ECS Tuning experiences?

[mikinoz]

Appreciate your feedback Andy. Thanks.

[ECS tuning]

Appreciate your feedback Andy. Thanks.

PM replied!

[Ben J]

To get around the high postage I often get my ECS orders shipped to a parcel forwarding company in the US, so even though I pay postage twice, its still normally a fair bit cheaper.

Had my first not 100% posotive experience with ECS the other day when ordering a bunch of suspension and braking goodies which were all supposed to be in stock, bar the pads which it stated 1-3 days to ship. Turns out that 1-3 days actually meant they couldn't get them in for something like 2 weeks. While I assume this was probabably out of ECS tunings control with the supplier they normally get them from not having them in stock or something of the like, its still annoying. Granted, I did get onto the online chat and got them swapped for some ones which were in stock and that was no problem, i still wont get them on for the track event I wanted to get them on for as I didn't notice for a couple of days, and in the end I won't be getting the pads I really wanted anyway either.

[Smead]

Slightly off topic, I hate ordering from the US as it allways takes ages to get here.
In Contrast I've had nothing but great service through the UK, mainly with Royal Mail,
where its not too expensive and geerally arrives here within a short timeframe.

And bugger all Polo parts in the US

[Bug_racer]

To be fair, shipping is the biggest headache I face in attempting to be price competitive, and I am sure other competitive Aussie based companies such as TPR and Dubaddiction face similar woes. It costs nothing to get a quote off the local guys too, and between the three of us we can access a fair bit of stuff, personally that is set to expand a lot this year for me.

Euro revolution probably has more in stock than the three of you combined , it will have a proper website soon as well as exclusive rights to a few companies . That seems the best model that actually works in this country . No-one can dispute the fact that APR is the most succesful VAG parts importer in this country , as expensive as they are they actually have parts in stock , which is really important this day in age . Most people here seem to order from overseas without even looking locally and this is shown on the books as well , 90%+ of all parts sales has been with cars that come into the workshop and not internet sales .
In terms of shipping prices , are you sure everyone is looking at a level playing field ? Are the other companies mentioned that ship are they insuring the goods as well ? Are they using the same company that ships ? You need to compare apples with apples . Maybe the ECS warehouse is located out of town and the couriers charge more to get there as opposed to some other places ?
Also people need to support the locals , Im seeing a downward trend in the amount of actual mechanics posting on here . If the stats for them are similar , where , most of their sales are generated from customers who service their cars with them , then why should they bother looking on the forums to post parts sales up and helping people here anymore ? Already Ive shaken my head at some of the responses for help on here , and its just going to get worse as people throw suggestions and not actual experienced diagnosis in order to fix issues . Anyway , enough from me , but I would like to hear from people who buy overseas , why dont they try and buy locally ?

[jasn78]

Seb, in terms of the reason why I buy from overseas it is quiite simply the price. If their is only a slight different of say 10 to 15% between buying locally and internationally I have no qualms paying the little extra for local support and service. My problem is that when items can end up being double the price I just cannot see any justification for such extreme mark ups. Also i know the arguement about the duty free should be lowered to $500 but that would not stop most of us as the $ savings are so large it negates the gst completly.

[mikinoz]

Anyway , enough from me , but I would like to hear from people who buy overseas , why dont they try and buy locally ?

I am looking for the Euro Spec MK3 rear drum to disc conversion kit shown above Seb. I am happy for you to put together a price for me on that and let me know what it can be had for locally as well as a lead time.

ECS have lowered the shipping to $195.00 for me from $209.95. I can understand that they are bound to the weight restriction on such a package - but if I go ahead through them I will be interested to see the price that is actually billed on the docket as a comparison.

I don't have any issue buying local, I have paid for enough of my kids inheritance to Preeny over the past year or so and also regularly but though people like GTI Imports and Tooleys. Importing stuff through an Australian company makes some sense but not financial as once the AU company add GST, freight, local freight you are really at the same price as ordering it yourself from OS and getting it direct means it will be a few days quicker I'd assume.

Anyhow - if you can source the gear Seb I'm interested to hear what you can do it for.

[frozze]

ECS have lowered the shipping to $195.00 for me from $209.95.

Nearly $15 off.. Not bad!

Next time I'll know to ask for a shipping discount publically than privately..

[Peter Jones]

Anyway , enough from me , but I would like to hear from people who buy overseas , why dont they try and buy locally ?

Seb, for me it's a discovery issue. It can be hard to find out what's available here.

I work long hours and there's no way I can call around all the places in Australia that might have a part that I'm after during business hours.

US websites by comparison I can look up any time of the day or night and place an order there and then.

Then there's the problem of actually collecting the goods. Mail order companies will clearly ship stuff to me.

If I'm trying to buy locally I have to try and get to a shop, in business hours, during the week which I just can't do.

Even the places that are open on the weekend are a pain as I waste too much time getting there and back instead of working on my cars.

Then there's the places like HSY that just refuse to deal with me because I'm not in the trade. I know they've got the part, they just won't sell it to me.

Their company line is I that have to get it from one of their distributors who of course aren't keen on ordering it in if I'm I'm not using their workshop for repairs.

My experience is that it is much simpler to order from overseas. It's also cheaper which is an added bonus. If I plan things in advance it also saves me time.

I also do buy a lot of pretty obscure stuff that I wouldn't expect anyone in Australia to stock, so for a lot of things overseas is my only option.

[Bug_racer]

Seb, in terms of the reason why I buy from overseas it is quiite simply the price. If their is only a slight different of say 10 to 15% between buying locally and internationally I have no qualms paying the little extra for local support and service. My problem is that when items can end up being double the price I just cannot see any justification for such extreme mark ups. Also i know the arguement about the duty free should be lowered to $500 but that would not stop most of us as the $ savings are so large it negates the gst completly.

If you see no justification then try starting up a parts business thats legitimate and do the figures :
Rent , insurance will make the largest percentage of expenses , followed by electricity , water , waste disposal , and any council fees or licensing costs . So you add all those up and your looking at approx $30k a year (hypothetically say renting a small place out at Penrith) which you need to earn just so you break even ! Now when you buy goods at wholesale level from ECS your discount is usually only about 5-10% compared to retail , sometimes its a little more but thats the usual discount level . And as for shipping I pay the same as you do so I make no money there . So yes at the end of the day the profit for being an imported isnt that good , so most people will just import themselves and save some money .
But has anyone looked at the bigger picture and compared say the VW scene to say the Toyota scene ?
If you look at all the sponsors of this forum , how many sponsor any major events that the scene is actively involved in ?
How many of the sponsors have a race car which they run in a series ?
How many of the sponsors are actively involved in VW events both locally and interstate ?
With Dubfest not going ahead due to sponsor issues it would seem that very few do . Why ? Probably cause they see no return on investing in a show where they will sell very little .
I could go on and on , but at the end of the day little will change .

---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 PM ----------

I'll get Courtney onto it , just send me details of what you want exactly

I am looking for the Euro Spec MK3 rear drum to disc conversion kit shown above Seb. I am happy for you to put together a price for me on that and let me know what it can be had for locally as well as a lead time.

ECS have lowered the shipping to $195.00 for me from $209.95. I can understand that they are bound to the weight restriction on such a package - but if I go ahead through them I will be interested to see the price that is actually billed on the docket as a comparison.

I don't have any issue buying local, I have paid for enough of my kids inheritance to Preeny over the past year or so and also regularly but though people like GTI Imports and Tooleys. Importing stuff through an Australian company makes some sense but not financial as once the AU company add GST, freight, local freight you are really at the same price as ordering it yourself from OS and getting it direct means it will be a few days quicker I'd assume.

Anyhow - if you can source the gear Seb I'm interested to hear what you can do it for.

[Peter Jones]

I've bought some stuff in the right way , through the ports, with all the paperwork that involves. GST, import duty, customs, quarantine etc, etc,

Importers here in Australia are definitely hard pushed to compete. Sea freight is cheaper than all the import costs you incur when the stuff arrives.

The importer/distributor business model adds another margin to the food chain as well.

For example a pallet of goods that cost $10,000 to buy and $300 to ship might cost another $3000 to get off the docks by the time you pay all the charges.

On top of that the distributor will add their margin and finally the retailer will need to make a living too.

It's not hard to see goods in Australia being double the price they are overseas.

Importing is a tough business to be in.

[Dyldo]

Seb, for me it's a discovery issue. It can be hard to find out what's available here.

I work long hours and there's no way I can call around all the places in Australia that might have a part that I'm after during business hours.

US websites by comparison I can look up any time of the day or night and place an order there and then.

Then there's the problem of actually collecting the goods. Mail order companies will clearly ship stuff to me.

If I'm trying to buy locally I have to try and get to a shop, in business hours, during the week which I just can't do.

Even the places that are open on the weekend are a pain as I waste too much time getting there and back instead of working on my cars.

Then there's the places like HSY that just refuse to deal with me because I'm not in the trade. I know they've got the part, they just won't sell it to me.

Their company line is I that have to get it from one of their distributors who of course aren't keen on ordering it in if I'm I'm not using their workshop for repairs.

My experience is that it is much simpler to order from overseas. It's also cheaper which is an added bonus. If I plan things in advance it also saves me time.

I also do buy a lot of pretty obscure stuff that I wouldn't expect anyone in Australia to stock, so for a lot of things overseas is my only option.

Peter, you've summed up precisely how i feel about this. So, what are the alternatives to ECS? Particularly for Mk4

[Brendan_A]

Cost of living has gone up, pays haven't gone up to match so I'll shop around for the best price.

[Blitzen]

It's not just car stuff that I mostly get overseas anymore. The only thing that I really buy from the shops now is food and short notice gear that I need.
I was looking up parts on ECS while I was in the USA, and found that the major gripe that my yank mates have is price that ECS charge within the USA, so the exorbitant postage they charge for postage to Australia comes as no surprise.
i don't envy the guys that start their own supply business over here, and I respect them for it, but it's on very rare occasions that I see them being competitive to the overseas market.

[Peter Jones]

The thing that baffles me completely is McKay radiator hoses.

They're made in Sydney but it's cheaper to buy them from the US, even including the freight.