Anyone deal with alufranker on eBay for wheels?

[SydneyTii]

That's a shame, I spoke to him on line a few times over the last couple of years, maybe something has happened in his personal life.

i did notice another very similar supplier of restored wheels has hit Facebook from Europe, maybe there was a bust up in the business.

we need more wheel guys not less ?

[Bibm5]

That's a bummer. His wheels look so nice and his prices seem fair for the quality. I was looking forward to ordering a set from him at some point but now will have to definitely reconsider the risk.

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[Splinter]

I'm sorry to hear this ended so badly for you.  I have bought two sets of wheels from him in the last 18 months.  1 set of MIMs and a set of BBS RS001s fully restored.  Both came out amazing.  He ran into some issues with his Fedex account which I believe he said impacted taxes in some way and was scrambling to get that resolved.  This was back in November.  My shipment was very delayed but ultimately showed up.  He felt bad for the long delay and gave me a polishing kit and an extra set of center caps for my trouble.  He was always very responsive via Facebook and ultimately came through.  I know you said you don't have Facebook but perhaps you can try him with the help of a friend who has an account.   https://www.facebook.com/pg/powderwheelsofficial/posts/?ref=page_internal.

 

He is still posting on there as of 3-17-19. 

[oh2ryan]

I have an update that is very important for those of us who rely on Frank for our wheel needs. He is still reaching out to me via text, and he gave me a call today. I bought a set back in December and while we're a little behind on the schedule he provided me with his side of things recently. He was scammed on an expensive set of wheels as the seller, and got the run around from eBay to recover on his end. This caused him to close his account and use word of mouth and just Facebook moving forward for business. I told him that his communication needed improvement when these things are all happening as they're concerning to his customers. Moving forward, I will update this thread when my order is fulfilled so we can have closure. @jturner, I know we spoke a good amount regarding our orders and not receive them timely; I will keep my fingers crossed a bit longer for now.

[jturner]

He needs to improve communication on a more basic level IMO. Even before his eBay account closed, he passed 4 self-imposed deadlines without any contact. He eventually stopped replying at all unless I managed to hunt him down on a new platform. Here's how my text messages with him stand today:

 

 

If I can put that aside, he shouldn't be taking full payment on wheels that he can't ship inside of 4 weeks. Whether it's because they aren't on hand, or he's behind, or...

 

If it takes 4-6 months to ship your product, that's a deposit situation. I'd have let him hold $500 for as long as he wanted as long as I got Borranis eventually. Zero chance I send someone $2000 if they tell me up front they can't promise a delivery date for a few months.

 

Either way, I hope @oh2ryan gets his wheels.

[uai]

Where in Germany is he?
One thing that is really an issue it's gotten more complicated to ship stuff since january 1st 2019.

Since then every parcel exceeding a value of 1k€ needs a Special Customs declaration that you need someone to do for you and it costs around 90 Euros to get that done

If you run a business it's a bit easier, but I'd rather ship two parcels instead one with a value exceeding 1k. And whats bad too: you're not any longer allowed to ship goods as an unexpensive letter as a privateer as of Jan. 1st - there is a petition going on to create a product allowing that again - please feel free to join https://weact.campact.de/petitions/einfuhrung-der-versandart-warensendung-international-fur-privatkundinnen

Edited March 22, 2019 by uai

[xlittlejohnx]

Well, I wish I had seen this thread before sending Frank payment.  I just ordered wheels from him and he wouldn't take Paypal.  He would only use TransferWise which doesn't offer payment protection.  I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.  I'm officially terrified about the payment I sent for TWO sets of wheels.  

Edited May 24, 2019 by xlittlejohnx

[chargin]

40 minutes ago, xlittlejohnx said:

 

Well, I wish I had seen this thread before sending Frank payment.  I just ordered wheels from him and he wouldn't take Paypal.  He would only use TransferWise which doesn't offer payment protection.  I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.  I'm officially terrified about the payment I sent for TWO sets of wheels.  

 

 

I bought 2 sets of wheels from him on separate occasions, both were a little late but they did arrive 

[xlittlejohnx]

10 minutes ago, chargin said:

 

I bought 2 sets of wheels from him on separate occasions, both were a little late but they did arrive 

He seems awesome to deal with, so I’m hoping for the best.  Thank you for your feedback!

[xlittlejohnx]

Update on my wheels- my payment cleared today via TransferWise and Frank sent me tracking information for the first set. They are scheduled to arrive 6/3. The second set is being finished and shipped this week. Fingers crossed, but it seems to be working out.


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[d.hitchcock]

I bought my Melbers from Frank Franker. It was a decent, timely transaction. The wheels arrived packed like the most valuable things in the world, and they were/are perfect.

He just asked me for a copy of a photo of my car in the wheels last week.

I will be sad to hear if something has gone south for Frank.

 

[BAN_M2C]

I have been in contact with him since early May, he is working on a set of wheels for me.

 

He has been giving me updates every now and then and although they are a bit late then initial defined timeline he has been responsive.

 

He does have tons of work apparently and working to get on track, he told me they are also planning to move to a bigger location with more space and will ramp up then.

 

Paid him in full via PayPal as goods and services and added the % fee so he wouldn't get hit on his end and so I would still be protected. 

 

He has been great so far, but his lack of response I am sure is because he is busy pushing work out.

 

Last update was Sunday and he said they would be ready to ship in the next couple days, so hoping to hear from him before end of the week.

[infanterene`]

I bought a set of BBS RS001 from Frank Franker. They took longer than expected to arrive and at times I was seriously worried, but they did arrive and look awesome.

[xlittlejohnx]

I received my first set and have paid for two sets.  Frank has updated me with pictures of the second set.  The first set looks beautiful, they were packaged with extreme care, and were quickly delivered via FedEx.  I’m beyond happy and have high expectations for the second set which should ship next week. 

[BAN_M2C]

Wanted to update here for the sake of others, Frank has been a bit delayed from original timeline but always responsive. Has been extremely busy thats all and the time change from USA to where he is always is challenging.

 

He sent me pics of them when finished last weekend and today he packed them and shipped out providing me tracking number. Cant wait to get these on.

 

He included some additional extras I asked about and he placed them  in the same package. I would say just be patient, good things take time.

 

Edited June 19, 2019 by BAN_M2C
typo