I know that a parts "ratings" system by sellers is not unique, but this email from FCP this morning still was interesting to me, perhaps it will be/was for some folks here:
Dear (xxxxx),
All automotive parts are not created equal and not all online parts companies approach quality the same. Some of our competitors claim they’re all about quality but we call BS. The same ****ty parts and brands that have been mentioned over and over in forums and product reviews as substandard quality still exist in their online catalogs today.
At FCP we have a simple philosophy; If we wouldn’t put it on our car we won’t sell it to you. We adopted this philosophy about 5 years ago when we became aware of a potential issue with a ball joint separating from steering rod that could potentially cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Although we weren’t required to, we initiated a precautionary recall through NHTSA, scrapped a quarter million dollars worth of perfectly good inventory that we didn’t feel met our new quality standards, and adjusted our supply chain to focus entirely on higher quality OEM and OE products. Additionally, over the 5 years we’ve removed several thousand products and entire brand lines from our product offering because we didn’t feel they met our quality standards. These changes to the business were extremely costly and deteriorated our gross margins, putting us on the brink of insolvency for the next couple of years. It wasn’t easy but it was the right thing to do for ourselves, our company, and our customers. Since then we’ve engrained quality in our companies culture.
Fast forward to 2015. We now have over 320,000 products in our online catalog, returned to profitability, and we’ve developed a world class supply chain that is focused on the highest Genuine, OE, and OEM, and aftermarket parts we can get our hands on. We’ve put a lifetime warranty on all our products because we are confident that that products we sell will meet OE specifications, there is no concern that the product will come back to us.
But we’re ready to take it a step further and deliver complete transparency - something that hasn’t been done by our competitors or in the industry yet. Based on your feedback we’ve gone through nearly every part in our online catalog and assigned it 1. Quality Tier (Genuine, OE, OEM, Aftermarket, or Performance) as well as assigned 2. Country Of Origin as printed on the box or the part whenever available.
View Country of Origin & Quality Levels on FCP Euro
We’ve defined the quality tiers as follows:
Genuine
This is a product that we have sourced from the local dealer network and is the same part that the dealership would install on your car today. This part will come in a vehicle manufacturer's brand (BMW, Volvo, etc.) but in nearly every instance the part inside the box will have been manufactured by one of their approved OE Suppliers such as Bosch, Hella, Mann, or Lemforder, or many others. Every part that we list as Genuine is guaranteed to be sourced from a dealer and in the car manufacturer’s packaging.
OE
This is the original part used by the vehicle manufacturer on the car when it left the factory. The vehicle manufacturers (BMW, Volvo, etc.) do not manufacture these products themselves but rather they contract their Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) to do so. The products that we list as OE are guaranteed to be the exact same part that was on your car when it left the assembly line. In some cases this will be even better quality than what is currently available in Genuine as over time the OEM contracts get shifted to different manufacturers. All of these parts will be stamped with the OEM’s brand name such as Bosch, Hella, or Lemforder but due to contractual agreements the vehicle manufacturer’s logo cannot be on the product and may be removed from the part.
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer or OEM is a broad term in the automotive aftermarket. A manufacturer can be an OEM Manufacturer if they are contracted by one of the car makes to manufacture a product for their assembly line. This does not mean however that every product that they produce is an OE product. The products that we list as OEM are all guaranteed to be from an OEM supplier but the part many not have been the original product that was installed on the car when it left the factory. Typically all OEM manufacturers adhere to stringent quality control and are known to be exceptional quality. FCP has completed decades of research and we are very stringent with the term “OEM”, rest assured that every product that we list as OEM will be of equal quality to that of OE or Genuine parts we sell.
Aftermarket
Aftermarket parts are produced by a manufacturer that was has not been contracted to produce parts for a car’s assembly line. These products have been reproduced to meet original product specifications. FCP has stringent controls on quality and every product that we have available for sale and the aftermarket parts that we have listed are high-quality and affordable replacements for a more expensive Genuine, OE, or OEM option.
Performance
Performance parts are upgrades over the parts that were originally installed on your vehicle. They are designed to enhance the feel, look, or durability of your vehicle. Because performance products are designed to modify the original intended function of your vehicle they are not covered by the FCP Lifetime Warranty.
We realize that managing this data will be extremely time consuming and complex due to the vast amount of parts we offer across hundreds of manufacturers and suppliers. We've already added Country of Origin to over 10,000 products but we ask for your patience and support in this undertaking as we physically inspect every part that comes through our facility to ensure the quality and the country of origin are accurate and updated.
It’s our vision to be the most respected and recognized auto parts retailer in the world through our mission to continuously challenge and advance our standards of quality, service and technology. We feel like this is a critical step in executing our vision and mission.
Thank you for your support,
Scott Drozd
CEO