Apparently they don’t want my business

So I’ve decided to take on the repair and resurfacing job for my coilovers. The front pair I have are TEIN HA which have long been discontinued in Japan and eventually became the TEIN FLEX. Well, that’s OK I think to myself, getting parts for these should be no problem. The only parts are really need are some dust boots. Basically, the dust boot on a shock absorber is the rubber cover that goes over the piston. That’s it…nothing fancy, no special materials required.

I hunt down on TEIN’s website the cost for these dust boots is only $5. Heck yeah, I think to myself, that’s a great deal! Unfortunately after contacting TEIN directly, they say I must buy the boots from an official reseller. Sure, that’s also no problem. In town there is Zensport and AutoFX. I email them both last week sometime, and hear no response for a few days. AutoFX did respond and said that since the HA was discontinued, they would look into a suitable replacement part. I responded with the part # for the boots that TEIN suggested and mentioned that they were $5 cost. Of course I expect there to be shipping and handling fees, but nothing would have prepared me for this response from AutoFX:

“We can order the boots on thier own for you but wth all the shipping and handling fees you would be looking at about $100-$125CAD+tax. “

gasp

Are they joking? That is ridiculous. I could understand $15 for shipping, and maybe another $15 for handling? But honestly, 100+ for them to make a call and order a part for me is outrageous. They probably don’t get it that if they get me INTO their store, I will most likely walk out with more than just those stupid dust boots.

Well screw’em, I’ll find some generic ones at Lordco for 10 bucks.