It’s 2019. The world of eCommerce is judged by the Amazon Effect; everyone expects free, fast delivery, and products at rock-bottom prices. The days of seeing stuff on an infomercial and waiting 4-6 weeks for delivery are long gone. Thank goodness!
Amazon has transformed buying on the internet and sets the standard for everyone else. We’ll talk in another post about the pros and cons about selling on Amazon (and why we left), but for now, we’d like to talk about (cue dramatic music) The Attack of the Clones.
Clones are all over Amazon. Until 2018, the world of Tesla was a relatively small community, and didn’t attract a ton of attention. Then came the Model 3, and the secret was out; Tesla wasn’t just a luxury, out-of-reach brand, it had gone mainstream. To top that off, the Model 3 is rich with opportunity for customization and accessorizing.
The thing about the clones is they’re always cheap. If you’re looking for a bargain, buy one of them. It might be great. It might be awful. Just searching for 9H Model 3 turns up lots of options that are half the price of our 9H screen protectors, so, what’s the difference?
Well first, look at the company names. There’s gems like LMZX, SUMK, LFOTPP, NANW. Not exactly household names. Not that Abstract Ocean makes a lot of sense in the context of selling Tesla accessories, but we’ve been around for six years, have owned three Tesla’s (and a PowerWall and Oh! We will own a Roadster, dammit), and we actually care about the community as a whole – despite our interesting name.
Then let’s look at the support.
Here’s a screenshot from one of the installation videos.
Either Tesla stepped back a decade with their interior design aesthetic, or that’s not a Tesla interior. Our install video is, of course, made in a Model 3 (we have videos for S & X as well), and that’s important; there’s very specific tips that will make the installation process a lot easier.
Now to the quality of the product.
They’re not all created equal. From the ones we've tested, the hardness of the screen varies between 3H and 7H. Luckily, at least two of the protectors on sale appear to be missile proof. We’ve not tested ours to see if it provides protection from a rocket attack, but honestly, probably not. We have tested it to ensure that the clarity and functionality of the screen is not compromised, that it’s a great fit, and easy to install.
We're not saying that our stuff is amazing, and everything else is rubbish. There's a vibrant community of Tesla after-market providers from around the globe. But no matter how the world changes, to some extent, you still get what you pay for - the product, the service, and the on-going support.
