US bikes for sale

[krasher]

Classic.

[Robert Taylor]

Classic.

No, just respect for etiquette and leaving those to do it who will do it more properly than you are totally unprepared to do.

[Max Preload]

Yes I am. It goes hand in hand with stock and the cost of holding product. The warehouse rent, marketing, promotions,staff etc etc.
If we diminish the infrasturue we become a banana republic. Zimbabwe, Fiji.

I see what Krasher is doing and if he wants to do this for himself then its up to him.

But when he is openly touting to be the middle man then there must be a cost associated with this other wise the industry becomes disjointed.

And yet the absence of service and stock is an enduring scenario pre-dating the internet and parallel-importing. Dealers aren't owed a living - if they lift their game they have nothing to fear. That's why they are so fearful.

[scott411]

Heres a similarity.Well sort of.
I run a bike park as most know, part time. Yes I still need the day job. We have huge over heads(the tractor clunked last week so 45k for a replacement).
For a couple of months we have been in discussion with another private forestry block owner on South head. Best riding in the whole of Woodhill.

Well a few fuckwits from Silverdale have been illegally riding rather than paying like 99.9% of others do to ride. Well the second round of the two man has changed location because the land owner told us to go and get fucked because offroad motorbike riders are all dick heads. A few buggered it for the rest.

that really sucks, if you know who they are let me know, i will ban them from the facilties i help run as well, anyone that does this really effects all of us that enjoy riding off road

[B0000M]

And yet the absence of service and stock is an enduring scenario pre-dating the internet and parallel-importing. Dealers aren't owed a living - if they lift their game they have nothing to fear. That's why they are so fearful.

that hits the nail on the head!

[Robert Taylor]

And yet the absence of service and stock is an enduring scenario pre-dating the internet and parallel-importing. Dealers aren't owed a living - if they lift their game they have nothing to fear. That's why they are so fearful.

But that statement is tarring all dealers with the same brush! Those that are doing it well ( eg Mr Motorcycles ) are getting stronger. No-one disagrees that if they are not doing it well that they shouldnt reap the consequences. But parallell importing allows people to also not do it well and attracts fly by nighters.

[Max Preload]

But that statement is tarring all dealers with the same brush! Those that are doing it well ( eg Mr Motorcycles ) are getting stronger. No-one disagrees that if they are not doing it well that they shouldnt reap the consequences. But parallell importing allows people to also not do it well and attracts fly by nighters.

So they're doing well and have nothing to fear... seems like a win-win then. What was the complaint, again?

[krasher]

No, just respect for etiquette and leaving those to do it who will do it more properly than you are totally unprepared to do.

Mate, you're attitude stinks. I was just asking questions about all this and your getting all fired up. You don't even know how 'properly' I would do it. It's a different market. I am working in the second hand market here. It just so happens that the bikes are new.

I can either brush it off and say it's classic or tell you to GTFO of my thread because you obviously don't want a bike that I am looking to sell. Take your pick.

[takitimu]

Not really the same but its similar. So do it for yourself but don't go stuffing up an economy because that affects a far greater population and peoples lively hoods.

End of rant

That's no rant mate, it's a damn serious issue ( not just here, but globally ).

I've been thinking of doing a "rant" in our newsletter up here about illegal riding, in fact, I think I might have to make it a permanent message.

Skipping back to the issue at hand, my read is how much extra is it reasonable to pay in NZ for support etc, for me it's 25% ( give or take ), but I really struggle with paying 2-3 times for a product like say Renthall bars or FMF headers or Leatt, it's those sorts of extreme differentials that put people off & make NZ dealers look bad.

The way I see it if you look at a site/shop & know something like that is occurring on one product how do you know you can trust the prices on other products, I can see the variations now, but it's tough to escape the feeling that there are companies/distributers who are rorting NZ consumers & giving the ones who are trying to balance a good deal for consumer & supplier a bad name.

Skipping back to Robert Taylors reply to me earlier, maybe I'm being simplistic, if having a NZ warehouse means you struggle to explain your overheads ( ie. margin ), then maybe the idea of a NZ warehouse for those products is flawed, have one in OZ & distribute to NZ just as you would WA/Qld/NT/SA.

I just don't see the internet going away anytime soon, or overseas retailers stopping shipping to NZ, so I figure you either need to work out how to streamline your distribution path to be price competitive or offer a specialist service where that service ( eg. skilled suspension work ) provides enough value to make the additional cost worthwhile for consumers, but even there, I'd suggest there is no free lunch, if you supply product that costs you more, that differential is lost profit, now maybe there is no way around that, but I'd be looking if it was me.

Regarding fly by nighters, it'll always happen, whether it's cheap speakers off the back of a truck, tardme chinese importers here today gone tomorrow, whatever, but if your product offers value for money consistently & service, then you'll do ok, just look at eastwood hifi in Sydney, they are doing damn well against Harvey Norman & the fly by nighters & I'd argue their market is tougher than MX retail ( the undercutters are around the corner, nor overseas ).

[Robert Taylor]

Mate, you're attitude stinks. I was just asking questions about all this and your getting all fired up. You don't even know how 'properly' I would do it. It's a different market. I am working in the second hand market here. It just so happens that the bikes are new.

I can either brush it off and say it's classic or tell you to GTFO of my thread because you obviously don't want a bike that I am looking to sell. Take your pick.

No, Im just pointing out the pitfalls and defending too many emotive assumptions about established dealers that often do it well. Its too easy for fly by nighters and those who just choose to pick the eyes out of everything. My viewpoint is different to yours and devoid of the emotion you have just exhibited. Learn to take heat.

[Reckless]

That's no rant mate, it's a damn serious issue ( not just here, but globally ).

I've been thinking of doing a "rant" in our newsletter up here about illegal riding, in fact, I think I might have to make it a permanent message.

Skipping back to the issue at hand, my read is how much extra is it reasonable to pay in NZ for support etc, for me it's 25% ( give or take ), but I really struggle with paying 2-3 times for a product like say Renthall bars or FMF headers or Leatt, it's those sorts of extreme differentials that put people off & make NZ dealers look bad.

The way I see it if you look at a site/shop & know something like that is occurring on one product how do you know you can trust the prices on other products, I can see the variations now, but it's tough to escape the feeling that there are companies/distributers who are rorting NZ consumers & giving the ones who are trying to balance a good deal for consumer & supplier a bad name.
Skipping back to Robert Taylors reply to me earlier, maybe I'm being simplistic, if having a NZ warehouse means you struggle to explain your overheads ( ie. margin ), then maybe the idea of a NZ warehouse for those products is flawed, have one in OZ & distribute to NZ just as you would WA/Qld/NT/SA.

I just don't see the internet going away anytime soon, or overseas retailers stopping shipping to NZ, so I figure you either need to work out how to streamline your distribution path to be price competitive or offer a specialist service where that service ( eg. skilled suspension work ) provides enough value to make the additional cost worthwhile for consumers, but even there, I'd suggest there is no free lunch, if you supply product that costs you more, that differential is lost profit, now maybe there is no way around that, but I'd be looking if it was me.

Regarding fly by nighters, it'll always happen, whether it's cheap speakers off the back of a truck, tardme chinese importers here today gone tomorrow, whatever, but if your product offers value for money consistently & service, then you'll do ok, just look at eastwood hifi in Sydney, they are doing damn well against Harvey Norman & the fly by nighters & I'd argue their market is tougher than MX retail ( the undercutters are around the corner, nor overseas ).

I wasn't going to post again! I'd said my piece but to me that's balanced and pretty much perfect in every word from the illegal riders to NZ pricing an importing thing! I don't know anyone on here that owns a Chinese bike either. We are serious riders that want good quality goods and service, are prepared to pay for it, but are sick of the NZ captive market margin added! We don't want things to cost so much we have to choose another sport for our kids and us. As said a few times over the last few days we think its the double margin that's putting things over the top!
I would suggest that all of us prefer to support the NZ retailer a std retail margin used to be 30%. As takitimu says we would be happy to pay say 25-30% or so over USA retail but the 100%+ we see sometimes makes things look simply stupid! And we don't like being ripped.
I know (as takitimu says) Robert gives high quality service and loads of free advice and time to his clientele and motor-sport in general, always has, even in my karting days years ago! I can see why he's passionate about this! BUT there is a few in your industry that do not represent you well and I think you wholesalers/retailers need to clean up your own shop first, and not try and bully or guilt us to support your infrastructure??? Because we never will, get real!
Scott appears to be a case in point, maybe he is dealing with the importers that are not loading things up. Thor and Evs seem to be good. Maybe he's not dealing with the importers that make is shop look over the top and not stocking their lines, I dunno but he seems to have cracked it. NZ is simply Not a captive market anymore! Internet and freight technology has seen to that. Surly our importers are befitting from this as well, they just want to cling into their 100%+ margin. Costs bugger all to get a set of bars sent here, so we do! Its you retailers at the coal face, with the retail rents and time lost customer servicing etc that are losing credibility and money!
Just my 2c

[barty5]

[QUOTE=Reckless;1129360546
Just my 2c[/QUOTE]

By my count thats 12c keep going you'll be at a whole $1 soon hahahaha

[Reckless]

By my count thats 12c keep going you'll be at a whole $1 soon hahahaha

yeh LOL!!!! good one! that gave me a smile cheers!!!

[Shorty_925]

You have to pick and choose what to purchase from overseas, and same with trademe. I wanted to support a local shop, but paying $23 for 1 oil filter that should last all of 5 hours had me almost lost for words and thinking I need to find a new sport. Other shops around NZ have great prices, and so do shops on trademe. I got AXO boots for $300 from a shop, sell out price as model replaced, price fits my budget, and its the boot I want, being a run out doesnt bother me either.

Attitudes of some shops and wholesalers are questionable at best, I tried to get a new sole for a certain brand boot I had, asking for it to be sent in time for the weekend so I could go riding, to which the guy on the other end said dont we all. I would much rather walk over hot coals instead of buying that brand again.

[AllanB]

Assassin, you seem like you have a couple of issues with a few people, can i ask what you do for a job?, do you think there is a problem with people making a profit in your industry as well?

I like this. I'm in printing and publishing. I often quote on custom jobs and sometimes get people bitching about the price, wanting to know how much I am paying for the printing and what my profit is.

I politely tell them that is the price, our profit is our business, and they are welcome to find another provider. Often they return after realising it was indeed a 'good' price.

Others just rant - I usually politely ask what their profit margins are ..... this does not usually go down very well.


Having said the above, I know someone who priced a replacement battery for a CB1300 today - $400 bucks in NZ, he checked the net and they are US$80 in America for the identical item He's not happy.