Notes for owners · Industry playbooks
Spare parts catalogues: how part numbers and honest OEM or aftermarket labels cut wrong orders
Wrong-part returns often start with vague listing names, so put the part number, the grade and the exact vehicle in the title the way a mechanic asks for them, and confirm doubtful orders before dispatch.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
On this page
- The questions a parts counter answers all day
- A title formula that matches the counter
- Part numbers change, so keep a cross-reference sheet
- Confirm before dispatch when the order is doubtful
- For example: a truck parts trader in Namakkal
- When to keep it simpler
- Trace each "did not fit" return to its listing
A mechanic does not ask for "brake pads for Swift". They ask for front pads, petrol, which year, and read the number off the old part in their hand. Many wrong-part returns start with a listing that names the part the way a shopper would and leaves the mechanic's questions unanswered. Fix the name first. Put the part number in the title and every older number it replaces beside it. Name the vehicle by engine and years, state the grade in one plain word, and confirm doubtful orders before they leave the shop.
The questions a parts counter answers all day
Stand at a parts counter for an hour and you hear the same questions. Which vehicle, and which years. Petrol, diesel or CNG, or for a bike, which cc. ABS or not, disc or drum. Front or rear, left or right, upper or lower. What number is printed on the old part. And whether the customer has asked for genuine or will take a good aftermarket brand.
The counter staff ask because they have sent the wrong part before. An online listing cannot ask, so it has to answer all of it in the title and the first lines. When it does not, the buyer phones, and a mechanic who gets no answer may try the next seller.
A title formula that matches the counter
Build every title in the same order:
Part name + position + vehicle + engine + years + part number + grade + brand
A listing written the shopper's way:
Brake Pad Swift Best Quality Long Life
The same part written the counter's way:
Front disc brake pad set, Maruti Swift 1.2 petrol, 2011 to 2017, no. 55810-68H00 (illustrative), aftermarket, [brand]
Lead with what the part is and where it goes. Leave "best quality" and "heavy duty" out of the title, because mechanics do not search for them. For two-wheelers, the cc and the full model name matter as much as the year.
The grade word belongs in the title too: genuine, OES, aftermarket or used. What each word means to an owner, and why "OEM quality" should never appear as praise, is covered in our note on genuine, OEM or aftermarket parts. For the catalogue, one rule is enough. The word in the title must match your purchase invoice and the box in the photo.
Part numbers change, so keep a cross-reference sheet
Vehicle makers revise parts and replace one number with another, sometimes twice. The mechanic holds the old part with the old number. If your catalogue shows only the number on today's box, their search finds nothing from you, or finds a rival who listed both.
Keep one sheet behind the catalogue, one row per part you stock:
| Your code | Current maker's number | Older numbers it replaces | Aftermarket numbers for the same part | Fits | Checked against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BP-114 | [current no.] | [old no. 1], [old no. 2] | [brand A no.], [brand B no.] | Vehicle, engine, years | Maker's catalogue page or box label, with date |
| CP-207 | [current no.] | [old no.], but only from a chassis range | [brand no.] | Note where the new part does not suit older vehicles | Supplier sheet only: confirm before dispatch |
Then put every number from the row on the listing: the current one in the title, the older ones in a "Replaces:" line, and the aftermarket ones as "Fits in place of". Mechanics paste numbers exactly as printed, sometimes with dashes and sometimes without, so write each one both ways. This is where on-page SEO earns its keep for a parts seller. Only a page carrying the exact number string can match a mechanic who pastes it into Google.
Watch the last column. A replacement number does not always run backwards; a revised part can suit only newer vehicles. When your source does not say, the row stays "confirm before dispatch".
Confirm before dispatch when the order is doubtful
Hold an order and send a message before packing when any of these is true. It came without a part number. The vehicle has more than one variant. The part is made in left and right versions. Or its row on the sheet says "confirm".
Hello, this is [shop name] about your order for a front brake pad set for [model]. To send the right one, please reply with a photo of the old pads showing any number on them, or tell us whether the vehicle has ABS. We pack it as soon as you reply.
Do not hold orders where the code is the fit. Bulbs by type, oil by grade and wiper blades by length need no message.
For example: a truck parts trader in Namakkal
Imagine a trader in Namakkal selling brake linings, clutch plates and filters to lorry owners and roadside workshops across Tamil Nadu, through its own site and WhatsApp. The details are illustrative. Each listing carried the number printed on the box the trader was buying that year.
The trucks on the road were older than the boxes. Mechanics read the old number off a worn clutch plate, pasted it into Google, and found nothing from the trader. A dealer in the next town who listed both numbers got the order. Worse, a few workshops ordered by description and received a revised plate that did not suit an older chassis, and the lorry stood idle while the right one came.
The trader built the sheet, fastest movers first. Every listing gained a "Replaces" line, with each number written with and without its dashes. Two revised parts were marked "for vehicles from [chassis range] only", and orders for them now get the confirmation message. Building the sheet took weeks for even the fastest movers, and many slow lines were still unchecked afterwards. Workshops that order by number could now find the trader, because the number was finally on the page.
When to keep it simpler
Selling only to mechanics who already know the number? Then a search box that accepts part numbers, and a WhatsApp line for questions, matter more than long titles. Marketplaces have their own title rules and length limits, so check the platform's current rules and put the numbers wherever it allows. The vehicle fitment filter post covers the search side of the same problem.
Trace each "did not fit" return to its listing
Look up the listing behind every return marked "did not fit". Then ask why. A missing number, a missing older number, or a vehicle named too vaguely? Rewrite those listings first, add their rows to the sheet, and switch on the confirmation message. Spare parts are part of our e-commerce and marketplace marketing work, inside e-commerce sales and marketing. For a second pair of eyes on the catalogue, tell us what you need.
