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      10-23-2019, 08:28 PM   #1
Kev608
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Auto Talent :'(

I have read a lot of positive reviews on this retailer here. I'd like to share my very negative experience in dealing with Golan and Auto Talent:

They pulled a bait and switch. I believe that they've intentionally left the product that I ordered on their site so that they can execute this sales tactic. That product, btw, is still listed for sale on their site.

I ordered the CSF 8075R Heat Exchanger. They were one of a few sites that had it listed for sale and the only one showing it in stock. I thought I'd gotten lucky!

The day after my order, I received a call from Golan. This is where things start to go sideways. He tells me that the manufacturer no longer produces the part I've ordered (true), tells me it won't be possible to find the one I want (also true from what I can tell), and tells me the regular version is sufficient enough for my purposes (probably true, but 10% more cooling would have been great!). He offers to replace the part I've ordered with the (somewhat inferior, but available) part 8057. I was told that they are the same price.

They do indeed sell them both at the same price. He didn't exactly lie there, but it was somewhat misleading. If you search, there are a few places selling this part for less. Not just $10-20 less, that I could live with. I actually found it for $121 less. That's a sizable difference! Unfortunately, because I was on the phone and with a customer when Golan called, I didn't have the ability to research. To be honest, I forgot it even happened, til the item arrived at my door.

As I'm carrying it in, I think about the fact that I didn't actually check the price on this thing. A quick search is performed and I see a clearer picture. No problem, I think, I'll just pop them an email. Must be a mistake on their end? The reply I got from Golan was unsettling and I instantly knew this situation had been engineered.

The response was basically "too bad, so sad, go away now". When I countered that I could simply refuse delivery of the package and file a chargeback, the attitude was "Good luck, I'm confident we will win!"

They did not win. The item is on its way to them and my money will be returned in full. If you're considering purchasing from them, I'd do so with caution. Businesses that treat customers this way are not built to last.

Last edited by Kev608; 10-23-2019 at 08:44 PM..
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      10-24-2019, 01:14 AM   #2
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Kevin,

You were promptly contacted when you placed the order and were offered a full refund. You chose the replacement at the same cost. Upon delivery you contacted me expressing your concerns about finding it on one site for cheaper and demanded we match or you want to return it. THE CSF 8075R which you originally ordered and 8075 we replaced with have the exact same MSRP. I replied in four minutes explaining this to you and you replied back saying you were going to start the chargeback process if I did not comply.

Before I could look into anything or even respond to you further you went and left negative reviews for us on Google / Facebook saying we were "bait and switching" you and ripping you off. You did not even give me a chance to reply before doing that.

We have positive reviews for a reason and I always go out of my way to help people. Take some advice and don't come off demanding things and threatening chargebacks from the get go. You agreed to a price and got upset you found one seller selling it for cheaper after taking delivery. Thats not our fault. You demanding us to match a price from a site we have never even heard of was unexpected but I was trying to look into it for you as a courtesy. Me not responding within minutes again wasn't good enough for you I guess

Let me know if any part of my side of the story is wrong for all the members here...
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      10-24-2019, 08:15 AM   #3
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There was no mention of you "working on it". The reviews were not left til after it became apparent that you were not going to help me at all. Let's look at what was actually said...
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      10-24-2019, 08:21 AM   #4
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This is exactly how a bait and switch scheme works. PayPal agreed with me in their arbitration. I suggest you examine your business practices and stop trying to make your customers look bad.
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      10-24-2019, 12:06 PM   #5
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Seems to me like its blown way out of proportion on the buyer/OP's side. I don't see Golan being unreasonable in any way.

Negative reviews hurt businesses, especially small businesses. You shouldn't have burned that bridge before it was completely resolved and even then I think that there should be no expectation of a price match if a company doesn't offer it.

This is not bait and switch in any way. You compromised to get the non-race part # and that's what you got. You're just crying about enforcing a non-existent price match policy.
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      10-24-2019, 12:17 PM   #6
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PayPal kinda sucks, and so does that buyer. Have to feel for Golan here
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      10-24-2019, 12:36 PM   #7
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This is certainly not a good business practice. I honestly could have lived with the shady way it was executed, but the lack of customer service was glaring.
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      10-24-2019, 01:32 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev608 View Post
They do indeed sell them both at the same price. He didn't exactly lie there, but it was somewhat misleading. If you search, there are a few places selling this part for less. Not just $10-20 less, that I could live with. I actually found it for $121 less. That's a sizable difference! Unfortunately, because I was on the phone and with a customer when Golan called, I didn't have the ability to research. To be honest, I forgot it even happened, til the item arrived at my door.
The key phrase here is "if you search" and you admit you didn't do so before agreeing to move forward with the proposed replacement part. Their price is the same as a lot of the well known sites like BimmerWorld, Turner Motorsports, Pelican and Summit Racing. Perhaps if you took the time for them to respond before making threats you would have gotten a better outcome. Demanding a price match because you didn't do your homework isn't something I'd consider a negative on the shop. That's your bad and you didn't handle it well IMHO.
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      10-24-2019, 02:05 PM   #9
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This is what I get from this post:

1. Shop needs to update their site to list exactly what they have.

2. This was handled poorly by you, give them at least a few hours to reply to your emails. Shit gets busy and these guys get a lot of customers man. A little patience and all this could've been avoided.
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      10-24-2019, 02:40 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrae26 View Post
This is what I get from this post:

1. Shop needs to update their site to list exactly what they have.

2. This was handled poorly by you, give them at least a few hours to reply to your emails. Shit gets busy and these guys get a lot of customers man. A little patience and all this could've been avoided.
1. I firmly believe this item is still listed in order to create this situation.

2. There were nearly 5 hours between his first response (which came within 5 minutes of my original email) and second. There was nothing in that first response that gave me any indication the situation was being considered at all.
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      10-24-2019, 02:42 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlpineWhite_SJ View Post
The key phrase here is "if you search" and you admit you didn't do so before agreeing to move forward with the proposed replacement part. Their price is the same as a lot of the well known sites like BimmerWorld, Turner Motorsports, Pelican and Summit Racing. Perhaps if you took the time for them to respond before making threats you would have gotten a better outcome. Demanding a price match because you didn't do your homework isn't something I'd consider a negative on the shop. That's your bad and you didn't handle it well IMHO.
I do admit I did not search. As stated, I was with a client at the time I received the call and completely forgot about it til the item arrived. I do accept partial blame for the situation. I was 100% willing to work something out with them. The response I received made me far less willing, but even after that, I did tell them outright that I was interested in coming to terms that were agreeable for everyone.
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      10-24-2019, 05:34 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev608 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrae26 View Post
This is what I get from this post:

1. Shop needs to update their site to list exactly what they have.

2. This was handled poorly by you, give them at least a few hours to reply to your emails. Shit gets busy and these guys get a lot of customers man. A little patience and all this could've been avoided.
1. I firmly believe this item is still listed in order to create this situation.

2. There were nearly 5 hours between his first response (which came within 5 minutes of my original email) and second. There was nothing in that first response that gave me any indication the situation was being considered at all.
Gotcha. Sorry to see it turned out that way. If they haven't fixed it on their site as yet then that's misleading. Should only take 5mins to fix.
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      10-24-2019, 05:39 PM   #13
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This guy has no chill, shit happens especially with the state of production and raw materials. This is not a bait and switch. I'm all for honest up front retail, but I agree that this is a non issue.
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      10-24-2019, 06:52 PM   #14
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These threads are so cringe.
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      10-24-2019, 07:38 PM   #15
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OP, here is how I see it.They offered a refund because the item that you initially wanted was not available. They offered a replacement suggestion and you approved. You find a cheaper price somewhere else after the fact and demand a price match, they don't comply and you get upset. There is no bait and switch and they never mislead you. You said in the email you didn't have a choice but to purchase. You could have said no thanks or I'll get back to you after I do some research. People make bad purchase decisions everyday. You did here and you want them to clean up your mess at their expense. I agree it's a pretty crappy feeling to buy something and find the exact item somewhere else for a cheaper price, but I don't put the blame on the seller. Live and learn but to bad mouth a company because you didn't get it your way is kind of lame.
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      10-24-2019, 07:50 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yessir View Post
OP, here is how I see it.They offered a refund because the item that you initially wanted was not available. They offered a replacement suggestion and you approved. You find a cheaper price somewhere else after the fact and demand a price match, they don't comply and you get upset. There is no bait and switch and they never mislead you. You said in the email you didn't have a choice but to purchase. You could have said no thanks or I'll get back to you after I do some research. People make bad purchase decisions everyday. You did here and you want them to clean up your mess at their expense. I agree it's a pretty crappy feeling to buy something and find the exact item somewhere else for a cheaper price, but I don't put the blame on the seller. Live and learn but to bad mouth a company because you didn't get it your way is kind of lame.
I mostly agree with you, except on a few key points.

1. They did not offer a refund.
2. They called, rather than emailed. This is how a bait and switch is run. Feel free to look it up.
3. They easily could have avoided this by properly responding when I reached out to them. It's retail customer service 101 and they failed miserably.
4. I did accept partial blame. See above.
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      10-24-2019, 08:04 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yessir View Post
OP, here is how I see it.They offered a refund because the item that you initially wanted was not available. They offered a replacement suggestion and you approved. You find a cheaper price somewhere else after the fact and demand a price match, they don't comply and you get upset. There is no bait and switch and they never mislead you. You said in the email you didn't have a choice but to purchase. You could have said no thanks or I'll get back to you after I do some research. People make bad purchase decisions everyday. You did here and you want them to clean up your mess at their expense. I agree it's a pretty crappy feeling to buy something and find the exact item somewhere else for a cheaper price, but I don't put the blame on the seller. Live and learn but to bad mouth a company because you didn't get it your way is kind of lame.
I agree with most of what you said but having an item in stock in your site is misleading, if you clearly know that's not the case then you should update your inventory to reflect such.
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      10-24-2019, 08:25 PM   #18
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May be biased since I work here, but don't handle any of the online retail transactions from the website..... Based on the timeline of things, you received a response that you did not like and ran straight to our Facebook page to comment and leave a bad review. Followed by further retaliation by email and then another review here. Given the amount of volume that the 3 of us deal with (Sam, Golan, and I), we all try to respond timely and efficiently even if it's after hours and or on weekends. We always try our best to give a fair solution if it's within our means. As stated in the email and in the comments above, there were multiple retailers selling the same part at the same price. It isn't our fault that you didn't do further research on finding a better price before you agreed to purchase. If you had handled the situation in a more polite manner + tried to work things out with us beforehand, rather than immediately accusing us of fraud + leaving negative reviews on multiple channels - maybe we could have come to a solution.
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      10-24-2019, 09:07 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin.AutoTalent View Post
May be biased since I work here, but don't handle any of the online retail transactions from the website..... Based on the timeline of things, you received a response that you did not like and ran straight to our Facebook page to comment and leave a bad review. Followed by further retaliation by email and then another review here. Given the amount of volume that the 3 of us deal with (Sam, Golan, and I), we all try to respond timely and efficiently even if it's after hours and or on weekends. We always try our best to give a fair solution if it's within our means. As stated in the email and in the comments above, there were multiple retailers selling the same part at the same price. It isn't our fault that you didn't do further research on finding a better price before you agreed to purchase. If you had handled the situation in a more polite manner + tried to work things out with us beforehand, rather than immediately accusing us of fraud + leaving negative reviews on multiple channels - maybe we could have come to a solution.
It seems your company has no ability to accept responsibility for any part in this. Perhaps that is how we got here?

Explain this timeline to me, because you certainly are not right in your assessment.
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      10-24-2019, 09:18 PM   #20
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not taking sides; but should have just let him return it. we all know paypal is going to side with the buyer; so as a merchant you just get the shaft and move on. cost of doing business I guess.

if you try to hold your ground...this is what comes out of it.



on the flip side; OP you spazzed a bit should of just allowed paypal to initiate the return and you could purchase from elsewhere; without the negative reviews.



return it; buy it somewhere else.

life goes on

just my $.02

Last edited by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY; 10-24-2019 at 09:26 PM..
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