Thinking about buying bulbs or decals - DON'T BUY FROM THIS GUY!
 

Do not purchase from XenonMods.com or SilverBulbs.com or rjcalnan on eBay!!!!!!

Trying to save fellow boxster owner's some grief, especially when there are many other places you can buy these products from. Here's the story:

A little over a month ago, I found this guy selling caliper decals on eBay - not a bad price so I took the plunge. The decals arrived within a week - looked good - transaction was nice and smooth and life was good. Well, then wanting to begin the de-ambering process, I noticed that this guy also sold a variety of silverbulbs both on eBay and at the two sites listed above. Well, he offered a pkg consisting of two sets of silverbulbs (2825 side marker and 7507 rear blinker). On his websites though, he also sold hyperwhite 2825's and 7506 silverbulb front blinkers. So, I emailed him, said I just bought some decals and wondered if he'd put the latter set of bulbs together in a package at the former package's price. He agreed, asked me to do it outside of eBay to avoid fees and asked me to use paypal. Next day, I sent payment and about 7-9 days later I received a box. Opened the box and immediately noticed that he DIDN'T send hyperwhite 2825, but rather silverbulb 2825. No big deal I thought - email the guy and get it resolved. I did. He responded - said send the wrong ones back and I'll send the correct ones.

So, sent wrong 2825's via priority USPS - my expense (an extra $7 bones) and next day went to install the front blinkers. Pull out first headlight and attempt to install bulb - hmmmm pins don't line up. Quickly go to rear, bulbs fit - ah ha! Dufus sent me 7507, rather than 7506. So, for all those following at home - even though I clarified in my email what i wanted and Rich said he'd gladly put together this package, what he sent me was his original package of silverbulbs (2825 and 7507).

Well, initially, I thought again - no biggie - mistakes happen and this can be easily resolved. So, emailed the guy that night telling him that other set of bulbs were also wrong. He emailed back and said he'd correct the whole thing. Next day (two days after I sent him back the first set of incorrect bulbs - remember the 2825's) I had tracking confirmation that he received them. However, 9 days went by before I received a new package or any emails from this guy (apparently he never attended customer service classes - this becomes more evident as the story continues!).

Okay, so my wife gets the box out of the mail and says, "hey it sounds like something is broken" Sure enough - open the box and it contains the correct hyperwhite 2825's, but the 7506's (not in protective packaging) are busted! I immediately emailed Rich and included a picture. Two days go by - no response. Sent another email asking what his plan was - no response. Three more days go by (gave him a week to see if he sent another package) and I sent another email. That was the 15th. I still have not heard from this chump! No replaced bulbs, no refund - nothing!

Now, some of you may be saying - get over it Mach - it's $30! You're correct - But business is business and customer service is customer service. If this guy's attitude is f$%k em - it's only $30 ($23 for original order, $7 for what i shipped back) and he does that to a couple of people a week, well then he's making $$$ by being an **************************** and by people being passive! Not right, ya know! If he came to me as his physician and I prescribed him the wrong antibiotic and then just blew it off like whatever, at least you got antibiotics, it wouldn't be acceptable!

Whether the struggle is with a dealership over $60k for the car of your dreams or $30 bucks for the bulbs that make the car of your dreams look like it does in your dreams, you should get exactly what you spend your money on!

There are many stores out there that sell bulbs and decals - avoid this one!

If you know this guy, all I can say is that I hope he's a better friend than businessman!

Mach-

You wrote:
He agreed, asked me to do it outside of eBay to avoid fees and asked me to use paypal

Right there you should of said, no thanks I'll take my business elsewhere.

As someone who frequently sells on eBay I understand how the fees build up quickly. I have sold some items to buyers who found out about them through eBay and they paid via Paypal as requested. I have not had any issues with transactions out of eBay,but still paid through Paypal. Paypal has a "buyer protection" program to help protect your money,ensuring it is what you want and paid for.

Should have just bought the bulbs through ebay and paid for shipping twice to be honest. I sell a lot on ebay and while I also do sales outside ebay for guys like what you said, I try and not make a habbit of it because stuff like that happens.

Problem with a lot of selling on ebay is you get 10 million emails and good emails get lost too, it's annoying with spam and stupid questions.

Anyway sorry to hear about your problem, that sucks.

When I was deambering my car I saw that guy on eBay. Something about his auctions and offerings gave me pricklies and I steered clear. Sorry to hear you had trouble.

I've only purchased the wind-deflector "Porsche" sticker from RJ, but I was impressed. He sent an extra-sticker (unsolicited), and was communicative and professional.

In fairness to him, he's done 13,000 transactions with only 43 negatives, and considering the car-chachkas he sells, that's pretty impressive. A 99.6% rating is pretty damn good for a power-seller.

Obviously, YMMV and did, but it seems to me that he did try to "work with you" to some extent. I'm not saying you're wrong to feel cheated, but I'm also not sure he's facing eternal damnation based on his business practices.

I bought the silver bulbs for the rear turn signals from this guy...No problems...

If you can't get satisfaction from eBay and you're anywhere near Miramar in San Diego, you can try Group 5 Motorsports if you want to buy the bulbs in person--that's where I got mine. You might try calling them and seeing if they can ship 'em even.

I have done three transactions with this guy and it went very smoothly and the merchandise was very good. The only negative is when i got the silver bulbs for the rear tails they were not packaged as well as you would expect LIGHTBULBS to be packed

bull27 - the bulbs he sent me were packaged like crap as well - just thrown in box with some newspaper - thus the reason they broke in transit.

eslai - definitely thinking about group 5 - great idea!

SD987 - you make a good point about this guy's feedback and keep in mind, I had a great first transaction with him when I bought the caliper decals. Here's an interesting thought, however on positive feedback: if most people are like me, then they leave the feedback immediately after getting the package. You base your feedback on timely receipt and did the item look like or is it what you ordered and is it intact. In the case of having to install it, in some cases you may not get around to installing it for days or weeks after its arrived and you've left the feedback. This is where the problem can arise. Think of it this way - you go to a restaurant, sit down, waiter comes by promptly, takes your order, drinks quickly on table, appetizer out minutes later, meals prepared as ordered arrive just as the appetizer is wearing off, drinks topped off regularly, waiter's presence well known to you - but not overbearing, dessert and bill and you leave thinking, wow! great restaurant, great waiter, etc. Well, that's how its supposed to be - that's what we should have, whether it's a restaurant, an eBay transaction or surgery. In my opinion, though, what makes a business or restaurant or doctor stand out is how well he/she/it steps up when things don't go as expected - in other words, what is done to make sure that the error which prevented the smooth transaction, meal or surgery is corrected and the desired result is ultimately achieved. In this case, this is where xenonmods et al have fallen way short. Shipping mistakes happen - no biggie. But sh%^y customer service just isn't acceptable, whether the product you're buying is $23 in bulbs, $60k in vehicle or $500k in medical treatment.

well, a bit of sweet justice - paypal stepped up refunded half of the purchase to my account. Gonna go buy a gallon of gas with that $11 :D :D :D