Buy from NZ? I tried but come on...

[rwh]

And this all started from a little Honda cowl.

Er, yeah.

Sorry about (my contribution to) the thread jack ...

Richard

[steve_t]

Why on earth not?

Would you and your competitors not all be better off if you agreed to share all your knowledge?

Richard

[QUOTE=rwh;1129960926
Here's another way of looking at it: You put in a whole lot of work to develop something you personally have no/limited use for, expecting other people to pay for it. Is that not wrong?

[/QUOTE]

LOL. The wink was me pulling ya leg mate. I don't believe anyone's hard work should go unrewarded. I'm just following this thread and trying to understand people's viewpoints. I found it interesting that you suggested to RT that he might be better off sharing all of his hardgained knowledge and skills with everyone else for nought but software programming is different. Not sure how we got off bike goods and services to IP and patents though etc

So, how do the clients that commission freeware able to maintain their businesses? With paid "pro" versions?

Hell, I have no idea what wrong with the quote thingy

[cheshirecat]

Why on earth not?

Our clients want something done, and are prepared to pay for it.

We can do it, and charge a reasonable rate.

If we weren't charging, we wouldn't be doing it, and the client woudn't get it. Where's the sense in that?

Richard

As an example of how to survive in software check this article out on film visual effects (miss out the tech stuff) and how the pipe line uses co's in India, UK and USA and, importantly, how UK VFX co's stay on top of the game.

[rwh]

So, how do the clients that commission freeware able to maintain their businesses? With paid "pro" versions?

They're not in the software business. They use it

Richard

[Robert Taylor]

Who ever said they weren't paid a decent wage? There are plenty of places in the world where $2 per hour is a really good wage and easily enough to feed a family with. It seems to me that your solution is to take their jobs away and let them & their families starve to death.

No, youve made an incorrect judgement call on what I said.

[Brian d marge]

Dont want to take this too far off topic , but was watching a news clip about a Restaurant in new Brighton Christchurch

Just asked customers to pay what they thought the meal was worth

and apparently there are one or two in Australia like that

apply that to a bike shop or import business,,,,, ( one half of me says its a good I dea the capitalist side of me just lost all bowel control )

Stephen

[warewolf]

How often do we hear of business owners working for less income than their staff?

Yes, but it's disingenuous due to risk & reward.

Business owners are working to build the value of their business that they will cash in later. They often get lots of ex-tax expenses paid and other "off the books" rewards not available to employees, particularly in this country.

Wage slaves basically walk away with only what they get paid then and there. If the business booms profitably the hard-working owner will not redistribute those rewards to the employees who didn't share the risk.

Besides, who says the owner has to have the biggest salary? Good staff in some industries are compensated at a higher level than owner managers. Big whoop. A smart business owner will attract and reward quality staff, thereby building his business. Doesn't make those higher salaries in any way wrong.

[warewolf]

Would New Zealand be a better place if we still had significant local manufacturing
as opposed to most stuff coming in from overseas for example our Auto industry, clothing Manufacturing industries, shoes manufacturing and there are a host of other manufacturing plants shut down as they cant compete with low priced imports.

Good question.

Thats a very vague and ambiguous question? Let me rephrase it:
1) Would NZ be better off with polluting, capital intensive, cost sensitive industries offering large numbers of low paying, tedious, menial jobs, so that people did not have to think hard about where their niche is, and what they can do to make themselves valuable? (And keepingi n mind that unemployment in NZ is pretty low anyway.)

Why be so negative?

I happen to work for a significant local manufacturer; a world-class exporter that has been going from strength to strength for the last 25 years. They produce a top-quality product that has contributed to the demise of a similar plant coincidentally in my hometown in Aussie. How? By using their noggins to work smarter & better not harder. Lots of automation, good processes, good quality control. There are surprisingly few menial jobs in the place, but shitloads of talented technical/engineering people that are always busy improving things.

[Edbear]

Yes, but it's disingenuous due to risk & reward.

Business owners are working to build the value of their business that they will cash in later. They often get lots of ex-tax expenses paid and other "off the books" rewards not available to employees, particularly in this country.

Wage slaves basically walk away with only what they get paid then and there. If the business booms profitably the hard-working owner will not redistribute those rewards to the employees who didn't share the risk.

Besides, who says the owner has to have the biggest salary? Good staff in some industries are compensated at a higher level than owner managers. Big whoop. A smart business owner will attract and reward quality staff, thereby building his business. Doesn't make those higher salaries in any way wrong.

You're perzackery right! At the moment my wife makes a more than double what I am, but I'm building a business from scratch and investing everything back into it. The medium term prospects are looking very good for fast growth and I have attracted the attention of "those that can, and want, to help me build my business." I've gained the backing of one of NZ's oldest and largest suppliers who want to work with me to our mutual benefit.

I'm also using my networking results both within NZ and overseas to take advantage of opportunities that would be unavailable to other competitors.

And, I do a lot of research to ensure I am aware of the industry and the markets I am targetting.

[R-Soul]

Good question.
Why be so negative?

I happen to work for a significant local manufacturer; a world-class exporter that has been going from strength to strength for the last 25 years. They produce a top-quality product that has contributed to the demise of a similar plant coincidentally in my hometown in Aussie. How? By using their noggins to work smarter & better not harder. Lots of automation, good processes, good quality control. There are surprisingly few menial jobs in the place, but shitloads of talented technical/engineering people that are always busy improving things.

I guess it does depend on how you define "manufacturing".

In this case the whole process of globalisation has enocouraged more thought, less "doing what he have always done", questioning the established, and finding a niche that is gloally competitive (and does not rely on taxpayer money and government protection to stay in busness). Well done. A classic case of redefining teh busness model and applying efforts to something more viable.

Now contrast that with the typical scenario of labour intensive, poor workplace conditions, crap pay, clamouring for government protection to "keep jobs", etc....

If its not viable, DONT DO IT!

[Gremlin]

Well... over the course of the last couple of weeks I've been one of those evil ones ordering from overseas.

6 packages, 4 from USA, 1 from Germany, but 1 from Mt Maunganui (part came from somewhere, NZ had no stock). These parts are not available in NZ, so I don't feel like settling for the inferior versions that may be available here.

Denali LED lights from Twisted Throttle
Various stuff from Touratech (Germany and USA)
HID lights from Xenonrider
Crash Bars and Air Pumps from AdvDesigns

All overseas orders arrived in no less than 5 days, no more than 7 days.

To console those that are preparing my lynching rope, the panniers, handguards and headlight guard were ordered straight from the dealer...

[mokomoa]

Parts ordered from af1 in Texas arrived within the week.
Parts ordered from NZ never arrived wtf.
Importers of Aprilia parts nz can fuckin kiss my arse will Never deal with them again!

[Smifffy]

Well... over the course of the last couple of weeks I've been one of those evil ones ordering from overseas

All overseas orders arrived in no less than 5 days, no more than 7 days.

To console those that are preparing my lynching rope, the panniers, handguards and headlight guard were ordered straight from the dealer...

How long did the panniers, handguards and headlight guard take to arrive?

[steve_t]

Well... over the course of the last couple of weeks I've been one of those evil ones ordering from overseas.

These parts are not available in NZ,

To console those that are preparing my lynching rope, the panniers, handguards and headlight guard were ordered straight from the dealer...

No-one is going to lynch you because obviously you checked with NZ bike shops And even if they were available here, if the bike shop's best price was $600 for something you can get for $200 overseas, no-one is going to (should) resent you for choosing the $200 option. There's a difference between supporting our local guys and just being stupid Just where the line between them sits is the issue, and obviously different for different people

[Gremlin]

How long did the panniers, handguards and headlight guard take to arrive?

Panniers were sent from Auckland (BMW warehouse) to Mount Maunganui within a week (they had to be keyed to the bike with locksets etc). Headlight guard was in stock in the shop. Handguards were not available in NZ, so arrived from elsewhere, and seemingly took over a week to reach Mount Maunganui, then sent to me in Auckland.

No-one is going to lynch you because obviously you checked with NZ bike shops

Well (now I'm looking for a lynching)... I didn't check the shops. They are not BMW parts, they are aftermarket accessories, Touratech, XenonRider, Denali, but yes, those brands don't even have importers in NZ.