Sick of AG's Shipping!!!!!!

These are my favorite towels from CG:



Lusso1.jpg
 
I can understand it if someone complained about AG's higher prices, but their shipping? Give them a break! Name one store that offers free shipping for just a $75 order? The only other store that comes close to AG's deal is CMA when they offer free shipping. I've calculated many orders to see where I can spend the least amount of money and in the end, AG almost always works out to be a better deal, even with their slightly higher prices.



Let's think about it. A $75 order from AG costs $15.99 to ship. If you used the free shipping code, that comes out to about a 21% savings. Compare that to your average 10% savings from most of the other vendors we know about on here. And to seal the deal, AG has the biggest selection of products to pick from. I wish we had other comparable choices to shop from, but IMO Autogeek in a way has monopolized the detailing market. Unless there's a specific product I'm looking for (Zaino, Jeff Werkstatts, Ultima, etc.), most of the time the decision is pretty clear for me as to who will save me the most money. I could consider other factors such as quicker shipping time and better customer service but then I have to outweigh the cost of having to pay CA taxes.



Shipping is expensive and time consuming and no one ever wants to pay for it (including myself.) You just have to learn to be a smarter shopper if you're going to order over the Internet. In other words, don't pay $8 shipping for one $10 grit guard. Wait until you're ready to place a bigger order so you can maximize the cost of paying for shipping.



To the OP, if you want boutique quality towels and you don't want to pay high shipping prices, go buy some Viking or Mother's towels. Viking towels can be had at Kmart (I got my Mother's towels from a large, SoCal only auto-store called Super Autobacs.) Despite being different brands, Viking and Mother's towels comes from the same source and are both manufacturered in Korea. Don't you think there's a high possibility that the other similar boutique towels are most likely coming from the same source too? How many microfiber manufacturing plants can there be? Quit obsessing about brands and look at the quality of the towels instead.



And for those saying that CG's towels are better than Cobras, I've been to the CG store and some of the towels they were selling had AG's Cobra branding on it. Paul specifically made me look at the tag and made a sly remark about it. If you want to talk about CG's business ethics, that's for a whole other thread (which we've discussed about before.) You're more likely to find variations between different manufacturing lots than you are from the actual brand of towels.



/end of rant
 
I'll say it again boys, as long as gas continues to rise (and it will) so will shipping rates. Best to plan ahead as best you can and order as much as you think you need at one time. Most shipping companies are raising there rates plus adding a fuel surcharge.
 
TH0001 said:
Ultra Plush 8.75mm thick 16x16 branded from CG (purple on the site, but came in blue) look is identical (in color as well) to the PakShak MicroPak Ultra Plush 8.75 mm thick 16x16 branded. I have them both in my hands and cannot tell the difference, at all (including color (except the PakShak one is a little older and does look slightly faded).



Now the Cobra JR Elite Deluxe is the one I believe I was referring to from autogeek, but I don't own that one, Brian does. The purple one. I remember commenting on how similar they where (to which he agreed) but I do not have them side by side. Like I said I have the CG and Pak Shak ones, and fine them identical.
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I havent used the 8.75mm CG towels, just the Elite Deluxe ones. However, one difference between the CG 8.75mm and the PakShak Ultra Plush is that the CG towel is 80/20, and the PakShak towel is 70/30. Not sure how much of a difference that makes? But Ive heard 70/30 is better.
 
I have ordered off of autogeek a bunch of times in the past and have never had a problem. I am actually very shocked to hear any thing bad about them, but everyone will make a mistake here and there. I do like the email notifications of when the package will arrive.





Jason at AG did help me out big time with a late last minute HUGE rush overnight order and he made sure it was at my door the next morning at 9:spot He saved me big time!
 
I agree with BlackElantraGT and I can't believe nobody has mentioned Patrick's towels (exceldetail.com) his elite towels (are every bit as good as the cobra towels. I personally have never had a problem with AG towels linting or exceldetail for that matter. For quality and great customer service Autopia, AG, Exceldetail.com, and Danse.com are the retailers you should look to. Pakshak.com offers the same quality products and awesome costumer service it's just a bit more expensive shipping from Hawaii to state side.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
I can understand it if someone complained about AG's higher prices, but their shipping? Give them a break! Name one store that offers free shipping for just a $75 order? The only other store that comes close to AG's deal is CMA when they offer free shipping. I've calculated many orders to see where I can spend the least amount of money and in the end, AG almost always works out to be a better deal, even with their slightly higher prices.



Let's think about it. A $75 order from AG costs $15.99 to ship. If you used the free shipping code, that comes out to about a 21% savings. Compare that to your average 10% savings from most of the other vendors we know about on here. And to seal the deal, AG has the biggest selection of products to pick from. I wish we had other comparable choices to shop from, but IMO Autogeek in a way has monopolized the detailing market. Unless there's a specific product I'm looking for (Zaino, Jeff Werkstatts, Ultima, etc.), most of the time the decision is pretty clear for me as to who will save me the most money. I could consider other factors such as quicker shipping time and better customer service but then I have to outweigh the cost of having to pay CA taxes.



Shipping is expensive and time consuming and no one ever wants to pay for it (including myself.) You just have to learn to be a smarter shopper if you're going to order over the Internet. In other words, don't pay $8 shipping for one $10 grit guard. Wait until you're ready to place a bigger order so you can maximize the cost of paying for shipping.



To the OP, if you want boutique quality towels and you don't want to pay high shipping prices, go buy some Viking or Mother's towels. Viking towels can be had at Kmart (I got my Mother's towels from a large, SoCal only auto-store called Super Autobacs.) Despite being different brands, Viking and Mother's towels comes from the same source and are both manufacturered in Korea. Don't you think there's a high possibility that the other similar boutique towels are most likely coming from the same source too? How many microfiber manufacturing plants can there be? Quit obsessing about brands and look at the quality of the towels instead.



And for those saying that CG's towels are better than Cobras, I've been to the CG store and some of the towels they were selling had AG's Cobra branding on it. Paul specifically made me look at the tag and made a sly remark about it. If you want to talk about CG's business ethics, that's for a whole other thread (which we've discussed about before.) You're more likely to find variations between different manufacturing lots than you are from the actual brand of towels.



/end of rant
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well said! :up
 
I have always had good luck with Autogeek. I was busy and missed the 15% off deal during Christmas, and called on the 27th to check on a couple of things, and mentioned to them I was getting ready to order about $300 worth of stuff. The customer service person told me to hold off on ordering a couple of days, and to watch my email. Sure enough, the next day I got the email about the 20% off for New Year's. I thought that was nice of them, and the CS person didn't have to tell me that - but it saved me money.



Typically with AG, I keep a running list of things that I need/want, and place an order about once a quarter that is $150+. I also watch their site, and if there are several items I am wanting that are on sale, or offered for a special package price, I'll go ahead and order. I guess it is different if you are a detailer for a living, and have to have stuff quickly, but for the hobbyist, it pays to be patient when ordering on the internet.
 
its ashame to read this type of post without the owner truly looking at all ends of the equation. who has the best deal when all things are considered ? you measure in initial cost , discounts or sales codes, and shipping for total cost. we wont even measure there the best in customer service and offer no hassle guarantee. with gas getting to be 3.50-4.00 per gallon we are all in for a price hike. You bought milk lately ?



I buy alot of parts from gmpartsdirect.com and always hear there shipping is much to much. well, when all is said and done the pricing is still usually best when all things are considered as above.
 
AG always offers a 10% discount to Autopia. Just put Autopia in discount code. I received some of the Eurow Towels And they look and feel great. Plush on both sides. Good price. The Excel Elite Polishing Towel looks nice also. I always have a opened mind knowing we all have different opinions. Thats the only way to go.
 
I think that online sellers that do not have a broad offering of products will lose out as shipping prices skyrocket as more buyers move to places like AG. I do not think the shipping cost situation has caught up yet as businesses evaluate their expenses. Some places, like Duragloss, may be able to hold lower shipping costs, but they are selling at retail so they pocket the profit usually made by the seller (like Carquest).



If you go down to a local auto parts store, you are going to spend about $3 or more in getting there just due to gas costs plus add any sales tax.
 
D&D Auto Detail said:
I havent used the 8.75mm CG towels, just the Elite Deluxe ones. However, one difference between the CG 8.75mm and the PakShak Ultra Plush is that the CG towel is 80/20, and the PakShak towel is 70/30. Not sure how much of a difference that makes? But Ive heard 70/30 is better.
Click to expand...



I looked into this same question, and somewhere here on this forum that question was tested and evaluated.........conclusion no difference.



Anyone have that link, or know the report?



cheers,

GREG
 
ive got to speak up for autogeek here



i ordered a gallon of duragloss shampoo, paid around $6.99 shipping to my apo address...i looked at the box and they paid $20.xx to ship it



awesome service for me...and it was mega well packed to protect it :)
 
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