Hello.
Sorry, I couldn't find the right thread to post this in, so I posted it here. If I'm wrong, please move it or tell me where to mark it.

Heads up, rotary community. I wanted to share my recent experience with J-Spec Garage so you don't fall into the same trap. I placed an order for a RaceOnly pulley kit and belts (standard items they claim to stock or ship regularly). Everything went through, payment was cleared. Then, out of nowhere, I received an email claiming they "made a mistake" in calculating shipping from Australia. The kicker? They are demanding an extra $250.00 USD on top of the already paid order. Their excuse? "Rising oil prices." In 2026. For a small box of pulleys and belts. When I pointed out that a professional business should honor their checkout price and fix their own system errors, they basically said: "Pay up or we cancel." It seems J-Spec Garage has no problem holding customers hostage over their own incompetence. If they can't manage a simple shipping calculator or stock their items as advertised, they shouldn't be in business. Bottom line: Watch out for hidden fees. They will take your money and then demand more for "oil prices" once you're already committed.

 

JSpec notes on their page that RaceOnly orders may ship from Australia. They do NOT however mention cost differences, only delivery time impacts.

All carriers are, in fact, passing on oil surcharges on their base rates right now. Especially on international shipments.

DHL - who RaceOnly uses from Australia to US -- has a 41% rate surcharge right now.

The rate I paid for a RaceOnly shipment (from RaceOnly direct) prior to this whole Iran debacle, for an even smaller box than a pulley kit, was $115. With a 41% surcharge, you're looking at $160.

Then there are tariffs. Currently 15%. On a pulley kit, that is about $70.

That is a total of about $230... so what they are asking for makes total sense. That TRULY is what that package is going to cost to get delivered to you.

Consider yourself lucky that they use DHL which only charges a modest tariff fee of a few dollars. Other carriers charge $50 or even more just to process it.

Welcome to the real world of what even a "small package" ACTUALLY costs to get Stateside in our current political environment.

I do this **** for a living in a multi-billion dollar company, and even I can't keep it straight from one day to the next what international inbound shipments are actually going to cost to land Stateside from one day tobthe next. I sure as **** don't blame some webstore for not getting it right.

And ain't no "professional business" going to eat $250 on an order they MAYBE make $50 profit on.

Should they make it ABUNDANTLY clear that it is possible your order will come from Oz and cost a fortune to be delivered if not coming from their stateside inventory? Yeah. Of course they should.

But they gave you the opportunity to pay the balance due and, if not, offered to provide an immediate full refund. That is NOT, in any way, "holding your money hostage". They didn't threaten to keep 25% as a cancellation fee or something if you didn't pay up. And, presumably, they didnt even wait too long sitting on your money to tell you about the "mistake".

The ultimate outcome was no different than if they had just immediately cancelled your order with a simple "Sorry, out of stock" excuse. Which is probably what they should have done rather than proposing a $200 shipping charge, however realistic it may be.

Take your refund and buy from RaceOnly direct. Just don't be too surprised when it costs about the same.

 

It's not about the surcharges and all the other stuff you mentioned. I placed an order for which I paid the price stated on the website, and then, bam, I get a letter saying I have to pay extra. If this had been stated on the website upfront, I wouldn't have minded, but since these are hidden fees, it's outrageous. If this kind of behavior is normal for you, then fine, but where I live, it's unacceptable; for that kind of thing, we'd send you for a walk in the woods. Yes, I'd be much happier buying direct because there are no hidden fees; everything is listed right away when filling out the form. I chose this store because it's in the US, and delivery was expected to be easier than having to deal with it from Australia. I've ordered $15,000 worth of parts from different stores over the past two months, and this is the first bunch of clowns that has given me such a surprise. But if this is normal for you, then everything is clear.