SCREWED by Gearhead Enterprises, Hudson IA

I have to say i have bought from them for the past few years and have never had any problems with them, don't know if it is luck or what but knock on wood.

 

I bought from them him EBay before I realized the Ebay seller was part of Gearhead Ent.

He didn't have the part he'd advertised at all, and didn't know when he was going to get it.
I cancelled and successfully got my $ back.

 

Thank you. It's rare to see well-reasoned posts about the BBB. Usually, it's a bunch of wives' tales and Internet lore (and possibly, on occasion actual first hand experience), about how the BBB is "for sale," and only people who pay their fees get good ratings.

 

bought a lot of stuff from them at back to the 50's
and they usually took my offers, they bring a lot of merchandise and have a small army of young men sellng
AND YOU CAN TOUCH WHAT YOU IS GONNA BUY
rember that it all comes from the same boat in china

guess i wont order from them though

 

I ordered a kick down cable from them on e-bay, they strung me along till it was past the 30 day mark then quit repling to my e-mails. i figured it was a lesson learned, than 3 months later my cable showed up. so i guess i got lucky!

 

here is what i found from BBB

Specialtie Stuff aka Gearhead Enterprises Inc

Review for Multiple Locations

• Nearest Location:
  623 Broadway St
  Waterloo, IA 50703
• Additional Locations:
  1806 Commercial Street
  Waterloo, IA 50702
• PO Box 4114
  Waterloo, IA 50704
• 650 5th St
  Hudson, IA 50643
• 1930 S Start Street
  Davenport, IA 52802

the gentleman who owned it when it was in Davenport was great to deal with, he sold out to these con-artists back in the late 90's early 2000 thats when it moved up to waterloo/hudson from then on the quality and service tanked. I bought from them about 6yrs ago when they used the name "SpecialtieStuff" They has some slick talking kids down at Goodguys in Des Moines. bought a HEI distributer for a sb chevy. Name brand mallory but that was 6+ years ago.

 

It took six weeks and numerous call to get tubular A-arms... had the girls number on speed dial!

 

Purchased a Vintage Air unit from them on EBAY in January. Best price by $30 and it arrived in 5 days. No complaints from me.

 

Actually it is not lore. Just last week I was offered a good rating for the sum of $630/yr for my business. I don't have a bad rating and never had any complaints either, but apparently it would have been better if I bought the wall plaque he was selling.

 

That's a hundred more than what they hit me up for

 

The difference between a "paid" rating and unpaid is a fractional grade. If you have an A rating, the subscription will get you to an A+. If you rate a D-, then being a subscriber will get you to a D. That is the only thing that payment changes. This is well documented by the BBB, and has been well-audited and confirmed by independent watchdogs. While I don't agree with being able to buy ANY enhanced score... even if it is just a +, I understand their rationale (again, documented by them)... that a subscriber has shown an enhanced level of trust, by being willing to support the rating system... and thus, more "reputable."

 

I guess I'm lucky-they are in the next town over and I simply look it up on ebay, call them to check availability, then just drive 10 minutes and pick it up from them in person. Have bought several things from them-never a problem. Very messy place, I probably wouldn't buy from them other than in person, knowing what their establishment looks like.

 

It is my understanding that you should be calling the BBB BEFORE you do business with a company, not AFTER.

 

Try JPL Street Rods in Allequippa , PA. I've bought a bunch from them with excellent service. They drop ship from major suppliers and shipping is free on orders over $100.

 

Yes. JPL is an excellent place to buy. Bought from them over the years. Always satisfied.

 

I TOLD YOU /I TOLD YOU /I TOLD YOU !!!!! i live in iowa ,had bad deals with them !! jumped them at good guys ,they dont even say they are sorry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOW DONT COMPLAIN HERE ANYMORE !!!! E-MAIL GOOD-GUYS OR THE MAGAZINE OR E-BAY AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN IOWA !!! CLOSE THESE CROOKS DOWN !!!!!!!!!!!! im sorry moderators for ranting and raving BUT THESE GUYS NEED TO BE STOPPED !!! THEY SCREWED ME A FELLOW IOWAN !!!! thanks mike "carryallman" wahl

 

I looked a couple things up after my previous post. It looks like Gearhead Enterprises may or may not be the multiple seller. The phone numbers are off by 1, 4045 and 4046. One is Gearhead Enterprises and the other goes by Fatrodder and Rodpartsdealer but they all list Waterloo and Hudson as locations.

 

I've learned early in life, that good guys come in last (Vietnam). So, when I tried to return a defective motorcycle battery to a local aftermarket dealer and he wouldn't take it back, I told him that he would get it back one way or another. He dismissed my statement and started waiting on another customer. That really pissed me off, so I took the battery outside held it up in front of his showroom window and yelled, "Your getting your battery back now!". He ran outside and said that he would take the battery back.
In your case, keep bad mouthing the business, sooner or later he'll run into someone local.....
WITH A TEMPER!

 

I think this thread points up something very important. We see threads all the time where someone has gotten screwed by some company,others post that they have also been screwed, and yet a few others say they have had good experiences with that same company. All that means is that some guys have gotten lucky and by a stroke of luck got their items, but it doesn't mean the company is good . Others should take heed and know that they might be in the group that DOESN'T get what they paid for.

This Gearhead Ent. sure has enough people on the "not good" side of the discussion to make it as plain as day that they are shakey. I suspect they are a drop ship vendor and the reason some orders don't get filled is because they have not paid the manufacturer of that particular item and are shut off. I worked at one time for a company that drop shipped for guys like Gearhead and we had them on credit hold quite often. Then they would pay up and we would resume filling their orders.

Thanks for the warning......I won't be ordering anything from them.

Don

 

My first ebay transaction was with this outfit, I ordered a power brake,master setup for a 57 ford. 5weeks passed, still no parts,phone calls -no one answered. Email inbox full. So I keep on calling and emailing, somehow I got my parts 2 months after my order was placed. I put the brake unit on the shelf, when I got around to using it, the snout with the packing seals in was broken off. So rather then deal with them again, I bought a new booster from speedway, 2-days. So I left them negative feedback, they left me negative feedback, said my address was goofy. Mark

 

Hey fellas, I just want to clear up one little thing in case anyone was confused. Yes, this ckown should be drop kicked, BUT I don't want anyone to confuse Gearhead Enterprises with Alliance vendor GEAR DRIVE SPEED AND CUSTOM! Matt at Gear Drive will bend over backwards to make the customer happy! His stuff is absolutely top notch, and his customer service exceeds his excellent products!

Just wanted to be sure nobody searching in the future gets confused. Here's Matt's info...


Gear Drive Speed & Custom

Website - www.lakeheaders.com

Shop # 651*485*8075 (matt)

Build custom lake headers for traditional hot rods, cast some stuff and build fabricated multi-carb intakesfor early engines.

#1 - AllianceVendorfor the HAMB!

#2 - 100's of satisfied HAMB customers

#3 - We are a small shop, you'll always deal with me!

#4 - I build one set of headers at a time, for your car. __________________ HAMB AllianceVendor- www.lakeheaders.com

 

I bought a set of stainless block huggers from them about 3 years ago. Had the same shit, call after call and finally after 5 weeks I got the headers and they have been fine ( the headers ). I was real nervous for a while though. I never bought from them again. They sure spend alot of money ( your money ) advertising in Street Rodder and Rod & Custom. For the most part I've heard that the stuff they sell is pure shit, offshore parts with no warranty or support. When I bought my front axle they had it advertised for $1600.00 but I ordered it from Posies for $2000.00 and am glad I did. Low price is a bad way to shop for parts.

 

This is obviously an outfit that doesnt worry about repeat business. If no one buys from them they wont be in business much longer. They will change their name and contact information and reincarnate at least once more ... they have already started using multiple business names to mask their identity.

 

Is it just me or is there a real pattern of some American parts vendors screwing overseas HAMB members?

Folks like this are just common crooks, waiting for any opportunity to screw someone out of their money.

Folks like this make me feel shame on behalf of my nation. There seem to be more folks out there who refuse to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. This situation with our vendors is made worse by customers who are LOOKING for something to bitch about so they can get something for free. The "me first" mentality that is growing in this nation has made trust, and doing anything on a mans good name difficult.

Too sad.....

 

" MAYBE THEY NEED ANOTHER JUMPING?"

 

Try getting ahold of the Attny. General of Iowa. Write a certified letter explaining the situation. Hope this will help.

 

I really dont know how they stay in business, it took them an hour to find a steering wheel when I picked it up in person, there warehouse is the biggest mess Ive ever seen. They just climb the piles of parts looking for stuff.

 

"Gearhead Enterprises"... catchy name. Apparently, from reading this thread, I would say that these people are not really gearheads, but opportunists who use their name to attrack their prey. I will avoid this company like the plague and make sure that my fellow hotrodders are aware as well. Thanks for the "heads up"!

 

ABSOLUTELY! Yes, I also ordered Lake Headers from Matt and I couldn't be happier. The headers are like pieces of art and with extremely high quality!

That's why I specifically mentioned Gearhead Enterprise, Hudson IA in the Header so nobody would confuse it.

A+++ for Matt and Gear Drive!

-TudorChris

 

Guess it's only fair to share I had a good expirience with Gearhead Enterprises. I ordered a chrome electirc fan from Gearhead Enterprises, and recieved two (2) in the mail. I only ordered one and was only billed for one (1) fan. I called Gearhead Enterprises and told the lady on the phone the order recieved was one (1) fan. Should I return the second fan I did not pay for? Her reply was "the photo in the ad for the fan was two (2) fans in the photo", therfore she replied "keep the second fan as it was our mistake". Very good costomer service in my opinion.