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Hi all,
Following the success of the ECS GB I ran in the Mk4 forum recently, and because there's a few back-ordered parts required to finalise things, we (goodfella and I) have decided that we're going to run a second ECS group buy. This is to ensure that there are no extra costs for those involved in the first GB for their back ordered parts (since shipping them individually will cost extra), and also to try to offer the same benefits to everyone on the VWWatercooled forums that those in the Mk4 forum (and a few sharp-eyed people from outside the Mk4 area) gained last time.
The deal is this - ECS have agreed to give us some support by offering good pricing on this GB (as they did for the previous one), which we pass on directly to the forum members here - we don't stand to make money out of this, that isn't the point.
How much can you save? Savings on individual items can range from 5% to over 25% (it varies, we only know what the final discount will be when we request a price). There are then savings to be had by shipping multiple items together rather than as single orders - as an example, one Mk4 Stage 2 Refresh kit costs USD$75.14 to ship to Sydney, but five of them costs USD$193.69, or USD$38.74 each, a significant saving (on top of the per-item saving we can achieve) which only increases with larger volumes.
What can you order? Pretty much anything in the ECS Tuning catalog. And they can source pretty much any OEM part as well...
How does it work? This is the long bit. PM me with the parts you're interested in (including the ECS part codes, they start with ES#. This way, there's no confusion on what you're after, and you are taking responsibility for your own part of the order (as long as we order the same part number you request - this will all be confirmed prior to collecting money). I will come back to you with a quote for the parts in USD. Once the GB is closed, I make a final request to ECS for pricing, and then we work out (by establishing what percentage of the total shipping each person is responsible for, based on the regular shipping rate for their order), calculate final pricing on the whole order in AUD based on currency conversion rate and charges, and including import duty (5% on the part value) and GST (10% on the parts + duty + shipping costs), and give you a final price and bank details for direct deposit. Once payments are all received, the order is placed with ECS, shipped to a single location here in Sydney, split into its components and then dealt with from there (a GTG is held in Sydney for those who can pick up, and we try to arrange a similar thing in other states/territories to keep interstate freight charges to a minimum (these are oncharged before sending parts onwards).
What's the deal with duty and GST? Here's our understanding. Basically, on any order of items worth AUD$1000 or more on parts manufactured in countries with which Australia does NOT have a free trade agreement, 5% import duty is due based on the value of the parts in the shipment. Since most parts for VW/Audi parts are made in Europe, and we have no free trade agreements with European countries, duty will fall due. Any shipment which attracts import duty then also attracts GST, which is 10% of the total value of the parts + duty + shipping (so yes, you get charged GST on the duty as well). In our experience from the previous GB, the savings on items plus shipping are not totally cancelled out by the duty + GST, so there's still a financial benefit to participating in the GB. We ask for the duty and GST up front, because
When does the GB start? Now. Find what you're after, and PM me for a quote. Make sure you include details of your car (the more the better, right down to a VIN, as that'll help us to establish that you're ordering the right part). Being a US supplier, most of the stuff on the ECS site is for LHD vehicles, and they got a different model mix to what we got here. If in doubt, ask for assistance, and we'll try get the right part quoted for you.
When will the GB close? I'll stop taking quote requests on the 20th of April. That gives us a few days to get individual quotes back, and then we should have a final quote from ECS within another couple of days or two of that, and then payments will need to be made by the close of April, after which point the final order will be placed.
How do you pay? By direct deposit into my bank account. Due to some messing around in the previous GB, we will require a deposit (25% of item cost) to secure your place in the order so that people pulling out at the last minute or delays in payment at the end don't jeopardise the whole deal. This deposit will be NON refundable should you pull out after you've paid it, unless we find someone to replace you and you pulling out does not have a negative impact on the whole GB - a fact to be decided at my sole discretion. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but goodfella and I are about to sink a lot of time and effort into this for no financial benefit to ourselves other than getting good pricing just like everyone else, and being messed around is not good use of our time.
Can you trust us? 12 people did in the first GB, and we ordered close to AUD$10k worth of stuff (including shipping), all of which has been delivered (or arranged for delivery) successfully. Feel free to ask those who participated what they thought of how things were run, our lines of communication, etc.
If there's any questions, feel free to ask in either a PM or in here.
Following the success of the ECS GB I ran in the Mk4 forum recently, and because there's a few back-ordered parts required to finalise things, we (goodfella and I) have decided that we're going to run a second ECS group buy. This is to ensure that there are no extra costs for those involved in the first GB for their back ordered parts (since shipping them individually will cost extra), and also to try to offer the same benefits to everyone on the VWWatercooled forums that those in the Mk4 forum (and a few sharp-eyed people from outside the Mk4 area) gained last time.
The deal is this - ECS have agreed to give us some support by offering good pricing on this GB (as they did for the previous one), which we pass on directly to the forum members here - we don't stand to make money out of this, that isn't the point.
How much can you save? Savings on individual items can range from 5% to over 25% (it varies, we only know what the final discount will be when we request a price). There are then savings to be had by shipping multiple items together rather than as single orders - as an example, one Mk4 Stage 2 Refresh kit costs USD$75.14 to ship to Sydney, but five of them costs USD$193.69, or USD$38.74 each, a significant saving (on top of the per-item saving we can achieve) which only increases with larger volumes.
What can you order? Pretty much anything in the ECS Tuning catalog. And they can source pretty much any OEM part as well...
How does it work? This is the long bit. PM me with the parts you're interested in (including the ECS part codes, they start with ES#. This way, there's no confusion on what you're after, and you are taking responsibility for your own part of the order (as long as we order the same part number you request - this will all be confirmed prior to collecting money). I will come back to you with a quote for the parts in USD. Once the GB is closed, I make a final request to ECS for pricing, and then we work out (by establishing what percentage of the total shipping each person is responsible for, based on the regular shipping rate for their order), calculate final pricing on the whole order in AUD based on currency conversion rate and charges, and including import duty (5% on the part value) and GST (10% on the parts + duty + shipping costs), and give you a final price and bank details for direct deposit. Once payments are all received, the order is placed with ECS, shipped to a single location here in Sydney, split into its components and then dealt with from there (a GTG is held in Sydney for those who can pick up, and we try to arrange a similar thing in other states/territories to keep interstate freight charges to a minimum (these are oncharged before sending parts onwards).
What's the deal with duty and GST? Here's our understanding. Basically, on any order of items worth AUD$1000 or more on parts manufactured in countries with which Australia does NOT have a free trade agreement, 5% import duty is due based on the value of the parts in the shipment. Since most parts for VW/Audi parts are made in Europe, and we have no free trade agreements with European countries, duty will fall due. Any shipment which attracts import duty then also attracts GST, which is 10% of the total value of the parts + duty + shipping (so yes, you get charged GST on the duty as well). In our experience from the previous GB, the savings on items plus shipping are not totally cancelled out by the duty + GST, so there's still a financial benefit to participating in the GB. We ask for the duty and GST up front, because
When does the GB start? Now. Find what you're after, and PM me for a quote. Make sure you include details of your car (the more the better, right down to a VIN, as that'll help us to establish that you're ordering the right part). Being a US supplier, most of the stuff on the ECS site is for LHD vehicles, and they got a different model mix to what we got here. If in doubt, ask for assistance, and we'll try get the right part quoted for you.
When will the GB close? I'll stop taking quote requests on the 20th of April. That gives us a few days to get individual quotes back, and then we should have a final quote from ECS within another couple of days or two of that, and then payments will need to be made by the close of April, after which point the final order will be placed.
How do you pay? By direct deposit into my bank account. Due to some messing around in the previous GB, we will require a deposit (25% of item cost) to secure your place in the order so that people pulling out at the last minute or delays in payment at the end don't jeopardise the whole deal. This deposit will be NON refundable should you pull out after you've paid it, unless we find someone to replace you and you pulling out does not have a negative impact on the whole GB - a fact to be decided at my sole discretion. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but goodfella and I are about to sink a lot of time and effort into this for no financial benefit to ourselves other than getting good pricing just like everyone else, and being messed around is not good use of our time.
Can you trust us? 12 people did in the first GB, and we ordered close to AUD$10k worth of stuff (including shipping), all of which has been delivered (or arranged for delivery) successfully. Feel free to ask those who participated what they thought of how things were run, our lines of communication, etc.
If there's any questions, feel free to ask in either a PM or in here.
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