BIKEGEARWAREHOUSE concern

[PirateJafa]

Yesterday I paid $120 to get a new throttle cable made up, and one inner cable replaced - a 20min job max. I paid in advance and I'm still yet to hear from the shop to say that it's done.

More fool you - best policy is to NEVER pay bike shops up front.

When it comes to items that require specialist technical information then I'm happy to buy local and get support. If I can buy an exhaust system from the USA for $600 and get in 5 days, versus paying $1200 and waiting two weeks to get it locally which one do you think I'm going to choose? Would you seriously take the $600 mark-up just to support local business?

And don't any of you think he is joking with his example - I was quoted the EXACT same figures in NZ, s I bought from the USA for half the local price. Local businesses can wank on about running costs, staff costs, rent and all that if they like. And that is fine, and a reasonable markup is acceptable. But double the cost? You've gotta be joking.

[scott411]

looks like they are treating there customers now like they treated the dealers when they were wholesale only, alot of missed deadlines that were promised,

i would ask for an immediate refund if you have paid up front for it,

[Robert Taylor]

More fool you - best policy is to NEVER pay bike shops up front.



And don't any of you think he is joking with his example - I was quoted the EXACT same figures in NZ, s I bought from the USA for half the local price. Local businesses can wank on about running costs, staff costs, rent and all that if they like. And that is fine, and a reasonable markup is acceptable. But double the cost? You've gotta be joking.

And youve made the assumption that bike shops make huge margins.

Would the industry you work in sustain close scrutiny? I think there are potentially a lot of people on this forum who live in glass houses and throw stones.

Its also more than a little unfair to tar all motorcycle dealers with the same brush.

[Robert Taylor]

More fool you - best policy is to NEVER pay bike shops up front.



And don't any of you think he is joking with his example - I was quoted the EXACT same figures in NZ, s I bought from the USA for half the local price. Local businesses can wank on about running costs, staff costs, rent and all that if they like. And that is fine, and a reasonable markup is acceptable. But double the cost? You've gotta be joking.

And on the flipside there are plenty of bike shops who havent taken deposits and are left holding the baby with non returnable goods that they often die with.

Yes certainly you should keep people informed and be proffessional but there are ALWAYS two sides to a story.

As I eluded to previously the supply cahains and lead times from manufacturers are by no means foolproof. But its always a little inconvenient to hear the truth of the matter.

Everybody on here that complains are obviously all perfect in their chosen vocations.

[Howie]

if you click on the link on the page about any any of the products that they are out of stock of, but well back order it leads to This page which gives a fair indication of what is happening with their back orders. I would say that meets keeping customers reasonably informed.

[AllanB]

And on the flipside there are plenty of bike shops who havent taken deposits and are left holding the baby with non returnable goods that they often die with.

A while back a dealer had XX bike in the window in a unusal colour - they had a customer order it and wanted it painted a particular colour which they did - come delivery time he did not complete the deal and the bike was up again discounted due to the paint!

2 weeks ago a big name CHCH car dealer had a sale on - two cars I'd been looking at sold, a week later they were back. Apparently in both cases the buyers wifes packed a sad..... full refunds were give on deposits and the legal contracts the purchasers had signed were ripped up. Kudos to the dealer as many hours were wasted no doubt.

BGW have a note if pipes are out of stock and you can check on the ETA of stock there too. I have been watching the Hornet pipes on there - out of stock since Xmas.

Ask for the bulk of your $ back and have them retain a reasonable deposit with balance payable on stock arrival. I'd be surprised if they did not consider this fair.

[firefighter]

Quite caside from the fact you didnt support local

Pffft. I'm still trying to get money back from motorcyclegear.co.NZ from a month ago on an item not in stock but on the companies front page, it was still on the front page 13 days later. (to be clear, no new stock would be coming in to replace it)

My only bad experience with an internet transaction and it was local. Oh and it's been the worst communication ever too. Literally 7 days for a reply at times. The 0800 No. does'nt even exist and good luck ringing the other no. it will ring for days....... I have about 10 different emails to and from and am close to using the diputes tribunal. I always from overseas companies have had a reply within a day, and i'm pretty sure they are far busier than this N.Z shop, which for christs sake is in the same damn City...... Which also funnily enough is actually listed under the new Yamaha shop in Glenfield. So here's your warning away from them all of you if this is how they run their business! Fuck that. I seriously would'nt reccommend it, they are really a hastle.

Even after explaining how the shitty communication is really pissing me off, I still have an un-answered email from 3 days ago.......

So much for local huh?

(I usually do buy local when it's economically viable or I need expert/technical help)

[PirateJafa]

And youve made the assumption that bike shops make huge margins.

Would the industry you work in sustain close scrutiny? I think there are potentially a lot of people on this forum who live in glass houses and throw stones.

Its also more than a little unfair to tar all motorcycle dealers with the same brush.

I made no mention of margins. They may not be making a profit on the product at all for all I know - but a 100% markup is laughable in the modern world. This planet is a lot smaller now than it once was

Over the last decade, the shipping industry has been forced to become far more transparent to their customers - as we pride ourselves on delivering quality service and work, this does not prove an issue to us. Others might do well to try the same approach.

There are a couple of good bike dealers out there. And I lavishly praise these places both verbally and online. But alas, their industry is let down as a whole by the majority - we can only hope that one day they learn how valuable customer service and being able to deliver on what they promise is.

[IdunBrokdItAgin]

And youve made the assumption that bike shops make huge margins.

Would the industry you work in sustain close scrutiny? I think there are potentially a lot of people on this forum who live in glass houses and throw stones.

Its also more than a little unfair to tar all motorcycle dealers with the same brush.

I've read your posts on a couple of threads now and you come across as a reasonable voice in the NZ bike industry.

But, the whole premise of prices in NZ is a bit eschewed.

In simple business terms:
Wholesalers should theoretically be able to purchase items for the cost of the manufacturers price (which is the manufacturers cost plus a premium).
Retailers should theoretically be able to purchase items at the wholesalers price (which is the wholesalers cost plus a premium).
Consumers purchase at the retailers price (which is retailers cost plus a premium).

What we see time and time again is consumers being able to purchase, by importing, the EXACT same items for far less than the the local retail price.

This would allude to the retail/ wholesale margins being too high or just sloppy wholesale importing by wholesalers. But, if it was the later, the consumer generally doesn't see the flip side (reduced local cost versus import cost) when the wholesaler has imported at a favorable (versus present) exchange rate.

It's all a bunch of bull when it gets down to it. Something is amiss if the consumer can consistently import at a lower cost than the local retailer.

NZ exporters (which are mainly dairy) moan to fuck when the exchange rate goes against them and put up the price of butter/ milk etc in the local market to cover costs (as if it is somehow subsidising local prices which is also bull but that is a side issue). But you never hear a word when a beneficial exchange rate movement goes in their favour.

Switch the positive and negatives around and you have wholesale importers.

What is truly happening is that NZ consumers are becoming savvy to the rort of wholesalers charging when they lose out but not discounting when they make gains. This is the true reason of why you are seeing more and more of the consumers bypassing both the local retailers/ wholesalers and sourcing direct either from the manufacturers or off-shore retailers.

For me the whole NZ retail/ wholesale model needs an overhaul or it will just fade away. I started another thread on trading hours and was quite simply amazed at the push back of industry people who (in my mind) are unable to grasp the concept of modern business practices.

[Elysium]

Took three weeks for my TBR exhausts to be manufactured in US, packed, shipped to Auckland and then shipped to me. That time frame you have been told is utter crap and should never take that long.

[Armitage Shanks]

Took three weeks for my TBW exhausts to be manufactured in US, packed, shipped to Auckland and then shipped to me. That time frame you have been told is utter crap and should never take that long.

I agree, the items I looked at were actually advertised as being in stock so, on that basis I clocked my order in. It was about three weeks later that I visited the chat forum on their website to be told sorry, they were'nt actually in stock but the order had been processed and I should see it arrive early Feb. More delays followed; last week they told me I should see it no later than this week, yesterday I'm told the order has'nt actually left the US yet so maybe sometime in April ?

I agree with supporting local business and all that but, why should I pay $1000 more and still have to wait 8 weeks from my local Bike shop ? Still, I'm increasingly starting to wake up to the fact that I may well never see my exhaust hardware. Caveat Emptor and all that I guess, I'll see how I go with a refund but don't fancy my chances .

[Robert Taylor]

Took three weeks for my TBW exhausts to be manufactured in US, packed, shipped to Auckland and then shipped to me. That time frame you have been told is utter crap and should never take that long.

You havent listened, these pipes may well be out of stock EX MANUFACTURER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[R6_kid:Me]

Everybody on here that complains are obviously all perfect in their chosen vocations.

I'm wash dishes for a living so it's not too hard.

I'd be a brave man to work in the NZ Motorcycle industry.

[dipshit]

its got worse since China decided to make more than rice and firecrackers, they are raping most of the worlds raw materials and creating big supply headaches for many traditional long standing manufacturers.

This is true. China is sucking up an awful lot of the world's raw materials at the moment. But if they did stop now it would kill the world economy that is already on a knife edge. Forestry and mining in NZ would die overnight for starters.

But yes, it is also creating demand and supply problems for industry. In mining there is a severe shortage of big tyres for earth moving machinery because China is buying so many with the large-scale development it is doing. The couple of tyre factories that make the really big stuff simply can't keep up with worldwide demand. New CAT trucks get delivered without tyres and mines need to source their own. In Australia large mining companies are hiring helicopters to fly around in looking at smaller mines to find ones that have a stockpile of tyres and then buy out the smaller company just to get the tyres.

[mazz1972]

Consider that NZ is a TINY market in comparison to overseas. I would expect our wholesalers and thus retailers have much less buying power than those in the US, UK, Europe and even Australia, and therefore run on tighter margins. Hence higher prices for some items? Because our market is so small, items of very low sales volume are not kept in stock by wholesalers.

On the odd occasion we have had to order parts which have had to be sent from overseas (ie. not part of a general shipment to NZ therefore spreading cost of freight) the freight has been more than the cost of the part.

Back to the original post.....sure it's frustrating to have to wait because the item was actually out of stock, but it sounds like BGW are almost certainly at the mercy of the manufacturer.....who maybe had unforeseen delays in manufacturing, or perhaps the production was not scheduled for a few weeks. BE PATIENT!!

Also consider that when sent to you, if the exhaust is declared at the price you've paid, you will likely be stung by NZ Customs for GST because the item is over NZ$400. If you ask BGW very nicely they may be prepared to send the invoice separately and declare the package value at less than NZ$400.