discontinued parts

[Rasputin]

The other day i put in a parts order . I have a Microsoft Excell list going at all times . The way i do it is i start at the top of the list and just call it in . When i hit a free shipping point i stop . I usually have all the parts i want on the list even the ones i have tried to order in the past and were discontinued . I often know the parts are not available but i do not want to remove them from the list as i need them some day . The thing that confused me this order was that many of the parts that were discontinued last time were  now in stock . Many of the castle, old truck, bulldozer, and other parts were now available . Has this happened to any body else or is it just wishful thinking and the parts really are not on their way ? 

[Little Jo]

Made some similar experience also (but not often). I think it's convenience just to name it "no longer available" instead of "out of stock". Maybe packaging staff didn't get appropriate information when using the software or going along the shelves if an item is just out of stock or no longer available ...   

[Martin Milner]

I've never had a discontinued part re-appear, but I still put them on my lists occasionally  just in case.

We don't get free shipping on parts orders in the UK, so that bit confused me - I just send an order when I need the stuff, but try to make the orders substantial because it's more efficient with the shipping charge.

[Gepetto]

I have had items that were discontinued on earlier orders become available when a newer order was placed, but the order came they were marked discontinued again. I think this is a wait and see situation.



Gepetto

[Timotheos]

Playmobil USA gets screwed up with what it calls discontinued.

For example, on my order in May, I was told that the Roman I call "Yellow Shorts Guy" had been discontinued.

OK.

I bet their computer returns inconsistent responses on out of stock items.  Or maybe when the last item presently in stock is bought, sometimes the order entry person hits the wrong checkbox and it goes down as discontinued.

Who knows.

I'd love to see Playmobil USA's computer system.  PM and Lego must be the world's two most over-analyzed toy companies. 

-Tim

[Martin Milner]

I'd be interested to learn how the whole US parts ordering system works.

In the UK the telephone message when you ring specifically states that if you're ordering more than 4 different spare parts, you must do so in writing. I always email my orders, and for the last three I've had an emailed reponse the same day, and then rang in my card details.

It's then very clear that the actual order is typed into their computer in the UK (so they can tell you immediately if the part is unavailable), but the order is made upm in made up in Germany, and the UK do not see the contents of the order again. The order boxes arrive in he UK in batches, and are then sent out from their UK office in Essex.

The one drawback is that if a part is unavailable, it's harder to order a different option, but the ladies are smart enough to handle that in the original order. e.g. I'm soon ordering a spare foremast for a 3750 ship, and I'd prefer the original brown, but if that's not available then the orange one wuld be better than no mast.

The US insistance on only receiving order by telephone feels positively medieval in comparison, though at least you know immediately if a part is unavailable.

Presumably the US orders are NOT made up in Germany but in the US, so their parts bins are maintained on expectation of orders, and thus not as reliably or frequently restocked.

[Justindo]

I'd be interested to learn how the whole US parts ordering system works.
[...]
The US insistance on only receiving order by telephone feels positively medieval in comparison, though at least you know immediately if a part is unavailable.

Presumably the US orders are NOT made up in Germany but in the US, so their parts bins are maintained on expectation of orders, and thus not as reliably or frequently restocked.

You're right on, Martin.  They seem to prefer phone orders, even if it takes over an hour on their toll free number!   Their parts are from a U.S. warehouse which apparently gets shipments from Germany every month or so.  On the phone they can tell you if an item is available and how many they have, and yet every time when I actually receive my order the invoice has several "out of stock" items that they told me they had plenty of when I placed my order.  This seems strange to me.

Although it would be a large undertaking, I can't help but think that having an internet part ordering system with real time inventory would save them a ton of money on phone charges and employee wages in the long run.  In addition, I think this would improve customer satisfaction immensely.

[Timotheos]

Lately I've been having a family member phone in my orders because it's awkward doing while I'm at work ("I'd like 20 pistols, a horse whip, and five Chinese girls.")

More frequently, the phone receptionist is telling my, er, agent to email the Excel spreadsheet.  But it's not a guarantee. 

A part-ordering database from the website wouldn't be exceptionally hard if they use the same tracking software that they use for regular orders.

You could be presented a table, type in your part numbers, then click "Check Availability" to get a readout of what is in.

But, judging by our shared experiences here in America, a lot of spare parts likely leave the shop without being updated in the computer.  Also, considering PM USA no longer publicly advertises its parts ordering department (except for isolated lost pieces), maybe PM USA doesn't want to go out of its way to encourage this.

PM must be one of the most over-analyzed toy companies in the world.  Woe to the company that draws adult collectors!


   

[Rasputin]

In my youth i worked at a John Deere dealership. I was in the parts department and let me tell you most tractor parts are not small and not easy to loose . It was such a pain in the $#% to keep track of them . I was always finding old parts hiding or not able to find ones the computer told up we had . It was all computerized inventory but still it was a mess. Even with the yearly inventory it did not take long for it to get messed up . with how many parts Playmobil needs to track i can understand why it is the way it is but i do not understand the computer changing the availability of a particular old part ? The old timer train smoke stack was discontinued for years and now it is in, has a new price and instock ( Hope it is in for real ) 

[Bill Blackhurst]

I order what I consider a fair amount of parts from the USA Playmobil DS parts dept. You stay on hold for what seems like an eternity, then you give the list of part numbers to the order taker, usually with a strong foreign accent, & that in itself can be a disadvantage. You are told immediately whether the item is out of stock, on backorder, in stock, & if the quantity you are asking for is available, or if the item is discontinued. Then they give you the total amount with shipping. At that time you are asked which credit card you are going to put the order on. You are given a confirmation order number, & told that it will arrive with in 7 to 15 working days. My biggest problem is when I receive the order, 8 times out of 10, there are items not sent that show up as an adjusted quantity or backordered on the shipping document, reflecting a severely inaccurate inventory. They never call to let you know that the amount you were to be charged on your credit card is going to be different, & the packing slip never shows any dollar amounts to which you can check the amount you were given by the order processor against your credit card statement! As an example you may be told the order is going to cost $65.58, you see that charge show up on your charge account immediately for that exact amount, then it disappears. About 2 weeks later you see another charge usually for a lesser amount like $45.80. After you receive the order you find out why the order amount is less! And I won't go into getting things that are not the part numbers that you order, then when you call them back, & tell them that they may want to do a bin check to verify that there may be a part number set up error, they still send another of the wrong item again.