@Faux TRD Pro Grilles $279.99

Yesterday we did an install on our TRD Pro Grille and a 30” 5d bad with our lower bumper brackets!

 

Let's be clear about something here.. This whole discussion kind of sums up @CaliRaisedLed as a company entirely. All they do is steal other people designs and white label them as their own. Absolutely nothing they sell is unique or something that they created. Steal another companies idea, makes a few small tweaks and sell it as their own. Personally, I wouldn't give a penny of my money to this company.

 

I wanted to give you guys a little insight here. I work for @CaliRaisedLed and do the design and fab shop operations.

First off I know these subjects get complex so I will do my best to explain what I can. There are a few subjects being talked about here.

1. Imported products. Yes @CaliRaisedLed imports products from overseas. The grills being the one discussed here. First off I am not a lawyer as described above. I do know that importing products in not illegal. It is done by millions of companies every day. Autozone, NAPA, Advanced, 4Wheel Parts, Smittybilt, Etc, Etc, Etc. When you go to any of these companies stores you are not buying Toyota parts, you are buying replicas, faux, tweaked parts that are like factory parts but not factory parts. You can buy fenders, grills, lights, bumpers, just about any part of the truck that is not made by Toyota but sold as parts for Toyotas. Us selling a grill is exactly the same. Some people like to buy OEM ones, in which case you have to play Toyota's game. We are not Toyota and so we sell to everyone.

2. Prices. We sell our grills for what we feel is a fair price. There are a lot of things to consider. Yes you can buy others online for cheaper. We pay our cost, a container, customs, taxes, fees, the unions at the dock, everyone. Then we also have a warranty which is built into the price. We expect to have a certain percentage of grills that get damaged in shipment by UPS, or might have a flaw we missed when inspecting. We have to eat those costs. We also ship everything included in the price and cover tax which also costs money. Then there is the cost of paying our employees to answer questions, emails, phone calls, posts on here, package, ship, rent, electricity, insurance, taxes, etc. This is the cost of doing business and all part of the price. As for the comment about us selling them locally for a different price, we are simply passing the savings on to our customers who pick up and pay cash. We save the 3% fee from the credit card company and shipping. It is not slimmy or dishonest, in fact I feel it is very honest to not collect money from a customer on things they are not buying.

3. All fabricated parts. The statement above about copying is just flat out false. We work very hard to design and fabricate all of our fabricated parts in our shop in Buena Park, CA. I run the shop and we employ 3 full times employees who work hard to make all of these parts for you guys. I design every part in house in Solidworks from scratch. We have amazing people we work with that help us use their trucks for prototyping and we do all the manual leg work. Some times making a part 20 times until we get it perfect. I have shared some pics below of the process. Cali Raised has worked with other fabricators in the past to make our fabricated parts. I was previously one of a few vendors, know as Apex Fabworks at the time. After having some growing pains with these other companies Cali Raised worked hard to correct any issues. Cali Raised purchased Apex Fabworks from me along with all of my intellectual property. They then hired me to open and run their fab shop. Any previous issues with other vendors have been eliminated as we do it all in house now! We are a growing company, we are like most and have an occasional issue. But we work our butts off to correct these issues and continue to grow, sometimes are great cost.

4. Closing. I just wanted to add a couple more comments that I personally feel. You all may not agree and I have an answer for that too. Cali Raised is a company owned and operated here in the great USA. In the great USA we have an open market where you the consumer has the power to choose where you spend your hard earned money. I served in the military for over 10 years to defend your right to do this!!! We have a simple philosophy here. We make and sell products for the average working American. Some stuff we import because that provides our customer with the most value. Some we make in house because again it provides you with the best value. Our goal is to be valuable to you!!! That's why people shop with us and come back, they feel they get a good value. Lastly just to touch one more time on the copying comments. We do not copy. Yes we sell some similar products as others, just as all companies do. We have had original ideas that others have duplicated, our fog light kits are copied and sold in china right now to other companies. We also have markets where we see a product and say "we think we can make a better one, lets design something" and we do our best, just like everyone else. Apple vs. Samsung, Toyota vs. Ford, name brand drugs vs. generic drugs, name brand soap vs. Target brand soap. This is free commerce and people buy what they like and where they think they get the best value. We know not everyone will think our product is the best value for their needs, and we support you buying what you like. But there are many that do like what we offer and to those we say THANK YOU!!!!

 

Does that go behind the grill it looks like it but just confirming Pricing on that set up please.

 

https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...ota-tacoma-hidden-grille-led-light-bar-mounts

Here’s our grille mounts

https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...ota-tacoma-32-light-bar-lower-bumper-brackets

Here’s our lower bumper brackets.

 

Pretty sure Toyota branded parts that aren’t made Toyota and aren’t licensed by Toyota are illegal to both import or manufacture domestically.

But nobody really cares, Americans want it for cheap and don’t care about the how and the why.

 

What's complex about this? Did CaliRaisedLED design or manufacture these parts in any capacity?

I think what irks me personally, and possibly other members, is the facade the CaliRasedLED had a hand in the design and manufacture of this part specifically as well as the 2012-15 Pro grille. On the 1st post of this thread the language used is:

Let me repeat that: "We have been working on these for months and finally have them dialed." If that's the case then there's one of two scenarios:

1) Ya'll actually designed it (which is a direct copy of the Toyota part), and worked on it for months, outsourced the manufacturing of it to China... and are now getting screwed by the company that you outsourced it to because they're now all over eBay and Amazon for 1/2-1/3 the price you're asking for it.

Now that we've seen some CAD work for other products... care to share some of the work that was done in progress for these? Supposedly there was months of work on your end getting these dialed in, surely there is a mountain of files for all the revisions that were used in the design process, and likely several prototypes.

OR

2) There was no work done on Cali's end and the only thing you dialed was some company in China that are directly copying the official Toyota part.

-------------

It's obvious to me, these fake 3rd gen Pro grilles & the fake 2012-15 Pro are designed & manufactured in China, imported in and sold with a moderate markup. That portion of the story is no different than many other parts that many other companies sell, there's an unbelievable amount of parts made in China. MojaveMadman is absolutely right, they are doing that many other companies do. There's a market and an opportunity and someone willing to take advantage of it. How can you blame em? Sell a (if I had to guess) ~$75 their cost item for $279, who wouldn't sign up for that?

Anyone can buy these in bulk and import them too and undercut ChinaRaisedLED if they desire. There's typically plenty of these available on Alibaba such as here: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2015-2017-Tacoma-TRD-PRO-Front_60756640303.html Don't want to buy through Alibaba? Just contact one of the eBay sellers and they'll sell in bulk too for even cheaper than the $99 shipped asking price (have been as low as $90 recently): https://www.ebay.com/itm/253609429138 I have no interest in wanting to compete with anyone on these but maybe someone is looking for a side hobby, IDK.

As for the markup on these grill parts, to each their own. If owners are too oblivious to get them cheaper then so be it. If you buy one on eBay, there's plenty of recourse to get a new one if the first one arrives damaged or defective and 30 days free returns. In the very unlikely scenario that the part needs to be warrantied, you could buy a 2nd one from eBay and still come out cheaper.

If this is what owners want, then I guess they've all spoken with their wallet and the message is loud in clear. The message is that guys like me really don't have much of a place in the community anymore. Every single component on my grill is as is American made as I can possibly make it (including buying parts directly from Toyota that are made in the USA, supporting Toyota of America in some capacity). Absolutely none of that matters though, if some company in China is making knockoff TRD-Pro grills for $99 shipped. I can't compete with that. BAMF, HomerTaco, DBCustomz, and everyone else can't compete with that.

It's a shame that it's come to this, but it was inevitable that there would be a strong Asian invasion in this grill market. From my perspective it sucks that I can't beat them, yet refuse to join em.

If I'm off base here, I apologize. Personally, I'd like to just get this all aired out once in for all. If CaliRaisedLED didn't have a part in the design and manufacture of the part then just stop playing it off like you did. If CaliRaisedLED did have a part in the design and manufacture of the part then why'd it take this long to clear the air?

[EDIT:] Maybe I'm biased because of what I sell, IDK. I'd like to think even if I wasn't selling a competing part that I would have made a similar post as just an observer of this train wreck. I'm not trying to come on this thread to rage about the current grill market or promote myself or go out of my way to badmouth CaliRaisedLED. I'd like to just finally see an answer to a basic question that I think many people have wondered.

 

Do you have any that fit a 2018?

 

This post comes off as your upset about someone finding an angle to steal some of your market place. Don't let a couple hundred grills get you all flustered. IMHO find an easier way to install your grills and you will see people running to you site for product.
I looked at you product for 3 years now and never been able to pull the trigger because of the installation. I have even called a couple of times. The reason I went with Cali Faux grill is because if the ease of installation.

 

I dunno, it looks pretty easy since the bezel is included. Essentially plug and play. Check the video: https://youtu.be/dIwbjfEN8xU

 

I can address a couple of your questions for you.

The grills are imported, we do not make them, we did not design them, we do not have the CAD files for them.

However we never have claimed to. Read your quote, it says we have been working hard for months. Working hard does not mean designing or manufacturing. Working hard means there is still a lot of work done to get these. It’s not simple like Amazon. I have yet to find a “one click” option for importing yet. We work with multiple companies for our imported products. There is a lot of middle of the night communication to line up time zones. We do our homework and find out a lot of the details required. We have to get samples and test products. There is a HUGE a amount of logistics that is required. I mentioned above just some of the steps required to get a product in our warehouse to sell, but it’s more complex in reality as each step takes planning, communication and a lot of cash up front. This is all hard work and not something that you can just go do tomorrow. Buying a product from another country online seems easy. Importing a product line with containers on ships is not.

In regards to pricing, also please re-read what I wrote above. There are tons of layers to this. Yes I can look at your link above, and we too wish we got them for that price. It’s hard to compete with the factory’s in China that sell products at cost on sites like EBay. I can tell you that by the time we pay all the American customs, American union dock workers, American freight companies and of course our American workers at our shop that the price you see on Alibaba is just a dream and not reality. And I can also tell you that yes while a portion of the money goes to an overseas company, half our cost goes to American people and companies as well. It’s complicated as I mentioned, there is not a simple answer to all of this. I can assure you our profit margin on these grills is not as high as many believe, it’s actually in line with what most retail companies experience on average.

In regards to your comments about telling others to compete with us... I highly recommend you go read the snorkel group buy and the RTT group buy. Both cases of people saying they would import products because they found them online for cheap. Also both cases where execution didn’t happen and a lot of people lost a lot of money because it’s not easy or simple. It takes a lot of “work for months” to do. And it takes a lot of cash up front as everyone gets paid before a single product is sold.

Lastly as for you coming in here and saying a lot of stuff that may come off in certain ways, I will leave that be. I will say that time may be better spent looking at comments above from potential customers and spend time on stuff like that to help your company. There is a lot of room for all of us here. We also manufacture parts in America with all American parts and labor and everything as well and importing. It doesn’t always have to be so black and white. Even our imported products see a lot of money going to American comanoies as well. We try to work hard and provide quality products. We spend the majority of our time trying to grow and make new great products or improve current ones as we are always focused on improving. I hope your shop does well, I am sure you guys are talented and can continue do great things if you focus on it instead of others.

Shoot me a PM if you want to hash this out further or just talk. I’m happy to discuss things further if you would like in a more appropriate venue.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNWKBWoTEQM&feature=youtu.be
Wrong gen....

 

Oh sorry, thought we were in the 3rd gen marketplace...

I installed a mesh grillcraft in my 07 and it was pretty easy. You gotta cut but it's not hard.

 

Your right we are...

 

I like the look of the aftermarket mesh grills, I have a 12-15 one pro grill, or so I believe? Has a Toyota part# came in a Toyota box and says made in Canada on it. I just wanted the TOYOTA emblem and wanted to maintain the ome look. Cali Raised version wasn't available when I purchased mine last fall. I may have gone with theirs since that was the look I was after. The grill is actually in my house took it off for the winter and haven't put it back on my truck.

 

I don't really care about the darama but see bolt on sliders.... ETA?

Also, lots of McMaster-Carr P/Ns which makes me feel like you know what you're doing, because that's what all my assembly models look like!

 

I like these questions better!

Perfect timing actually. I am working on the fixture now in Solidworks and I am just about finished. I have been working on this project for about 40 days now (off and on). We have invested a considerable amount of time and money into these. We purchased a CNC tube notcher and CNC tube bender just to make these. We did a few test sets at first to develop the final concept and now I have been computer fabbing for about two weeks to get this fixture perfect so we can make perfect parts.

The sliders will all be 1.75" DOM standard, no material up-charge required. They will be offered in 4 basic styles: Weld on or bolt on, kick out or no kick out. And of course long and short for the various Tacoma models. We will be making these in big production runs in hopes that they will always be in stock or within a week. We want to eliminate the waiting game. That is why the choices will be limited to just the ones I stated above.

We are also working on closing a deal with UPS on pre-negotiated pricing for shipping so when these are done, the price will INCLUDE SHIPPING. No more guess work for customers on how much it will really cost to their door.

For weld on sliders with shipping and tax and everything our goal is $650 out the door. This is NOT a firm price and may change based on our negotiations with UPS. Bolt on sliders we have not priced completely yet as we are still working out those details.

Hoping to have these ready for sale and shipment early to mid July, but we are working hard to try and improve those dates.

AND MORE!!!

One more think I think I am comfortable sharing is a new concept we are going to be testing next week. Typically bolt on sliders are not as strong as weld on sliders. The frame plates flex under load causing the slider to flex towards the cab, not ideal right. I came up with the concept of ribbed frame plates. We will have ribs on the frame plates at each tube junction as well as a welded gusset. With this design I think we will be able to eliminate just about all of the flex on the frame plate making these for the most part, just as strong and rigid as weld on sliders. They will be heavier because of the frame plate, but they should be reasonable considering how big they are. We will be starting a thread in our vendor section next week as we get closer.

 

Bolt on slides with kickout are they going to be 0 or 20 degree?

Great idea on little to no lead time and set shipping price without guess work.

 

25 degree. These will be designed to be true sliders that are tucked in close and out of the way.