Frequently Asked Questions

What's with the Redpants name?

Check out my About page. I explained it there for your reading enjoymnet.

Where are you located?

I’m based in Yokohama, Japan, but my main warehousing is in the Seattle, USA, area and I have suppliers and distributors located across the US as well as in Japan, Canada, England, Germany, and Poland. I also travel quite a bit for events, so don’t be surprised if I turn up in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, or elsewhere.

How do you run Redpants if you’re all over the place?

I spent an awful, awful amount of time and money overhauling the Redpants website as well as Redpants as a business over the course of a year and a half so that I could work remotely. Shipping is handled by my own shippers as well as distributors, and they ship directly to my customers. This allowed me to live and work anywhere I can have my computer and the internet, and actually resulted in lower prices on many (most?) of the things I sell. It also means order shipments won’t be delayed when I’m traveling. So, it’s a win-win for my customers.

Unfortunately it means that some of the things I sell are now region-restricted as my distributors may not ship internationally, but that only affects a few of the brands I sell with about 10% of my customer base (sincere apologies to those of you affected, though - it’s not something I took lightly). The other downside is that I took a seriously massive pay cut - but hey, what’s the price of freedom?

What do the stock level notices mean in the Online Store?

Many of the products in my Online Store have inventory levels that are monitored and maintained. Meaning, I know how many I have on the shelf and restock them as needed. Some are not monitored, either because they're made-to-order or because they're shipped by suppliers or distributors and I don't have access to their inventory counts.

In Stock: I currently have the item on my own shelves but may not have more inventory available if my currentt stock sells out, or it ships from one of my suppliers or distributors and I reasonably expect it to be in stock on their shelves, or the item is built-to-order and is available to order (BC Forged wheels, for example).

Note: It's possible that something listed as "In Stock" became unavailable from a supplier or distributor before I was notified, which can result in it being delayed from shipping.

In Stock (can be backordered): I keep the item on my own shelves and I currently have it in stock. I regularly restock the item, but if it does sell out before I get more, I reasonably expect it to be restocked within a week or two.

Available on backorder: I usually keep the item in stock on my own shelves but have sold out of all my inventory. I have more stock incoming and expect to receive it in a reasonable amount of time.

Note: Orders that include items listed as being available on backorder will ship when the backordered items have arrived.

Sold Out: The item is not in stock and cannot be backordered. I expect it to become available sometime in the future but don't know when, so I won't accept orders for it until I have an availability date.

Why are things missing from my order?

First thing's first, double and triple check the packaging. I get a couple emails a month from people saying that items were missing from their order, only for them to check again and find it was actually in the box all along. So, please thoroughly check the packaging material if you think something is missing that should be included.

The other thing is that some items ship separately, be it for packaging reasons or because they're coming from different suppliers. It's very possible that you'll get a second (or even third or fourth) shipment before your order has been completely fulfilled. When I add tracking information to an order on my e-commerce system, I have the option of marking the order as Completed. I only do this once all items have shipped, so if you get a tracking number in an automated email and it doesn’t say “Completed” for the order, then you have at least one more shipment yet to go out.

Why do you repackage the Aston Martin parts you sell?

Aston Martin doesn't package most items for consumers. Things like filters, thermostats, bolts, O-rings, etc, etc, are either in flimsy boxes or loose bags. Many parts aren't packaged at all. Why? Because only Aston's parts and service personnel were ever meant to see them. Mechanics want parts to be in working order and ready to install. They don't want to mess around with nice-looking packaging or anything else. They've got work to do. So I take the time to go through all the loose items that I order in bulk and package them individually for my customers. This makes them easier for me to keep sorted in my inventory, protects them in shipment from me to you, and helps you guys to identify each item when you receive them.

Are the OEM items actually from Aston Martin?

Everything listed as an Aston Martin part is brand new and OEM from Aston Martin. If I sell something meant to replace an Aston Martin part (such as oil bypass filter cover plate bolts for the 4.3L V8 engines, which I include in my oil change packages), I will state that they are non-OEM in the product description. I also sell things for Aston Martins that are the exact same part but I source them from other manufacturers, like Jaguar. In these situations, I'll list it as an OEM item from the source I got it from (in this example, it'd be along the lines of "this part for your Aston Martin is an OEM item from Jaguar" or something like that). I have a tendency to err on the side of over-clarification, but if you still have concerns about anything listed, please ask!

Are the parts sold by Redpants new or used?

The products I sell are brand new, unless stated otherwise. I do have used items for sale on rare occasions, but those will clearly be marked as such. I sometimes show pictures of used parts in product listings for new items. This is because I actually use most of the parts I sell. I test them on my own car, I beat them up, and I get the information I need to help you guys make informed decisions. The pictures show the parts in use, but all the parts and products I sell are brand new unless they specifically state otherwise.

How long does shipping take?

For most things, it takes 3-7 days for an order to be delivered to the customer from the time it was placed. For non-routine stuff, delivery time can be a few days to a few weeks.

Unfortunately, shipping times can only be estimated and cannot be guaranteed. Shipping times can vary substantially depending on where the customer is located, where the parts are shipping from, and whether or not the shipment gets stopped or otherwise delayed. If an item is in stock and ready to ship, a customer may have it in couple days, or they may receive it in a week or two. If customs in the originating country or in the destination country hold or reject the shipment, that can further delay delivery. We do everything we can to ensure shipments go smoothly, but disruptions and delays can and do happen.

Are import duties included in shipping costs?

No. Any extra charges for import duties or taxes are due directly to the shipping company. There are far too many variables and inconsistencies for Redpants to be able to accurately predict how much these will cost, or if there will be a charge at all for them, and Redpants is not involved with them whatsoever - they’re charged by the shipping company directly to the receiver of the delivery (the customer). I cannot change or affect the costs of these duties - those are controlled by the government in the customer's country.

Do you offer discounts?

Very rarely. Sometimes I'll find a random reason to put on a sale or offer a discount code for a limited time, but it really doesn't happen often.

I spend an absolutely massive amount of time helping people via email and personal messages, and even really long phone calls, plus researching topics to provide in-depth information, creating DIY guides, and developing new parts to improve the Aston Martin ownership experience. That leaves me little time or energy to haggle prices.

The sales from my Online store fund the work I put into my YouTube videos and DIY guides that show you guys how to work on your cars, and those save you far, far more money than a discount code ever would!

What about returns, refunds, customs/import duties, and other stuff like that?

Please read the Terms and Conditions page. It will answer more questions, plus it applies to all orders and interactions so it's worth reading.

Why haven’t you answered my email?

There are a few reasons this may have happened:

1) I didn’t get the email. I can’t answer emails I never received. Make sure you’re sending it to rich@redpants.lol (not .com or any other email address or spelling). This can and does happen when people email me directly rather than using the Contact page.

2) I was given an email address I couldn’t reply to. If I don’t have a valid email address, or the correct email address, I can’t reply to your email. This can and does happen when people use the Contact page.

3) It’s about something I can’t or won’t be able to help with. This is usually the case when someone asks me to help them with something they bought from someone else. I’ll save this rant for another day but if you bought a product from someone else, I can’t and won’t get involved with it.

4) I’m way behind and haven’t gotten to it yet, or I completely missed it. This is when I feel really bad about not answering but it does happen. If I haven’t answered within a day or two, please feel free to send another email.

5) It was a message sent on social media. I really don’t like social media and spend little time on it. I do check in with some Aston Martin groups to help out where I can, but otherwise I only use Facebook to keep in touch with a few close friends. Otherwise, I very rarely check notifications or messages on it.

6) Plot twist! I did answer it but you didn’t see it for some reason. This happens every once in a while, too.

Will you help me with something I bought from another vendor?

No. I'm too busy helping my own customers.

Do you accept PayPal?

No. PayPal does not provide adequate protection against fraud and, as a business, I cannot afford to lose as much money as I have through PayPal without protection.

Why are you banned from 6speedonline?

I was a sponsor of that forum for a few years. Eventually my credit card they had on file for automatic payments expired. Spending a couple hundred dollars a month to sponsor a forum I almost never get on wasn't much of a priority so I didn't give them a new card to keep charging. Unpaid accounts automatically revert to "banned" to lock the account and force payment, but again I almost never get on forums anymore so I didn't bother.

The fact that I was listed as “banned" rather than being listed as a former vendor, to me, was extremely inappropriate and I decided I would no longer sponsor a forum (read: pay a company) that would use underhanded tactics like that to force renewals. So if/when I get back on forums, it won't be that one unless they make it worth my while.

What mods should I do to my car?

I hate giving a canned answer to this question so the answer usually isn’t straight-forward. I often tell people to address the basics first… Fix or change what’s bothering you. Not fast enough? Add power. Doesn’t ride well? Change the tires and suspension. Hate the brake dust? Swap out the pads. I talk to people regularly about modifying their cars, and the way I prefer to do it is to ask questions and then offer suggestions based on that person’s own answers. Not sure what to do? There’s tons of reading material on Redpants and I’m happy to help as well if you email me.

Who makes your private-label Redpants products?

I work with a variety of manufacturers in the United States, Canada, and England to produce the parts I sell under my own Redpants label. I choose manufacturers based on a number of requirements, such as capability, availability, and quality. I may stop offering a Redpants product if any of these factors change.