public static function addItem($val, $cat_id) { $query = Parts::select('id')->where('part', '=', $val)->get(); if (count($query) > 0) { return 2; } if (Auth::user()) { $user_id = Auth::user()->id; } else { $user_id = 0; } $ins = DB::table('parts')->insert(['part' => $val, 'add_user_id' => $user_id, 'category_id' => $cat_id]); if ($ins) { return 3; } else { return 4; } // error }