Sick of being ripped off

[YellowDog]

Last time in Czechoslovakia we paid 5 pounds for a beer in a tourist pub then walked 2 blocks and paid 50p for the same beer in a local pub.

Never mind that shit: you can get a gorgeous looking Czech woman for just ten quid

[AllanB]

Mmmmmmmm Czech women

[husaberg]

yeah only 10% likely plus gst and 30% business profit tax on everyone that touched it plus you already paid tax on the money you earnt before buying it so should be about 80% tax all up lol.

yeah I was surprised how low it was only 10%(plus gst) tax but why is duty free so cheap compared to retail now or has it been to long since I had a holiday now?

Last time in Czechoslovakia we paid 5 pounds for a beer in a tourist pub then walked 2 blocks and paid 50p for the same beer in a local pub.

Last time I was a Heathrow "duty free" the malt whisky was more expensive than it would be just up the road here at the bottle store. So I bought some at Auckland on the way in, much cheaper. Guess it ain't all bad here.

http://www.phillippdunn.com/liqour/MakingGinVodka.pdf

In the US 10c of alcohol costs $10-$20

The dollar figures involved are informative. When alcohol is made on a large scale, as it is for the fuel-alcohol industry (gasohol) its cost of manufacture is about 25 cents per litre. This is for 100% alcohol. If diluted to the 40% commonly used for vodka, gin and other distilled spirits a litre would contain about 10 cents (U.S.) worth of alcohol. The retail price of a litre of vodka will lie somewhere between $10 and $20 depending on the country and level of taxation. The mark-up is enormous.

[GrayWolf]

This. Like it or not we're a backwater with a tiny population, with expectations far beyond our real economy's ability to deliver. Business tends towards monopolies, duopolies etc where it can, as the best way to compete is to have no competition or as little as possible.

But in a backwater like ours this may well be the only way to stay in business with an 'acceptable' level of return. So I don't blame Blue Wing too much, in a way you're lucky the DCT is available at all in NZ – it's not on other models (like my bike) despite it being available for years overseas. Maybe the premium is to cover the cost of training the Honda service people in maintaining a DCT transmission, given very few are likely to be sold here.

Offshore charging would be relevant as a check if we knew the factory had set up a globally equal retail model - a model that meant retail prices were say income or exchange rate driven so the purchasers national buying power was relatively equal country to country.

Now maybe they do and you are correct but I bet it is not the case, and a USA dealer who will order 30 African Twins will get a better price than a NZ dealer who orders 3.

Years back when Kawasaki had quite a hit on the BR250 it did not sell well in NZ. A local dealer commented on this when in Japan and the factory was very surprised - until they found out the RRP being set in NZ. It was higher than recommended by the factory, way high compared to the NZ market. The NZ importer had decided it was such a good bike it should have a premium price attached and sold it to the dealers in such a manner.

USA forums often talk of Harley tax.


Are we getting ripped off? Are we surrounded by rich motorcycle dealers?

It was only five years ago on KB we were shitting our selves over the number of NZ motorcycle shops shutting down. Heck another in Christchurch is closing doors. Can't be due to making to much money ripping buyers off.

The other even more insidious behaviour of manufacturers/importers is the 'requirement/push' to be a 'destination' dealer.
HD have been doing it for a while, including 'drop brand X/Y' or???? As well as insisting the said dealer must sell 'manufacturer clothing' {KTM are on this particular drive at present} Usually highly expensive and often of not superior quality. This 'destination dealer drive' also includes shop layout, stock numbers, sales staff, decor, brand placement 'for maximum sales effect' regardless of other brands/bikes being sold. I know that canam's are not high in number or highly regarded by many riders, but, this is a classic. Several bike shops country wide took the 'plunge' in the early days, they are really being 'muscled out' as BRP want 'destination dealers'... more BRP products you sell, spyders/clothes/quads/etc,etc.. the bigger dealer discounts you get.
Come on guys, NZ has a total population that is less than a large number of USA cities, just HOW do they expect this one brand mentality to work in this small 'backwater'?
The only losers are the customer {shops will end up closing or dropping brands} and the businesses themselves. Do we as purchasers really want to have to travel to a 'dedicated dealer' for servicing, parts, repairs, and oh yes warranty issues? Wonder what the cost would be to ship a canam from Wellington to Palmy north in the event of a complete breakdown under warranty? That is the reality being faced now. Want to have to 'biketranz' your ducati/HD/MV Augusta 2-3-500km's to a dedicated dealer?? That's the direction we could be facing in the future if this 'craziness' continues.

[jasonu]

http://www.phillippdunn.com/liqour/MakingGinVodka.pdf

In the US 10c of alcohol costs $10-$20

and the same bottle of gin prolly costs $50 in NZ,

[Ocean1]

Last time I was a Heathrow "duty free" the malt whisky was more expensive than it would be just up the road here at the bottle store. So I bought some at Auckland on the way in, much cheaper. Guess it ain't all bad here.

Aye, I long ago gave up even browsing through duty free shops, it just made me angry. They need every cent of the extra profit they take just to pay for the couple of square meters of shopfront the airport company leases them.

Airport companies, there's another fucking joke, a natural monopoly that could have been developed for the sole purpose of demonstrating that monopolies price shit completely unrelated to their supply costs.

[Katman]

The other even more insidious behaviour of manufacturers/importers is the 'requirement/push' to be a 'destination' dealer.
HD have been doing it for a while, including 'drop brand X/Y' or???? As well as insisting the said dealer must sell 'manufacturer clothing' {KTM are on this particular drive at present}

Harley are also very strict on not allowing any American parts suppliers to sell to overseas customers.

New Harley parts have to be bought though their international distributors.

[Ocean1]

http://www.phillippdunn.com/liqour/MakingGinVodka.pdf

In the US 10c of alcohol costs $10-$20

It's landed in NZ in bulk, pumped across the wharf down a 6" pipeline.

Not sure what the current price is but 20 years ago it was well under a dollar a liter.

[jonbuoy]

If you think you are getting ripped off in NZ, come and Live in Perth, Western Australia, THE biggest rip-off on the planet. The exact same car / motorbike costs more here than in the eastern states, petrol changes price DAILY, yada yada yada. What a f**ken joke. The tanker comes as fills up the petrol station, who then sell it for a different price every day of the week. The price varies by up to 20c per litre across the 7 days, yet there is no hint of anyone accusing them on price manipulation or shit like that.

Food costs heaps here, the meat is shit ( cos the cows and sheep only have red dirt to eat ), service anywhere for anything is non existent, the State and Federal Governments, who are coming off the back of an unprecedented 10 year mining boom, have 10 times the debt they did 10 years ago and nothing to show for it.

Over-inflated incomes have led to over-inflated egos and self-importance, a whole generation with a massive sense of self entitlement, a whole generation that has spent it's entire working life in a bubble removed from reality, and that's not only personally, that's the governments too. No one ( personal or Government ) has thought or planned more than 5 minutes ahead, no one ( personal or Government ) has put any money away for a rainy day.

I sit back here laughing at them all. They have no idea what the real world in like, what it's like to work Monday to Friday just to pay the bank, then have to work second and third jobs on the weekends so you can have such luxuries as food and power and running water. This was my life before I came here to have a crack at the mining game. I've more than tripled my income since I've been over here, but I've still lived the same lifestyle as I did at home. I've saved every penny, so I can can come back home and relax a bit and not have to work 3 jobs 7 days a week just to make ends meet. And I've achieved that goal, so you'd have to say it's been worth it financially. But it has cast me a lot personally, I've missed everything for the last 8 years, everything - birthdays, weddings, funerals, events, general life, friends, family, you name it, I've missed it. I think it's fair to say I've been as close to being in prison as possible without actually being in prison. No wonder everyone is heading home now.

All I can say is, I CANNOT WAIT to come back home to Auckland for good, which will be by this Christmas, as soon as I get laid off from the last cash cow resources job before the whole industry dies in the arse and falls off the cliff. They can only blame themselves too, they've priced themselves out of the market, and the Unions have completely fucked it for the workers, exactly like the Unions did in England in the late 70's and 80's. Anyway, fuck the red dirt, fuck the hot weather, fuck the bogans, and generally, just fuck Australia. First thing I do when I get home will be to put my passport on the driveway, douse it in petrol, and throw a match on it. Home sweet home is where I will stay forever.

Ha that's gold. I know how you feel- I work in a similar situation - the amount of daft people who earn big money and still live pay check to pay check is laughable. I've kept more or less the same standard of living - still mostly drink in cheap bars. Buggered if I'm going to blow a weeks wages pretending to be something I'm not on a night out.

[Dave-]

I'm sick of the attitude of NZ companies. I understand some things are more expensive, but it should be offset by good support and a good customer experience. These are the sales equivalent of being a good Kiwi, but the customer experience in NZ is always so toxic.

I purchased some performance car parts from the official website in the UK recently, I was comparing shipping times with a friend on Facebook who had purchased some similar parts too. An NZ bike parts distributor commented on the photo claiming to be the NZ distributor and asking why we hadn't purchased from an NZ company. I had to explain that I used the website to find an NZ distributor and was told the parts I wanted weren't available in NZ, I also had to explain that he was not listed as a distributor on their website.

I've contacted that NZ parts distributor about some parts recently and heard nothing in 3 days. I'm not sure if they're so busy making money they can't afford to take mine or whether they're too busy harassing 'friends' on Facebook.

[Pound]

Anyway, fuck the red dirt, fuck the hot weather, fuck the bogans, and generally, just fuck Australia. First thing I do when I get home will be to put my passport on the driveway, douse it in petrol, and throw a match on it. Home sweet home is where I will stay forever.

This is why I love Kiwis.

Give this man a gold medal.

[AllanB]

I'm sick of the attitude of NZ companies. I understand some things are more expensive, but it should be offset by good support and a good customer experience. These are the sales equivalent of being a good Kiwi, but the customer experience in NZ is always so toxic.

.

Bit of a tar brush going on there but you make a good point regarding retail. Problem is it's always been looked at as a short term job. In that yeah I'll sell that until I get a real job. Often driven by managers who treat their retail staff poorly as second class workers.

There are very good retail shops in NZ with staff who know their stuff and enjoy their jobs. But unfortunately it is generally not seen as a career or a place where one can move upwards in. Probably due to being paid at the arse end.

[avimistry]

The responses are cracking me up

I could buy an AGV Pista GP online, pay tax/duty/biosecurity/admin/any other BS charges, undercut any NZ retailer, and still make a good profit. And I'd also throw in a free balaclava cause the Pista GP is noisy, and chilly in the colder months.

And lets not get started on OVERpriced LAMS bikes...

Just my 2c..

[ellipsis]

...the best cure to such a sickness would be, not to buy anything...

[Voltaire]

Well....don't buy new bike or cars and do the service yourself, once your bored with it sell it on TM and buy another.

I've looked at parts overseas and been 'directed' to the local importer like Whites, Forbes and Davies. Former motorcycle shops from pre 90's who clearly build up good overseas

networks and decided it was easier to clip the ticket and pass the costs onto the dealers.

Well Mr White and F and D, screw you, I just buy all my stuff other than tyres off the net.

Example:

Set of YSS Z shocks for a BMW- can get from UK for $600 plus $50 Post. There will be $150 'tax' when it arrives, that's $800 and that's UK retail with VAT of 17% added.

Here the same set is $850, on back order.

BMW parts I order from the UK, great website, here is 4 days, even the GST part is easy with their courier.

Experience BMW , not even worth asking

Only time I did buy a bike in the last 10 years off a Dealer, it was 3 years older than they told me it was....gee I miss Haldanes.