1A Auto is one of the cheapest replacement part retailers. Their parts are cheap and there are solid reasons for that.
Material sourcing, no physical bases, generic quality and fitting, and no specialization cost are the major reasons why 1A Auto parts retail for cheap.
Car replacement parts are really tricky and sometimes pricy too. Cheap deals with good options are rare, that’s why 1A Auto is so popular.
Their prices are almost too good to be true. But how are they so cheap? Here’s a detailed answer to that.
Reasons Why 1A Auto Parts Are So Cheap
If you’re wondering about the price only after checking their website, there’s news for you. The price usually differs based on the platform you’re buying through. It also depends on what part you’re buying.
Sometimes 1A Auto parts are actually more expensive than its competitors. But for the most part, their parts are super cheap compared to other brands.
There are multiple reasons behind this. 1A Auto’s material sourcing, lack of physical stores, part with generic quality and fitting, and absence of specializing cost are the major reason for a low retail cost. These reasons lower the production cost so the retail cost also gets lower.
Let’s see how these actually work to lower the retail price.
Also Read: Reasons For Rough Country Being So Cheap.
- Material Sourcing
For every seemingly cheap element, the secret lies in the sourcing. If the raw cost is lower than others, the retail price will also be lower. And that’s what happens with 1A Auto. Their source is cheaper, so they can retail their pieces for a low price.
Most manufacturers who depend on outsourcing focus on raw materials. They’re usually cheap in different countries like China.
The manufacturers buy the raw materials from these countries, ship them back and process them for cheaper. Some manufacturers pay factories in different countries to make everything for them.
But for auto parts, the equation is different. The raw materials are usually either too pricey or processing them costs a lot.
But if you’re looking at pre-made parts, they can cost less depending on where you’re getting them from. And that’s what 1A Auto does.
1A Auto buys whole parts for cheap from different countries. Sometimes these parts are shipped directly from that country, sometimes they stop at their warehouse first.
Either way, 1A Auto doesn’t have to pay for raw materials or process any part of that.
This takes down the production cost by a lot. Lower production cost leaves an already high margin for profits, they don’t have to price anything too high. This is why they can release their products at a much lower cost in the market.
- No Physical Location
Physical retail location and everything related to it have to be included in the production cost. Since 1A Auto doesn’t have physical stores, they don’t have to pay anything for those and the production cost stays low.
This helps them price their parts lower.
Brick-and-mortar stores are a pretty complicated part of any business.
Other than the raw production cost overall, manufacturers also have to consider the stores and everything that comes with them.
Physical structure, interior, employees, and any maintenance work they’ll have to do pile up on top of the original production cost.
What this does is increase the overall cost in two ways. The manufacturers have to pay more people for service and they have to pay extra to access a physical store (and to keep that access).
This overall adds up and increases the raw production price for products.
1A Auto has completely skipped this part. They have no middleman physical location. That means no extra labor cost and no extra-base cost.
The only thing they worry about is their physical warehouses which don’t require any extra payments. This keeps their production costs lower.
As the production cost is low, they can get away with pricing their parts cheaper than other alternatives. They still have a big margin for profit and the clients get a cheap option.
- Generic Fitting And Quality
Let’s be honest, you always get what you pay for. This is true for 1A Auto parts too. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t premium like other options either.
The generic quality helps them cut down on production costs so the overall price stays low too.
Premium quality parts need premium quality processing. The raw material has to be top-notch, the processing has to be special and tailored for the material and post-production has to make it flawless. This whole thing is pretty out of the league for regular people. So there have to be experts involved.
The high-quality raw material, the experts to monitor the process, and the post-production crew to make sure nothing is out of place- these can cost a lot. That’s why “premium” quality car parts cost so high.
That’s not a problem with 1A Auto. To put it in the nicest way possible, their parts are pretty generic in terms of quality.
No special raw materials, and no experts to pay. No specific standards to maintain or worry about. All that is already handled by their source.
This means they don’t have to take any extra steps with their auto parts, which means there is no extra cost involved in this. This keeps the production cost lower and the overall price tag cheaper.
Another thing is their generic fittings. Most of their car parts are claimed to be compatible with multiple models.
So they don’t have to aim for specific models and can get the job done with fewer more generic models. That drives the production cost down too.
- No Specialization Cost
This goes hand-in-hand with their generic build and quality.
The lack of any special features or build points means they don’t have to get any experts involved.
Involving experts means there will be more cost in production.
No expert means no extra cost. The same goes for the build.
Since most of their parts are generic and fit multiple models, they have to make fewer models.
The generic models do the job and they don’t have to focus on sourcing more premium models (which can cost a lot). This cuts down the production cost and that keeps the overall retail pricing lower.
Also Read: Differences Between RockAuto And 1A Auto.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Here are some questions people ask about 1A Auto and replacement car parts in general.
Yes, in both good and bad ways. Their parts are pretty good and cheap, but their customer service has been garnering complaints in recent days.
Yes, TRQ parts are pretty high-quality. Sometimes they can be even better than OEM parts.
Most of the 1A Auto parts ship from their headquarters in Jacksonville, USA.
1A Auto has been in business for almost 24 years.
Final Verdict
So, the main reason for the cheap price is their lack of physical stores and sourcing generic quality car parts. There are other reasons too, of course, but these are the major ones.
