Yeah. You don’t know anything about how I charge taxes - but you’re confident it’s illegal and suggesting customers report me to authorities.
This you?
Lexus gx470 TRD style grille -- Install tips and lighting wiring
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Yeah. You don’t know anything about how I charge taxes - but you’re confident it’s illegal and suggesting customers report me to authorities.
This you?
I suggested they report you if they had proof of you overtaxing. What is so f'n hard to understand about that?
Step off my sack pal, this thread is about your trash product and other folks' alleged fly-by-night customer service experience.
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You’re not a customer, you don’t have the product in question, you don’t know how I charge tax - but you’re an expert dolling out advice. Got it.
If this thread was about the product and customer service - good or bad - I’m all for it. But allegations of tax fraud and someone not at all involved in the situation cheering on reporting it to the feds is what it’s deteriorated into. That’s where it becomes a problem.
Oh, and Im not your pal, buddy.
You’re not a customer, you don’t have the product in question, you don’t know how I charge tax - but you’re an expert dolling out advice. Got it.
If this thread was about the product and customer service - good or bad - I’m all for it. But allegations of tax fraud and someone not at all involved in the situation cheering on reporting it to the feds is what it’s deteriorated into. That’s where it becomes a problem.
Oh, and Im not your pal, buddy.
Ignore the trolls, especially someone named JiggleTits.
Your product is solid, plenty of happy customers on here and elsewhere.
Thanks. I just noticed (almost) every account complaining is less than 6 months old. Feels like Facebook is leaking into here.
You’re not a customer, you don’t have the product in question, you don’t know how I charge tax - but you’re an expert dolling out advice. Got it.
If this thread was about the product and customer service - good or bad - I’m all for it. But allegations of tax fraud and someone not at all involved in the situation cheering on reporting it to the feds is what it’s deteriorated into. That’s where it becomes a problem.
Oh, and Im not your pal, buddy.
You keep glazing over key words like "IF" and "PROOF" ...Shouldn't expect much from someone selling grills that are held on with zip ties. I'm not accusing you of anything other than making a stupid product. "Tax allegations" came from a previous poster. I simply let them know that they have recourse if they need it.
Go drink a glass of piss and choke, IDGAF.
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Like IF a piece of the grille breaks - which hasn’t to ANY we’ve sent out - it would need zip ties? Is that what you’re saying? Since you still don’t have one of these and have zero assessment of the reality of the situation other than what other people are saying happened (or didn’t happen).
Because the guys that mentioned zip ties didn’t say their’s broke. He just thought it could one day - in the same breath he mentioned his OEM grille is also broken. But low and behold, no PROOF of broken grilles.
I still don’t understand what you’re trying to prove. I need to stay here since it’s cUsTomEr SeRViCe - but you? I’m not sure. I guess you want to just serenade us with clever jibes about jigglytits, your sack and piss drinks. Which, when I put it all together - paints a much clearer picture of you as a person.
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Can we keep the disagreements civil without the name calling and juvenile statements? Let’s act like adults guys, please. We are better than that.
@urj150 the thing that pisses me off is that you come on this thread all defensive and all talk, but no action.
Your web site spends a few paragraphs scolding people who contact you about when the product is going to ship and why they shouldn’t orde if they can’t be patient.
However, I have seen no actual attempt to say offer a refund on poor hardware. Or maybe explain in your web site that people should really order hardware from toyota and offer the part numbers to order.
Maybe if people still want the hardware that doesn’t fit as good as oem hardware, then offer it as an optional charge as opposed to included in the price of the grille. And lower the price to compensate for not including the hardware.
Also, your shipping costs are almost as much as shipping rock sliders. So, someone is making money on shipping.
Finally, there’s no attempt offer guidance on issues people have reported with the hood latch or figment issues with gaps.
So, I do regret having purchased the grille from you. And you claim to offer a refund in the product but the damn shipping and tax was close to $115 and you are not covering that cost.
It will cost me another $50 to ship back and removing the oem grille resulted in some damage due to exiting broken brackets and a stuck middle bolt.
In short, we really don’t have an option to really ship back unless we are willing to spend more to ship back and eat like $150 total including shipping already paid.
The only thing I was looking from you was to rectify some of these issues for future buyers.
Maybe guidance on your web site on buying toyota hardware with part numbers and reducing the price for not automatically including your crappy hardware. Also, advice customers to use their own hardware if it’s usable and not rusted.
You could also advice people to take pictures of the hood latch before disconnecting to ensure it’s connected back correctly. Let them know that because gx470s are old there are possible figment issues so be careful in this area.
Also, can you explain why shipping costs are so high? I’ve ordered multiple pairs of shoes that came in a single big box similar to yours and the shipping was not $90. The box for the grille was about the same.
Since you are charging state tax, then you shouldn’t be freaked out if you get reported to state tax board. There’s no problem if you are on the up and up. There’s no need to freak out over collecting taxes and sending them to all the states you collected money for.
Your web site spends a few paragraphs scolding people who contact you about when the product is going to ship and why they shouldn’t orde if they can’t be patient.
However, I have seen no actual attempt to say offer a refund on poor hardware. Or maybe explain in your web site that people should really order hardware from toyota and offer the part numbers to order.
Maybe if people still want the hardware that doesn’t fit as good as oem hardware, then offer it as an optional charge as opposed to included in the price of the grille. And lower the price to compensate for not including the hardware.
Also, your shipping costs are almost as much as shipping rock sliders. So, someone is making money on shipping.
Finally, there’s no attempt offer guidance on issues people have reported with the hood latch or figment issues with gaps.
So, I do regret having purchased the grille from you. And you claim to offer a refund in the product but the damn shipping and tax was close to $115 and you are not covering that cost.
It will cost me another $50 to ship back and removing the oem grille resulted in some damage due to exiting broken brackets and a stuck middle bolt.
In short, we really don’t have an option to really ship back unless we are willing to spend more to ship back and eat like $150 total including shipping already paid.
The only thing I was looking from you was to rectify some of these issues for future buyers.
Maybe guidance on your web site on buying toyota hardware with part numbers and reducing the price for not automatically including your crappy hardware. Also, advice customers to use their own hardware if it’s usable and not rusted.
You could also advice people to take pictures of the hood latch before disconnecting to ensure it’s connected back correctly. Let them know that because gx470s are old there are possible figment issues so be careful in this area.
Also, can you explain why shipping costs are so high? I’ve ordered multiple pairs of shoes that came in a single big box similar to yours and the shipping was not $90. The box for the grille was about the same.
Since you are charging state tax, then you shouldn’t be freaked out if you get reported to state tax board. There’s no problem if you are on the up and up. There’s no need to freak out over collecting taxes and sending them to all the states you collected money for.
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And what exactly are you trying to prove? Stop responding to me and answer your customers who are having issues, clown.Like IF a piece of the grille breaks - which hasn’t to ANY we’ve sent out - it would need zip ties? Is that what you’re saying? Since you still don’t have one of these and have zero assessment of the reality of the situation other than what other people are saying happened (or didn’t happen).
Because the guys that mentioned zip ties didn’t say their’s broke. He just thought it could one day - in the same breath he mentioned his OEM grille is also broken. But low and behold, no PROOF of broken grilles.
I still don’t understand what you’re trying to prove. I need to stay here since it’s cUsTomEr SeRViCe - but you? I’m not sure. I guess you want to just serenade us with clever jibes about jigglytits, your sack and piss drinks. Which, when I put it all together - paints a much clearer picture of you as a person.
I came in defensive because there's accusations of tax fraud, reporting to the feds and squawking from people not at all involved with the situation.
Any constructive feedback (hardware, thickness of grille, etc) is more than welcomed. I reached out to ArBrnSnpr via PM immediately, but haven't heard back.
I also offered anyone not happy a full refund, no restocking fee.
I don't exactly know what action is expected?
I don’t scold anyone. What I do is set expectations from the get go. The goal is to keep my email box manageable and not bombarded with “where’s my order” emails - while people that actually have a reason to contact me (change of address, swap nameplates, cancel order) are given more attention. As I said, there are 100s of you and one of me.
If you are removing a grille - it’s assumed you have hardware. If that hardware is rusty, a wire brush and brake cleaner goes a long way. If you want to buy new hardware that’s also an option.
I’m not a Toyota/Lexus dealer - I buy hardware from them just like you do. If I were to offer hardware as an add-on, that means I buy it for the same price you do, pay to ship it to me, hold that inventory, mark it up, charge you shipping, then pay to ship it to you. All this for hardware that 99% of people reused or could be purchased cheaper from a parts seller in the rare chance someone needed it.
Even you, yourself reused the OEM bolts, right?
But you want a refund on... what exactly? The bolts you reused?
I don’t have part numbers in front of me, but that’s a good suggestion - I’ll add that to the website.
If anyone wants to reach out and ask for a refund on hardware - I’m all for it.
If you live in California and buy rock sliders from someone in Colorado - that will cost you less in shipping than someone buying rock slider located in North Carolina.
I enter dimensions and weights. The system does the rest when you place your order.
Out of the hundreds of grilles sold - there is exactly one person that has even mentioned this hood latch issue. I personally don’t have it, none of the test fitters had it and from your own reports, you don't have it:
...and I haven't seen photos of it (although they were requested).
What guidance do you want on the issue you're not having?
As for gaps, please show me photos. Did someone mention that in this thread? If you review the install video in the first post - which is also linked to from the website - you may need to loosen hardware / adjust. That's installing a part 101.
I leave the option for you to do whatever you feel is best. If you want to return it, I'll take it back.
All good recommendations. I'll add part numbers to the website, I'll tell people that if their bolts are rusty to clean them and tell people to install the hood latch in the same orientation as it was when they removed it.
If you review the install video in the first post - which is also linked to from the website - it covers every issue you mention.
Shipping charges 100% depend on where you are located in the country. As does taxation - Los Angeles county residents get hit with state tax and county tax. Someone in Indiana gets hit with neither. I really can't explain to you the ins and outs or why - which is why I rely on a system to figure it all out for me.
Shipping costs are whatever the system calculates using weight, dimension and zip codes. If I could fit these in a shoebox I would. However, some companies include the cost of shipping in the cost of the product (and tax you for that) and offer FREE or discounted shipping. Because there's such a variance from state to state, I don't do that. I could offer flat rate shipping of say, $50 and just hope it all balances out - but then customers in California are getting a discount on the shipping and customers in North Carolina are being charged more.
I don't see that as being fair.
...and if you're not beating your wife, you shouldn't worry about whatever investigation there is into it.
I'm 100% confident I am charging and paying my taxes correctly. It's the *idea* that people would take it to that place because they are not happy with supplied hardware on a product or upset shipping cost too much.
You really can't see the lopsidedness in that?
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Re: ...and if you're not beating your wife, you shouldn't worry about whatever investigation there is into it.
This is the kind of brashness you bring to the forum. Go Yankees!
The point is, it's a logical fallacy. It's a loaded question with a false assumption. It's the most common example, which is why I used it. There's nothing brash about it (and no, I don't think you beat your wife). It would be similar to the "if you don't have anything to hide, why can't the government just monitor all your phone calls" argument.
As for your suggestions - I took them to heart and added them to the website.
Anything else I can do for you today?
Dude, that's sounds good that you are taking suggestions to improve customer satisfaction and possibly improve the product offering. In retrospect, you have to realize that the way you respond to customers can lead down an ugly path that maybe shouldn't go in that direction. I was also feeling attacked and was willing to spend time figuring out how to make sure you paid California the taxes you collected from me and others in California Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity - https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/rptfraud.htm.
Anyways, you have a good day and in the end, I hope your product gains you more happy customers.
Anyways, you have a good day and in the end, I hope your product gains you more happy customers.
Please go back and read my replies.
I took an hour out of my Sunday morning to respond to your concerns line by line.
How exactly were you feeling attacked?
But let’s be honest, you think an appropriate response to feeling attacked is to file a tax fraud claim against a small business?
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As someone who works in consulting and spends a great deal of time during with customers/clients, marketing, making sales, and then ensuring that the customer/client is happy after the sale, I can say that your customer service attitude on this forum is not very good. You are blaming the customer, saying things are not your fault (i.e, it's the shipping system....I don't understand why), saying you don't want to get too many emails, and in general not taking responsibility for the quality of your product and your level of customer service.
I do not have one of your grilles and do not intend to buy one as I like my OEM grille. All I can say is that after reading this thread as an independent observer you have handled this feedback poorly and I would be hesitant to buy anything from you in the future. You can take this as you are the victim of an online smear campaign (unlikely given that the folks on this forum are pretty chill and just want to work on their GX's) or maybe that you can improve your overall customer service, quality, and more importantly - your attitude.
I do not have one of your grilles and do not intend to buy one as I like my OEM grille. All I can say is that after reading this thread as an independent observer you have handled this feedback poorly and I would be hesitant to buy anything from you in the future. You can take this as you are the victim of an online smear campaign (unlikely given that the folks on this forum are pretty chill and just want to work on their GX's) or maybe that you can improve your overall customer service, quality, and more importantly - your attitude.
There is nothing I’m blaming the customer for.
Customers are concerned the shipping is too high and they are taxed on the shipping and/or “double taxed”.
What I’m saying is - the shipping is calculated by an e-commerce system. I don’t manually set the shipping prices. Additionally, the taxes are calculated by the e-commerce system. I don’t manually set the tax rates.
The shipping is calculated using weights, dimensions and zip codes. Locations closer to my zip (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan) are less expensive - locations further away from my zip (California, Colorado, Oregon) are more expensive.
For example, Oldjohnny on this thread paid $12.90 in shipping because he is close to me. Homerscanyonero paid $89 because he’s in California. Oldjohnny paid state tax, but not county tax, because we don’t have county tax in Michigan. But HomerCanyonero paid both state and county, because that’s how his county collects tax on online sales.
So when I say “it’s the e-commerce system” - it’s not to skirt responsibility - it’s to state a fact of the matter. There isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed.
I’ve read and re-read my posts and with the exception of my back and forth with jigglytits - who isn’t a customer and obviously is just trying to stoke the flames - I don’t see where I’m attacking or not taking responsibility. Based on my PMs with mods - they didn’t jump in due to my responses.
Maybe there’s a thing where people read text with the wrong inflection or project the worst on people, rather than what was intended. My intentions weren’t to skirt responsibility - the feedback is useful and taken to heart and acted on. But the sewing circle around tax fraud and reporting me to the feds is where you lose me.
Every customer on the thread that had an issue has been contacted via PM and we’ve had amicable conversations that are working towards solutions.
So was I defensive? Yeah. I came into a thread that devolved into conspiracy theory well before I arrived - I’d hardly call that “chill”.
Either way, I admitted fault, gave explanations, made changes and offered full refunds without a restocking fee and reached out directly to customers. Maybe that’s not enough.
Man...this whole thing has gotten ugly. What the heck. Seller did reach out to me and offered a refund for mine (first batch, maybe they actually got better?). I had already told someone here that I would sell them mine, which was literally brand new for half price (since I had not heard from seller). I stuck to my word and hope in his case its better for him than it was for me. It was a learning experience and time wasted for me. Not a huge deal. I moved on already and put the old grille back in.
Just ran into this thread on a search. Ugly thread is right. Bummer.
I bought the Garage Alpha grill. Maybe spendy, but it is a well designed grill. OEM bolts fit very well. No gaps anywhere with my grill. Latch works just fine.
While it may not be a tough as the stock grill, it should handle anything short of a branch through it. Don't over tighten the bolts... it is plastic.
It took 60 days to deliver as stated. I got in on round 3 production. No problem.
It looks very good IMO, giving a modern update to the GX470. I give it a thumbs up.
I bought the Garage Alpha grill. Maybe spendy, but it is a well designed grill. OEM bolts fit very well. No gaps anywhere with my grill. Latch works just fine.
While it may not be a tough as the stock grill, it should handle anything short of a branch through it. Don't over tighten the bolts... it is plastic.
It took 60 days to deliver as stated. I got in on round 3 production. No problem.
It looks very good IMO, giving a modern update to the GX470. I give it a thumbs up.
So I also just found this thread, and suffered through the ugliness to see if the latch issue was addressed. I have a Gen1 of these grilles, and I had a lot of the same complaints (garbage hardware and my OEM was missing some so I had to adapt, the foam thing WTF), but those I can write off as v1.0 issues and happy to make it work. But that flimsy latch thing is really annoying. I read on the FB GXOR group that some people put some JB Weld "SteelStik" in there and sorta build up part of the grille around the latch mount, just wondering if @urj150 has any input on this?
