Manaray

Ok folks, where are they BUYERS for the AutoCouture group buy? I have only heard from TWO of you....and NO ONE has committed any money. I CLEARED stated previously that you should only jump in on this buy if you could part with $1600...

Do you know what kind of ***** I had to go through to get that price? Do you know how much time I spent to get pricing and shipping negotiations down? All I can say is that if you're a deadbeat on this group buy, you will NOT be getting this kit for anywhere near that price nor should you ever expect me to help you on another group buy or "hook up" of any sort...

Seems like we have a lot of bull***** talkers with no money here...

awj

I used to try to get group buys going on other sites - they never work too well. And this was for cheaper items. Good luck though. I'd order if I had the dough and actually wanted a body kit.

I know how hard it can be and definitely give you props - you just plain can not rely on people. No matter what - no matter where. Though people here are a lot better than other sites.

Static911

Manaray went through sooooooooooooooooo much to get it at that price.

Do not get on Manaray's bad side.

Ethan

AutoCoutureSC

iTrader: (8)

hey manaray,
i know all the trouble you went through, but if i say that i'll get the kit, then i'll get the kit. i hate low-ballers too, and it bites.

you got a HOOK UP on the AC kit, i paid over 3500 for my do-luck! i can't believe that no one is jumping on this deal.

blankman

When is the deadline for this, I was one that was originally interested and I still am, but i didn't know when it was going down, and bought a few other things, it's going to take me about 3 weeks to have that much extra cash again, let us all know when you are planning on doing this or if you are waiting for a minumum number or what?

rhart00

I am really interested in it but I am going to need some time to come up with that kind of money. I definitely don't want to miss out on an opportunity like this but I don't have $1600 laying around right now. I am going to need some time to make it and I am sure other people are in the same boat.

Manaray

Everyone has until May 19th, if I don't have 8 people READY WITH CASH by then, the group buy will be off...then you guys can get raped an pay close to $2700 or whatever AutoCouture is asking for on that kit in the USA or you can source your own importer. Don't expect me to help out ANYONE that was in this group buy that didn't cough up the cash.

From now on, any major group buys will require payment up front or you will not be in on the group buy...deadbeats need not apply.

I will also be posting the names/handles/email address of everyone that was in this group buy...

blankman

Well I'll tell you what, you can kiss my ***, I'll publish my own damn name, I WAS interested in this when it first came up, and I sent a private message to you, you responded and said you would get back with the details, never heard back from you, then bam all the sudden here it is, send you the money. Sorry, but the world doesn't work on your time, I'm am not trying to put you down, and I know all the moderators are going to rip my *** for this, but you brought all of this up a while ago, and then it just magically reappeard, and you expect everyone to pull 1600 out of thier asses and hand it over, sorry, but you need to give people time to come up with cash like that, and then start your *****ing and threats. I do recognize the time you spent on this,amd I am grateful for your efforts, but no thanks, I don't need to get a hard time because I don't have 1600 laying around. I'd rater pay the higher price and not deal with the *****ing.

hoops_24

Manny, all of that was inappropriate to say the least.

I think we need to look at making these group buys work better because they always suck. Putting up a portion of the cash to get included in the group buy prior to all of the leg-work being done is probably the way to go. That way, the vendor can be approached and shown up-front cash that will probably make the legwork less taxing. Why don't we put our heads together and come up with something constructive versus all of the vitriol??

Peace

hellasboy

just a little inappropriate... but maybe it's frusteration since there was initially a huge demand...

Just to give you guys some info. 1,600$ shipped from Japan to LA is an INCREDIBLE deal. I know it's been said before but trust me on this. 1,600$ shipped is MUCH lower than any (USA) dealer wholesale cost. I can't say exactly how much but let me just say that it is very significant. I was *considering* to buy one for myself (even though I wouldn't put it on for at least a year and not my first choice) but unexpected costs have come up or else I would have bought 2.

The average price for the SC kits (AC not added in) is roughly around 1,500$ (without shipping from Japan!) For about the same price you can get one of the highest quality, best looking, most expensive kits. Besides the widebody kit, this is one of the most expensive.

I don't want to sound like a commercial, but if anyone is planning on buying a kit, then you should (strongly) consider this one.

-Nick

AutoCoutureSC

iTrader: (8)

I agree with Manaray,
He went through so much trouble to get this awesome deal for everyone on CL. There was such a huge demand and the majority vote was that this was one of the most popular kits to get for the SC, and I remember a while back that many of you out there would get it i the price was right; and would do anything to get such a rare item.

Speaking from experience, 1600 shipped to LA? Good Lord! I paid nearly 2 1/2 times that for my do-luck and had to wait about close to 5 months to get mine from Japan! THis deal on the AC kit is unbelievably inexpensive. It's so cheap that they should arrest you because you're basically stealing it at this price.

Manaray helps everyone out on this board and puts out many many hours in doing so. I hope everyone will not flame me, but it's just my opinion that everyone usually backs out. Everyone seems to just "talk" nowadays...

I'm not part of the original people with the group buys, but please don't waste his time... I understand that not everyone is made of money, but don't fake the funk and say you're going to get the kit when you're really not going to.

Deceptik1

iTrader: (6)

I would be interested in the kit sometime around summer. I never pm'ed or e mailed Manaray about the kit since I knew I didn't have the money right now. Just wanted to let you know I would definately jump on the deal if I had the cash but since I don't I didn't bother to waste your time. $1600 thats a steal.

mjr24

I dont see why Manaray is so mad. I mean yeah he went through a lot to get this price....but what did he go through? I mean did he have to like go to Japan and cook them dinner or something? LOL, JK.
I guess yeah its pretty dumb people arent replying now....but dont sound incredibly pissed off and threatening just because you had to go to all the trouble to exchange emails with these people or make a few phone calls to Japan. Thats not much trouble at all, but no disrespect. Maybe you did go to JAPAN and cook them dinner for all I know, then ignore this post then.

Manaray

Thanks for the support guys....just to EDUCATE some people, let me tell you what I had to go through...

First off, I thought this group buy would be available from AutoCouture USA. I was going off their JDM prices which they NORMALLY give a discount on to dealers...so I calculated that I could get the kit for around $1600. That's when I found out that they listed the kit at $2700. Knowing what I know about dealer prices, I knew there was NO WAY to get it down to $1600. Not even with a hookup (plus I'm NOT even a dealer). Anyways, WEEKS were spend negotiating with AutoCouture. Nothing. Nada. They weren't going to budge. At that point, I could have thrown up my hands and said "Oh well, I tried."

However, I wanted to get ClubLexus members to get this deal. I knew there was a LOT of interest in this kit. So then I started contacting various people in Japan. I knew I had to go direct to Japan because if I used an importer, the cost would be increased (significantly). So I spent WEEKS CALLING JAPAN....Do you think that was free? Do I work for AT&T? NO, I FOOTED the bill to call Japan MANY TIMES to find a worthy vendor and for the right price TO SAVE YOU MONEY. You think these were $5 calls? $0.10/minute or something? I also asked a couple of my friends who spoke Japanese to DO ME A FAVOR. They had to stay up at hours they're normally sleeping in order to talk to the folks in Japan.

So then I finally find a vendor that I could trust and that was willing to take a small profit. You have to remember, the price had to be REALLY low because I had to get these SHIPPED over here from Japan also...that's NOT CHEAP.

So now, I had to search for freight forwards. Again, I had to email and call Japan. I had my vendor also look for me. I also called and emailed various shipping companies to get a price. Now do you think they have just a "normal" price to ship stuff from Japan? HELL NO. I had to give them weight, size, ship date, etc., etc...so I had to recontact my vendor in Japan to get me that info. Now with that info in hand, I found prices...trust me, the prices weren't pretty. It was going to cost roughly $400 PER BODY KIT. Do some simple math, what would have to get the kits for in order to meet the $1600 price point....oh, but there's more...our favorite thing...TAXES.

Great, now I have a vendor, I have a shipper...what else? Oh yeah, CUSTOMS. I had to call Customs and ask various questions to make sure that YOUR BODY KIT didn't sit in San Pedro for months or get denied. I had to download a HORRENDOUS file called the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to find out what fees had to paid on the items. Do you know what it's like to wade through GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS? And then have to deal with GOVERNMENT WORKERS to get information? Makes the DMV look like a Consumer Reports #1 customer satisfaction business.

So after spend time with that, I had a break. I remembered that another ClubLexus member delt in shipping. So I contacted him and gave him the lowdown. He was able to work out a better deal for me on shipping so I could actually get the kits here for just under $1600...awesome! I met my goal.

Now I ask for the money for the group buyers and what do I get? TWO people that respond. Where did the others go? Didn't I say to check the Group Buy thread for more information? Did I not update the group buy thread? Sorry that I didn't CALL/PAGE/EMAIL everyone on the list to make sure that they got the information! My bad

Now let me let you in a little secret...when I started this group buy, I didn't even have a SC. I was going to buy ONE kit because I was PLANNING to buy a SC, but let me tell you, I was in the market for a GS and a LS also...had I not found a clean SC, I would have been stuck with a body kit I had no use for. Do you think resale would have been great on it? Considering others would have bought it for less than $1600 through my very own group buy, I would have most likely taken a loss on it...plus I had the $1600 tied up in the kit....but NO...I wanted the group buyers to get the best price, so I was going to buy TWO kits so that we could have 10 kits total for the group buy SO THAT YOU COULD GET A LOWER PRICE. I was going to be stuck with AT LEAST ONE kit at the VERY MINIMUM....

Now do you remember my calls to Japan...yeah, it wasn't free. Then I was going to buy TWO kits just to make sure everyone got the lowest price...and what is your time worth? Do you know what MY TIME IS WORTH? Do you think I can be unemployed and own my own place, two Lexus cars, a handful of watches that in total cost more than most people's yearly income, plus my gun hobby, plus my computer hobby, eat out for EVERY MEAL and pay all my OWN BILLS because I was getting paid $5.75/hour at my former job that I QUIT?

Oh, did I mention the LOGISTICS I would have had to gone through to get the kits out the buyers once it go here? Do you think one of these kits fits into the trunk of my GS? How about 10 kits. Go look at your stock front bumper. Tell me what kind of vehicle would you need to transport 10 FULL kits with sideskirts AND a rear bumper skirt? How about a FULL SIZE stakebed truck. I'm not talking about a F150 or a Yukon...I'm taking about a truck that is roughly the same length as TWO GS's...do you think that was going to be free for me to get? How about STORAGE? Do you have enough room in your house or garage to store 10 FULL BODY KITS? How about shipping...I have to check and package EVERY SINGLE PIECE to make sure nothing is broken and then I have to send it out to the buyer...oh, did I mention that I had to find a DOMESTIC SHIPPER that would be willing to ship this stuff quickly and for cheap?

NOW TELL ME, DO YOU THINK WHAT I SAID WAS INAPPROPRIATE?

I CLEARLY STATED THAT ONLY PEOPLE THAT CAN PART WITH $1600 ON THE SPOT SHOULD EVEN REPLY. Do you think I'm a dealer that's making some fat profit on this? I'M LOOSING MONEY ON THIS.

Manaray

Know ***** before you talk *****.