As promised, I spoke to my wholesaler this morning (three times!). Asked a lot of questions, and also used the McMaster-Carr info that John Anderson provided as a way to put price pressure on them. (It worked like a charm!!) Here's the scoop. First of all, this is _NOT_ the same seal that West Coast Metric, Whitney, and McMaster-Carr are offering. It _does_ have the exact same fit as those other aftermarket seals. (To recap, listmembers reported that the WCM seal, under its various names, isn't a perfect fit like the $600 seal the dealer sells, but is very close.) However, unlike the other aftermarket seals, this seal has the OEM style smooth finish (like the original Volkswagen seal), not the bumpy finish of the WCM, JCWhitney, McMaster-Carr seal. (Apparantly there is a textured finish available, if listmembers would prefer it, but I'm assuming most people would prefer the OEM look. Let me know if I'm wrong.) Also, the metal clip inside the seal is aluminum, so it shouldn't rust out and disintigrate the way the original Volkswagen seal does. In other words, this is apparantly the best fit available, and the closest to original look, short of paying $600 to the dealer. (And it should last longer as well.) But the big news is the price. I hammered out a REALLY good deal, using that McMaster-Carr seal as a negotiating tool. Price would be $35.50 for a COMPLETE set, replacing both the poptop and luggage rack sections. (plus UPS.) It's available in three sizes, for '68-73 bus, '74-79 bus, or Vanagon. I could also offer a smaller size for splittie poptops, at a lower price, but I'm not too familiar with those poptops. Do they take the same seal? I will still need to pre-sell several sets in order to afford this purchase, although with the cold weather (thus the need for a good poptop seal), I'm guessing that won't be a problem. How many listmembers have poptop seals that could use replacement, at this price? Please e-mail me directly. Then I'll let the list know for sure whether it's a go. Credit goes to John for letting us know about the McMaster-Carr seal. If it hadn't been for that info, I wouldn't have been able to get my supplier to beat that price on this apparantly better (or at least more OEM-looking) seal, and we'd all have paid more. -Ron Salmon
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