Same part, three different sellers, three different tradeoffs
Whoever you ask for a part, a dealer, a salvage yard, or an aftermarket store, they're solving the same problem with a different tradeoff between fit, condition, and price. Knowing which tradeoff you're making is more useful than assuming one seller type is always right.
Dealership parts department: new OEM, exact fit, highest price
A dealer's parts counter sells new parts from the vehicle's original manufacturer. This is the right call when fit has to be exact, sensors, safety components, anything that needs to match factory calibration, or when the part is still covered under warranty. It's also usually the most expensive option, and dealers stock a narrower range than a specialist retailer for older or less common vehicles.
Salvage yard: used OEM, factory-original, better value
A salvage yard sells parts pulled from other vehicles. You're getting the same factory-original part a dealer would sell new, at a lower price, with condition depending on the donor vehicle's mileage and how the part was removed. This is often the best value for a part where fit matters but the part isn't safety-critical, body panels, trim, non-electronic components. What is a salvage title covers what you need to know before buying a salvage-titled vehicle specifically, separate from buying individual used parts.
Aftermarket retailer: new, third-party, usually cheapest
An aftermarket store sells new parts made by a company other than the original vehicle manufacturer. For common wear items, brake pads, filters, belts, body panels, a reputable aftermarket brand meets or exceeds OEM specs at a meaningfully lower price. The risk is quality variance between brands, so knowing the brand name matters more than the word "aftermarket" on its own. See OEM vs aftermarket parts for a full breakdown of when each condition makes sense.
Most buyers end up using all three
The buyers who spend the least over time aren't loyal to one seller type. They buy new OEM for the parts where it matters, used OEM when the savings are worth it, and aftermarket for everything else. The friction is usually contacting three different kinds of sellers separately to compare.
On AnyPartsHub, you post the part and vehicle once, and matched requests go out to dealership parts departments, salvage yards, and aftermarket retailers who carry it, across all 9 vehicle types the platform covers: cars, pickups, motorcycles, ATVs, commercial trucks, trailers, RVs, marine, and farm equipment. You compare condition and price across seller types from one request instead of searching each one separately.