Badge Replacement

[Celena Fazio]

I would like to take a minute to talk to you all about my experience replacing my badge. When I bought my Kia Stinger, I thought the original Kia badge never fit my style. This car just seems worth so much more than the Kia badge it is stamped with. So my first search was to find the alternative “K” badge. I came across the one on Kia Stinger Store on this forum. It stated it was on sale for $29.99, I assumed because the car was new and just out it was not yet in high demand, ( my reasoning for the sale price.) My badge arrived (not exactly what I was expecting) and after a month, my badge started to peel up and basically overall fall apart. So I took to the internet and typed up a nasty email of my dissatisfaction and utter embarrassment for putting junk on my 45k dollar car. I got an email very shortly after with a direct phone number to call. I spoke with David the owner of K5 Optima Store and he was baffled as to why he couldn’t find me in his system for ordering. It turns out, I was angry AT THE WRONG PERSON. I bought from this Kia stinger store and K5 Optima was not the seller. The owner of K5 Optima sells high quality products, you will not find David’s product for a low “sale” price because it is the real deal. I just put a $29.99 junk sticker on my brand new vehicle. I highly recommend going to K5OptimaStore.com and getting the real deal badge from him. I did later find out that the owner from this Stinger store stated that the cheap badge sold to me was from China and not South Korea. (Even though it’s listed from South Korea). Please learn from my mistake. Be kind to people, have a good day.

 

[Stinger305]

It sounds like you're talking about the original KLexus badges?

I've had nothing but great experiences ordering from Sal's store: The Kia Stinger Store

His badges are competitively priced, he ships immediately, and it helps support the forum. I did buy a couple things elsewhere because he doesn't have it all, like the alloy pedals. I'd always recommend people comparison shop to get the best deals too.

Thanks for your feedback, though. If a certain badge is cheaply made, it's good to warn the community. I personally stick to OEM parts to avoid those issues.

 

[K8 Stinger Store]

Thank you for this post and we apologize for your bad experience.

We have actually been contacted several times over the last couple of months by customers who had made a purchase through the “Stinger Store” and got confused and thought it was through our company, the “K8 Stinger Store” This is exactly what happened in this case, and it is happened a few times in the past as well.

I believe it can be a bit confusing that the “Kia Stinger Store” name is so similar to our company name the “K8 Stinger Store” I think it would have been a better idea to try and use a slightly different name than one that is so similar to ours. That would definitely help to prevent some of the confusion between the two stores.

As the North American Distributor of the Authentic South Korean 3.0 K emblems, we do hold a contract with the manufacturer of the original product to handle distribution in all of North America for this product. We currently sell to over 36 different Kia dealerships throughout the United States and Canada that distribute our emblems to their Kia customers. It is difficult for us to have customers reach out to us about purchasing emblems from another source, and discovering that the quality of them is not up to par with their vehicle and with what they thought they were receiving.

Many times customers and members of the forum alike, assume that all of the 3.0 K emblems are the same low-quality, just because the emblems that they purchased and received are a lower quality replica version of the authentic product we sell, which is manufactured in South Korea. Just like the very popular “E” logos that we also sell that many of you use, those are manufactured in South Korea as well, but we are already starting to see replicas being manufactured in China in much lower quality. There will always be replicas and copies of the original version made overseas in China when there is a popular product on the market. We see this happen, unfortunately, with multiple products that we sell on our website

While the K8 Stinger Store is a relatively new company, since the vehicle platform just came out recently, the K5 Optima Store has been in business for nearly 6 years now distributing these emblems and many other products to the KDM community, and you can see that we have nearly 1,000 5-Star reviews on our website from real verified customers that have purchased just this particular style of emblem from us.

(See those reviews on our K5 Optima Store site here)

The authentic S. Korean 3.0K Emblems that we sell are offered in 5 different colors options and two different styles, both in the “Chrome Edition” and “Black Edition” styles. You can see both of the different versions and different color options on our website below:

Kia Stinger 3.0 K Emblem Sets “Chrome Edition”

Kia Stinger 3.0 K Emblem Sets “Black Edition”

In closing, we truly strive to provide quality products to the community and would not continue to sell or distribute a product that was low quality or had multiple complaints. We stand behind the products we sell with a solid warranty and top-notch customer service. Therefore, if any of our customers ever have any issues with this product or any other products that we carry, please feel free to reach out to us through the numerous channels we have available, and we will definitely get you taken care of.

-David
K8 Stinger Store
K5 Optima Store

 

[Kia Stinger]

I think you're right, @K8 Stinger Store, I'm going to switch things to "Kia Stinger dot com" rather than "Stinger Store" to avoid confusion. And perhaps "Stinger Shop" or something similar for the link in the navigation bar up top.

As for Ms. Fazio, I think she'd be best served with a heavier, more metal-feeling badge than the plastic version that I believe is what most people use. I've sampled a few different types experimenting via eBay and they all "feel" cheap to me - except for the versions that are heavy and appear as if they're more metal than plastic. David, I do believe you stock both versions. Your lightweight, plastic version may be different than the others I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, there are only two or three companies that make them. Which version do you stock?

In any event, I apologize for the trouble, Ms. Fazio. I'm sure David at K8 Stinger Store will take good care of you...

 

[Celena Fazio]

Thank you for this post and we apologize for your bad experience.

We have actually been contacted several times over the last couple of months by customers who had made a purchase through the “Stinger Store” and got confused and thought it was through our company, the “K8 Stinger Store” This is exactly what happened in this case, and it is happened a few times in the past as well.

I believe it can be a bit confusing that the “Kia Stinger Store” name is so similar to our company name the “K8 Stinger Store” I think it would have been a better idea to try and use a slightly different name than one that is so similar to ours. That would definitely help to prevent some of the confusion between the two stores.

As the North American Distributor of the Authentic South Korean 3.0 K emblems, we do hold a contract with the manufacturer of the original product to handle distribution in all of North America for this product. We currently sell to over 36 different Kia dealerships throughout the United States and Canada that distribute our emblems to their Kia customers. It is difficult for us to have customers reach out to us about purchasing emblems from another source, and discovering that the quality of them is not up to par with their vehicle and with what they thought they were receiving.

Many times customers and members of the forum alike, assume that all of the 3.0 K emblems are the same low-quality, just because the emblems that they purchased and received are a lower quality replica version of the authentic product we sell, which is manufactured in South Korea. Just like the very popular “E” logos that we also sell that many of you use, those are manufactured in South Korea as well, but we are already starting to see replicas being manufactured in China in much lower quality. There will always be replicas and copies of the original version made overseas in China when there is a popular product on the market. We see this happen, unfortunately, with multiple products that we sell on our website

While the K8 Stinger Store is a relatively new company, since the vehicle platform just came out recently, the K5 Optima Store has been in business for nearly 6 years now distributing these emblems and many other products to the KDM community, and you can see that we have nearly 1,000 5-Star reviews on our website from real verified customers that have purchased just this particular style of emblem from us.

(See those reviews on our K5 Optima Store site here)

The authentic S. Korean 3.0K Emblems that we sell are offered in 5 different colors options and two different styles, both in the “Chrome Edition” and “Black Edition” styles. You can see both of the different versions and different color options on our website below:

Kia Stinger 3.0 K Emblem Sets “Chrome Edition”

Kia Stinger 3.0 K Emblem Sets “Black Edition”

In closing, we truly strive to provide quality products to the community and would not continue to sell or distribute a product that was low quality or had multiple complaints. We stand behind the products we sell with a solid warranty and top-notch customer service. Therefore, if any of our customers ever have any issues with this product or any other products that we carry, please feel free to reach out to us through the numerous channels we have available, and we will definitely get you taken care of.

-David
K8 Stinger Store
K5 Optima Store

Thank you so much David, this is definitely something the Stinger community needs to be informed about.

I think you're right, @K8 Stinger Store, I'm going to make a better effort and leaning more toward "Kia Stinger dot com" rather than "Stinger Store". And perhaps "Stinger Shop" or something similar for the link in the navigation bar up top.

As for Ms. Fazio, I think she'd be best served with a heavier, more metal-feeling badge than the plastic version that I believe is what most people use. I've sampled a few different types experimenting via eBay and they all "feel" cheap to me - except for the versions that are heavy and appear as if they're more metal than plastic. David, I do believe you stock both versions. Your lightweight, plastic version may be different than the others I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, there are only two or three companies that make them. Which version do you stock?

In any event, I apologize for the trouble, Ms. Fazio. I'm sure David at K8 Stinger Store will take good care of you...

No worries, The initial confusion with the companies I

I think you're right, @K8 Stinger Store, I'm going to make a better effort and leaning more toward "Kia Stinger dot com" rather than "Stinger Store". And perhaps "Stinger Shop" or something similar for the link in the navigation bar up top.

As for Ms. Fazio, I think she'd be best served with a heavier, more metal-feeling badge than the plastic version that I believe is what most people use. I've sampled a few different types experimenting via eBay and they all "feel" cheap to me - except for the versions that are heavy and appear as if they're more metal than plastic. David, I do believe you stock both versions. Your lightweight, plastic version may be different than the others I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, there are only two or three companies that make them. Which version do you stock?

In any event, I apologize for the trouble, Ms. Fazio. I'm sure David at K8 Stinger Store will take good care of you...

The initial company confusion was definitely frustrating but everything has been taken care of from both parties professionally. Thank you.

I think you're right, @K8 Stinger Store, I'm going to make a better effort and leaning more toward "Kia Stinger dot com" rather than "Stinger Store". And perhaps "Stinger Shop" or something similar for the link in the navigation bar up top.

As for Ms. Fazio, I think she'd be best served with a heavier, more metal-feeling badge than the plastic version that I believe is what most people use. I've sampled a few different types experimenting via eBay and they all "feel" cheap to me - except for the versions that are heavy and appear as if they're more metal than plastic. David, I do believe you stock both versions. Your lightweight, plastic version may be different than the others I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, there are only two or three companies that make them. Which version do you stock?

In any event, I apologize for the trouble, Ms. Fazio. I'm sure David at K8 Stinger Store will take good care of you...

The initial company confusion was definitely frustrating but everything has been taken care of from both parties professionally. Thank you.

 

[Kia Stinger]

The initial company confusion was definitely frustrating but everything has been taken care of from both parties professionally. Thank you.

Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Fazio - and I do apologize for the confusion. I've never met David before but we've had a few good conversations and I can tell he's an honest business man and takes good care of all his customers. I hope the new badges you receive are everything you expect...

 

[K8 Stinger Store]

I think you're right, @K8 Stinger Store, I'm going to switch things to "Kia Stinger dot com" rather than "Stinger Store" to avoid confusion. And perhaps "Stinger Shop" or something similar for the link in the navigation bar up top.

Thank you for your response, I think this would be a great idea to avoid confusion moving forward. I really appreciate you offering to do this, as I think it would be more beneficial for us and for the community to know the difference between the two stores.

As for Ms. Fazio, I think she'd be best served with a heavier, more metal-feeling badge than the plastic version that I believe is what most people use. I've sampled a few different types experimenting via eBay and they all "feel" cheap to me - except for the versions that are heavy and appear as if they're more metal than plastic. David, I do believe you stock both versions. Your lightweight, plastic version may be different than the others I've seen. If I'm not mistaken, there are only two or three companies that make them. Which version do you stock?

We actually carry both the "Black Edition" (100% FRP material, no chrome) as well as the "Chrome Edition" (Triple layered Chrome, base FRP, Copper Metal, and then Metal Chrome) The thing is, even though the metal K emblems you sell, appear to "look" the same from the outside, but it's how they are manufactured, and the material used in manufacturing them, that really set them apart from the ones we sell. We made a 6-minute video over 3 years ago, showing the difference between a properly triple plated emblem, and one that is not plated properly. In this video we take a piece of sandpaper and sand down the chrome on the emblems, to show underneath the chrome, where there is a layer of copper showing. You can see on the knockoff/replica emblems in our video, where the chrome flakes right off, exposing white plastic underneath, no metal copper. This is only one of the defects with the fake/replica style emblems being sold out of China, mimicking the authentic S.Korean emblems we sell.

Anyone interested in checking out the video, which has over 16,500 views, can see it here:

In any event, I apologize for the trouble, Ms. Fazio. I'm sure David at K8 Stinger Store will take good care of you...

Thank you for saying that Sal, we are going to get Ms Fazio taken care of with a 20% off discount on her emblem purchase.

Thank you so much David, this is definitely something the Stinger community needs to be informed about.

You're very welcome, it was nice talking with you last night, I will follow up to your email here shortly.

The initial company confusion was definitely frustrating but everything has been taken care of from both parties professionally. Thank you.

This is good to hear as well. Happy that Sal got you taken care of.

I've never met David before but we've had a few good conversations and I can tell he's an honest business man and takes good care of all his customers. I hope the new badges you receive are everything you expect...

Thank you for the kind words Sal! We will always stand behind the product we sell, and do our very best to make sure our customers are happy.

 

[bumble bee]

Celena, enjoy your emblem search. Post some pics of your car to. Thanks!

 

[Madman]

Just to add my $100 worth.
In November 2017 I bought the "black edition" badges in sea blue from the K8 Stinger store. They are, as advertised, plastic. I got the full kit which included wheel cap stickers (thin metal) and the steering wheel badge. With P&P etc it was about $100 AU.
Within about 2 months the paint was peeling off the wheel caps. I contacted David to advise and it looks like the cause was probably very mild (non acidic) mag wheel cleaner (reputable brand). David from K8 offered to replace them once I pulled them off and sent them back which is fair enough. I'd not bothered up to this point - life and everything. However about a month ago I noticed that the sea blue on the bonnet and hatch badges is starting to bubble. Its probably due to the spray polish I'm using (a very reputable brand). My disappointment is that the badges don't appear to have held up to what I consider ordinary use - motor vehicle use. Again, I'm sure David would've offered to exchange them but I don't want another set.

I've recently ordered and received the "vintage K rebadge kit" from Sal here on this forum plus a (what I think is a unique) set of sky blue vintage K badges (see the pic). These things are insanely heavy, appear to be very good quality and I'm glad I didn't drop one on my toe....(I actually did - &%$#). All up about $100.

I'll be fitting them soon (once I decide on the black chrome or the sky blue) and I'll keep you posted how they go.

 

[bumble bee]

Pretty sweer color Madman!

 

[Madman]

Pretty sweer color Madman!

Yeah I know right, my issue is that I'm kind of trying NOT to draw attention to the badges...these will stand out like dogs balls.

Maybe I'll pull the old badges off and put both options on, take photos and set up a poll as to which I should I should keep?

 

[bumble bee]

Dont keep the old ones on. Im pretty sure u can get back one black that n
says stinger. really cool. Then after that check out black one.

 

[Madman]

Dont keep the old ones on. Im pretty sure u can get back one black that n
says stinger. really cool. Then after that check out black one.

By old ones I meant the damaged "sea blue" ones. I have either the black chrome (see pic) or the above sky blue to choose from.

 

[Ozstung]

By old ones I meant the damaged "sea blue" ones. I have either the black chrome (see pic) or the above sky blue to choose from.

I'm not sure sky blue is going to complement the deep chroma blue car you have, the black and chrome might be better.

 

[Madman]

I'm not sure sky blue is going to complement the deep chroma blue car you have, the black and chrome might be better.

Tending to agree - but maybe not complimenting may be a new thing....will post some pics as soon as.

 

[StingerGT68]

By old ones I meant the damaged "sea blue" ones. I have either the black chrome (see pic) or the above sky blue to choose from.

Jesus Christ, did Loden have to put their name everywhere on that thing? Ridiculous.

 

[Brian Keenan]

Jesus Christ, did Loden have to put their name everywhere on that thing? Ridiculous.

It's bearly noticeable on the car. You don't see the one on the bottom and the one on the K is pretty small.

 

[NoVAGT2]

It's bearly noticeable on the car. You don't see the one on the bottom and the one on the K is pretty small.

Good to know, thanks! Seeing "Loden" in the store pics was a concern of mine.

Cheers

 

[Madman]

It's bearly noticeable on the car. You don't see the one on the bottom and the one on the K is pretty small.

I agree, anyone reading it that close up has probably already gone over the windscreen.....

 

[K8 Stinger Store]

Just to add my $100 worth.
In November 2017 I bought the "black edition" badges in sea blue from the K8 Stinger store. They are, as advertised, plastic. I got the full kit which included wheel cap stickers (thin metal) and the steering wheel badge. With P&P etc it was about $100 AU.
Within about 2 months the paint was peeling off the wheel caps. I contacted David to advise and it looks like the cause was probably very mild (non acidic) mag wheel cleaner (reputable brand). David from K8 offered to replace them once I pulled them off and sent them back which is fair enough. I'd not bothered up to this point - life and everything.

I'm very sorry to hear you had this issue with the wheel caps. We have been selling these now for about 5 years and I had them on my 2015 Kia K900 for the entire 3 year lease and never had an issue with the wheel caps at all. However, we have had customers in the past have this similar issue when a chemical wheel cleaner was used, as it ended up stripping the finish from the aftermarket wheel caps.

However about a month ago I noticed that the sea blue on the bonnet and hatch badges is starting to bubble. Its probably due to the spray polish I'm using (a very reputable brand). My disappointment is that the badges don't appear to have held up to what I consider ordinary use - motor vehicle use.

Now this part is a bit confusing to me, but regardless, I am sorry to hear about this happening to you. I can assure you that not only are the emblems we sell able to be used for ordinary use, but there should be no reason why they shouldn't last for several years on your vehicle. I personally had the same emblems on both my 2012 Kia Optima, and my 2015 Kia K900 for the entire 3-year lease on each of them. If you don't mind sending us some photos or posting them up here, it would be greatly appreciated. Many many times customers may not realize that there is a clear protective sticker placed over the top of the emblem to protect it from getting scratched in shipping. After the emblem is installed onto the vehicle, this clear protective sticker needs to be removed, otherwise several months after installing it, it will bubble up and began to peel and crack, as the clear sticker becomes hardened from the sun.

We actually have several customers reach out to us about this regularly, as they miss the part of the installation instructions on our site that indicated to remove that clear protective sticker after installing the emblems. I am not sure if that is what happened here or not, but it sounds like that might be the case, as we have not had any issues with our emblems "bubbling" only after a few months of being installed.

Again, I'm sure David would've offered to exchange them but I don't want another set.

We absolutely stand behind all of the products that we sell, and yes, we would absolutely replace these for you under warranty, regardless of how they started to bubble. Nonetheless, I am very sorry your experience with our emblems wasn't the best.