Acquiring Arteb Brazil GMT400 headlight reflectors

yevgenievich said:

This drawn on a phone screen but somewhat shows the use of other thing to be used instead of the default.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I would change that drawing so that the city lights don’t draw power through those diodes, the lights are dim enough already.

I suggest that one simply wire that relay directly to a fused supply from the battery.

I’m not sure that I see the benefit of reusing anything that was related to the DRL‘s.

1998_K1500_Sub said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I would change that drawing so that the city lights don’t draw power through those diodes, the lights are dim enough already.

I suggest that one simply wire that relay directly to a fused supply from the battery.

I’m not sure that I see the benefit of reusing anything that was related to the DRL‘s.

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Just referencing that there are a lot of easy options on wiring. Actually can reuse that same relay that is already there. I was originally thinking of keeping it's function on connecting/disconnecting low beam. The main benefit is just leaving the drl module functional and let it operate the light dedicated to the function.

yevgenievich said:

Just referecing that there are a lot of easy options on wiring. Actually can reuse that same relay there is already there. I was originally thinking of keeping it's function on connecting/disconnecting low beam. The main benefit is just leaving the drl module functional and let it operate the light dedicated to the function.

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I agree completely

@1998_K1500_Sub do you have anymore headlight assemblies? im interested in a pair

Brando_o said:

@1998_K1500_Sub do you have anymore headlight assemblies? im interested in a pair

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Yes, they're available, but there's more to the story and it boils down to time vs. money.

We can buy a pair at any time from the jobber in Brazil; he's got plenty of stock (recent pictures from the jobber attached).

We can put a pair in your hands in relatively short order, e.g., 4-5 weeks delivered from Brazil. Or…

For better pricing, we can put you on a waitlist and, once we get half-a-dozen or so committed buyers on the list, we'll purchase 12 pairs from the jobber (for which the jobber offers a discount of about 80%). Once @carlos_lightsbyarteb has received them from the jobber, he’ll begin shipping them to the US. This is how Carlos and I did it, earlier this year.

“So, what is ‘better pricing’ for a pair?” delivered to the US, you ask. Simply put, it's simple division. Get out your calculator and punch these numbers:

US$ cost = 1690 / exchange rate

The exchange rate is here: https://www.google.com/search?q=usd+brl

So if you’re willing to be put on a waitlist, there’s the upside of lower product cost, but there’s some risk that the exchange rate might move with or against you during the wait. So… if you wish to lock in the exchange rate you can prepay any time prior to shipping, otherwise you pay prior to shipment at the prevailing exchange rate.

If you want a pair ASAP, prepayment is required. Carlos will buy a single pair from the jobber and then ship it to you. The calculation is similar, and the net price is higher as there’s no jobber discount. Get out your calculator and punch these numbers:

US$ cost = 1960 / exchange rate


The above prices are based on April 2022 prices for product and shipping, in BRL$, including the fixed cost of shipping one pair to a US residential address.

Each price is "the bottom line, to your door". Well, almost...

Buyers (you) make payment to @carlos_lightsbyarteb in Brazil in his currency (BRL). There are many easy ways to do this, and some have low fees. I use Wise, and Wise charges about 1% of the transaction; that's the best I've found. I've also used PayPal, and PayPal charges about 3% (as I remember). There are also other methods for making international payments. YMMV.

If you want more details, post a follow-up(!) or send me an PM.

I know this is a lot to grasp but it’s the nature of trading across borders, in low product volumes. Carlos and I are constantly thinking about how to make this easier.

The conversion rate Brazil(R$) : US($) has been inching in our favor. Today it's at 5.15 : 1 .

In April, not long ago, it was 4.59 : 1 (which was not in our favor).

With a 5.15 : 1 exchange rate, it puts the delivered price of an Arteb pair at ~$328... IF we can get enough people together to make a the requisite 12-pair purchase to garner the lowest price from the jobber.

If / as the exchange rate moves higher, the less they'll cost.

I'm jus' sayin'

I’d be will to sit on a waitlist.

JSlezak83 said:

I’d be will to sit on a waitlist.

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I'll put you on it. I have three other names right now on the list from the US and one from Poland. Whether everyone's still willing to commit needs to be determined.

Update: Arteb headlight pricing and availability

The exchange rate continues to move in our favor. Today it's 5.43:1 and it's been inching up for some time (see https://www.google.com/search?q=usd+brl). I don't know what's behind this trend exactly, so I can't say if the trend will persist. However,..

IF the exchange rate moves a bit more (~5.6:1) it should put the delivered price, of a pair of Arteb headlights, to within a few dollars of $300. I say "should" because I need to get the latest jobber pricing and shipping fees; I'm basing my estimate today off of pricing from earlier this year.

IF this happens, I'll likely "front" the cost of 12prs to lock in the price and then have Carlos ship them to anyone interested, like we did earlier this year.

FYI. FWIW.

Those who have shown interest prior, I have your name on a list. Regardless, anyone may contact me or Carlos ( @carlos_lightsbyarteb ) via PM, or via this thread.

Update Jul15, 2022: Arteb headlights are available

The Arteb headlights are available, soon. We're buying another 12pr.

Here's why:
- The exchange rate is favorable
- We've been given better pricing from the jobber
- Shipping costs have remained unchanged [note 1]

Cost, per pair delivered to a US address, will be $296/pr. This is bit less than earlier this year for the reasons above.

Too, this time I converted ALL of the costs in Brazil, i.e., product and shipping, up-front, in advance, so they're are locked-in [note 2]. There's no risk of the exchange rate moving under our feet.

Those of you who expressed interest earlier, I will contact you via PM soon. Otherwise, feel free to contact me via PM.


NOTES:

[1] There's always the chance that shipping costs will increase (we ship using Correios in Brazil https://www.correios.com.br/). However, we have the option to offset an increase, if it happens, by using a different class of service from Correios.

[2] Earlier this year I didn't convert enough to cover the shipping and, as the exchange rate declined, the cost of shipping went up and I had to ask more $$ for each pair to cover it. That won't happen this time.