Vendors burning forum members.
 

Is there a quality standard for sponsorship and promotion of vendors on this forum? I have been lied to and mislead about availability and shipping time 2 out of four of my last orders..by weeks. And they happily take my money first before the lies start about delivery..

I believe there is a way to have this brought to attention but yes first I'd report them to admin here. I would also call them out or post about your experience and simply let everyone know that those vendors are unreliable. Thirdly, if your purchase was through PayPal or something similar then I'd also report them to Paypal. I'm not 1000% sure on all of it but that's where I'd start. Give this thread some time for others to pitch in some advice I'm sure you'll be able to resolve your issue brother. :)

There are a couple factors that come into play with vendors.

-What parts you ordered
-Company you ordered from

The parts you order plays a factor because if you order a set of coilovers you can get them in the mail in like 2 weeks. That is because they are usually already produced in a factory and in stock with vendors selling them. If you order an FRP or Carbon Fiber body kit piece you have order time, production time, shipping time to vendor, and shipping time to you. Most vendors do not have a production company in the US for these body kit pieces. Shipping can take a while when ordering production pieces.
I waited close to 4 months for my Carbon Fiber SS hood and Carbon Fiber RS1 fenders from Fly1 Motorsports. I know people who have waited 6-8 months for Authentic Amuse, Fujimura, and Varis parts in Dry Carbon fiber from Japan.

The company you order from is important because of the fact you don't want to order something from a company that will just take your money and run. Usually on this forum we do a good job on staying up to date on "Bad Vendors". GTM, Evo-r, Aerojacket etc. There are plenty of threads. Just use the search function.


Just make sure you do a good amount of research before purchasing anything using only Paypal Goods and Services from an Aftermarket Vendor. If you are purchasing from an Aftermarket Company, like ordering KW v3's from the KW retail site, you have less to worry about but still mistakes happen.
If you are still unsure of whether or not to order from the company at hand, post something to the forums. People here will tell you. :tiphat:

Your formality and professionalism... I just love that $hizzz

Thanks for your advice. I guess I got used to the good customer service and communication from the larger outfits like Amazon. I will call or email from now on to confirm availability and lead time before giving them my credit card info.

I go by the rule that if I plan on purchasing from a company, they need to have a phone number I can reach them at and someone that actually answers when I call. I've ordered parts directly from F.I. and ConceptZ. Both times I called, I reached a real person first shot who answered every question I had very professionally prior to my purchase.

I believe that this thread needs to be posted as a sticky/permanent thread. This way all members can see/read first hand the experience some have had with certain vendors, be it negative or positive. As far as I am concerned, if a vendor posts and advertises on this forum, they need to have integrity and be held accountable for their shortcomings.

You know it :yum:

No problem, And you're right about a company like amazon having good customer service and communication; that's due to them having complete service departments just for a certain type of call. Vendors like these are like a 5-10 man crew if that.
Although like BC416 said, Vendors ,for example, Concept Z Performance, Fast Intentions and Z1 Motorsports, Bulletproof Automotive and Fly1 Motorsports at least have great communication and rep a smaller group of employees.

Hell another example is Lohit @ Fly1 Motorsports; he is great with communication. I prefer to buy it from him if it's something that he carries even if it is a tad more expensive; knowing the customer service, communication and quality will all be top notch. :driving:

To me the wait time on body parts is ridiculous. I mean its understandable if it's coming from Japan or somewhere over seas, but even then theres a point. But if you are ordering body parts from a company in the US it shouldn't take months. Like i said in my thread if customers were only putting down deposits, guaranteed the parts wouldn't take months, they'd have that **** made real quick. Especially if you are a company that makes maybe like 10 parts (that are copies of someone elses design and charge almost as much as the authentic parts) I dont understand why they can't stock some ****. I'd gladly pay extra for it to be in stock, but to charge more and still have you waiting for several months and they are in the US...that's ridiculous.
The worst part about it is when they lie to get the sale then are just fine having you wait and stop or slow with communication after you pay.
I just don't understand when it became normal for "businesses" to order me parts with my money, like wtf are you in business for, what do you actually carry, carry some parts so I can buy them. Again I can understand if parts are special order from overseas but then why not spend more money and order extras for stock? I mean you are a vendor on a 370z forum, why not carry some 370z parts!? Oh so weird the concept right?
It's just too bad extreme dimensions or carbon creations don't copy more stuff for the z cause their parts are always readily available. If they did it would make all these other businesses step their game up and hurry the f up.

I paid for a set of pads from a forum vendor on Wednesday night, about 30 hours ago and they still haven't shipped. I suppose it's normal, but I'll be upset if they don't ship by Friday night, or within 48 hours of purchase. another forum vendor, Concept Z, has been excellent from my experience though. Z1 was great in my 350Z days, but I recently purchased brake parts from them, and their customer service has seen better days.

yah, most speed shops do not have live inventory info online.. and some of their live inventory info is based on the manufacture's inventory info located at another location which can really throw off ur arrival time. :ugh:

another reason why i try to find the same item on amazon and ebay stores first even if it costs a little more.

Also, is it possible on the vendor classifieds, maybe even just for exterior parts to have a sub section that a vendor can list what 370z parts they actually have in stock and they have to regularly update it? how dope would that be? how empty would that sub section be...lol?

Exactly. I will happily pay a little more if the service and communication is good, and I'll come back for more parts later.

I do agree that it is a bit of BS to have to wait months to get body kit parts, but it's not all because of the fact they don't keep the product stocked. Process is as follows: Order the production of the part. Part orders are grouped into batches. A batch contains "x" amount of orders. Once all of those orders are done with production and ready to be shipped then the batch with all "x" amount of parts is shipped to the Vendor, after inspection by the vendor it is shipped to the buyer. So if your order is #1 out of, say, 100 parts in that batch you have to wait a little while before it is even shipped to the vendor, which yes is a strain on everything, but its just how the business runs.
Otherwise parts would be double the price for replicas and authentic kits with fixing the shipping delay and pay shipping and customs costs for individual parts. Most if not all body kit pieces for our 370z's are made overseas. It just depends on which country, not all are Japan.

As for vendors having all of these body kit parts in stock, they are rare to find in stock due to the fact that the parts are made when ordered, authentic nor replica
Even ordering body kit pieces from a company, they are made when ordered since they are authentic pieces at that point.

I differentiate "Vendor" and "Company" because as stated in a previous post and earlier in this one; A Vendor is a certified retailor selling many different brands of products. A company is a brand that sells its brand (only authentic)

An example of each:
Vendor purchase: I bought a Varis Arising II body kit from bulletproof automotive
Company purchase: I bought a Varis Arising II body kit from Varis Japan


Just a slight difference, but still is different. Plus replica prices are a HELLLLL of a lot cheaper than Authentic pieces. At least 50% difference if not more depending on the part.
An entire authentic FRP Amuse kit with no paint costs roughly $6500 shipped. brand new.
An entire replica FRP Amuse kit with no paint costs roughly $2750 shipped.

Yeah it is not cool that aftermarket vendors don't always have the best business ethics and practices, but that is why you are part of a great community like this 370z forum. There are plenty of people that will help you pick the correct company for a bit more rather than get ripped off for a little less. I believe that if it seemed to be too good to be true than it usually is. Sometimes you get lucky, but more often than not it goes wrong.

Make sure you use the correct companies and only order from them.

I don't know how to quote multiple post, but by your explanation to me, amazon would be a vendor. But I understand what you are saying, i just disagree...somewhat. To me vendor and company is same same...but different lol. I'm sure if you asked the owner of one of these 5-10 man crew what he does, he will more then likely say something like...i have/run my own company, and not like...i am a vendor. So to me they are same same. But I do understand the point you were making and the difference between them.

Also, I'm only speaking about the experiences with some companies that i've dealt with, couple bad apples, most have been great. And I guess i'm referring to the companies that make their ****(or say they do) and not the ones that sell another companies products.

But again to me its understandable if parts are coming overseas...to a point. But with the US based companies, like 1 for me is Aerojacket, they only make what like 6-10 products? And it seems like i'm the last guy from this forum to order from them, they can't be too busy to make my part or to even respond, why should it be acceptable to wait months for a product they told me would be done real quick if i ordered frp. So imo why are the US based companies that make their own parts not making/stocking the parts they sell, it shouldn't be made to order every time, they are not a restaurant. I mean hell some of them are releasing new products available for order when there are people still waiting on old product that's been paid for. To me that's shady. Take orders for **** when you are several months behind on orders you already have. :gtfo2: Make my ****.

I just noticed this subject makes me say **** a lot. By **** I mean parts, and by parts I mean something you won't receive for several months after you order. Again i'm only speaking about the couple rotten apples i'm dealing with and not all the other companies that I haven't dealt with.

Now I need to go and try to decide if i want to wait for a carbon Fujimura or Ings front lip, cause i'm sure no one has them in stock. Guess ill check the vendor classifieds.

Now that you mention it Amazon would be a vendor but has a company size staff if we are to keep to the differentiation between vendor and company.
I agree with having the vendors have the parts in stock, but sadly just doesn't work that way with the amount of orders they receive. Doesn't change the production time of the part either

I don't know if you have seen this, but if Aerojacket isn't on you list of bad apples... ADD IT

Aerojacket told me that my CF type 3 duckbill I purchased from them would be done and delivered to me personally (he used to have his shop about 5 mins away from where I live) and it would be about 2-3 weeks. Waiting 2 and a half months for that piece. It was ordered in the summer last year about June-ish time. So major sale pile ups were not an issue. Aerojacket is known for this type of business now.

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...lar-issue.html

That is why I go with Fly 1 Motorsports. Even though, between my CF RS1 Fenders and CF SS hood, I waited roughly 4 months, due to big order buildups from Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts in late 2015, Lohit was still great with responding. Even if there wasn't a change in progress, he would still let me know that he checked up on it, but there just wasn't a change in status of the order yet. You seldom hear any bad reviews about Fly 1 Motorsports in their customer service. A few times there have been people on this forum that have had a damaged product through shipping from Fly 1 and the buyer, but Lohit is most helpful when it comes down to options and how to go about the defect.

Fujimura and INGs are both very good companies, Make sure to look at the differences between a replica and authentic if you are looking into that part of the product, usually you can tell by Vendor. For example Bulletproof Automotive uses (for the majority) Authentic parts. I had a replica INGs front lip on my Z for a while, but due to no road in Socal being lowered car friendly I decided to remove it until I got my new front bumper.

I can say that based on my experience with a good shop (I won't name it in this bad thread) they actually contacted me the next day advising that both parts are on back order.

accommodated and even delivered the one part mid-winter when it did become available in person. :bowrofl:

I like to think the pay for what you get type cliché

It would be great to have some sort of sticky about our buying experiences.. rjm clutch pedal and z1 have been great. Good communication from them for me. Others not so much ..

And RJM is a one man show so no excuses because it a small outfit..He is attentive and honest.

Yeah I happen to come across the aerojacket thread after I had ordered my duckbill. Yesterday I threatened to report them and they finally responded saying that they would forward me the tracking info today but have yet to see anything. To be honest, i'm super patient, but when there is absolutely no communication or even slow communication that's when I feel like something is up and most of my patience goes out the door.

Hopefully aerojacket will come through soon, with all this happening I feel almost like exterior is staying stock. But then I think if the duckbill comes in my car will look silly with just a duckbill and fuji diffuser. Well we will see. But its good when threads like this exist.

Fingers crossed for you too! I wouldn't keep my hopes up on him getting you the tracking information today. Unless the batch literally was finished and shipping was paid for within the last 8-10 hours. If you get it by the week's end I would call yourself lucky. I would aim myself more towards Friday of this upcoming week as a deadline.
I would also not message him again until next Friday or until he sends the tracking info. If you haven't heard from him in another week than possibly look into a claim with paypal to get their arses moving again. At this point you can choose to message him again or not. If you do, do not say anything about the paypal claim otherwise he will be looking for the call. I'm sure he has it registered in his phone by now. If you decide not to message him, better off because once the claim is filed with paypal then paypal attempts calls and if he doesn't answer in a certain amount of time the claim is automatically closed with Aerojacket as the negligent party and you would be refunded.

Also when you get your duckbill spoiler it won't end there... TRUST ME..... lol especially if you ordered Carbon Fiber. Once the Carbon Fiber bug bites it doesn't let go very easily. I carbon fibered a lot of my interior, have the AJ type 3 carbon fiber spoiler, and just about to finish the installation of my RS1 carbon fiber fenders and carbon fiber ss hood. going back to my shop after work to put the carbon fiber hood vent splitters and mesh onto the hood. Then it'll be done... for now...
You know it's bad though when you haven't finished installing your currently purchased parts and are already looking at what you want to buy next.. haha

Lol you were right, no tracking sent. what a piece of **** aerojacket is! The bad thing is if I would have known it was going to take this long i would have ordered the carbon duckbill, but he told me if I ordered the frp duckbill it would be done in a week, so i went that route. I paid directly with my card so i'll just need to contact my bank. But for me it won't stop there, I don't take **** like this lightly, I will do everything I can to screw with him until I get bored or he faces some sort consequence.

To be honest i'd rather my money back anyways so I can order a carbon spoiler of some sort. I really want a duckbill but not willing to wait another 2 months+. It's too bad that aerojacket is a **** up, especially since their price point was fair, hell even their shipping rates were realistic, not paying $150 to ship a spoiler, i don't mind paying extra for the spoiler itself if the service is better and I would receive it faster, but ridiculous to overcharge for shipping.

The carbon bug bit me a long time ago, with my G35, and its come back for sure. Just need to decide who gets my money. I used rhdjapan before without problems and might do the same again for the Z parts. If it takes too long then at least I can say, well its coming from Japan. Or...
http://s1.postimg.org/xegofsfr3/4japan.jpg

And put it on Harry's tab.

only one ive ever had an issue with was Evo-R

I ordered CF b pillars, 8 days later no shipping information yet. I contact EVO-R, 2 days later states they are out of stock (site said they were in stock). I said no problem, cover the shipping for the bad information on the site, no response for 3 days. Finally made a claim for a refund on paypal to have on the record. Refund was made.

Never do any business with that guy again. In fact, I just ordered a Fujimura rear diffuser from Japan Parts. Evo-R had an opportunity to make a lot of money with me and completely dropped the ball. Ill do my business elsewhere

Or Walmart

I will catch some flack for this I am sure.. but it also goes the other way.
Gamma is not allowed on the forum because of the sins of GTM (and because they had Sam on staff for a while)... and I have not heard of them hosing anyone. I had a fine experience with them, and they shipped my TT kit shortly after I paid for it (honored my GTM groupbuy deposit too). I don't know what the right answer is here, but I hope the mods get together and try to figure out a better way of handling vendors for this community.

It is kind of interesting that Fly1 was mentioned in this discussion for good customer service when another thread is talking about the same subject:

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-customer.html

Yeah get refunded and then chose a different company. Told you it would happen. My car shop I use, the owner is also friends with Rick and has Aerojacket parts ordered sometimes. The thing is my friend, the owner, says that the part has to come in, be installed and customer is satisfied before he gets paid. That way there are no complications with returns, refunds, or parts not being delivered.
Odd part was last week when I was at my car shop, the owner who is my friend was telling me that Rick from Aerojacket stopped by and was checking out my Z with the newly installed hood and fenders. I told my friend that he was probably envious cause the fitment and filament is pretty much 10/10 on my Fly1 Carbon Fiber product and my Spoiler from Aerojacket was at most an 8.5/10 when it was first installed. Fitment was off and the edges are raised off the hatch. I can probably fit a quarter in the gap. Clearcoat had some marks and what looked light small bubbles. Only things like these are noticeable when you are perfectionist with it all.

I used to know where Aerojacket's shop was where I live. Before they moved I was literally a 5 minute drive from their shop. Since they moved, no clue where to, plus I would hope that Rick would realize instead of going to my car shop to he should try and get people their orders. Since he is there every once and a while I figure I will run into him eventually. I bring it up to him every time to get people from the 370z forum their orders if they are still waiting.


Rhdjapan is reputable, but takes forever coming through shipping and customs. I have still ordered from them and will continue.

Fly1 Motorsports is where I'll be getting most body kit pieces/ bigger carbon fiber parts. Local and easier that way. Plus lohit is always helpful. As for the current thread on Fly 1 Motorsports, it seems to be an isolated incident at this point. It is nothing like the Aerojacket scandal that has been going on that has affected hundreds of people just of this forum. I'm able to still get a hold of Lohit and always have been.

CZP Performance is another reputable vendor. Bought a part that almost no one had in stock. I would have to order from Nismo and would be manufactured per my order through other vendors, but after about a day of digging around the rep found a set that was in stock at Nissan Motorsports in the back that someone just had happened to see recently and remembered it when the rep from CZP called them. Had it within a week and a half.

Bulletproof automotive is also a reputable vendor, higher end products. I.e. Varis, Fujimura, Powerhouse Amuse, Top Secret, Tommy Kaira etc.

Just be sure the keep to your handful of vendors you choose and do the research. :tiphat: