Rmayrap

Hello, just wanted to share my experience with CKM Car Design... I was looking for a front lip for my s550 and was going to try the Maxton Design front lip. I checked maxtondesignusa.net and their price is $295 shipped. I then remembered I saw a similar design front lip on ckmcardesign so I went to compare and noticed it's the same exact looking lip for slightly less. It was 211 euro which converted to $225 shipping included, so I figured why not and ordered from ckm. A few days later I receive an email from ckm stating shipping by air would be $350 total for this part and that since I already paid $86 for shipping I would need to pay an additional $264. So this guy wants $489 for a knockoff Maxton Design front lip when I can get one directly from the source for $295? I asked him why there was an additional shipping charge when I paid shipping already through his site and told him I did not want to pay any additional fees and to cancel my order of he could not ship it for the price paid. He simply canceled the order without any explanation or response back. Seems like a bait and switch type of business practice and a little shady. Seems hes simply ordering parts through other vendors and taking a cut as the middle man. Just wanted to share my experience for others to be careful with this guy.

Nice Ride

Why don't you send a follow up email requesting how the error happened. Let them know the reason for the request is so you can update the many members on our reputable forum that may purchase from him. Could be an honest mistake, or possibly what you suggested....

cfmistry

CKM is based out of Europe. Did you expect him to ship a front lip to the U.S. for $65? They are huge. I would’ve assumed that to be an error.

Rmayrap

His website doesn't calculate shipping correctly I guess and he then emails asking for more money to cover shipping. Just found it odd that he didn't explain the reason for this when asked and he simply just canceled the order without any reply to a first time customer. The amount he requested seemed super high to me. Im.not going to go out of my.way to request an explanation if he didn't care enough to give one the first time. Shouldn't matter if I'm a forum member or not, this is not how business is handled.

Rmayrap

I paid $86 for shipping a small front lip, I don't think that's unreasonable. China is able to ship much bigger and heavier for less. My job isn't to determine if his shipping is an error or not. If his web site doesn't calculate shipping correctly he should fix it or at least let me know through email, instead he just said "Shipping this by air is 350USD - 86usd you already paid. So 264USD more" this isn't normal. When I asked why there is such a big difference and I didn't want to pay double than what I already paid he simply canceled the order without an explanation.

vincheung

Shipping from China to the US is subsidized by the government thats why the shipping rates are substaisially lower. I've made some purchases through EU vendors and have come across the same shipping issue where shipping quotes are incorrect but for some parts there are very limited if any options in the US.

Rmayrap

that's all understandable but seems odd to not have a working shipping calculator on a site that sells parts all over the world and then to just email and ask for more money that's double the price don't you agree? Maybe it's just me but I got a odd feeling from the whole interaction. Doesn't seem professional.

S_W222

I had communicated with him in the past; and I did not feel comfortable with his (TBD) final price or discounts. I had a promo code that he did not honor, and shipping also at that time suddenly got increased despite the website showing a lower number that did entice me in, but than I got shocked by the final numbers.
Since he is not the manufacturer, or does not own a factory, I decided going forward to do my research and order from the main source/factories (if am buying parts or products made in China), which in most cases is cheaper too (worst case I send them a screenshot of the lowest price I found elsewhere and they'd match it). I ordered a number of accessories that way, CarPlay module when I had a pre-facelift, and leather mats.

Rmayrap

Exactly, he advertises low prices on the parts to entice you then once you order he surprises you with astronomically high shipping charges hoping you won't cancel I guess. Bait and switch.

RavenCLS

I'm glad I read this thread. I'm going to be ordering a steering wheel from him soon. I'll probably look elsewhere.

Rmayrap

not sure what he will charge to ship a steering wheel but it's definitely going to be more than whatever price you're seeing on the site. I've concluded that he's simply a middle man without any stock, once you place the order he orders the part and takes a cut for himself. That's why everything says "out of stock" on the site.

RavenCLS

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to look somewhere else. Probably ebay 🙄

bimmerm3

EXACTLY !!! He has shady practices.

lthlc63

what kind of wheel ya looking for? i got some 2020 in stock if your looking for a retrofit

jareddad

I got a great custom designed steering wheel for my S63 from CKM, he was great to work with and it arrived perfectly. So I had a good experience and only have good things to say about CKM. Sorry you feel otherwise.

RavenCLS

If you don't mind me asking, how much more was shipping and how long did it take to make it?

Bigg Willi

VERY SHADY! Ordered $450 worth of stuff from them, heard NOTHING for a month, Emailed them was told all except one item had been shipped but I got no tracking number or email notice of shipment, and the order said it was still processing at their site, on to month 2. My ace, I paid with PayPal as I do with any overseas purchases that use PP, opened a case against them which put a hold on ALL their PP $$ transactions, and gave them a 7 day time limit for me to receive my items or get a full refund, Christian was PISSED..but I got all my items not back ordered and a partial refund in 5 days. 3 mo total wait.

S_W222

That's what you get when you order from an individual (instead of a manufacturer) selling products from his computer at home. I'd order from the manufacturers directly. All he does is to order from Chinese factories, and then pass it to you at an extra (plus he is making most of his money from extra undisclosed shipping fees). He used to be on this forum/website under a hidden name promoting himself as if he is someone else; just be-careful. He refused to pay forum fees at some point while still promoting his stuff, so his main account got banned too. These are all shady practices and I'd rather work with people who have good business ethics at first place despite the fact they offer a good/bad product.

jareddad

Shipping was about 90 euro. Took about 2 months to get it, not sure how long the shipping time was. But the steering wheel had to be custom made.