Hi Ben - I received your email directly.

Bruce

On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Ben T <syncro@gmail.com> wrote:

> 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.
>