Their parts are worth the wait and they tell you they are a two person company just like you said. I have a lot of their stuff and I plan on the wait for the quality I get. They are up front, so if you can't deal with that then don't knock them. Their regular customers stick with them.

Jim

 

FYI - A/C is just not doing MINI accessories for NAM members. Check out their web site gallery sometime. MINI's are just one manufacturer of many they make custom parts for. And like a good company, they attend our MINI events and most times work on selling and installing their graphics on site during these events. To me that says a lot of good things about them.

And as previously stated, they are worth the wait.....so if one orders with that in mind then no worries right ?

Hang in there.

 

They ship their vinyl graphics quickly. Its the custom molded plastic parts that they have the problem with. I ordered some parts on June 11th. On June 17th I got an email saying that the parts would ship in 3 to 5 weeks. OK cool. On July 28th I sent them an email asking when I would receive my order. They did respond the next day letting me know that I will get my order sometime this month. Still waiting but hopeful I get something this month.

My problem is that I paid for something on June 11th. Its 2 months later and I have nothing. Now if they charged my cc me when it shipped...that would be a different story.

EDIT - Finally received the newer slip on, no tape version door handles in late October. I was never in a rush and the look like nice quality parts.

-Steve

 

Found this thread and thought I would check out their website for products & services, even though they seem to be very slow in filling orders... Their website does not resolve, which is a bad sign...

 

The major issue I have is saying your a two person company, and randomly changing the wait time on the website without providing any updates to current order holders doesn't equate to good customer service. If you are going to use the Internet to have an ecommerce site instead of your brick and mortar store, communication is key in providing a successful transaction. Aesthetic Creations fails miserably at this, regardless of how good the product is or is not.

 

I'm very disappointed with Aesthetic Creations. I placed my orders on June 15 after exchanging emails and calls with Mike the owner. As I mentioned earlier, I broke my order in two and paid extra for the double shipping since I knew they were slow and I didn't want one out-of-stock item to hold up everything. As previously reported, I received the first part of my order about 10 days later.

Paypal does not allow you to file a grievance or dispute a transaction after 45 days. In other words, if you haven't received what you paid for within 45 days, your money might be gone forever and you have no recourse.

So 42 days after I placed my order and hadn't received it, I sent Mike an email to follow up and let him know that I was going to file a Paypal dispute in order to reserve my rights if I didn't hear from him. I explained that I wasn't in a rush, I didn't want a refund, I wanted the roof graphic, but I was just trying to comply with Paypal's policy. He called me, said he'd been busy, I was number 10 in line, and he'd ship my graphic within a week. His wife Hannah sent an email, explained they were on vacation, and promised to ship within a week.

More than two weeks later, when I wrote to politely follow up on their promises, they cancelled my order without notice. When I wrote to ask what happened, Hannah wrote back, "I did close the dispute this morning. It has been awhile and Mike is at an event this week. In the future if you would like to order from us please make sure with Mike that he will be able to ship it within 2 weeks prior to the order." Ya right. After being strung along like that all summer I'm going to order there again?

I waited (and baked) all summer for a sunroof graphic that never came :(

I finally sent an email to Cooper Flags to ask about their graphics and got a call and responsive email within 24 hours. I placed my order there and will leave positive vender feedback when it is received.

 

They attend a lot of events. They have a facebook account as well. They may well be attending MTTS 2010 right now as Denver CO is not that far a drive from Surprise, AZ. They say to allow a certain time for orders .... and so far they have been within that time for myself.

Over the past several years a lot of graphic competitors have come on-line so you now have many choices where to spend your money. Graphics install is not for everyone .... so their being out in the community with their products is probably the best business practice for them .... and MINI owners.

Bob

 

All fine and well, except that there is a FTC law which states that mail-order companies must deliver product to pre-paid customers within 30 days of the receipt of the order & payment -or- issue a refund...

Just another entrepreneur who has a talent for producing products that customers want, but have zero business acumen... C'est la vie...

 

...there site is non-existant ...looks like someone forgot to pay the fees to continue to host their site.

I'd love to get a pair of the molded door handle covers, ...and don't understand why it would take 2 months for them to send them to me. ...anyway until they have a website it's a mute point.

 

Sounds to me like you caused this to happen when you filed the dispute.

Jim

 

Perhaps, but if you look at their vendor reviews, somebody else paid even more than I and never got anything!

If I hadn't preserved my rights, I might be out $128 AND a roof graphic. At least I got my money back to spend elsewhere after they held it for 2 months. :(

 

There was nothing in that review that said the individual will not get the product, only that he had waited two months. I waited four for mine, but I knew the holidays were mixed in there. He does not have a stock pile of products in a warehouse, like some companies. He makes them as ordered and I like that, but not everyone does. If you are in a hurry, like most folks today, then AC is not for you. If you want quality, then wait it out. Simple as that.

Jim

 

Just ordered several parts from them the other day.

If you email hannah@aestheticreations.net and address Hannah, you get a much faster response. My average time was about ten minutes.

She's very up-front about the expected weight time for various parts, and has no problem answering a plethora of questions.

 

I don't normally publicly bash vendors, but I was extremely disappointed with both their service and product.

I purchased stripes for my previous MINI which were not shipped until I inquired about them 3 weeks after placing the order. Mike said he was really busy and forgot. I was also told by Mike the vinyl used was superior in quality to the factory stripes.

When I finally did get them, the vinyl was very thin, stretched way too easily, and discolored as it stretched while being applied. The person who installed my stripes installs the factory stripes for my local dealer. He pulled out some factory stripes for comparison. Side by side it was quite evident the AC stripes were just inferior.

In fairness, I never went back to complain to AC. It just wasn't worth the time for the $50 I spent, plus all the hassle I went through already. But hopefully this helps someone else on the fence about them.

 

That is odd. The roof graffic and stripes I got from AC were much better quality then OEM. His vinyl breathes and I had to tell the person doing my install anbout that. Once I did it went very well. Vinyl is not vinyl and installers are not always aware of what they have to work with. Perhaps you were not aware either.

Jim

 

I got my black out door handles two days ago and just installed them. The fit was perfect. I did not need the black out tape that was sent in case of some chrome showing at the edge. AC makes some really great stuff. Just order, sit back and wait. It is worth it.

jim

 

Congrats Jim. Mine was a slight of the chrome showing but the tape did work. Great quality and I've had mine on now for about 4 months now.

 

I inquired about purchasing door handle covers, -was told there was a 4 month wait. So decided to paint them, (in process of painting them now).

Not sure why it takes 4 months, I understand demand, but then seems like they should change their process -i.e. mass produce these parts rather than make them one order at a time. ...Seems like a great business opportunity if a competitor was interested in mass producing these parts.

 

I received my parts, and I am fairly content. Door handles, gas cap, and emblems fit right on. The head light rims took a little bit of work, had to get some cement glue to feel comfortable with the fit.

 

If making these molded parts was very profitable or easy Aesthetic would have lots of competition, but they do not.


I don't like the wait but every time I order I have received great product.

 

Here is my experience with Aesthetic Creations. On April 9 I placed an order for the full blackout kit (headlight rings, tail light rings, door handles, gas cap, emblems, and beltline blackout) as well as side scuttle black out, emblem decal set, and bonnet stripes that extend to the bumper. I believe the wait listed at the time was about 6 to 8 weeks, but I knew it would likely be longer having read numerous reviews on NAM before ordering. I received almost everything on August 14, along with a note explaining that the emblem decal set, side scuttle black out, and beltline blackout would be coming separately because Mike was out of town doing MINIS In the Mountains and MINI Takes The States and took the stock with him.

While I can't say that return e-mails were lightning quick, Mike always picked up the phone and gave me the status of my order when I called. For me, that means a lot. He was also always courteous over the phone, which was a nice thing as well. Honestly, the completion estimates he provided on his website and over the phone were a little overly optimistic since the finishing dates that he gave were never kept, but he would tell me the things that had been done and what was still left to do. I was happy in the knowledge that things were getting done, and I knew I would get everything eventually. Even though it took four months to complete, and even now I don't have everything yet, I can't say it was all that unexpected and I feel it was worth the wait.

The headlight rings are great. As far as I can tell, it looks like he took an OE ring and made it flat black so they both fit perfect. Installation of the gas cap, tail light rings, and door handles (along with a bit of the black tape) were easy. I'm waiting to apply the stripes and the emblems until I have everything else done since I almost feel the car would look funky if I didn't. With any luck, the missing items will come in sometime soon.

If I had to make one or two gripes, I would say I wish he had used red 3M tape rather then white, and I wish that he had provided a bit more black tape. If you look closely (and I mean really closely) you can see a bit of chrome showing on the corner of one of the tail light rings and I wish I had a little more wiggle room in the placement. There is also a bit on the gas cap, but you can only see that when it's open. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed. It's only too bad they've stopped providing the headlight and tail light rings (not to mention the gloss coat and prep to paint).

I know the wait is an awful pain, but I feel that sometimes it only makes it that much sweeter when you finally get the thing you were waiting for. I can understand that some people would want to dispute, and I respect that, but in my case I knew it would get here when it was ready and I'd be happy. Would you be happier with Lyle's? Well... I don't know I went with AC . All I can say that I'm happy with what I have. Anyway, those are my two cents take it or leave it

 

I have no beef w/ AC's. Never ordered from them, ...I have used Lyle with excellent results and lightening quick turnaround. -He wrapped my side scuttles in 3M Carbon Fiber ...entire order took about 2 weeks to fullfil.

 

Sometimes you just have to pick up the phone and call them. That happened today for an unrelated vinyl graphics order. Mike spent about 15 minutes with me on the phone and while we were chatting I asked him about the status of my molded plastic parts order.

I have said this many times before. Sometimes you just need to pick up the phone. The MINI community is small. The person on the other end of the line is probably a MINI enthusiast too that likes to TALK to his customers.

No one really LIKES email.

Hopefully I will have my molded parts order at the end of this month.

 

After waiting more than two months to only have my order cancelled by AC, I contacted Cooper Flags. I received a quick response and so threw the dice and placed an order.

Less than two weeks later, I received a beautiful solid vinyl union jack for my 2010 Clubman's sunroof. I had requested that Mr. Bowers adjust the color so that the white wouldn't clash with my pepper white MINI. Beautiful job! The whites are very close and the graphic looks better than stock.

After having been strung along for the whole summer by AC, I was too impatient to wait for a professional install. So, in the drive way, at night after work, following all of his instructions, using the squeegee he provided, sweating in 90 degree weather, 45 minutes later - it looks great.


I made a couple tiny wrinkles near the end of the first decal, but the second came out flawless. The high quality 3M vinyl is thick and installed easily (considering it was my first time)! If you're a perfectionist, have someone else install it. If you take pride in doing things yourself, try it. My three tiny wrinkles are not noticeable unless you lean over the roof and look for them.

The graphic looks especially nice from inside - kind of a darker stained glass effect. Very classy. Highly recommend.