@69bossnine
I haven't ordered anything from NPD yet (trust me, I will be ordering) but a couple things I wish they had were more kits (for example a front suspension kit) so you don't have to dig through all of the parts and not know what you are missing. Next would be enhanced descriptions of the parts. Some of them are vague or non-existent.
Kits can be a bit of a "trap". We've dabbled in them here and there lately (there are indeed more kits in our catalog). But larger/comprehensive kits typically have the following inherent problems 1. Many competitors seed their kits with el-cheapo contents to make the price seem attractive and "a deal" for a full kit. Even when they advertise a brand-name for the major items (like TMI and ACC in interior kits for instance), they short-cut you on the details, with generic fasteners and low-end small components and foam where there's no brand-expectation. It's a mine field. 2. Kits make all the decisions for you.. Like you said, you like to choose between "good/better/best". If you buy a kit, the choices are already made for you on everything. 3. What if you don't need everything that's in the kit? You're forced to pay for stuff you never needed.
A restoration is an enormous and time-consuming and expensive process. And the end result should be both a source of pride, and a reflection of quality. Taking the time to properly pick/choose your parts, instead of saving a bit of time in the pursuit of "convenience", is a wise thing to do.
My ideal Mustang supplier would have good/better/best offerings. Best being concours and good being standard replacement parts. Better could be aftermarket "enhanced" parts (i.e tubular LCAs).
That is precisely what we do, IF there is also a respective difference in price between good/better/best. When there is not, when the selection of reproductions available on the market are all within the same basic "ballpark" of pricing, we don't bother carrying the junk, we just offer one choice, the best choice in our opinion. Calling aftermarket/performance stuff "better" is subjective and would be a bit confusing.. We don't confuse it with stock replacement parts. Lastly, for many parts, choices do not exist.
Right now when I go through categories like the sheet metal there is no way to tell what is the difference between the same items. If you are lucky it might tell you the metal thickness but then it doesn't tell you what the stock thickness should be.
Sheet metal, especially, is the biggest mine-field in the industry. We have it figured out, from a standpoint of best-quality-sourcing, better than anyone else, IMHO...
That said, it's difficult to provide information that is not provided by our manufacturers in the first place. That's a large mountain to climb... And sometimes the differences are very "nuanced", difficult to explain, and sometimes subjective. Usually the price-point is the key indicator though.
Keep in mind that we have over 120,000 products to manage. Our main priority is having the best-sourcing nailed-down. Providing you with more information to buy is also a priority, but it can be catch-22.. Sometimes the thinner panel on the market is the crisper stamping and superior fit. But if we give you a spec sheet, you'll defer to the thicker/crappier panel on our competitors' websites every time.
You're right, we need more information. That's a job that if you took the position today, you'd still be researching and typing 10 years from now, and still not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime, our goal is REPUTATION, and actually earning that reputation by providing the best quality available, regardless of whether it's spelled-out on the website or not.
We can make promises, and conjure up flowery descriptions and impressive spec-sheets all day long. But at the end of the day, if the parts that come in the boxes and go on your car aren't the best they can be, then all of that descriptive content doesn't add up to a hill of beans. So we're continuing to work on the descriptive, but highest-priority is maintaining the sourcing behind the scenes.
Hope that all made sense! LOL
Rick
NPD
