Cheep Shoei and Arai sales on trade me

[rc_36_rider]

This guy is selling new Shoei and Arai helmets on Trade me (User name Naionaio) It looks like he is Importing them from Honkong. He has had some rather bad feed back and also he has been arguing with people via the questions and answers on his auctuions. Some people have been saying there are different shell styles for the differen markets and head types (Asian head vs euro head) has anyboady delt with this guy/ had one of the helmets to see if they are different in fitting?

[CHOPPA]

I bought a helmet off him an arai rx7 corsair, it was cheaper then cost price from dolds. I would like to support the NZ supplier but my immediate family has bought over 15 brand new arai helmets over the years (caust they are the best!!!) and i couldnt even get a bit of a discount so i tried that guy. Helmet fits fine cant notice the diff shape 1 week delivery. The person askin the questions bout head shape is from arai nz tryin to protect there industry and sorta fair enough i guess. One point of argument to favour buying it locally is that you have no doubts and the ones from wherever they come from dont have a nz standards sticker technically making them illegal to wear on the road. They still have snell etc etc to be honest for my next helmet i will be buying it locally

[imdying]

An Arai dealer will service an Arai helmet (replace broken bits, clean and adjust) a NZ new Arai helmet every single day for free if you want to take it in every day. What's that worth to you?

[NOMIS]

I bought a helmet off him an arai rx7 corsair, it was cheaper then cost price from dolds. I would like to support the NZ supplier but my immediate family has bought over 15 brand new arai helmets over the years (caust they are the best!!!) and i couldnt even get a bit of a discount so i tried that guy. Helmet fits fine cant notice the diff shape 1 week delivery. The person askin the questions bout head shape is from arai nz tryin to protect there industry and sorta fair enough i guess. One point of argument to favour buying it locally is that you have no doubts and the ones from wherever they come from dont have a nz standards sticker technically making them illegal to wear on the road. They still have snell etc etc

How much did you pay? I want one

[Big Dave]

Support your local bike shop.

[NOMIS]

Support your local bike shop.

maybe some should support the people who buy from them a bit better.

[Big Dave]

maybe some should support the people who buy from them a bit better.

Yeah right. They are all making millions.

[zeocen]

maybe some should support the people who buy from them a bit better.

Got my Arai from Kerry at Motohaus, he mentioned to me about the servicing and said track days with Arai stands will sell new visors at wholesale price for current Arai owners. Can't get much better than that for support.

[Marmoot]

An Arai dealer will service an Arai helmet (replace broken bits, clean and adjust) a NZ new Arai helmet every single day for free if you want to take it in every day. What's that worth to you?

Bullshit.
$90 for my broken side cover from WHERE I BOUGHT THEM.

[disenfranchised]

(User name Naionaio)

Actually it's niaoniao

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Lis...?member=995942

[Klown73]

Yep, I've been having a right nudge at him on Trade Me. He is quite simply misleading people, and he knows it, given his no return policy. He doesn't allow pickups either, which proves he doesn't people knowing where or who he is. In any case, he doesn't have the helmets he sells in stock, which contravenes Trade Me's Ts and Cs.

I asked him some fairly pertinent questions regarding the specifications of these helmets, and also enquired as to how he could offer any sort of warranty given that they are grey imported. He was more than abusive in his replies, and proceeded to pull the auctions, relist them without the questions, and blacklist me.

The issue here is the shape of the helmets he is getting from HK. While Asian-spec helmets are legal in New Zealand, the inner shell is shaped differently to suit the narrower, longer head of your average Asian biker. This means they won't have the full fit and comfort that the higher price of an Arai or Shoei justifies. The NZ Arais and Shoeis are of the European mold, which is the shape of your average Kiwi. There is also an American derivative.

In any case, as stated above, your local shop can make adjustments and service your locally-sourced helmet to a certain point, and can most certainly stand behind the 5 year warranty applied to these helmets. Niaoniao sells dodgy helmets, and cannot possibly offer any type of warranty, yet he's selling X-11s (Asian version of the X-Spirit) at $899. The RRP of an X-Spirit in NZ is $999 currently.

I know where I'm putting my money, and it's certainly not with some bloke in Hong Kong.

[zeocen]

Hmmm, take this with a huge grain of salt, but I thought niaoniao was crazefox? I can't remember why I thought that, hmm...

[Owl]

I've bought an Arai Corsair off this guy and had another locally as well. Hong Kong one is the same fit although it's not called a Corsair. It's called the RR4 and is almost identical to one you'd buy here. The difference is the NZ one has the pinlock visor, english manual and the HK one doesn't!
I know you'll save a bit buying off Trademe, but I was a little concerned about after sales service when he wouldn't reply to e-mails once purchase was completed.
I hope that helps!

[Marmoot]

So, if I have two friends, one with longer head and one with rounder head, both europeans. Does that mean if both buys local Arai one would fit properly and one would not?

I'm confused now.


Remember, you are unique. Just like everybody else.

[pritch]

Support your local bike shop.

Some yes. Some not. It's largely up to them.