I got burned by MercedesShop.com. A week ago I ordered a set of dashhooks and 4 instrument cluster bulbs ... the bulbs were shipped, but not the hooks. Without the hooks, I cannot pull the cluster to install the bulbs... and I cannot push the dash out from the rear ... and I cannot grab the sides with enough force to pull it out with my fingers .... and I cannot find stiff enough wire to make my own hooks.

I had to contact Phil to find out he could not get the hooks and didn't have a clue as to when he would get them in. So, I cancelled the order for the hooks ... couldn't do anything about the bulbs, they had already been shipped. I asked for a refund for the hooks .. and I got it right away .. thanks to Phil. But, I didn't get a penny back for the excess shipping costs. So, I ended up paying $15.07 to ship 4 tiny bulbs. This is highway robbery.

This is the last time I order anything from MercedesShop. A cheap price is useless unless the order can be fulfilled. MercedesShop ought to improve their online ordering system so that it informs buyers whether items are in stock so an informed buying decision can be made. Also, MercedesShop needs to be fair with people when a partial order is cancelled because MercedesShop cannot fulfill an order in a timely manner.

As for me .. I know I got burned ... and once burned .. I don't go back for more.

I doubt that Merceddesshop intentionally screwed you and I have rarely heard of a complaint about the place. Congratulations, you won the lottery. There is no perfect system on Earth. Somebody always falls through the crack, no matter what the intent and record of the system. You had the unfortunate experience of being an unintended, innocent victim.

The shipping cost may seem high, but I'll bet it's in line with the minimum charge from FedEx. Some companies pay return shipping and some don't. In either case, the customer pays for shipping because the vendor is going to cover his expenses, that's the profit thing.

Could Mercedesshop do better? Heck yeah. Will they screw-up again with somebody? Undoubtedly. But I don't think you have discovered a pattern of deception or incompetence. I think you discovered the laws of chance.

B

A pair of hooks made from coat-hanger wire worked great on my 210. Perhaps you're hooking onto something else, or trying to unclip both sides of the panel at once.

It's not a hard job.

My only question to you is whether you spoke to Phil about the shipping charge for the four tiny bulbs before you posted your rant on here?

Phil is a very amenable fellow and will probably make an adjustment for you if the story of $15.07 for four tiny bulbs is correct.

As Bot mentioned, M-Shop is very efficient and timely 99.99% of the time. If you expect perfection from any supplier, you're kidding yourself.

I used a coat hangar to remove my instrument cluster. I found that if you have one of those wire hangars with a carboard tube bottom, the liitle hooks that go into the cardboard can be bent back to a 90 degree angle and are a good size for getting the cluster out. At least they were on my car.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

Next time, order the parts from eBay...then talk to us about shipping costs!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I used hangers too. It was very easy.

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1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

How much have you paid the owners of this site for its use, or the information you have gotten offn' it?

Here is the other side of the coin.
Just a BIG thanks to Phil @ Mercedes Shop

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2007 C 230 Sport.

Darn good point.

Unfortunately, too many people are not capable of putting things into this type of perspective before going into a rant about what they think is “highway robbery”.

I don’t know how much the dash hooks cost at MercedesShop.com, but I’d be willing to pay that shipping difference to be able to read a post stating that I could just as well use a coat hanger wire to do the job without having to wait for the “single application, specialty tools” to be mailed to me (at any price).

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

How true. Some ePray sellers charge 2x or 3x actual shipping to ship small items, like $10.00 to ship a Morgan dollar. A few are pretty honest, like the guy that charged me $30.00 to send me a 50lb. cylinder head across the country.

Since he didn't use the site to learn that he can use wire hangers he owes the site nothing The advise in the second part of the thread subject could be put to good use...

Sixto

In this age of instant gratification and Wally World return policys it is no wonder some people get upset.

It's works both ways. Look in the back room of any non Mcparts store and you will see the pile of special order parts that were returned after being used or never picked up at all. All of this dead inventory is some serious cash laying on the shelf. I just bought a new exhaust system for my motorcycle for cost plus 10% because the guy that ordered it never picked it up.

I tend to prefer talking with a live human being who can check inventory when I place an order. Anyone who has ever bought from J.C. Whitney can tell you about backorders.

What an outrage!

They made a mistake? Those dirty ******s. How dare a very reputable, helpful, and apparently (as Brian said) amenable company screw you over so harshly?

How will you ever live without your $15?

I think we should start a fund and take donations to help alleviate your anguish. I'm gonna have a long, hard, emotional day knowing that there is someone out there living without their $15.

Try and be strong.
















Jackass.

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Pxland

2001 Honda Accord

1995 Jeep Cherokee

1973 MB 280SEL 4.5

I'm not sure that this thread isn't an April fool's joke that inadvertantly got posted a day early.