CompanyX

Hello. I am from CompanyX.
In the light of recent incidents, namely Harris become a scammer, I have signed up under a different name to help concerned members out.

Basically, members ask a question, and since I am not tied specifically to a company, I will answer in two fashions. One would be the truth, and one would be a default response returned by the sponsor.

Please, no flaming, as this can prove to a constructive discussion and also an insight to the aftermaket industry. I want this to be something of the sort similair to 'Confessions of a Car Salesman'.

Hopefully with the new information that will spring from this thread, I can instill trust among the board sponsors.

Jakpro1

Seriously....could you throw down a sample question/answer response for us.....kinda struggling on what you mean.

One sample and we will be off and cooking.......I guess.

Thanks

CompanyX

I sure can try.

Question: What is the normal markup on wheels?
Answer: Almost nothing from company over wholesale. However, it's hard to publically post prices, because someone always will come in (Harris) and say that they'll get it lower by a few bucks. Everyone does it, and if you don't, you lose out on a sale. There is a few ten percent markup from wholesale to retail. Most wheel companies take 20% off or whatever near that mark. Now, if you post that price online and the wheel maker sees that you are undervaluing their product, they can raise your invoice price, so you have less discounts to give to people, which makes it harder to compete in the already very competitive market.

You start out by having a 30% off retail. Then they see you trying to offer 25% and they make it so you have 25% off retail. So you offer for 20% (misc fees to recoup) and someone when they price shop sees that another company beats your price by ten bucks. They choose the other shop so you basically have almost no way to compete.

I'm just saying what comes out, I hope that it's possible to piece together and understand what I am saying.

Question: How do you know of a sponsor is to be trusted?
Answer: That's a really tough question. You really don't. Look for folks who have been here for a while, and help the community. Why spend money with someone who posts strictly in the classifieds forum? Why not buy that Evosport Rotor kit for your E55, because indirectly a portion of your purchase goes to helping support mbworld. Why not buy from Euroteck because a portion of your purchase helps try to keep those GB's alive. Those are just a sample of some companies that have been here, and are here to stay for a while because of their massive contributions to the forum. If you look at Harris' incident, none of his posts really contributed to the community. Watch out for that.

oggle

I totally agree with this point. I see vendors that never want to answer or help out the community. Then when something negative is posted about products they sell, however legitimate, they appear out of nowhere to defend it.

DerekFSU

Why did Harris rip people off and what is his reputation in you all's world?

CompanyX

I can only speculate to why. Perhaps it was an honest mistake made by people he trusted, but then how can Evosport hire new people and stay in the game? How can Euroteck hire new people and stay in the game?

He used the community. I can leave it at that, and I know others will agree with me. I have yet to see a post about how well his 'famed' LSD from AMG has been preforming, possibly because he hasn't shipped any to mbworld members yet. But then again, I don't know all 25k members personally.

People say that your past dictates where you will go in the future, judging at the previous posts Harris made, it makes absolute sense to see him where he is now. I can only wish him luck to get through this.. if he truly did have an honest mistake.

Karma?

mbprince

we also all need to go into any purchase (especially online) with our eyes wide open (trust with extreme caution) I lost several thousand $$ years ago on eBay and now know better what to look for from a seller, although no plan is fool proof, I would want to speak on the phone with the seller and verify that phone #, physical address and a few other things - then it's up to your gut feeling as to the actual purchase. mp

here are my sample questions ...............

1) how long will it take to get me those HRE wheels

2) does that price for the chip and pulley include installation

CompanyX

Always check for phone numbers. Even if it's an internet company, get a phone number, and get address' so you can take action if you need to. Get references, get to know the vendor if you can, that's always the best thing to do.

As for your sample questions here we go

HRE wheels can take anywhere between a few weeks to about two months depending on if the vendor already has them in stock, or has to get them made, or even if he has to get a custom set made. On top of that, to get the best sources on tires, the vendor might ship the rims back and forth adding more time, but resulting in a lower price for the customer.

Usually prices quoted never include install because some guys have a friend that'll do it. Some folks go to a dealer. Some guys will do it by the shop that sold them the stuff. It honestly depends, and because of that, the price varies too much to give a solid quote.

mbprince

one more thing - I would like to see posts from members who 'DID' receive items they ordered and if the transaction went smoothly. just curious

CompanyX

Those are a dime a dozen. I wouldn't always rely on that though because folks have recieved stuff from Harris before.

Also many sales go on through PM's and what not and the customer will never post their rides online.

All negatives aside, it's a very good start!

BMWEATR

The only real advise I can give people is ALWAYS pay with your visa w/ major purchases! its sometimes your only way out of trouble cause visa has your back.

Harris sagested(sp?) i pay w/ pay pal or cashiers check at first!! *** that, no recourse there!

oggle

Don't EVER pay with PayPal. That crap is so lame. They take a commission and offer little protection, if any. It's like a joke.

The only reason to use PayPal is when you have user-to-user transactions where neither party has a credit card. However, which vendor doesn't have their own merchant account to process cc's? In fact there's every reason to prefer cc's because of the lower commission fees.

Sounds fishy if a merchant will only take Paypal.

Chappy

Q1: Who can get AMG Manufaktur parts?
(assuming "yes" to the first question)
Q2: What is the typical markup
Q3: What is the turnaround time?

Thanks

CompanyX

AMG Parts are hard to get. It's just how it is because they are direct from Germany and what not. You can always try Evosport or Euroteck to see what they can do, I'm sure they can arrange something to happen, or direct you better.

The typical markup on AMG products I do not now. I will venture a guess (assuming it is very similair to other companies) of around 20%.

Turnaround time, like I said, is always something that varies case by case. If the seller has the parts in stock, then it just makes everything a load easier, if they have to custom order them then it'll take a lot more time. Especially ontop of shipping from one country to another.

BMWEATR

You can buy parts from amg by just calling them.

sudo4re

The mods should come up with a trader rating system similar to Ebay for each member where we could leave either positive or negative feedback for each other. That way when we buy items from each other, we can get an idea how previous transactions went with a particular person or vendor. On my old MR2 board we have this system (your trader rating is next to your board name) and it did help weed out the scammers. Granted Toyota used parts are not as expensive as used MB parts and you only need to be scam once to be out of alot of money but atleast, the scammer can only scam one person and not a whole bunch of us.

eatm3sdaily

Its been over 2 weeks and I havent heard from Harris. Whats going on with MBWorld Sponsors ?

BMWEATR

he's running and ducking! and cover uping lololol
seems like mb world owners should step in and try and do something about Harris.

LorinserCClass

Very interesting thread...how long will it be up for is anyone's guess....

DRCrowder

If the mods don't delete the idiotic threads where short-sighted morons get in a pissing match, I don't see why they'd delete an intelligent discussion about safe online commerce.

Any reputable vendor wants an educated client since that education opens the clients eyes to their true value

jangy

I don't get the point of this thread. We all build and crush our reputations here. If anyone wants to know what another member's credibility is, they can ask. What kind of responses would any of you have gotten about Harris? If he just went bad as the money flowed in, then a rating system would not have seen it coming, either. I am sorry that many of you got ripped off. And trust me, I hate stressing on these things, too. But, this is more of an internet based commerce system issue that is coming to a head. With identity theft, Harrises, etc. , there is a new era of buying things from unseen sellers. In our cases, we are even dealing with the Europeans....LOL

CE750

Clearly a sponsor like MBenzNL can be trusted.. look at the hundreds of people who've used him and not a single one has complained. I freely gave him $1500 thru pay pal to order parts, and will pay him an additional $4500 or so in cash in three days when he does my mods. Why? Cause I'm not the first guy to use him, nor am I the 100th.. it's about credibility and he has it.

jangy

Exactly!

while we are at it.... I may as well give props to those that I've scrutinized, tooooo

formymercedes.com - top notch customer service

autowerks - Great Hands On ability, but they are so honest and focussed that they won't sell me much.

Hoehn Mercedes - Sales and Service are 1st Class!! All old school Benzo folks.

I guess that's it. All of my other interactions have been with local shops in the San Diego area. I am lucky that there is such a hot bed of car enthusiasts here. I've been able to find folks that are true craftsman at what they do.

MBenzNL

thanks for the thumbs up...your HK parts arrived already btw...so we are all set.

greetingz,

CE750

All is arranged over here too... A/C unit will be running for 4 hours by the time you go to work.. but alas, it's supposed to hit 109 degrees that day, so we can count on it to be around 80 degrees in that garage anyway!

Do I need to get a sleeping bag for Dean? or does he want to crash out on the couch (IF) you guys finish before 5am (when your cab arrives)!