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Aircraft Spruce vs Amazon (K&N air filter)

Tandem46

Well Known Member
Referencing the current RG400 thread regarding prices between Spruce and Amazon….

K&N E3450 air filter for O-360

Spruce - $84.75

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/knfilter08-12163.php

Amazon - $46.99

https://www.amazon.com/3450-High-Pe...d=1647362048&sprefix=k&n+e3450,aps,102&sr=8-1

Quite frankly, this is ridiculous and insane! Why such a high mark up?
Even Vans is WAY overpriced at $60.00
https://store.vansaircraft.com/k-n-e-3450-0-360-io-540-high-flow-air-filter-e-3450.html

I received the Amazon E3450 the other day and it is definitely NOT counterfeit.
 
Yes I have seen similar stuff as well. Some companies surf the inflation wave and hike their prices. At the same time, other resellers/distributors (who happen to have the same item in their inventory) maintain their price.

I bought some primer last week, the price difference was 2x for the exact same product at different reputable providers.
 
Caveat Emptor (sort of)

Quality aside pricing is indeed a moving target!

Even Amazon is no longer reliable as nearly the best deal going.

BTW, always delete your shopping cookies after purchase if you can. Prices you see may be tailored to prices you have shown willingness to pay.
 
spruce pricing for K&N filters

We (Base Leg Aviation) purchase a lot of E-3450 air filters from Aircraft Spruce east. When the price jumped to $76 earlier this year. I sent an email to them pointing out that multiple vendors were charging $49 for the same product. I got an email back saying they would look into the pricing. No change. Now it looks like they've increased the price to 84.75.
 
ACS has gotten ridiculous with its pricing lately. When I can buy oil, grease, filters, tires, gaskets etc. from the local aircraft parts supplier for significantly less than the ACS price (not including the additional ACS shipping cost) you know they’ve lost their customer focus. Use ACS for hard to find parts if you must but shopping around will save you money.

Maybe they’re trying to pay for their costal locations cost of living. I visited CA last week and gas was $2 a gallon higher than here and I know wages are higher on the coast than in the central US. Maybe it’s time to move to a more central location.
 
I just bought a case of oil and cam guard from amazon. Price was a bit higher but free shipping made it cheaper overall...
 
Genuine Part

Do you know if the Amazon part is genuine or counterfeit? Lots of that on Amazon. The Far East makes lots of things like this that are high dollar.
 
Do you know if the Amazon part is genuine or counterfeit? Lots of that on Amazon. The Far East makes lots of things like this that are high dollar.

The link shows that the K&N filter is sold by Amazon not a 3rd party. Amazon is as likely to sell a counterfeit K&N part as ACS.

Camguard I see in an Amazon storefront from:

Malavolti Pilot Shop
581 S Airport St.
Terre Haute, Indiana 47803

so if you trust your local FBO to not sell counterfeit oil to you then you should trust them too. They also have an on line store outside of Amazon and a regular store at the airport... .

Oliver
 
ACK ELT 04 Battery

Just purchased new ELT replacement battery for my RV condition inspection through Amazon. The battery was $17 less than ACS with free shipping. I called the Amazon listed vendor (Gulf Coast Avionics) to confirm freshness (one month old battery) and pricing which they confirmed. Vendor agreement with Prime.

When I purchased my ELT three years ago from ACS the battery was already two years old! 2/5 of its life gone by sitting on an ACS self.
 
The filters can wear, shrink, but they are reusable for a long time, so baby them, and follow proper cleaning and treatment. I agree the prices are ridiculous.

You are good to go with Amazon in my opinion. Look at it close, compare it to a known K&N. Hey idea buy two of them from two different vendors, take your pick: ACS, Amazon or Van's. Compare them, then send me the one you don't use....:D:D:D Glad to help you out. :rolleyes:

I know aircraft parts (critical parts for large jets) and even NGK sparkplugs are counterfeited like crazy, so it is possible K&N filters could be as well. Amazon can't be expected to monitor all the sellers on their site. However it ls less likely on Amazon than eBay or unknown seller site. In general if the price is too good to be true watch out. None of these prices are too good to be suspect.
 
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I don’t think ACS stock much anymore. They are basically a procurement company, like Amazon, but on a very tiny scale. Almost all of the orders I’ve had with Spruce over the last year (I’m building, so weekly) come from as many as 3 different places, no matter what basic stuff I order. I have also found some of the same stuff on Amazon for a lot les$.
 
Do you know if the Amazon part is genuine or counterfeit? Lots of that on Amazon. The Far East makes lots of things like this that are high dollar.

It can change from one day to the next. I bought a couple of K&N air filters on Amazon and they were identical to those I bought from Van's and from ACS, but even ordering from the same company could get you a counterfeit at a later date, unfortunately.
 
The link shows that the K&N filter is sold by Amazon not a 3rd party. Amazon is as likely to sell a counterfeit K&N part as ACS.

For many products, Amazon is known to commingle inventory with other sellers, so even if it's "Sold By Amazon" it could be coming from the same bin that feeds "Joe's Discount Almost Airplane Parts" store.
 
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choose your partners

All things being equal, or even close, I'd much rather buy from Vans, the OEM, or at least from ACS. I'm in the ecomm automation business, I see what AMZ does to other companies, other retailers, etc.
 
I don’t think ACS stock much anymore. They are basically a procurement company, like Amazon, but on a very tiny scale. Almost all of the orders I’ve had with Spruce over the last year (I’m building, so weekly) come from as many as 3 different places, no matter what basic stuff I order. I have also found some of the same stuff on Amazon for a lot les$.

Spruce does ship from any of their warehouses.

In fact, they have been stocking more and more over the last year since the supply side of things has become ever more unreliable. I can't speak for the pricing but I know from first-hand conversations that the company is investing heavily in warehouse capabilities and stock to help smooth things out.
 
All things being equal, or even close, I'd much rather buy from Vans, the OEM, or at least from ACS. I'm in the ecomm automation business, I see what AMZ does to other companies, other retailers, etc.
I agree completely and do try my best. Sadly some of the stores are so behind in this process that it makes it much harder to stay loyal to them. I have tried Home Depot on-line order multiple times and they failed miserably.

For airplane stuff, VANS is my number one source if they have it.
 
on the other side. I was looking for some 1/8 aluminum plate. Even with shipping ACS was the cheapest I could find (counting the local metal supplier).
 
All things being equal…rather buy from Vans…

Me too! But in this instance… $46.99(Amz) vs $60(vans) vs $84.75(acs)….well, my loyalty only goes so far. And then there’s the shipping. I can get free shipping from Amazon, where as I have been raped by the other two on occasion.

Obviously one needs to use discretion… There is definitely some counterfeit business on Amazon… But in this particular case, the K&N filter is the real deal.
 
For many products, Amazon is known to commingle inventory with other sellers, so even if it's "Sold By Amazon" it could be coming from the same bin that feeds "Joe's Discount Almost Airplane Parts" store.


Fuel pumps used to be a huge problem from amazon. You search for a Bosch 044 pump and there's dozens of people selling them. Since they're all "sold and shipped from amazon" it means they're all in the same bin in the warehouse. The actual OEM parts are thrown in the same bucket with the chinese knockoff units and its random chance if you get a good one or a fake. I believe it's a little different if amazon lists it as "sold and shipped from XXX", because then Amazon is just processing the payment, but the actual supplier is physically handling the product. If you're looking for anything on Amazon that is sold by multiple suppliers but stocked in an Amazon warehouse, just make the assumption that the one you're going to receive is the cheapest chinese version of that product available.
 
Aircraft Spruce is always seeking to provide competitive pricing on all products. With regards to the K&N filter mentioned in this thread, we have recently received a significant cost increase above what some general consumer stores are providing as a retail price. That is why our price is currently much higher on this item than some stores mentioned here. We are working with the supplier to address our most recent cost increases on this line so that we can compete with all retailers.

In addition, our goal at Aircraft Spruce is always 1 shipment, complete from the closest warehouse to the customer and we will continue to always work hard towards that goal. Our inventory has grown every year since our founding in 1965, and it has grown significantly in the last 2-3 years. We have opened warehouses across the country with the goal of getting products to our customers as fast as possible. While it is not possible to always have every product in all warehouses, we do try to keep our fast movers in every location. Please know that we are not a “procurement company” or a “marketplace” that does not hold stock. All shipments from our website that are showing In Stock will be picked, packed, and shipped by Aircraft Spruce, not a 3rd party. If the stock at the time of order is not all at one warehouse, we will choose the most efficient split for shipments to get our customers the stock quickly, rather than waiting for every item to get to one warehouse. We appreciate our customers' support and we look forward to continuing to serve the experimental aircraft market for years to come.
 
Thanks to ACS for the explanation of their business practice. I like going out to our local store because I get superior service that I don't get from online market places.

I especially like being able to walk up to the counter, toss down a screw with a stripped head and say: "I need 25 of these." I don't need to know what the AN or MS number is. You just can't get that from Bezos' store.

So if I pay a little more for some parts I consider it money well-spent.

-Marc
 
on the other side. I was looking for some 1/8 aluminum plate. Even with shipping ACS was the cheapest I could find (counting the local metal supplier).

I am always surprised by that too. Sometimes other on line stores like metaldepot have ACS beat but frequently they don’t and in either case the local stores I have tried in north texas never seam to be price competitive even including shipping which can be pretty steep for large metal pieces. I always wondered why that is.

Oliver
p.s. I know ACS has a store in the Dallas metroplex but I have yet to find an aluminum part they have in stock there and don’t need to ship at my cost from somewhere else. So I don’t consider them local… .
 
Just purchased new ELT replacement battery for my RV condition inspection through Amazon.

When I purchased my ELT three years ago from ACS the battery was already two years old! 2/5 of its life gone by sitting on an ACS self.

Received my replacement ELT battery today. It has 4 years and eleven months remaining of its five year shelf life. Much better than the original purchase through ACS.
 
Recently bought the K&N E3450 filter from Amazon, 6 days to Australia, Christ wish our corrupt postal system was that quick!
Anyway that aside it seems a bit small? It’s for my IO360 A1A, is there a slightly larger version??
 
ACS Price Match

We (Base Leg Aviation) purchase a lot of E-3450 air filters from Aircraft Spruce east. When the price jumped to $76 earlier this year. I sent an email to them pointing out that multiple vendors were charging $49 for the same product. I got an email back saying they would look into the pricing. No change. Now it looks like they've increased the price to 84.75.

ACS does have a price match policy. Has anyone tried to use it?
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/terms.html#prPriceMatch

"PRICE MATCH POLICY: WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!
Aircraft Spruce works hard to bring you the lowest prices on every product we carry. If you have found a better price for an item at another authorized dealer, we will do everything possible to beat that price. Our Lowest Price Guaranteed is only applicable to identical conditions of sale. The item must be in stock at the other authorized dealer (not a floor sample, open box item, refurbished or demo piece). This offer applies to new purchases only. Shipping price may be factored into price match consideration, ie free shipping may not apply to price match if competitor offer does not include free shipping."
 
ACS filter

All this said, here’s my 2 cents
I think there’s no one better than ACS, they get you your order as best they can.
I just put in a $1000 + order and everything came to me within 5 days ( weekend in the middle of it) from 4 different ACS stores. That’s pretty amazing how hard they work to get parts to you asap.
Where can you get a catalog like there’s for all your aircraft building/ maintenance needs.
You can always find a single part here and there cheaper if you really want to work at shopping for it.
Go buy your K&N from VANS they are not cheaper either.
 
Spruce has been good to me

I can't really complain about Aircraft Spruce. Their customer support was great when I bought an ELT but forgot to specify the right kind of programming. They took it back, programmed it for free, and got it back to me very quickly. Usually their prices are OK, but sometimes there is a one-off item that costs like 2X what it should for no discernible reason. Otherwise, I usually go there (or Vans) by default. Their shipping costs kind of bug me, but what helps there is pooling orders with other local builders. $3 to ship a $0.10 nut sucks, but if you wait and fill up your cart over the course of two weeks and get two other builders to add their needs to your cart, then $10 to ship $200 worth of stuff doesn't seem so bad.

I would never buy anything for my airplane from Amazon, unless it was purely cosmetic, and I was OK with it failing while in flight at night with 45 minutes of fuel left. You never know what you're going to get there and they have a major problem with knockoffs and counterfeit goods. I tried once buying a PC680 battery from them because they were slightly cheaper and ended up regretting it. Never again.
 
I would never buy anything for my airplane from Amazon, unless it was purely cosmetic, and I was OK with it failing while in flight at night with 45 minutes of fuel left. You never know what you're going to get there and they have a major problem with knockoffs and counterfeit goods.

Agree completely
I don’t even buy stuff for my lawn tractor from Amazon any more. There is so much bait and switch, counterfeit, and just plane cheap parts that it is not worth my time to sort through all the choices to investigate which may be real.
Reputable dealers sell reputable parts.
 
I Don't Get it?

----Personally, I am very grateful that Aircraft Spruce is there, and supporting us all. Their business is very costly to operate considering the vast array of items they stock that sell for next to nothing. This service is provided to all of us and saves us all a considerable amount of money not to mention countless hours of searching for things no other business wants to carry. They offer this convenience, and knowledgeable people to help solve our problems as well. All of our lives in the aviation community would be considerably more difficult if not for Aircraft Spruce. I am more than willing to pay a bit more for some of the high-volume items to help them cover costs and assure they will be there for us all. Attempting to micro price manage is a sure way to eventually assure they won't be there one day in the future. Sort of like what happened to the local hardware stores when the home depots & Lowes took away most high-volume items from them. Amazon and China don't give a **** about you or your airplane! WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT! :(:(:mad::eek: Thanks, Allan
 
Fuel pumps used to be a huge problem from amazon. You search for a Bosch 044 pump and there's dozens of people selling them. Since they're all "sold and shipped from amazon" it means they're all in the same bin in the warehouse. The actual OEM parts are thrown in the same bucket with the chinese knockoff units and its random chance if you get a good one or a fake. I believe it's a little different if amazon lists it as "sold and shipped from XXX", because then Amazon is just processing the payment, but the actual supplier is physically handling the product. If you're looking for anything on Amazon that is sold by multiple suppliers but stocked in an Amazon warehouse, just make the assumption that the one you're going to receive is the cheapest chinese version of that product available.

The statement here on comingled inventory at amazon is false for 3rd party sellers. If it says sold by "x" and shipped by amazon you will receive inventory from that seller. If it states sold by amazon and shipped by amazon then the supplier is vending to amazon and also not comingled. Most often it is sold by amazon the manufacturer is vending to amazon. Of course none of this applies to warehouse deals and other non-new purchases.

I make my living on amazon.
 
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