I tried an order with CarMarka.com. They're another UAE Toyota parts seller, and they list some impressively low prices. I compared prices with my shopping cart on Amayama and found several parts that were significantly cheaper, so I moved them over. After placing the order, the site tells you that they'll contact you with an invoice. After a day or two, they did, but I noticed that 1) all of the prices were higher than what was listed on their site and 2) their shipping was a bit high. Here's a screenshot of a spreadsheet I made comparing their online prices to their invoiced prices, then comparing their invoiced prices to Partsouq (another UAE seller):
On average, their prices were 13.34% higher than what was listed on their website, with a high of 23.83% and a low of 6.53%. On average, Partsouq was 24.81% more expensive for the parts, but shipping was 28.9% less. The total potential savings by going with Carmarka instead of Partsouq was $37.32, if you're willing to put up with the pricing discrepancy and odd billing system.
Personally, I didn't appreciate the apparent dishonesty and general weirdness, so I canceled the order. I'll be moving most of the parts back to Amayama to take advantage of the particularly weak Japanese Yen at the moment. For the record, Amayama has been my go-to for years, and the only negative experience has been some (very few) parts turning out to be unavailable. Partsouq has also been reliable and shockingly fast, I just happen to be ordering from Japan at the moment.
On average, their prices were 13.34% higher than what was listed on their website, with a high of 23.83% and a low of 6.53%. On average, Partsouq was 24.81% more expensive for the parts, but shipping was 28.9% less. The total potential savings by going with Carmarka instead of Partsouq was $37.32, if you're willing to put up with the pricing discrepancy and odd billing system.
Personally, I didn't appreciate the apparent dishonesty and general weirdness, so I canceled the order. I'll be moving most of the parts back to Amayama to take advantage of the particularly weak Japanese Yen at the moment. For the record, Amayama has been my go-to for years, and the only negative experience has been some (very few) parts turning out to be unavailable. Partsouq has also been reliable and shockingly fast, I just happen to be ordering from Japan at the moment.
