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