I just received my seventh and only owned a Vanagon since November.  And
we all know that it won't be my last order of Vanagon parts.

Out of my seven orders, only the last had any backordered parts.  Oh
well, I wasn't in a hurry to change those gas tank grommets anyway.
After all, I don't drive the 87 van far so I just put in $5 of gas at a
time.  And the curtains in my 89 camper aren't falling down due to just
two missing hooks.

I've seen catalog web sites that show items in stock.  Like a computer
parts house, CDW, that said it had a tape drive but once I ordered, the
operator said it was out of stock!

I'm a programmer and have worked on inventory and sales order systems so
I know that a real-time system is tricky for some businesses.  What
happens when there's five widgets in stock and ten people on the
internet see that and want one ?  Not as big a problem for a huge
company.  But Bus Depot is not that big.

I pay the long-distance charges to place orders and am still happy since
I've saved so much money that would have gone to a VW dealer.  Toll free
adds to the cost, so does quick email replies.  They lead to more window
shoppers and their calls would add to the cost of my orders.  The only
reason I don't place the order on-line is that I like to know the cost
of next day and 2nd day shipping.

If you're on the east coast, the 11 AM opening is a drag but you also
get to call until 7 PM.  The old Yin Yang.

I'm always in a hurry.  I usually think about a project, pick a date for
it, and what I need to order.  Then I promptly forget to order until
three days before my project date.  So I pay the 2nd day shipping charge
(I saved $ anyway) and get the parts in time.  Then something comes up
and I postpone the project for two weeks anyway, but the parts were
here.

The list vendors may not all have perfect operations but I, for one,
think that VW bus/van owners are better off with them around.  I we
expected perfection, then we wouldn't be driving these things.