Do you find yourself scratching your head on why prices of wheels differ so much on eBay? Do you ever wonder if the wheels you get are even going to be round? Or most importantly, do you ask yourself why there is such a big price difference for wheels on eBay? Ever have concerns about the quality of certain auctions? If you answer YES to any of these questions, you are at the right place.

eBay is a market in which price levels are transparent to buyers and sellers alike. Buyers bid against each other for items, so do sellers. Sellers bid against each other for placement on search results based on the price. Sometimes sellers nickel and dime each other by a few pennies, while other times you'll see a big difference.

Say for example, you are searching for 18 inch wheels for your Mercedes. Type in "18 Mercedes Wheels." on the search result, you'll see buy it now's set at $300 to $1000 and up. So whats the difference between a $300 set of wheels and a $600 set of wheels? First, take aside low price items due to intended markdowns such as overstocked items, clearance, end-of-season, or otherwise unpopular designs. Also take aside companies focusing on high volume operations to keep their cost down. We will focus solely on similar design wheels and why prices can differ by so much between one seller and another.

Below are major factors that affect price, and the role on quality that each factor plays. Below are the FACTORS AFFECTING PRICE THAT YOU DONT SEE when buying wheels.

Country of Origin - In my opinion, the biggest impact on wheel price is the country of origin. Since production labor is the highest cost of manufacturing, lower labor costs means lower cost of goods, which means lower sale price, and higher up the search results. Labor cost can double from one asian country to another. That can equal $100 PER SET DIFFERENCE! price difference in COST ALONE! What is the impact of labor on quality? Well.... skilled labor vs unskilled labor, quality control vs. lack of quality control. The most apparent is the finish on the paint. There are big differences in paint quality from one wheel to another, just like a low end vs high end body shop.

Manufacturing Equipment - Believe it or not, there may be a ten fold difference in manufacturing equipment. Cost of equipment has a direct affect on cost of production. Divide the number of wheels produced per day into the cost of the machine to operate per month, into the depreciation of the machine per month, the difference is up to $20 per wheel  in cost, per wheel or $80 PER SET. Expensive equipment depreciates more, dollar wise, than cheaper equipment.

• Casting Machines- You can cast a wheel with a $20,000 casting machine, or you can cast the same wheel in a $200,000 casting machine. What's the difference? Simple. Quality of casting machines translates to the strength of the wheel. If the machine allows molten aluminum on one part of the wheel to cool down faster than another part, it may create stress points that could lead to slightly weaker wheels. Bubbles. Poor casting machines will leave a lot of small bubbles in the wheel, just like bubbles you see when making jello. Again, affecting strength. You'll never see this on a finished wheel because the bubbles are deep within the aluminum.
  
• Machining Process- Once the wheels are cast, they are put thru a series of CNC (computer controlled) machines to machine the wheel to spec. specs such as bolt pattern, offset, hub bore, etc. Again, you can do this with a $20,000 machine or $200,000 machine. There are at least 3 different CNC machines that each wheel goes thru. The precision of the machines affect ride quality & balance.
  
• Finishing Process- Lets say you purchase a set of wheels with a polished lip. The lip is polished by a machine. A factory can buy a $2000 machine and polish it by hand, or a fully-automated $400k polishing machine. The quality difference is the amount of shine you see in the wheel. This is very obvious especially if you have many wheels to compare to. Poor machines yield poor machining jobs. Great machines produce beautifully polished wheels.
• Painting Process- The price difference in the painting process differs depending on the equipment and raw material you use. The best environment to paint a wheel is in a dust-free spray booth. These are fairly expensive in itself. Dust free means that there will be dust around to stick to wheels as the paint drys. Next factor in the painting process of course is the quality of paint. Poor quality paint means poor finish, and may lead to premature paint flaking or failure down the road. You'll never see a difference in paint quality between the pictures of one seller to another. Cameras simply cannot pick up small differences in paint. Either that, or Adobe Photoshop has come a long way :)
  

Brand Recognition - Branding of the product affects the price greatly but not necessarily the quality. A major brand may spend millions advertising the same style wheel as a smaller company. In the end, as long as the quality is there between either brand, you'll see little or no difference in either wheel.

Weight - More than 90% of the aftermarket wheels on the market right now is made of aluminum. This raw material is about $1.40 a pound. So, if wheel A is 5 lbs lighter than wheel B, then the sellers cost of the wheel differs by $25 for the set.

Raw Material Comparison - Aluminum. Since the wheels are made of aluminum, lets talk price difference between different grades of aluminum. As of today's market price, high grade aluminum is about $1.40 per pound, and lower grade aluminum is approx. $1.10 per pound. $0.30 per pound multiplied by a 25 pound wheel means $7.50 difference between low grade and high grade. = $30 PER SET. Effect on quality and strength: Lower grade aluminum has more impurities than higher grade aluminum. It can mean a slight difference in strength, but most importantly for polished wheels, you'll see impurities in the aluminum, just like jewelry. Chrome or wheels without polished finish tend to utilize more of the lower grade aluminum to save on cost, because the entire wheel is coated with chrome or paint. You can't see this :). Also, factories in certain countries may be limited to lower grade aluminum due to availability or convenience factors.

So.... pick up a calculator and add these numbers up... They do add up! In conclusion, it is up to the manufacturer to determine the most suitable equipment and materials to use, for their industry. It is up to the manufacturer to make sure that the wheels they produce conforms to international standards such as ISO, JWL, VIA, TUV, etc. Even if two factories have the same certifications, the price may still be much different. At least now, you'll know what to expect in the wheel industry.

Being in the wheel industry for many years now, we see a big difference between the "informed" buyer and the "uninformed" buyer. We all know who sells what wheels, at what price, and why. Buyers may or may not. Being informed will ensure that you will make the best decision the first time around, as many sellers do not allow returns. You don't want to end up regretting your purchase a week after putting on new wheels. Believe me, I see it happen almost every day. And I hope this guide will help you to understand the wheel industry a little better :).

Good luck in purchasing a new set of wheels. I welcome any questions or comments!