Samsung rollers and belts have been terrible. 

 

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Son of Samurai

Son of Samurai

Posted

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1 hour ago, budget appliance said:

Samsung dryer elements got Way expensive, online ones, fraction of $$

One of the points I raised in my post was that you get a higher markup on the more expensive OEM parts. The job is more profitable to you when you use the higher quality part. The only way it would be more profitable to use a generic part would be if you installed a non-OEM part, but charged markup on the OEM price -- but that would be cheating the customer.

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Denver Todd

Denver Todd

Posted

I use OEM about 99% of the time because it there may be some legal protections if a part ever fails in any way (which happens not too often), as opposed to saying that the dw flooded their floor because I bought the part on Amazon. I do use Supco Samsung 54A pumps (although the cover doesn't fit) and Supco dryer idlers due to the high price of OEM. I sometimes will use the Whirlpool equivalent of a Samsung part, such as dryer elements, when available. I don't use aftermarket Samsung dryer elements because they are obviously flimsy. The Frigidaire laundry system washer lid lock is NLA and I source that on Amazon, it has helped me get a complete a number of times. 

KaveMan

KaveMan

Posted

Just had to replace a set of after market Samsung dryer rollers that froze up after two months...Son of Sam makes some good points...now we didn’t make anything on that job😝

Terry Carmen

Terry Carmen

Posted

9 hours ago, santacruzappliance said:

I agree as well. NEVER get samsung idler pullies or belts off amazon. But LG washer water inlet valves have served me well. 

Have you noticed that the grooves on the belt are kind of half-assed? Like they're not cut all the way, even though I thought they were molded.

Also the rollers are noisy as hell right out of the box. How do they even do that?

 

 

Techonamission

Techonamission

Posted

18 hours ago, Son of Samurai said:

One of the points I raised in my post was that you get a higher markup on the more expensive OEM parts. The job is more profitable to you when you use the higher quality part. The only way it would be more profitable to use a generic part would be if you installed a non-OEM part, but charged markup on the OEM price -- but that would be cheating the customer.

Samsung dryer elements got Way expensive true, but the insert element (not full housing can) have failed on me 2 weeks after install. Thats 2 $400 jobs I had call backs on---unexceptable. The coil literally burned/snapped after 2 weeks. OEM for sure on those for me now. 

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EthanRanft

EthanRanft

Posted

23 minutes ago, santacruzappliance said:

Samsung dryer elements got Way expensive

Am I the only one that uses WP35001247 elements in Samsung dryers? It’s the same OEM Samsung element in a Whirlpool box, and cheaper

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Son of Samurai

Son of Samurai

Posted

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On 12/6/2019 at 11:25 AM, EthanRanft said:

Am I the only one that uses WP35001247 elements in Samsung dryers? It’s the same OEM Samsung element in a Whirlpool box, and cheaper

That’s a great example of one of the few exceptions when it comes to using OEM parts. Oven igniters are another, like I mentioned in the post.

Just to clarify for anyone for whom it wasn’t clear: I’m not trying to establish some dogma around using OEM parts. It’s all about SOP—standard operating procedure. That’s your “default programming” whenever you’re approaching a job. You make exceptions when it makes sense to, but you should be aware that you’re breaking from procedure.

Good SOP is the essential ingredient for having an efficient and profitable system for your service calls.  We have a webinar recording that’s all about establishing a good service call system—available only to our premium members!

 

Terry Carmen

Terry Carmen

Posted

On 12/5/2019 at 4:51 PM, Son of Samurai said:

The only way it would be more profitable to use a generic part would be if you installed a non-OEM part, but charged markup on the OEM price -- but that would be cheating the customer.

FWIW, there's no particular reason why anybody needs to charge any particular price for anything. I create  my own retail prices.

My price for things that I have to purchase, pick up, possibly warehouse, and deliver to the customer's home has nothing to do with the price the manufacturer or distributor happens to make up. There's no reason to let another company determine my profit margin.

 

 

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Mrs. Samurai

Mrs. Samurai

Posted

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45 minutes ago, Terry Carmen said:

My price for things that I have to purchase, pick up, possibly warehouse, and deliver to the customer's home has nothing to do with the price the manufacturer or distributor happens to make up.

I don't know about other systems, but the Blue Book pricing does not use the manufacturer's retail price either. It starts with the wholesale price and then has a markup based on several variables. The cost to the customer ends up being higher than "retail" in order to ensure that the total job quote will cover all aspects of the cost of doing business.

It's important to earn a particular margin on parts. And, if an owner doesn't know how to run a cost-of-doing-business calculation to set his/her job rates and parts markups, then they need to consider using a job-rate system.

One way or another, a system is needed to ensure profitability and grow your business.

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Terry Carmen

Terry Carmen

Posted

28 minutes ago, Mrs. Samurai said:

the Blue Book pricing does not use the manufacturer's retail price either.

That's interesting. I never knew that!

When I first started, I was using the MSRP from Marcone.

I'm not sure if that's actually from the manufacturer or just a number they make up, but in any case, there were parts where I'd make a good profit and others where I wasn't even covering the cost of picking it up.

That's when I started ignoring them and doing my own.

I'm not "cheating" anybody. My price is my price and the customers are free to have me do the work or not.

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