Buying a part from a bike shop may become $24.75 more expensive

[p.dath]

I see Customs are talking about adding another fee to imports:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3570612/Customs-fee-will-up-cost-of-web-imports

This will increase the gap become a domestic consumer brining in their own parts versus buying them from the local bike shop.

And don't forget the new 15% GST rate coming in (which many domestic importers wont have to pay).

Wouldn't want to be in the parts business at the moment. Perhaps they might be better stocking samples only, and themselves shipping direct from another country.

So do you think this is another death knell for the local parts business, or a chance or a radical change?

[rainman]

I see Customs are talking about adding another fee to imports

More taxes, yay.

[steve_t]

I see Customs are talking about adding another fee to imports:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3570612/Customs-fee-will-up-cost-of-web-imports

This will increase the gap become a domestic consumer brining in their own parts versus buying them from the local bike shop.

And don't forget the new 15% GST rate coming in (which many domestic importers wont have to pay).

Wouldn't want to be in the parts business at the moment. Perhaps they might be better stocking samples only, and themselves shipping direct from another country.

So do you think this is another death knell for the local parts business, or a chance or a radical change?

Won't this decrease the gap? Won't it mean that when I buy an exhaust from overseas, I'll pay $24.75 more, but the dealer gets to only pay $24.75 for an entire container of gear thus being able to only increase the price of each product by a small amount, if any?

[scott411]

in bigger items it will not make a difference, but smaller stuff that has come under $400 it will make a difference,

[p.dath]

in bigger items it will not make a difference, but smaller stuff that has come under $400 it will make a difference,

+1. That's exactly what it means.

[Robert Taylor]

More taxes, yay.

It actually should be about the Government collecting tax that they are not collecting, thereby also levelling up the playing field a bit so that legitimate businesses arent disadvantaged.
The threshold value that atrracts customs interest should be at zero, so that everything that comes into the country accrues clearance charges and gst, just like a legitimate business does. Further to that fraudulently written down invoices should create stiff penalties.
This would create so much more tax revenue that there would likely be no need to raise gst. It would also create employment for an extra army of customs officers.

[Mully]

Meh, it's only an extension to the current importers paying it.

If the difference between buying locally and importing is $25, you should probably buy locally anyway.

FYI; current grapevine is that NZ Customs have been told to find more revenue. Expect those people who under-declare the commercial value on their express (DHL, Fedex, etc) packages to be audited with more regularity.

[dipshit]

If the difference between buying locally and importing is $25, you should probably buy locally anyway.

That's right. Though with the fee and GST you can still come out way ahead from purchasing overseas usually.

[Conquiztador]

So do you think this is another death knell for the local parts business, or a chance or a radical change?
Shusshhh!!! You are not allowed to suggest on KB that the local business is not already very radical!:innocent:

[MarkH]

I see Customs are talking about adding another fee to imports:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/3570612/Customs-fee-will-up-cost-of-web-imports

This will increase the gap become a domestic consumer brining in their own parts versus buying them from the local bike shop.

But if the local bike shop gets parts in that came in a container with hundreds of other parts then this new fee may add something like 5c to the cost of a part - it doesn't seem like a big deal to me for the dealers. To a private importer who brings in something worth $600 and has to pay $75 GST it will add another $24.75 so he has to pay out $100 to get it through customs - this may bring it closer to the price to by it locally (if it is available locally).

[Robert Taylor]

That's right. Though with the fee and GST you can still come out way ahead from purchasing overseas usually.

At current exchange rates the answer is often yes. But it depends how long the rates will be at their current level.

[twotyred]

But if the local bike shop gets parts in that came in a container with hundreds of other parts then this new fee may add something like 5c to the cost of a part - it doesn't seem like a big deal to me for the dealers. To a private importer who brings in something worth $600 and has to pay $75 GST it will add another $24.75 so he has to pay out $100 to get it through customs - this may bring it closer to the price to by it locally (if it is available locally).

considering the massive markups evident in NZ,it should still work out cheaper in your example... 24.75 is still worth it to save hundreds on local prices

[MarkH]

considering the massive markups evident in NZ,it should still work out cheaper in your example... 24.75 is still worth it to save hundreds on local prices

In some cases yes, in others no. I have bought quite a lot of stuff from overseas including bike stuff - sometimes to save up to hundreds of dollars, sometimes to get something not available here.

My Givi screen was no cheaper from overseas, but it arrived within a week and I had been told that the local suppliers were out of stock with more due in about 2 1/2 months. My Stebel airhorn was much cheaper than buying anywhere I could find in NZ. My Canon flash for my camera cost $600 including freight & GST when I bought it from the US - locally the price varied from $900 to $1200, so that was a $300 saving for me!

Whenever I need something I compare prices and if the local price is within reason I buy local - much easier if you have a problem. But I was told that the workshop manual for my Burgman wasn't available, so I bought one from overseas, my drive belt was going to take 3 months to arrive or I could pay extra for airfreight - so I paid over $100 less and got a Malossi one from the US instead. The Givi screen cost the same but arrived 9 weeks quicker from the US. The Stebel Nautilus was hard to even find in NZ and was cheaper from the US.

But I agree at least some of the time you see stupidly huge markups on stuff in NZ and you can save hundreds by buying overseas.

[breakaway]

But I agree at least some of the time you see stupidly huge markups on stuff in NZ and you can save hundreds by buying overseas.

But the shops can't possibly provide you low prices with all the overheads they have! This is the argument of all retailers.

[MarkH]

But the shops can't possibly provide you low prices with all the overheads they have! This is the argument of all retailers.

Except that they buy wholesale and the goods in the shop were shipped to NZ in containers by ship - that is way cheaper than being sent as an individual package by air. Of course some of the importers whack on a huge margin and then even with a perfectly fair margin the retailer is selling way dearer than the customer can buy from overseas for.

I mostly blame the importers - they are usually the ones that look at the product and say "I'm the sole importer, this is a niche product, I think the suck^d^d^d^d customers will pay $x for it" Then they set a suggested retail price and sell it to the retailers allowing 25% mark-up to the retailers while making >80% mark-up themselves. Of course the savvy customers will check on the internet and find some overseas retailer that will happily sell the same thing for much less.

[dipshit]

My Canon flash for my camera cost $600 including freight & GST when I bought it from the US - locally the price varied from $900 to $1200, so that was a $300 saving for me!

What flash was it..? The 580EX..??

[Robert Taylor]

But the shops can't possibly provide you low prices with all the overheads they have! This is the argument of all retailers.

And its a totally valid argument. Would you care to become a motorcycle dealer?

[Robert Taylor]

Except that they buy wholesale and the goods in the shop were shipped to NZ in containers by ship - that is way cheaper than being sent as an individual package by air. Of course some of the importers whack on a huge margin and then even with a perfectly fair margin the retailer is selling way dearer than the customer can buy from overseas for.

I mostly blame the importers - they are usually the ones that look at the product and say "I'm the sole importer, this is a niche product, I think the suck^d^d^d^d customers will pay $x for it" Then they set a suggested retail price and sell it to the retailers allowing 25% mark-up to the retailers while making >80% mark-up themselves. Of course the savvy customers will check on the internet and find some overseas retailer that will happily sell the same thing for much less.


Id love to make 80% markup, even 30% would be great.

[Robert Taylor]

What flash was it..? The 580EX..??

Just out of interest Id love to hear from Mark H at what exchange rate he landed it at? Did he also pay any form of clearance charges and gst on both those charges and the fob value of the package?
Then recalculate what it would have cost at say a exchange rate of 55 and 60 cents US to $1 NZ ???

[MarkH]

What flash was it..? The 580EX..??

It was a few years ago now, before the 580EX - It was my 550EX.


Just out of interest Id love to hear from Mark H at what exchange rate he landed it at? Did he also pay any form of clearance charges and gst on both those charges and the fob value of the package?
Then recalculate what it would have cost at say a exchange rate of 55 and 60 cents US to $1 NZ ???

I paid US$299 + Freight + GST to customs = $600 total.

*looks up E-Mails from B&H*

1 STOBC540EZ 16.95 16.95
#OM-EZ Omni-Bounce for Canon 540EZ/550EX and Sunpak PZ5000AF

1 CA550EX 299.95 299.95
550EX Speedlite TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 180'/55 m at 105mm)


__________________________________________________ ___________________
Sub Total $316.90
Shipping $41.50
Tax $0.00
_________________________________
Total $358.40

This was dated March 2004
Looks like I grabbed a diffuser as well.

I think that the exchange rate was around 67c to the dollar.

Even at 50c to the dollar it would have still been cheaper than buying it locally, but the price would have been about $800 including GST. Of course if the NZ dollar had been sitting at 50c US then the local price would probably have been over $1K at the cheapest I could find - so I would have still saved over $200 on this purchase. Essentially the economics would have been unchanged unless the dollar had just fallen and I could get a good price on a flash imported before the exchange rate went to hell.


*looks up CC transactions for March 2004*
Wow - I can see the transactions - big ups to Westpac internet banking!

The exchange rate I paid was 64.5c to the US dollar at the time of this purchase. The total landed cost was $628 - but that included the diffuser, the NZ cost for the flash alone was $875 at the cheapest retailer I could find (and $1200 at the dearest).

[scracha]

Yet again the whole point of this thread is wrong. Shouldn't the whine be:-
In the middle of a huge recession, how the fuck can NZ Customs spend 120 farkin million on a computer upgrade?

Still, it's a fraction of what the roadfixing(sic) mafia piss away putting tar shit and gravel all over roads.

[p.dath]

I believe it is partly related to integrating with systems form other countries. Basically our system has become too old to still talk to their newer systems.

If we can't do the upgrade then NZ citizens will have a lot more restrictions travelling in and out of NZ - and possibly cargo as well.

[dipshit]

It was a few years ago now, before the 580EX - It was my 550EX.

I asked because this actually makes a good point. Some camera shops in NZ have really lifted their game in the last few years and are actually now very similarly priced to the US.

Example... 580EX price in NZ... $689 with free postage. (http://www.photo.co.nz/newprods/newcanonflash.htm) B&H... $445 USD before postage. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486706-USA/Canon_1946B002_Speedlite_580EX_II.html)

Very little difference in it now and you are better off purchasing in NZ for any warranty issues etc.

I have purchased a lot of photography gear over the last few years and none of it has been from overseas. Even after being in Singapore and Hong Kong myself last year and looking around lots of camera shops. The price difference here in NZ from places like photo & video in Christchurch wasn't worth the hassle.

[MarkH]

Example... 580EX price in NZ... $689 with free postage. (http://www.photo.co.nz/newprods/newcanonflash.htm) B&H... $445 USD before postage. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486706-USA/Canon_1946B002_Speedlite_580EX_II.html)

Very little difference in it now and you are better off purchasing in NZ for any warranty issues etc.

I had purchased the D-SLR & 4 lenses here, now I would purchase the flash here too. I would always purchase locally unless there was a good reason not to (big price difference or product unavailability being the most common reasons). That is quite a change in the pricing - about NZ$200 cheaper now to buy here and about US$145 dearer now to buy from B&H, this takes the price from overseas higher than buying here!

[scracha]

I believe it is partly related to integrating with systems form other countries. Basically our system has become too old to still talk to their newer systems.

If we can't do the upgrade then NZ citizens will have a lot more restrictions travelling in and out of NZ - and possibly cargo as well.
But 120 million. I mean shit, how much freight can such a small country be shifting? I suspect it's the enZed gubbernment mentality of tendering it out to an IT company to reinvent the wheel as opposed to simply copying/purchasing from our oZZie neighbours.

[dipshit]

I had purchased the D-SLR & 4 lenses here, now I would purchase the flash here too. I would always purchase locally unless there was a good reason not to (big price difference or product unavailability being the most common reasons). That is quite a change in the pricing - about NZ$200 cheaper now to buy here and about US$145 dearer now to buy from B&H, this takes the price from overseas higher than buying here!

So can't be done ah..? :confused:

If only the motorcycle industry in NZ could get its shit sorted too.

[Robert Taylor]

Yet again the whole point of this thread is wrong. Shouldn't the whine be:-
In the middle of a huge recession, how the fuck can NZ Customs spend 120 farkin million on a computer upgrade?

Still, it's a fraction of what the roadfixing(sic) mafia piss away putting tar shit and gravel all over roads.

If it allows them to catch more revenue that they are otherwise missing out on ( goods imported that are not being charged gst and clearances ) and it catches those with fraudulent invoices then go for it

[Robert Taylor]

It was a few years ago now, before the 580EX - It was my 550EX.



I paid US$299 + Freight + GST to customs = $600 total.

*looks up E-Mails from B&H*

This was dated March 2004
Looks like I grabbed a diffuser as well.

I think that the exchange rate was around 67c to the dollar.

Even at 50c to the dollar it would have still been cheaper than buying it locally, but the price would have been about $800 including GST. Of course if the NZ dollar had been sitting at 50c US then the local price would probably have been over $1K at the cheapest I could find - so I would have still saved over $200 on this purchase. Essentially the economics would have been unchanged unless the dollar had just fallen and I could get a good price on a flash imported before the exchange rate went to hell.


*looks up CC transactions for March 2004*
Wow - I can see the transactions - big ups to Westpac internet banking!

The exchange rate I paid was 64.5c to the US dollar at the time of this purchase. The total landed cost was $628 - but that included the diffuser, the NZ cost for the flash alone was $875 at the cheapest retailer I could find (and $1200 at the dearest).

Thanks for that, was trying to illustrate the effects of exchange rate fluctuation as you realise. Of course many NZ distributors ( like their counterparts in other countries ) have to forward order stock off the distributors to time when it comes off production. They then pay at the prevailing exchange rate at that time so dont have the luxury of picking and choosing when they can exchange currency. Unless they are a very well heeled company and can buy foreign currency when it suits best, holding it in reserve.

[scott411]

So can't be done ah..? :confused:

If only the motorcycle industry in NZ could get its shit sorted too.

on top end brand name accessories and gear it think the industry has got better than it was 2 years ago, although on genuine parts i think there needs to be some improvement to keep up,

[dipshit]

although on genuine parts i think there needs to be some improvement to keep up,

Canon keep their prices around the world consistent and don't sell at cut prices to large markets/retailers.

I think the same would apply with genuine parts from the manufacturers..??? A shop in the US ordering a part from Japan would be charged the same as a shop ordering from NZ, right..??

[MarkH]

A shop in the US ordering a part from Japan would be charged the same as a shop ordering from NZ, right..??

If a shop in the US orders through the US distributor then they might get a better price than a shop in NZ ordering through the NZ distributor. The US distributor will be putting a fuck tonne more business through from the Japanese manufacturer and they will sell enough volume to allow them to run a much lower mark-up. How could the likes of Blue Wing or Suzuki NZ match a US company?

[Robert Taylor]

Canon keep their prices around the world consistent and don't sell at cut prices to large markets/retailers.

I think the same would apply with genuine parts from the manufacturers..??? A shop in the US ordering a part from Japan would be charged the same as a shop ordering from NZ, right..??

Its very often very complex buying parts out of Japan and not only because of the language and cultural differences. They only understand the concept of multiples and will very often only sell in volume. A number of companies charge a processing fee irrespective of the size of the order, often it can be $NZ 50 or more. And then most will insist on only sending by air courier such as UPS, FEDEX etc. So the added costs are obscene.

[Voltaire]

I have just received a letter from Customs regarding some Bevel Drive Ducati parts I ordered.
As from July 1 there is a Customs fee of $22.75 plus GST on goods over $400.00
And sometimes goods under $400 will attract this 'fee' too.
And MAF they add on $12.50 including GST.
So an extra $ 37.25 on your imported goods.

Charges are on Goods and Shipping.

I understand the GST part on the Goods but a flat charge of $ 37.25!!!!!

Even if the local Ducati dealer sold these parts I'd still buy them from Bevel Heaven in the States because :
He doen't ignore me when I email him.
He dosen't try and sell me what he has rather than what I want.
He dosn't wear a stupid hat.
and I don't think he's tried to charge me $37.00 for an oil filter.

[avgas]

FYI; current grapevine is that NZ Customs have been told to find more revenue. Expect those people who under-declare the commercial value on their express (DHL, Fedex, etc) packages to be audited with more regularity.
Great (not). US Style declaration for shipping goods. Now its going to be twice as difficult for my RMA process sending stuff back to manufacturers.

I wonder if they will actually believe something has no value if I describe every RMA item as "Fucked"
e.g. Item: Fucked RTU - value $ : Fucking nothing its fucked

[avgas]

But 120 million. I mean shit, how much freight can such a small country be shifting? I suspect it's the enZed gubbernment mentality of tendering it out to an IT company to reinvent the wheel as opposed to simply copying/purchasing from our oZZie neighbours.
Come on scracha - you know the deal, 100 million will be to hire consultants who do nothing, 10 million will be for integration software with other countries...........and 10 million is for actual hardware, and its commissioning.

FYI some consultancy's are making a killing out of the recent rwc and supercity's..........

[Flip]

Well I wanted a rim 19" 40 spoke. They were either oos or $190. I ordered one $65 incl freight. Sorry local supplier, your 100% markup is just too much.

[Mully]

Great (not). US Style declaration for shipping goods. Now its going to be twice as difficult for my RMA process sending stuff back to manufacturers.

I wonder if they will actually believe something has no value if I describe every RMA item as "Fucked"
e.g. Item: Fucked RTU - value $ : Fucking nothing its fucked

Export stuff doesn't get hit with GST - but the returned product probably will.

Put "Faulty - returned for repair" on your export one and get them to write "Replacement" on the returned one - you should be getting any Duty back(if you've paid it) on export of the faulty one and paying it again on the replacement. (unless it's less than $50 and so on)

[Robert Taylor]

I have just received a letter from Customs regarding some Bevel Drive Ducati parts I ordered.
As from July 1 there is a Customs fee of $22.75 plus GST on goods over $400.00
And sometimes goods under $400 will attract this 'fee' too.
And MAF they add on $12.50 including GST.
So an extra $ 37.25 on your imported goods.

Charges are on Goods and Shipping.

I understand the GST part on the Goods but a flat charge of $ 37.25!!!!!

Even if the local Ducati dealer sold these parts I'd still buy them from Bevel Heaven in the States because :
He doen't ignore me when I email him.
He dosen't try and sell me what he has rather than what I want.
He dosn't wear a stupid hat.
and I don't think he's tried to charge me $37.00 for an oil filter.

If you are a legitimate distributor running a commercial operation the overall costs are higher. Dont complain, youre getting off lightly.

[ukusa]

parts I can fit myself I will still get from the US or Uk , as it's still cheaper even with duty, gst, levies, Customs, MAF, postage & exchange rate etc etc.
I would not however buy a part from overseas that I could not fit/install myself and expect my local shop (who could have supplied the same part) to fit it.