ryguytheman
Member
So. I know there's a thread about Aiden James Customs already(Aiden James Customs - Anyone heard from them lately?), but I figured I'd start a new one to share some recent experience. To be honest, I wasn't comfortable revealing too much of my frustration until I had gotten what I had paid for, given that the owner frequents this site. Item shown below my own photo.
I ordered the product referenced in the title on 7/20/2018. I'm not sure exactly how I came across it (undoubtedly somewhere on this forum), but I liked the look, and this LED running light was far less expensive (though much simpler) than some of the retrofit headlight housings that I had seen. There was a 2-3 month ETA listed on the website, but I was willing to wait.
After purchase, the receipt email told me that I would receive a follow-up email with an ETA, which I never got. So after a couple of months of being in the dark, I sent an inquiry. I checked in with them in September, but I was getting no response from the vendor. After prompting him a couple of times, I did get a response telling me that I would have it by the end of December, though hopefully sooner since they were working on new processes. So my ETA went up from 3 months to 5+ months.
Well, December came and went, and I hadn't seen anything. By this time, I had found the other thread filled with people who were waiting like me. Apparently, the owner of the company has been peddling the same story for years; "I'm a small business, I'm making big changes, this will get fixed now". All the while, AJC was taking new orders on this item with up-front payment.
Well, it never did get fixed. He supposedly hired two people in mid-2018 to build these kits for him, but it didn't work out (or didn't happen at all?). In January we were told that he was outsourcing the labor to a manufacturer, and given a huge sob story about how hard it is to be a business owner. I was provided with a new ETA of March 25th, BUT... with his new manufacturer, it was supposed to arrive sooner.
Well, March 25th came and went. New manufacturer didn't work out apparently. I reached out again multiple times in order to get a response. New ETA of March 29th. Aaaand... you guessed it-still nothing.
After talking to the owner via email and on this site, I was told that my order finally had shipped on 4/2/2019 (Tuesday), and received tracking info. I watched closely over the coming days, but the tracking website showed no movement, only that a label had been created by the vendor. On Sunday, I reached out with concern, since I hadn't gotten the item, and the tracking showed no movement. We had a few back and forth emails, and by the 9th he told me that he would check to see if USPS had received the package from his reception desk (7 days after being "shipped") and to wait a couple of days to see if it shows up. It didn't. According to him, several customers also had packages that didn't show up, but he was looking into it. On the 12th, I finally got an update. Apparently, it was still in the back of his courier's truck, and was never unloaded... After all that I've been through, I'm not sure I believe that.
So the item did ship on 4/13/2019, for reals this time. I received it today. The product looks as described. Upon close inspection, I don't think I can tell if the bezel is a refurbished one or not. Looks good, I'll update once I get it installed. But overall, was this fairly simple $250 product worth 9 months (270 days, .74 years) of headache? Absolutely not.
I'm happy I got my product in the end (assuming it works), but the lack of communication and false promises have left a sour taste in my mouth. I know that AJC sells other products that may not have the same lead times, but I'd be hard pressed to support this business again, no matter how much of a good guy the owner comes off as. There were plenty of details that I didn't include here, as this post is already long-winded... But if you don't like having a pre-paid carrot dangled in front of you for the better part of a year, then don't buy these. I will not be putting the below bumper sticker on my vehicle.
Like I said, I'll update the thread once I get the item installed.
EDIT: This is not a smear job. This is an honest review based on my experience.
I ordered the product referenced in the title on 7/20/2018. I'm not sure exactly how I came across it (undoubtedly somewhere on this forum), but I liked the look, and this LED running light was far less expensive (though much simpler) than some of the retrofit headlight housings that I had seen. There was a 2-3 month ETA listed on the website, but I was willing to wait.
After purchase, the receipt email told me that I would receive a follow-up email with an ETA, which I never got. So after a couple of months of being in the dark, I sent an inquiry. I checked in with them in September, but I was getting no response from the vendor. After prompting him a couple of times, I did get a response telling me that I would have it by the end of December, though hopefully sooner since they were working on new processes. So my ETA went up from 3 months to 5+ months.
Well, December came and went, and I hadn't seen anything. By this time, I had found the other thread filled with people who were waiting like me. Apparently, the owner of the company has been peddling the same story for years; "I'm a small business, I'm making big changes, this will get fixed now". All the while, AJC was taking new orders on this item with up-front payment.
Well, it never did get fixed. He supposedly hired two people in mid-2018 to build these kits for him, but it didn't work out (or didn't happen at all?). In January we were told that he was outsourcing the labor to a manufacturer, and given a huge sob story about how hard it is to be a business owner. I was provided with a new ETA of March 25th, BUT... with his new manufacturer, it was supposed to arrive sooner.
Well, March 25th came and went. New manufacturer didn't work out apparently. I reached out again multiple times in order to get a response. New ETA of March 29th. Aaaand... you guessed it-still nothing.
After talking to the owner via email and on this site, I was told that my order finally had shipped on 4/2/2019 (Tuesday), and received tracking info. I watched closely over the coming days, but the tracking website showed no movement, only that a label had been created by the vendor. On Sunday, I reached out with concern, since I hadn't gotten the item, and the tracking showed no movement. We had a few back and forth emails, and by the 9th he told me that he would check to see if USPS had received the package from his reception desk (7 days after being "shipped") and to wait a couple of days to see if it shows up. It didn't. According to him, several customers also had packages that didn't show up, but he was looking into it. On the 12th, I finally got an update. Apparently, it was still in the back of his courier's truck, and was never unloaded... After all that I've been through, I'm not sure I believe that.
So the item did ship on 4/13/2019, for reals this time. I received it today. The product looks as described. Upon close inspection, I don't think I can tell if the bezel is a refurbished one or not. Looks good, I'll update once I get it installed. But overall, was this fairly simple $250 product worth 9 months (270 days, .74 years) of headache? Absolutely not.
I'm happy I got my product in the end (assuming it works), but the lack of communication and false promises have left a sour taste in my mouth. I know that AJC sells other products that may not have the same lead times, but I'd be hard pressed to support this business again, no matter how much of a good guy the owner comes off as. There were plenty of details that I didn't include here, as this post is already long-winded... But if you don't like having a pre-paid carrot dangled in front of you for the better part of a year, then don't buy these. I will not be putting the below bumper sticker on my vehicle.
Like I said, I'll update the thread once I get the item installed.
EDIT: This is not a smear job. This is an honest review based on my experience.
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