Quote:
Originally posted by yal
Rusty at www.mbz.org sent me a pre-94 hood instead of a post-93 hood despite me being very specific on the phone. It took 4 months to get the hood back because they wouldn't pay to have it picked up. Instead I had to call up the freight company and have them send it back collect to the MB dealer in Florida. While that was going on I ordered the hood from an autopart store in CA and that turned out to be an aftermarket hood with a dent in it. I had to track down the email addresses of the President and Vice-President of the company, send a nasty email, before they refunded my money and sent someone to pick it up 2 months after the fact. I then told the bodyshop to get it from their local OEM supplier.
Basically for about 2 months I had a charge of 3 hoods on my credit card. Good thing the bodyshop floor manager was a great guy or he could have charged me storage.
Although everything got refunded, eventually, it was a lesson well learned. I try and order withing my State if possible, apparently credit card companies have a "mileage limit" tagged to disputing credit card charges  If you order something from a company x amount of miles away their ability to help dispute is "limited". Bet some of you didn't know that.
I also try and call especially if its one of those parts that could easily be mistaken for another.
I actually understand their point of view, they think you are trying to scam them, and you think they are trying to scam you, and its like a mexican stand off. I hate it though.
That said I have had many great experiencing from buying online. Fastlane and Phil have been great. But its one of those things that really involves a lot of risk despite the rewards like no tax and lower prices.
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The real lesson to learn here is "don't ship sheet metal". We don't, and you've done a fine job of pointing out why -- it's way more trouble than it's worth.