[tboooe]

OK so this morning I was all excited to purchase the painted front reflectors from IND for my 428i GC. The price is a little steep but you gotta pay to play right? Anyway, I go to pay and the shipping charge to Cali is $18!!! Dont get me wrong, paying $18 on top of $75 for a painted piece of plastic is fine but doesnt that shipping cost seem excessive? I will go ahead and get it anyway but was just wondering if others felt the same way.

[Fronzdan]

Excessive. I briefly considered the fronts, saw the shipping cost and never gave it another thought.

[Level3]

Can get them on eBay for $79 or best offer + free shipping. I got them for $70 shipped.

[ft1330]

Yes this has been a problem with many online vendors. Shipping cost is also considered a profit center these days, but it doesn't show in the item price so it makes them look better when comparing. We are at a point where the Internet is now the more expensive choice vs. B&M. It used to be that the Internet shopping was for saving money....

[tboooe]

@level3, care to share a link please?

[smithf80]

USPS Priority Small Flat Rate Box is around $5.15 I think, usually has two day delivery and comes with $50 insurance, so yeah, they're overcharging.

[1987E30M3]

I believe this happened to me, what you are actually charged for shipping gets adjusted for smaller items if I remember correctly. Support IND as they sell quality items .

[Level3]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-Series...121621&vxp=mtr

These are the ones I bought. I have a 328i. Not sure if it'll fit your vehicle. You could send a msg to see if they fit or if he has other options available.

[Mike_L]

Shipping has gotten ridiculously expensive. UPS overcharges, FedEx overcharges, if you don't use flat rate USPS overcharges. Plus boxes aren't cheap, packing material isn't cheap, and time isn't cheap. Time is especially important, because you can wait on line at the post office for an hour or more.

I did an exchange with Bimmian for wheel protectors. Cost me about $6 to send the wrong ones back, but they charged me $11 to send the right ones. Same thing as IND overcharging. Its universal for BMW vendors. They charge you for the time it takes to ship.

[tboooe]

Originally Posted by 1987E30M3

I believe this happened to me, what you are actually charged for shipping gets adjusted for smaller items if I remember correctly. Support IND as they sell quality items .

I was not so lucky! I was charged the full $18! Oh well. Still looking forward to getting the reflectors though.

[bahasad]

I paid like $5 shipped to MI.

All I have to say is the paint quality is fantastic, looks very OEM.

[tboooe]

Originally Posted by bahasad

All I have to say is the paint quality is fantastic, looks very OEM.

Good to know. I am excited to install it.

[therealm3]

Originally Posted by tboooe

OK so this morning I was all excited to purchase the painted front reflectors from IND for my 428i GC. The price is a little steep but you gotta pay to play right? Anyway, I go to pay and the shipping charge to Cali is $18!!! Dont get me wrong, paying $18 on top of $75 for a painted piece of plastic is fine but doesnt that shipping cost seem excessive? I will go ahead and get it anyway but was just wondering if others felt the same way.

yeah, i wasn't excited about the cost to CA either, but they look great so in the end i am happy. Others are right though, shipping is profit center now for businesses. My wife's company has an exclusive agreement with UPS and what they pay vs what you and I pay is about 1/3. but they charge the customer pretty close to the full retail ship cost. Customer doesn't really balk cause if they go to UPS .com and put in a quote it will be about the same or slightly more than her company charges. But for the company its all profit.

[AstonKarim]

I paid $38.39 for shipping and am struggling to install them. Doesn't help when its -15°C outside, guess I will need a heat gun.

[tboooe]

Originally Posted by AstonKarim

I paid $38.39 for shipping and am struggling to install them. Doesn't help when its -15°C outside, guess I will need a heat gun.

Do you have a trim removal tool kit? I think having a flat, plastic type tool would help in conjunction with pushing the reflector from the outside.

But you are right, -15C is probably more the issue.

[AstonKarim]

Originally Posted by tboooe

Do you have a trim removal tool kit? I think having a flat, plastic type tool would help in conjunction with pushing the reflector from the outside.

But you are right, -15C is probably more the issue.

Didn't get the kit, those youtube videos made it look too easy lol, was using a flat blade screwdriver though

[bahasad]

Originally Posted by AstonKarim

I paid $38.39 for shipping and am struggling to install them. Doesn't help when its -15°C outside, guess I will need a heat gun.

OMG don't remind me. I did it in the snow and cold weather (around 15F which is -10C). I live in a condo/townhome complex, and had no option because the weather wasn't getting any warmer and I couldn't resist it any longer than the 2 weeks I was holding on to them.

I tried pry tools and had absolutely no effect. Even with a hair dryer that I bought specifically for this, it took me about 30 minutes waiting out in the cold with an extension cord back to my apartment.

You will need patience, you will need a hair dryer/heat gun with some power, possibly pry tools. Not fun, but it's worth it in the end.

[AstonKarim]

Originally Posted by bahasad

OMG don't remind me. I did it in the snow and cold weather (around 15F which is -10C). I live in a condo/townhome complex, and had no option because the weather wasn't getting any warmer and I couldn't resist it any longer than the 2 weeks I was holding on to them.

I tried pry tools and had absolutely no effect. Even with a hair dryer that I bought specifically for this, it took me about 30 minutes waiting out in the cold with an extension cord back to my apartment.

You will need patience, you will need a hair dryer/heat gun with some power, possibly pry tools. Not fun, but it's worth it in the end.

thanks for the tip!! yes it was getting frustrating, scratches all over inside the bumper. I noticed on the new 2 series that they are clipped on rather then glued, that would have been nice.

[bahasad]

Originally Posted by AstonKarim

thanks for the tip!! yes it was getting frustrating, scratches all over inside the bumper. I noticed on the new 2 series that they are clipped on rather then glued, that would have been nice.

I think the M-sport may be easier to do because of how the reflector is oriented vertically compared to horizontally for the non m-sport.

Try to get some sort of bungee cord or assistance to hold the fender liner out of your way.

The adhesive is very hard and sticky in this weather. Get some adhesive removing solution from 3M or something and that will help remove the left over glue. I still had some, so mine wasn't perfectly flush, but I will fix it in the summer.

Good luck.

[XenaBimmer]

Originally Posted by tboooe

OK so this morning I was all excited to purchase the painted front reflectors from IND for my 428i GC. The price is a little steep but you gotta pay to play right? Anyway, I go to pay and the shipping charge to Cali is $18!!! Dont get me wrong, paying $18 on top of $75 for a painted piece of plastic is fine but doesnt that shipping cost seem excessive? I will go ahead and get it anyway but was just wondering if others felt the same way.

That's just plain greed

IND if you read this, care to justify the high shipping cost?!

[smithf80]

Jesal@IND care to talk about shipping costs?

EDIT: Damn, the tagging isn't working!

[robnval]

And this is why I haven't bought a set yet! I already catch the business on all shipping since I am in hawaii fml