Tweet
I'm gonna take an opportunity to disagree with most of you, something I rarely do, but feel it's important to state.
This is not a argument about who has money and who doesn't. This is not a "rich vs. poor" or "real enthusiasts who are ballers vs. fake enthusiasts who don't have pennies to rub with." This is a argument about business practices and macro economics. Period. If you are here to make the argument about money, then you might as well be comparing dick sizes because you have the maturity of a 15yr old.
Here is the reality: these companies (XXR, Rota, etc) that are selling wheels at $100 a pop.. their goal is solely to make money. They don't want to help grow the scene. They don't care about you as a enthusiast. They aren't interested in bringing anything new to the scene. They see an opportunity to take advantage of a market and will abuse it until that market is dried up. The question you have to ask yourself is simple: "at $100 a wheel, how are they making money?" They are making money because they are copying designs (intellectual property), they are using the cheapest of materials (cast iron), they are using the cheapest of processes, they have zero "quality control" (if you don't know what that means, go to college and take a ops mgmt course) and there is absolutely no research and development and thus no testing. Because of this, they are able to still have healthy margins at $100 / wheel retail.
There is a reason why we like the wheels that XXR and Rota re-produce... it's because BBS, Work and others took the time to develop classy and sexy designs / wheels that we all love. Without these companies, XXR and Rota would have nothing to copy.
Now back to my original point... this is NOT about price. There are plenty of people on here who make $8.50 a hour and have great looking rides with quality parts. They either negotiate like crazy, scour the internet for months until the right deal comes along or (and this is a revolutionary concept) they SAVE for the real thing. For some, they might be able to buy a brand new set of Work wheels out of one of their paychecks... for others it might take a year to save up for a used set. The point is, they are backing the companies that back the enthusiasts. Period.
I will repeat for the 11x, this is not a issue of money or dick measuring, but a issue of philosophy... are you gonna support the companies that invest heavily to insure that auto enthusiast market is here for a long time to come, or you going to insure that the companies out their who are sucking the blood out of our scene, continue to do so until there is nothing left? It really is as simple as that.
You want wheels right now, but are on a budget? Rock some OEM wheels.. run adaptors.. scour for a used set.. run spacers.. there are WAY too many options out there to rock original design wheels on a budget. Please support the companies that support us. By doing so, you help to insure that we all get to continue to modify cars the way we "want" vs the way we "have" to.
Ben
This is not a argument about who has money and who doesn't. This is not a "rich vs. poor" or "real enthusiasts who are ballers vs. fake enthusiasts who don't have pennies to rub with." This is a argument about business practices and macro economics. Period. If you are here to make the argument about money, then you might as well be comparing dick sizes because you have the maturity of a 15yr old.
Here is the reality: these companies (XXR, Rota, etc) that are selling wheels at $100 a pop.. their goal is solely to make money. They don't want to help grow the scene. They don't care about you as a enthusiast. They aren't interested in bringing anything new to the scene. They see an opportunity to take advantage of a market and will abuse it until that market is dried up. The question you have to ask yourself is simple: "at $100 a wheel, how are they making money?" They are making money because they are copying designs (intellectual property), they are using the cheapest of materials (cast iron), they are using the cheapest of processes, they have zero "quality control" (if you don't know what that means, go to college and take a ops mgmt course) and there is absolutely no research and development and thus no testing. Because of this, they are able to still have healthy margins at $100 / wheel retail.
There is a reason why we like the wheels that XXR and Rota re-produce... it's because BBS, Work and others took the time to develop classy and sexy designs / wheels that we all love. Without these companies, XXR and Rota would have nothing to copy.
Now back to my original point... this is NOT about price. There are plenty of people on here who make $8.50 a hour and have great looking rides with quality parts. They either negotiate like crazy, scour the internet for months until the right deal comes along or (and this is a revolutionary concept) they SAVE for the real thing. For some, they might be able to buy a brand new set of Work wheels out of one of their paychecks... for others it might take a year to save up for a used set. The point is, they are backing the companies that back the enthusiasts. Period.
I will repeat for the 11x, this is not a issue of money or dick measuring, but a issue of philosophy... are you gonna support the companies that invest heavily to insure that auto enthusiast market is here for a long time to come, or you going to insure that the companies out their who are sucking the blood out of our scene, continue to do so until there is nothing left? It really is as simple as that.
You want wheels right now, but are on a budget? Rock some OEM wheels.. run adaptors.. scour for a used set.. run spacers.. there are WAY too many options out there to rock original design wheels on a budget. Please support the companies that support us. By doing so, you help to insure that we all get to continue to modify cars the way we "want" vs the way we "have" to.
Ben
Comment