Magnetic Shields?

hehehe. Yeah, I just couldn't make myself take them off after I'd forked out $9 plus shipping for them. But they sure do dress that Whirlpool frig up!

 

I think I just heard my frig calling - - "adorn me".

 

This is Yoshi. I do not normally join the threads, but this time, I will...to tell you a little bit about our shields. First of all, our (YoShield)shields are manufactured in Japan and are sold through the authorized Ferrari dealerships in Japan and other exotic car shops. As for the cost, it is certainly not $5.00, a set will cost me more than $100 to make. In fact, the material cost has more than doubled recently, which will force me to raise the price including the FerrariChat discount price within a week. The cost of the alloy steel, which is the same material as the one used for the OEM shields has gone up so much that I no longer can offer the shields at the same price. Ever since I started selling them 4 years ago, I have never raised the prices but actually reduced them to make them more affordable to those who have appreciations for the beauty of the shields. But, it has come to point where I can no longer sustain the same prices. The increase will be in a range of $20 - $25 per set. For this, I am very sorry. I honestly appreciate both compliments and criticism of our shields as long as there are Ferrari owners out there who appreciate and enjoy our shields on their proud cars for their various reasons. I thank you for your continuous patronage and support.

 

IMO the magnetic shields are practical and affordable and a good set does not look chatty. Nine out of ten people would not know the difference between a plastic set, an factory original metal set, a Yoshi set or a magnetic set. Only us Ferrari aficianadoes can spot the differences. The beauty of the magnetic shields is that they can be removed in a milli-second to suit the mood, or for Concours events etc. I know they didn't come originally on a 348, but I kinda like my magnetic shields, strategically placed on the fender guards of my 348.

 

Just a simple question---How can you sell these w/o Ferrari's permission? Can't imagine they allow you to use their logo and designs....Just curious....

 

I'm glad yours look good; I've never seen a set of plastic or magnetic ones that looked anything other than pathetic.

I can't believe the attention to detail f-chatters pay to their cars on the one hand, yet on the other hand they are perfectly content to slap a cheap decal on the world's greatest marque because "most people can't tell the difference."

 

Just out of curiosity why doesn't someone make high quality maybe even metal magnetic shields? correct me if I am wrong but it shouldn't be that hard to produce a Yoshi quality, light weight (so it wont fly off and kill anyone) magnetic shield. Well if someone does make them or if you decide to make them, please let me know I will buy your first pair!

 

I see three major obstacles, which is why it has not been done.

1) Weight, there is not a THIN magnetic material that can securely hold a metal shield in place.

2) Fit. The shields all have a slight amount of variance in the curvature, so they never perfectly match the fender. The 3M tape is what helps hold them perfectly to match the curve of the fender. No magnet is that strong.

3) Theft. Then they could be easily removed. Though most thieves would probably have no idea they could be stolen....but do you want a $350+ shield that someone could walk up and take?

 

To each their own, but I think you will find yourself in the minority.

 

I don't need no stinkin badges.... I bought a magnetic shield from ebay and after a week I was convince that it makes a good magnet 348 photo holder pasted on my fridge.

Another thought, What If one of my magnet shield turn slanted from the sprint to starbucks!.. a horror!

 

I think I sold over two hundred sets of the magnetic shields back in '03-04. I think the main thing on them is that they are convenient. You can take them on and off as you see fit. I never did have a customer complain about loosing one at speed. Some guys used them to see if they wanted to go for the metal shields. You might want to search the archives....we had this discussion at least a half dozen times back then. Here's a shot of my car from a few years ago with them and a carbon top.

I moved on to bigger and better things.....
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

+1 ........ lol .......

 

I disagree. Have a look at all of the photos of 348's displayed in F-Chat. Regardless of quality issues, I reckon more have fender badges displayed than the have nots.

 

I purchased a set of your magnetic badges described above, a year or so ago and I can report that they are excellent quality and look great on the fenders of my 348. I take them off to polish the car and then casually put them back on - very practical. And I have had many people admire them. Just for the record, I have no affiliation with MACarbon.

 

Yoshi? Any response?

 

If you look very closely at the Yoshi horsey, he's winking his eye at you. I don't think the OEMs do that. Another reason why the Yoshi shield is superior IMO.

 

I don't want to get too involved in the copy right issue because I simply don't know enough about it to make a strong argument either way. That having been said although slight variations wouldn't absolve the issue at hand, each different shield I have seen whether it be magnetic, Yoshi, a factory sticker, or the other metal Yoshi look-a-likes on ebay all have variations and are not 100% the same. Of course they are all still using the Ferrari prancing horse and the Sucderia Ferrari initials whether it be exact or not.
Then again one must consider Enzo himself copied it from a carpenter, and if you really want to gnaw at it who knows one could say it belongs to Alfa Romeo... I am not at all advocating using the emblem without Ferrari's consent and I do believe strongly sanctity of intellectual property.

 

No Ferrari racecar ever had cloisonne badges. They were either stickers or the design was painted right on. If you like stickers or magnets, I say go for it; they more closely resemble what went on in days gone by than beautiful, polished porcelain, fender-recessed badges.

 

On the other and, no Ferrari street car is a real race car, so what does it matter?

 

I always thought the shields look great on all Ferraris but also thought the OEM shields are way too expensive. So, I first purchased and put the OEM shield stickers (which I, then, paid close to $100) and then the magnetic shields and was fairly satisfied with them ...until a one day I began to feel that the car should deserve the metal shields. Then, I found the metal shields (aftermarket) which bought right away paying $320/set. Upon my receipt of the shields, I noticed some clear differences when comparing to the OEM shields such as colors, prancing horse design, etc. If I were to pay $320/set for the metal shields, my expectation was to have the genuine look and authenticity as the OEM shields. It started what it was supposed to be a personal small project just to see if I can make ones meeting all my expectations. I never thought I would take my personal small project and turn into a "business" of selling shields in the beginning at all. Some may think it is just another car emblem or badge like the Lexus, BMW, etc. But, it was very challenging and costly to make the Scuderia shields, especially to maintain the quality while making it thinner (1.5mm - 1.0mm). Believe me....it is definetly not an easy shield to make and manufacturable. To be honest with you, I never thought about making into the business as it had started as the personal project, getting the lincesing never occured to me. But then, you see a lot of Ferrari aftermarket goods/products being sold today and I highly doubt they are getting the license as the volume of sales is very small. My intention is not to grow my business and keep it a small project/hobby. That is why I have no intention to become an official sponsor of FCHAT but figured I can contribute to the FCHAT by providing the member discount. I am always ready to get out of the "business" as it become problematic (i.e., licensing, etc.) and too big for me to handle. But it does not mean that I have a plan to sell my business either as it should not be turned into something I do not wish it to be. When I end the business, I end it for good. I do not know if I answer to your question. Starting May 1st, I have raised the price for the shields as the material cost increased significantly. As for the FCHAT discount price, it is now $300/set instead of $320. I am very sorry about the increase but have no other alternatives.

 

I can speak from personal experience the Yoshi shields are extremely high quality. When I received mine in the mail, the first thing I thought when I opened them was "wow."

 

I am extremely happy with my Yoshi's. To the untrained observer, they may not look any different from any other shield. But for the trained observer (i.e., me), I wouldn't settle for anything less.

- Eric