I still believe the market up price for auto part at least 2X so people still make profit if they willing to make less but can sell in volume. Since you're from Vertex, are you guy going to consider lower the price of your kit to like $1200 range? i'm sure people willing to pay for authentic instead of replica. (BTW, i'm not a fan of Vertex so i'm not asking this price for myself..lolz.. just as an example)

 

$1200 is completely out of the question. You do realize how much time and effort it takes to bring in a container from Japan right? In reality, all margins get reinvested to bring bigger and better products anyways. You are paying for quality as well, who hand lays fiberglass kits these days? Only the high end companies. Why do you think a Bently or Austin Martin costs so much? Things are built by hand to ensure quality of craftsmanship.

2X profit is crazy too. Maybe you can pull that on custom made items that you make (Radiator shrowds, dash pieces, etc), but you cannot pull those kinds of margins if you are selling products such as HKS, GReddy, Tanabe, etc EVEN IF YOU SELL AT RETAIL. Especially since items from these companies bring you a large bulk of sales.

After all is said and done, we end up selling product below wholesale but at or above MAP due to the intense competition in this industry.

 

That's cute.

$1200 for a Lip Kit = It's possible through our dealers (talk to Urbantactiz)

For a full kit?... you'll have a better chance finding water in the Sahara Desert wearing a moo moo and listening to William Hung sing "I beleive I can fly" better than R. Kelly. Good luck with that

 

HAHAHA

$1200 surely is a number I am comfortable with. PM for details

Moderators, don't hurt me, I am going to signup for vender status soon, I have already been talking with Jason about it

 

hahaha..as said before, i'm not a fan of Vertex. Never before and never will buy Vertex (regardless of price)

 

if Vertex knows the cost of shipping from Japan to US eat up all the profit then they should start thinking about let their US people to do it here and stop whinning about it. Geez..

 

Come on, you know you want to join the Vertex Alliance!

Where's James? We need him to chime in

 

No thanks. IF i ever do, i will support Auto R&D with their "select Verion" hahahaha

BTW, bring in Marketing Executive from Vertex will not save you from loosing business to replica stuff.

 

Maybe not yet, but I am sure once the mold starts to degrade from mass production of kits they will come screaming through my door for some REAL stuff

 

Auto Shine Project will save everyone.. why don't you come down to Auto R&D and buy their "Vertex replica" kit and let us know how the quality compare to your authentic one? josh said that the fitment just like OEM. Prove to everyone with picture compare between the two kit. Everyone can say anything about how great their product is.

 

That's cool, everyone has their on tastes. Just wondering what don't you like about Vertex (besides pricing) ?


About shipping, no one is whining. That's how things are. In terms of overall cost, manufacturing, R&D and Quality control, it's done in Japan. Therefore for the sake of a great product, costs must suffer. The few who have Vertex kits all are happy with their products, regardless of what they paid for.


You can support whoever you want to. It's up to you how you want your car to look like.

 

Pete,

1. Just not my taste. It's not about price. I have NO PROBLEM paying $2000 for the DO-LUCK kit because i like it.

2. Shipping: your reseller account (UrbanTacticZ) brought up this: . Well, R&D had been done on the product. Why don't Vertex USA produce the kit here in the US? Why you have to import? So you're saying QA in US is not as good as in Japan? If you guy have the kit produce in the US, that would cut down the waiting time, the cost of import tax, the cost of transportation; hence, you can cut down on the price (if you want to survive in the brutal industry)

 

I have seen the fitment and I am not doubting it, but I will never stoop to the level of selling knockoffs or buying them, it is not in my business model. I will never hire anyone who endorses them either!

I have a vision for my business and a very clear mission statement, I won't budge

 

Well even that requires a large amount of capital, I am sure you know that. Where else is the money going to come from for this besides profit margins on kits? Things such as getting a production facilty here in the States and hiring a labor force will be brutal to the bottom line as USA labor is quite expensive! If they were selling things such as cars, that is a differant story because there is a huge price gap. But the ROI of production here is no where near being worthwhile at this point, I am sure of it.

Think of the current status is being the middle phase of 3 total phases.

Phase 1) If a customer wanted Vertex before, he/she would have to go through a lot of effort and pay many fees to bring one in from oversees.
Phase 2) Order directly from Vertex USA in Southern California who takes cares of the language barrier, shipping, USA customs issues, etc. You are paying for less headache, wait a few months and let Vertex USA deal with it.
Phase 3) Mass production as you have stated in the USA.

What you stated may be a viable option in the future, but not yet (nor do I see it happening anytime in the future).

 

That's something we already thought about. And no, I'm not saying that US QA is not as good as in Japan. What I am saying is, it's not up to us. It's up to T&E Japan to make those decisions. They much rather keep things in Japan in export it out. Like I said, that's how it is.

Other companies like Bomex and Cwest has seen an influx of replica products and has faced numerous times rebuilding their efforts in the states. Following those models, I think it's better (for right now at least) is to import and stock product.

 

Exactly, it is a huge risk to do an operation like you stated Bubble. If other companies cannot handle it, what makes Car Make T&E any differant from the manufacturing aspect?

What if Car Make T&E did come into the states and began manufacturing here and they took a huge loss because still no one was buying? And what if at that point Car Make T&E ceased to exist becuase they put their blood sweat and tears into the USA firm which didn't do so hot? Kiss Vertex goodbye!

 

P.S. Why can't things be as simple as they should be? haha

 

i just wonder, people have no problem spending $3K-4K for a new set of wheel but refuse to spend 2k for a bodykit? WEIRD.

BTW, pete, aren't you guys go after vendor that sell replica? isn't that copyright problem?

 

I don't understand why you're using "expensive hand laid fiberglass" when the OEM parts are urethane. If you use urethane with high pressure molding (or whatever they call it), the fitment stays perfect regardless of how many pieces you make.

 

Hand laid fiberglass is the process T&E chooses for production of their products (I already stated why in a previous post).

Furthermore, our fiberglass kits (as with most Aero manufactures) are known to some of you as “FRP: Fiber Reinforced Plastic”. FRP, is often the “material of choice” for many body kit manufactures due to the following:

1) Ability to maintain shape (In some cases, Urethane pieces do have the tendency to warp)
2) Light weight
3) Repairing Fiberglass is easy.
4) Extremely durable (FRP has been proven for several years on the track and on the street. FRP has even been the top selection for cars in Formula 1 and Chevy for their Corvette models)

But don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing Urethane bumpers. I am just reiterating, why our product is FRP. FRP has remained (and still remains) the #1 material for body kit manufacturing in Japan and in the US.

But ultimately, it is up to the end users to decide which material is best for them.

Hope what I’ve stated has cleared everything up.

Happy Easter,
Pete