Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2023 03:09:44 -0700
Reply-To: Ben T <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ben T <syncro@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: westy stove burner grate fillers
In-Reply-To: <A2DE7A36-331B-4661-9EA5-9A939189AFCC@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
My messages have been rejected by the list a number of times. I contacted Jim a couple of times, but stopped following up. I still receive and read every single message that comes through. Haven’t seen anything which needs moderation. I’ve asked Mike Miller to relay messages on my behalf before.
The past year has been hectic due to my wife being critically ill. With covid caused delays followed by revised PayPal reporting rules, just everything I sold would end up costing me more than I was selling them for. That’s because I’m in 30%-something bracket. For ex, if I’m netting $1.55 on an item and get taxed $3, it doesn’t make sense to keep selling. I intentionally priced my items with a very low margin. Plus with hundreds of back orders, I could never catch up.
I sold the 12-gauge stainless grates for $16 each, but in pairs. They are at 3 times thicker than the ones Frank offered and made of 304 stainless steel. People have demonstrated them glowing cherry red, then showing very little evidence of warping. I was only interested in selling quality items.
It takes an average of 5-10 messages for each item. It just got to be overwhelming. I removed all my Samba and Facebook ads. Still have inventory around and have sold them during bURNINGvAN and Van-O-Rama.
BenT
(I expect Eric will see this reply, but may be rejected by the list which wants a plain text email.)
> On Aug 12, 2023, at 6:42 AM, Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
> I have a hefty set that use the old VW logo. They are strong and don’t warp.
>
> I used to purchase items like this from BenT, the person that is still technically supporting this list but is mainly a presence on FB.
>
> BenT had several items of good quality I purchased. But, for some reason he stopped responding to my email requests for products and I have not purchased things from him in years. I think he might still sell items on the samba or through his Facebook pages.
>
> If you can get his grates they are very nice. I also have his front spare tire hook and pull and that is very nice. I suspect he has other quality items but I no longer see his posts and no longer get email replies.
>
> Still, you may have luck on the samba.
>
> Best,
>
> Eric Caron
>
>> On Aug 12, 2023, at 9:15 AM, Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG> wrote:
>>
>> I used Frank Condelli's, which are cool.
>>
>> Before that, I used this one:
>>
>> https://www.amazon.com/Ilsa-8880-Reducer-5-Inch-Black/dp/B0007ZHQ1Y
>>
>> Since I sold my Westy and bought a travel trailer, I'm back to using
>> that reducer from Amazon.
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