Acquiring Arteb Brazil GMT400 headlight reflectors

[Supercharged111]

Thanks, I do take the PT seriously, I don't want that "frozen shoulder" problem! I'm using the same PT facility that helped me post-hip replacement (2020), the lady there was/is great to work with.

@shovelbill, I see your Artebs landed in Miami this morning and are headed to US customs. You may receive them b/f week's end

Hip replacement?! How old are you?

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Hip replacement?! How old are you?

YoB 1961

 

[Supercharged111]

YoB 1961

Vintage. 1 year younger than my dad, he had one changed out too.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

It's probably time for change...

A number of changes have occurred lately regarding the Arteb headlights.

- The jobber pricing has increased by about 11% (in quantities of four)
- The carrier, Correios, has increased their shipping rates about 5%
- The exchange rate has moved against us

The bottom line is that per-pair pricing delivered to the US under these conditions is at least $368/pr. That's "at cost", which is how I've always priced them.

I'm guessing that's more $$$ than the market will bear. At least I'm no longer willing to buy stock in advance, in anticipation that it'll move in short order.

Under the present conditions, I'll assist a buyer with a purchase but terms will be "cash in advance" at spot pricing. Carlos will then buy and ship on the buyer's behalf. Delivery will probably be on the order of 5-6wks. Pricing might be north of $400/pr under these conditions, since the jobber will be pricing "unit quantity".

If the interested reader wades back through this thread, they'll find the posts where I discuss how I priced the headlights at cost. At one point I was able to offer them at $296 (from memory... and I think that was the lowest). I was buying a dozen pairs at a time then, and the jobber was willing to work on price.

Lately, much of the demand has been satisfied, so buying a dozen at a time isn't sensible. Coupled with the recent exchange rate and increased pricing, buying even four at a time isn't sensible.

That's the status for now, anyway. Things could change, particularly if the exchange rate makes a marked move in our favor.

That's the story on pricing and availability.

One nagging issue has been Arteb's quality control, primarily regarding the functioning of the adjusters. It's been a repeating issue and one that is (evidently) here to stay. It sucks when "new product" comes with problems, but it's not a difficult problem to address if the buyer's handy.

I know there have been other issues, but the adjuster issue is the most prevalent and recurring.

So that's the situation as of May5, 2023, Cinco de Mayo.

 

[Caman96]

It's probably time for change...

A number of changes have occurred lately regarding the Arteb headlights.

- The jobber pricing has increased by about 11% (in quantities of four)
- The carrier, Correios, has increased their shipping rates about 5%
- The exchange rate has moved against us

The bottom line is that per-pair pricing delivered to the US under these conditions is at least $368/pr. That's "at cost", which is how I've always priced them.

I'm guessing that's more $$$ than the market will bear. At least I'm no longer willing to buy stock in advance, in anticipation that it'll move in short order.

Under the present conditions, I'll assist a buyer with a purchase but terms will be "cash in advance" at spot pricing. Carlos will then buy and ship on the buyer's behalf. Delivery will probably be on the order of 5-6wks. Pricing might be north of $400/pr under these conditions, since the jobber will be pricing "unit quantity".

If the interested reader wades back through this thread, they'll find the posts where I discuss how I priced the headlights at cost. At one point I was able to offer them at $296 (from memory... and I think that was the lowest). I was buying a dozen pairs at a time then, and the jobber was willing to work on price.

Lately, much of the demand has been satisfied, so buying a dozen at a time isn't sensible. Coupled with the recent exchange rate and increased pricing, buying even four at a time isn't sensible.

That's the status for now, anyway. Things could change, particularly if the exchange rate makes a marked move in our favor.

That's the story on pricing and availability.

One nagging issue has been Arteb's quality control, primarily regarding the functioning of the adjusters. It's been a repeating issue and one that is (evidently) here to stay. It sucks when "new product" comes with problems, but it's not a difficult problem to address if the buyer's handy.

I know there have been other issues, but the adjuster issue is the most prevalent and recurring.

So that's the situation as of May5, 2023, Cinco de Mayo.

A job well done too.

 

[df2x4]

A job well done too.

Agreed.

@1998_K1500_Sub @carlos_lightsbyarteb Thanks again for making these available worldwide and for your great service/communication through the whole process. You guys are awesome.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

The exchange rate's around 4.77:1. Ugh. That's low compared to what I'm used to seeing.

I received a pricing request earlier this week from a fellow in the US and I had to quote "around $450" for the pair.

I said "around" because, until payment is sent to Brazil (and converted to B$), the price moves with the exchange rate.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

The latest quote for a pair of Arteb's was a little less than I expected (see my previous post), even with the low (~4.8:1) exchange rate. The jobber with whom we've worked gave us respectable pricing for a single pair + shipping (to Carlos' residence), so the total delivered price to the US customer was about $420 for the pair.

That's not the ~$300/pair numbers we were able to provide last year, but the ~5.4:1 exchange rate then, coupled with 12-pair "bulk" orders, are what enabled us to deliver them at that price.

Those were fun times I really enjoyed the activity and interactions with the buyers, the jobber and Carlos... and trying to "run under the radar of Brazil customs" added an element of suspense (What if we're shut-down and I've got 12 pairs of headlights stranded in Brazil? OMG WTF ).

These days Carlos and I still exchange email regularly, often discussing his small herd of five cattle (three cows and two calves, below) that he and his father-in-law run on a parcel of land not far from Barrocão de Cima (in Bahia), about 17km north of Carlos' home of Jacobina. When I was very young we had livestock on the farm, and Carlos and I share stories about cattle.

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[Caman96]

I’ve been there quite a few times and always enjoyed it. People are very friendly. When your in the cities, you’ll think you just saw the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen, then you turn, and…wait, no…there she is, until you look in another direction…. endless!!

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Holy cats, it's July12 and someone somewhere has posted something about Arteb headlights on the Internet (Facebook? TikTok? Tinder? MySpace?). It's drummed-up a whole lot of interest and since 10am today I've had about 230 accesses of the www.lightsbyarteb.com website, along with a handful of emails from people interested in pricing.

Whaddayaknow!