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Ordering from Aero vs Thruston

onstar

One of the Regulars
Messages
229
Location
Jo Mammas House
Hello,

Are there any pros and cons of buying directly from the Aero website vs a third party store like Thurston? Not saying Thruston is a bad or anything. I live in NY and Im assuming Ill have to pay American taxes too.
 

ObiJuanValdez

New in Town
Messages
32
I chose to go through Thurston Bros rather than directly through Aero because of their fitting process. Carrie was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and made the process much easier, in my opinion. She answered all of my questions and made good recommendations. I have nothing but good things to say about Thurston. As for taxes, I don't think they are automatically added.
 

onstar

One of the Regulars
Messages
229
Location
Jo Mammas House
I chose to go through Thurston Bros rather than directly through Aero because of their fitting process. Carrie was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and made the process much easier, in my opinion. She answered all of my questions and made good recommendations. I have nothing but good things to say about Thurston. As for taxes, I don't think they are automatically added.
Was the production time fast? or cheaper?
 

f2002q

One of the Regulars
Messages
167
I chose to go through Thurston Bros rather than directly through Aero because of their fitting process. Carrie was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and made the process much easier, in my opinion. She answered all of my questions and made good recommendations. I have nothing but good things to say about Thurston. As for taxes, I don't think they are automatically added.

I also chose to go Thurston due to their fitting process. I agree that Carrie knows how these jackets fit and you have a higher percentage of getting it right if it's your first time. Cost will be slightly higher due to the shipment of fitting jacket and their premium, but if I had to send the jacket back to Aero, it would be the same cost.
 
Last edited:

Pandemic

One Too Many
Messages
1,503
Location
In The Flat Field
Both mine were ordered direct. I’m pretty confident in my body measurements and know what to ask about patterns now. I exchanged a lot of emails with the jacket maker and the sales/production folks.
 

Jasonindenver

One of the Regulars
Messages
180
Location
Denver
As I recall, jackets through Thurston may have slightly longer body and sleeve lengths standard in almost all cases.

So, if you are going full custom through Aero and are sure of the pattern fit, pit to pit, chest width, body and sleeve lengths, you should be okay. If you are not sure on any of these points, go through Thurston's fit process at least for the first one.
 

AeroFan_07

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,740
Location
Iowa
I bought one thru Aero and the next two thru Thurston. The number one concern when buying a custom jacket is fit. With Carrie/Wade, the worry about fit is eliminated. There is no good reason to not go through Thurston.
This is exactly why I continue to support Thurston as the US Stockist for Aero.
For me any price differance is not worth the trouble.
 

trainspotter

A-List Customer
Messages
469
I went through Thurston for my Board Racer but without the fit jacket process. I already had a stock Aero jacket purchased via Thurston and Carrie helped me use that jacket as the 'Fit Jacket', although the patterns were quite different (BR vs CR)

Now that I have the experience and understanding, I probably would go via Aero Direct. With their new website, Aero has stopped charging the additional UK VAT for international customers. I am not sure, but I think Thurston still charges the custom duty and the original base price(which included VAT)

If your order from Aero is less than US$800, you will not be charged custom duties in the US

But as I keep on saying, Aero's patterns don't go well with my shoulder/neck shape. So I doubt I will be getting any more Aeros in the near future
 

horweak

Familiar Face
Messages
53
I went through Carrie at Thurston, did the fit jacket process. Fit jacket fit amazing, my custom jacket did not. Double check the measurements as soon as you receive your jacket, don't wait a couple months like I did, due to excitement or whatever. I'm now negotiating to fix the problem but it doesn't look good. The jacket will probably end up on the classifieds here before long, so I can recoup my loss partly.

The pattern I went with (j106/ridley)was funky too. I'm normally a 42, my fit jacket was a 38.. on my jacket, with the zipper fully zipped up and the collar shut, the neck hole is too small by like 2 inches. Sleeves came out too short.

I'm not sure if got a lemon, or if my jacket somehow shrunk in my closet, or what. I'm pretty sure I'm one of the very few who's had a questionable experience with Thurston/ aero. They still have the benefit of the doubt in my mind. Hope this helps
 
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bvbellomo2

New in Town
Messages
23
I had an excellent experience through Carrie at Thurston so far, but I have not received my jacket yet. I am happy with what I got for the extra I paid, however I understand someone who knows exactly what they want, or buying already made inventory, wanting to directly to Aero to save money.
 

onstar

One of the Regulars
Messages
229
Location
Jo Mammas House
I went through Thurston for my Board Racer but without the fit jacket process. I already had a stock Aero jacket purchased via Thurston and Carrie helped me use that jacket as the 'Fit Jacket', although the patterns were quite different (BR vs CR)

Now that I have the experience and understanding, I probably would go via Aero Direct. With their new website, Aero has stopped charging the additional UK VAT for international customers. I am not sure, but I think Thurston still charges the custom duty and the original base price(which included VAT)

If your order from Aero is less than US$800, you will not be charged custom duties in the US

But as I keep on saying, Aero's patterns don't go well with my shoulder/neck shape. So I doubt I will be getting any more Aeros in the near future
Do you have a big neck and wide shoulder?
 

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