SS Bumpers from Vietnam

[grannyknot]

6 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

 

I probably read it at the same place I read that you should grind your TIG tungstens on a dedicated wheel that you don't use to grind other materials so you don't contaminate them.

I believe that one.

[z3beemer]

Not to get politica,l but you can thank the US Government and the EPA for the cost of re chroming.  They put so many regulation on the shops that small companies couldn't afford it and went out of business, leaving only large shops in the market.  With little competition and massive regulations, we get stuck with astronomical cost.

[Captain Obvious]

If I have to pay more to get my antique car bumpers chromed in exchange for my kids having cleaner water to drink, I guess I'll take that tradeoff.   

[Patcon]

9 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

If I have to pay more to get my antique car bumpers chromed in exchange for my kids having cleaner water to drink, I guess I'll take that tradeoff.   

I am not sure they are mutually exclusive. Many of the processes have been driven off shore simply from the hazards associated with them and our litigious society. Since I haven't ever been through a plating facility and seen how they handle the process start to finish. I can't speak to whether they affect the water quality. I suspect the real issue is employee exposure to hazardous materials and not being able to afford the liability insurance and workers comp rates and still compete against foreign made products that don't carry that overhead burden. Now don't misconstrue, I am all for protecting workers health and reducing personal liability through coverage but those are real costs that control product pricing. I also suspect that the owners of those plating shops want their kids to have clean water and their grandkids too.

As a side note, do you know we make no red glazed ceramics in the US? Or do any animal hide tanning in the US? All over seas for the same reason. Red ceramics have lots of lead in them and lead fumes aren't very good for the recipient of them. Tanning hides is evidently a pretty toxic process. So we ship our hides overseas to be tanned then ship them back as leather to be used

[Patcon]

Ok

So here is where I'm at. I did some searching and found what looked like 3 different companies selling these bumpers. Many times this is all the same company with different store fronts to maximize sales. So I contacted all 3. This was about Dec 23rd 18.

The response came from bumperautomobile.com

I got an immediate response from someone named "Amy". We worked through the details of what I wanted. No holes for rubber or over riders. JDM style bumpers. I got a PayPal invoice and paid it. They said they would ship this week. FedEx air.

10 days late I contacted them about when I would see the bumpers. At this point I didn't have a tracking number or anything. They said their "agent" would be in touch with me shortly. That's odd...

I received a call from Maryland from some guy named Mike about my bumpers. He left me a voicemail explaining he had received some bumpers from Vietnam and they were not what he ordered and he had been instructed to ship them to me. He located my number online and reached out to me to see if this was all "up and up"

Well, I called him back and we spoke for awhile. He had received bumpers that had no rubber holes but had over rider holes and he had been instructed to ship them to me. so the company out of Vietnam wanted to ship those bumpers to me, but they aren't what I wanted either!!!! Turns out Mike is on CZC @chiefmd

Mike started a dispute at PayPal and I did the same on the same day.

So real quick they contact me and tell me they are going to ship the bumpers. They send me a tracking number, but when you track it. It is shipping label created. Five days later it is still shipping label created , we will update when you item starts to move. So the seller contacts me and wants me to release payment from PayPal.

Now they had my money for almost 3 weeks before I disputed it! I told them when I received the correct bumpers I would pay them. After a little more research, you can't just release payment at PayPal and if you mark the complaint as resolved you can't reopen it. So if I pay them I am SOL if the bumpers get here and aren't right. So I escalated the complaint at PayPal. I told PayPal they can ship me the bumpers and I will pay them or they can refund my money. The next day I had a full refund.

I have since reached out to Rooney at Bumperclassic.com. Rooney responded after I had originally purchased the other bumpers and told me "Amy" was from the "other" company. So there is more than one vendor for these SS bumpers. I still suspect they are all made on the same presses in China.

He responded. He quote $778 shipped to me in the US. I am on the East coast. So I am going to try a second time to get bumpers. Until I get a good rear bumper I am hamstrung on rebuilding the rear of the car.

[wheee!]

I got mine from @zKars second hand. Maybe he can chime in on where he originally got his from?

[chiefmd]

Just to update you. The bumpers (without holes) were shipped thru Fedex and expected delivery is Jan 28th. I have been tracking them. They departed Viet Nam and went to Jakarta then to Singapore then onto to Japan. When I receive them I will give you an update as to fit and finish. Patcon looks like Bumperclassic is charging $120 more. I paid $666 ship to the east coast.

[Patcon]

12 minutes ago, chiefmd said:

Just to update you. The bumpers (without holes) were shipped thru Fedex and expected delivery is Jan 28th. I have been tracking them. They departed Viet Nam and went to Jakarta then to Singapore then onto to Japan. When I receive them I will give you an update as to fit and finish. Patcon looks like Bumperclassic is charging $120 more. I paid $666 ship to the east coast.

Great! I am glad they're moving.

I thought about negotiating with Rooney but decided against it. My quote from bumper classic was like $649. The other member who purchased from Rooney was more like $650.

Maybe Rooney figures he can mark me up since the last bumpers fell through

[charliekwin]

Interesting. I got a quote from Rooney/Bumper Classic in late December for $750 shipped.

[zKars]

1 hour ago, wheee! said:

I got mine from @zKars second hand. Maybe he can chime in on where he originally got his from?

Mine were from via/through the Harrington group in Great Britain. Manufacture was in Vietnam. One piece rear, no holes. Fitment and quality were as close to perfect as you could ask for. Price then was $1150 shipped to me in western Canada. 

This was back in 2012 I believe.

[wheee!]

If they are the same manufacturer the quality is very good!

[Jason240z]

I've had a set from 'Amy' at bumpermobile, ordered, tracking details sent a week later, two weeks later they arrived, cost about £520 delivered to the UK. 

Chroming here is so so so expensive.

I'm going to cut the single piece front up to make a Monte Carlo spec front.