6G Celicas Forums

The seller you recommended might very well be a good guy, as you say. I am not questioning whether someone is a good guy or not. There are plenty of good guys in this industry who are lousy business people. And I am not saying that either. However, I am DEFINITELY saying this. Any dealer out there who is engaged in the consistent selling of a brand (and I don't mean the occassional sale of a product to a buddy), and is NOT an authorized dealer of that brand is a big red flag. As I pointed out earlier, for what reason would he NOT become authorized to sell Tein if he were serious about maintaining the line? Does he not care that the products he sells to unsuspecting buyers carry no warranty? Tein is not a very difficult company to become a dealer of, if they even for a moment think you are serious about their line. I say that from personal experience. When I first became a dealer, I was guaranteed a 75 mile marketing area. Funny how I have had three other shops set up all within 10 miles of me when a little cash was waved in Tein's face. So if your seller buys so much, I have no doubt that they would make him an authorized dealer. Unless of course there is something more to the story. Was he perhaps a dealer in the past and did something so wrong that they pulled his authorized status? Does he not have the proper credentials to be considered a legitimate business? Is he possibly peddling stolen merchandise? Is he peddling fake merchandise? I don't know the answers to these questions. But I do know this, I am incredibly protective over my authorized status with all of my lines. I am a credible dealer with a long track record. I have never been dropped from any line I have become a dealer for (although I have dropped some lines I didn't feel good about the quality of!).

Just from what you quoted alone, I have several curiosities. You have bought from him twice, yet you know him personally? Did you know him personally before or after you bought? Will you personally guarantee to anyone on this forum that if they buy from him, and the deal goes badly, that you will personally and financially cover the buyer? Do you think that it is ethically right to sell a product knowing it has no warranty if you do sell it? Why does he not disclose his location? Does not have a contact phone number listed (maybe afraid of a reverse lookup, eh?). Doesn't accept credit cards (hmm, maybe because your credit card company might be able to get your money back if it's a shady deal. Any legitimate company that can't OR WON'T get a merchant account is a BIG RED FLAG!!!). Seems to take a lot of non-reversible payment types for someone you say is so legit. No listing with the Better Business Bureau! Seems like an awful lot of questions here. And I don't know this person, or have time to police the world. But I AM interested that legitimate dealers that do everything they are supposed to do, and jump through all the hoops they have to, and keep up with training and product knowledge, and invest in their businesses, all in order to make it better for the customer, well these dealers should be treated with a much higher regard, period.

And don't get me wrong, I am not saying buy Tein product from my shop. I am saying that you should buy from an authorized dealer, who can warranty the product, and answer tech questions, and otherwise service the customer after the sale. That's all. And if you are personally connected with this guy, then convince him it would be the right thing to do, to become an authorized dealer of the brands he sells. It would benefit him and the buyer.

Regards,

Shawn @ Street Sports

It is great that you would recommend someone who has taken care of you in the past. I wish more of my customers would do the same for my shop. However, I have seen this company before, and the only problem I have is why, if they are such the great seller, and move so much Tein product, WHY would they not be a Tein AUTHORIZED dealer? There are just too many actual authorized dealers out there, why look for someone who is not? I still think the best practice is to follow Tein's advice and seek out an authorized dealer.

Regards,
Shawn @ Street Sports

The link to the fake Tein springs is on Tein's website at:

http://www.tein.com/counterfeit/warning.html

There are a lot of fakes out there. We are one of the original Tein dealers in the US. We have been selling Tein since the days of having to import it. We are the deepest level available from Tein. We have customers bring springs in all the time that bought them for less than WE pay for them, only to find out about the fakes going around. Each time that Tein brings the differences to everyone's attention, the people making the fakes keep adjusting to hide the differences. I would follow what Tein says and get them from an authorized dealer. That is also the only way to have a warranty on their products, even if they ARE legit.

Regards,
Shawn @ Street Sports

StreetSports - Shawn
AskStreetSports - Sales Staff