Choice?
#16
As has been implied already, we probably need to bear in mind that the rorting may be at the wholesaler/importer level and not just the retailer. However, far too often I've had the "we can order it in for you" line. So any claim of overhead costs is irrelevant, as they are not stocking or supplying goods and services, they are merely ordering on-line like anyone else and putting on a hefty mark-up!
Government certified carpet muncherDrool
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#17
I actually bought a pair of tyres locally, because I'm prepared to pay for some service. It takes a good while to pull out wheels, take tyres off, replace and refit. So for me, I'd like to keep the local shops going. $500+ to me. But I'm not prepared to pay over the top where there is absolutely not labour involved. Apple is a classic case. It cost them maybe a few cents difference to mail you an Ipad here as it does to mail the item, basically, anywhere in the world. Once it's packed in China, there's bugger all labour cost added.
So horses for courses for me.
I can zip into my local bike shop and get a "free" nut for the chain adjuster!
I have the same issue with my push bike. I don't want to see my local bike shop go under, but when they offer a set of bibs at $200 plus......no thanks. Maybe local retailers need to go back to labour content, value adding type businesses and not look to make profits out of just being a mail box?
Even then if the Aussie mark ups weren't so bloody OTT I wouldn't be bothered buying OS!
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#18
(28-05-2011, 09:54pm)bear Wrote: I actually bought a pair of tyres locally, because I'm prepared to pay for some service. It takes a good while to pull out wheels, take tyres off, replace and refit. So for me, I'd like to keep the local shops going. $500+ to me.

I'm like a lot of people that would like nothing better than to put my money with the local guy but the issue I have regarding tyres.

The local guys have all mentioned that I will have to wait to get them as the Avon Tyres aren't a brand that a lot of dealers stock and have been quoted 360 for a rear and 255 for the front so all up 615 fitted.
I can get them from the states currently at 115 for the front and 168 for the rear plus 60 for postage 451 all up and have been quote 60 to fit by the local guy so I'm still ahead 100.00. If my local dealer closed this gap a little so give me the tyres at the price that the eastern states guys can get them which is approx 30 per tyre cheaper I may not be considering going to the states.
I have asked if they can do better but they reckon that is the best price I've been given and I've had prices from acouple of different dealers and they all appear to be in the ball park. One dealer quoted me 380 which I laughed at.

So I still think there is some serious mark up on Bike gear, I really want to put my money with the local guy but here in WA we seemed to get ripped off more than the rest of Aus.
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#19
cheper then australia
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#20
(29-05-2011, 02:06am)Rev004 Wrote:
(28-05-2011, 09:54pm)bear Wrote: I actually bought a pair of tyres locally, because I'm prepared to pay for some service. It takes a good while to pull out wheels, take tyres off, replace and refit. So for me, I'd like to keep the local shops going. $500+ to me.

I'm like a lot of people that would like nothing better than to put my money with the local guy but the issue I have regarding tyres.

The local guys have all mentioned that I will have to wait to get them as the Avon Tyres aren't a brand that a lot of dealers stock and have been quoted 360 for a rear and 255 for the front so all up 615 fitted.
I can get them from the states currently at 115 for the front and 168 for the rear plus 60 for postage 451 all up and have been quote 60 to fit by the local guy so I'm still ahead 100.00. If my local dealer closed this gap a little so give me the tyres at the price that the eastern states guys can get them which is approx 30 per tyre cheaper I may not be considering going to the states.
I have asked if they can do better but they reckon that is the best price I've been given and I've had prices from acouple of different dealers and they all appear to be in the ball park. One dealer quoted me 380 which I laughed at.

So I still think there is some serious mark up on Bike gear, I really want to put my money with the local guy but here in WA we seemed to get ripped off more than the rest of Aus.

....come to queensland and they will be sticking it to you as much as WA,at least you guys have better roads to ride on!!!!
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#21
(28-05-2011, 06:10am)1300hayabusa Wrote: 2 -3 years ago I mentioned something along these lines and some "vending members" here where all over me cause I promoted the overseas sellers,they expected me to just take in the arse with their prices like everyone else.I can understand that if we had a bigger population and the demand is high than the prices will come down but it seems that it happens on everything that is imported and sold here in Aus.
Take a look at bike prices,A BIG FCUKIN JOKE when compared to the US,make no mistake,NO supplier here really passes on the savings to the buyer especially now that the foreign exchange rate with the US$ is great.
Tyres are a point in case,Why is it that Ive been buying and getting better deals delivered to my door from 1000s of miles away than from the dumb ass down the road who if i mention that they are cheaper here or there will come back to me with a whole list of scaremongering tactics how the insurance will not pay you if the tyre is not to Aus Standards(whatever that means) bla bla bullcrap!!!!!Im a bit sceptical when they tell me that tyres where made for Aus only as i think the market here is a tiny bit small to have major tyre makers doing them just for here....!!!!
Vendors in Aus got used to the fact that the population was somewhat ignorant and hesitant in purchasing from overseas via the net until a lot of people and the younger generation decided to stop taking it in the rectum and explore other avenues.
OPEN MARKET TO ALL I SAY and if one cant compete or price match than they should not put themselves in the red and shut shop,harsh but its the reality of things,we all want it yesterday and cheapest possible,with the Net it makes it easier and more achievable but unfortunately or FORTUNATELY a killer for the local vendor.

(28-05-2011, 02:30pm)CarbonBusa Wrote:
(28-05-2011, 01:29pm)Zoro Wrote: Could not have said it any better myself 1300, we need to make a stand to the local guys who have been raping us for years on pricing.

For example, i priced a genuine drive belt for my 700 Grizzly (Quad), $119AU shipped to my front door from the U.S. within 5 days, my local Yamaha/ Suzuki dealer (whom shall remain nameless, we only have one in Darwin, whom also will not stock and have not stocked any Busa's for over 4 years, they have not had a brand new Gen 2 in their shop yet) wanted $289 for the exact same item, same packaging and part number but would take 2 weeks to get it to me not to mention the 1hr round trip to go and pick it up from them.
Needless to say i mentioned this to the spare parts guy whilst i was on the phone and his reply was that they are a business and had to make money, fair enough. Told him that i dont mind supporting the local guy hence the phone call and asked him what he would do if he was in the same position?

Guess what, he buys based on price too....its not rocket science... Told him he could keep his belt...

The quicker the consumer makes a stance the better off we'll all be across a whole range of products/ services. Sure it will wreck a few businesses along the way, that's inevitable but these are the ones that have driven the pricing skywards for years.

Not only did they lose the sale on the belt but they lost all my custom and at least the ten other people i have told since.
Can't see how businesses can continue running with this sort of attitude towards their customers.

I imagine he would be getting it from the Australian distributor/wholesaler who with the manufacturer set the wholesale prices charged in Australia.

Do you know for sure what his cost price is?

If he was charging more than the Australian RRP then name & shame him for sure Pi_thumbsup

Or if you just assumed because you can get it heaps cheaper from the US that he has some sort of fantastic mark up and then go about trying to destroy his business when he is probably charging the RRP set out but the Manufacturer & has very little profit margin from the distributor to himself whilst Paying Taxes and complying with the Laws of the Land.

This is my point about seeing the BIG PICTURE. It is a bit like shooting the messenger Lol3

How many Busas could he shift a day err I mean a week or a month.
Is a lot of money to be tied up just to collect finger prints & dusts so easier to try & order one in when required.

Maybe if he had more local support he could afford to keep one in stock Pi_tongue

Dont get me wrong, i'm all for supporting the local guy even after being overcharged several times before with previous purchases. As for his buy price i could not tell you that either. If he's getting raped by his supplier/ distributor then he needs to start bringing them in the same way we all do or make other arrangements with the distributor because in the end its his business and he loses everything when nobody shops there, not the distributor. The biggest gripe i have is the attitude, not just from this guy but from most of the people there when you enter the shop. Its basically a case of if you dont like the price, too bad as they have the monopoly on the brands they stock. This happens with most of the suppliers up here and is nothing new, people are getting sick and tired of it and this is starting to show with the internet sales. I dont know too many people that use local support anymore, whether it be for 4x4 parts, gensets, etc. eg. I need to buy a new turbo for my Hilux, locally $1200 or buy one from Melbourne shipped to my door for $420, apples for apples again, who's being raped here? Granted we are somewhat isolated up here and it does cost extra to get things here, i understand that but when local shops start taking the piss out of the locals then more fool them.
I understand the big picture, its a pity the suppliers/ distributors dont. Once they do then we can all start reaping the benefits.
Rant over...Very Happy
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#22
(30-05-2011, 05:34am)1300hayabusa Wrote: at least you guys have better roads to ride on!!!!

I must agree, I was amazed how bad the main coastal highway was when I drove north from Gladstone late last year. The recent flooding wouldn't have improved them I suspect.
Government certified carpet muncherDrool
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#23
belzy Ive been working as part of the rehabilitation effrots for the roads. we did a site inspection the other week and there was what i would call a fissure in the road that was 250m long and probably 200mm wide for most of its length. would swallow a bike whole!! its amazing how badly some of the roads were effected but this is what happens when you take the easy route with repairing roads by simply crack sealing them and throwing 20mm of aggregate mixed with some bitumen over the top. there are roads around townsville that have not been reconstructed in over 30 years just patched and resealed and its getting to the point you almost need the ground clearance of a 4x4 to go down some sealed roads! hell we have a road that was only constructed a few years ago and has falied everywere already!
Regards

Dan
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#24
EK 530 DRZ chain, local $310, US plus postage $202 US$
Mark
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#25
Here's a very good example of an Australian motorcycle parts reseller ripping us off.

I just bought a set of Samco hoses and clamps and first got a price off an Australian seller. They wanted $480 + $40 delivery.
They needed to get them in and give the price on a Quote by Quote basis.

I bought them from a UK Superbike reseller who has a fixed listed price (who still needed to get them made for the Busa) for AUD$260 delivered.
Same Brand, same product, same code numbers etc.. as the Aussie shop.

I saved $260 (exactly half price) by purchaing from the shop in the UK.
I think the Australian retailer has a bit to answer for with that one.

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#26
Some over pricing is by retailers adding huge markup & some is by the distributor adding huge markup.

Some importers / distributors have an exclusive contract with the manufacturer where the manufacturer can not sell to anyone else within AU. This is usually where the importer / distributor rapes the retailers. To make it worse, as has been said, some manufacturers forbid anyone outside AU selling into AU. (US retailers etc). This happens a lot with many different products.

Some retailers ARE the importer. Woolworths, Kmart, Harvey Norman, Bunnings etc all directly import the majority of their own stuff. It's only the small & low qty items they they get locally from distributors.
I often run into the "buyers" from the above retailers when I'm in China at the trade fairs.

In the world of Telescopes, there is a particular scope that retails for $25k in AU.
The exact same scope I can buy retail in the US, have it shipped to my door in Brisbane, pay all import duty & taxes for a total cost os AU$9250.00
This particular telescope manufacturer has 1 exclusive distributor in AU & the manufacturer also forbids ALL retailers outside AU from selling into AU. Totally 100% protected market.
So I just get my mate in US to buy stuff for me with his US credit card & delivered to his US address. Then he ships it to me. Simple. :)
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#27
This is a pretty complicated issue. Apple is an example many people have been using and they arent a great one because its pretty high end stuff overall and has high quality/production values. Theres no shortage of cheaper phones in Australia that do the same thing, you just want an APPLE so you have to pay for an APPLE and they distribute their stuff through licensed service/retailers. Generally you wont find too much price difference between those retailers here because APPLE, like HONDA set the price.
As far as prices in the USA, it should not be a surprise to anyone that car and motorbike manufacturers that export to the US (and APPLE) do so at an incredible discount because they have to do it that way to try and get/maintain a toehold in what (used to be at least) a profitable market. That is something that I think is currently changing. I was in the states recently and you can buy a new Chrysler 300c for $20K USD (less than than 20k in Aus$ now) and a Camaro for even less than that but when you look at the deal in the papers your getting something like 8 grand in factory/government rebates which is the US governments way of keeping a crap car industry afloat. Everything in the US is cheap now as people off load Cars, Boats houses bikes,watches, you name it! (A nice 4 bedroom house in an ok area for 50gs anyone?) AS quantative easing 2 draws to a finnish this June I think thinkgs in the US economy will be going from bad to worse. IMHO I think that as things get worse economically around the world and many international manufacturers are going to have to sharpen their pencils but Im not sure it will mean significantly cheaper prices for us.
As for me sure I have bought stuff in and from the states but I prefer to buy from my local retailer unless its going to be a real prostate exam. Particularly for anything I might want to return or have fit properly and that requires more of a service component. Stores in the states pay bugger all for wages and taxes compared to here and it shows. Their medicare is non existant and costs a fortune, theres no prescribed medical benefits list and very little by way of social welfare. Their roads are for the most part crap and theres not a state in (probably)the Union thats not selling its municipal and government buildings and leasing them back just to get money to pay some bills. I dont know if you know anyone who works in retail in Australia like your kid or something but how happy would you be if they got paid 4 dollars an hour or something, you'd be rightfully pissed off. I hear so many complaints about OH&S and all that sort of thing and the thing is they are probably the very same people to complain if something at their job/intersection/sidewalk was dangerous. The point is we have a system where people get paid reasonable wage and if there is a health and safety issue in whatever area we have a system where something will probably happen to fix it. Given the general disregard for that type of thing in most of the rest of the world Id rather have it, expensive as it is, than not. Im as materialistic as the next bastard and no one likes getting ripped off but its a big world, you can shop around but none of the retailers I know are making millions because retail is just as cuthroat as most other industries out there.
2 cents worth?
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#28
(01-06-2011, 01:56am)mgbusa Wrote: 2 cents worth?

True largely, however the thread is not only about US pricing. There are some big differences with UK prices, even before the pound tumbled to its current value. I noticed in a Sony Centre shop yesterday that some headphones I bought in the UK a year or two ago were still marked at nearly twice the UK price.
Government certified carpet muncherDrool
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