Ranting about NZ retailers

[Kickaha]

GST on the import was only $15, + importer 100%, + distributer 100%. Thats why a $100 lid costs $450 here,its the fat cunts on the gravy train.

Maybe in some cases but you're fucking dreaming if you think that's how it works all of the time on everything

[Brian d marge]

As I keep saying, the internet has been round for twenty years odd and in the last few years shopping has taken off, same here in Japan , so its not just a NZ thing
So retailers must change. Supplying a service and or knowledge
Anyone who says things like , can't open on Sundays , or we aren't in the entertainment business, IMHO is dead business walking
Let's look at a typical bike shop,
Carry some ( or can get easily) common spares , oil tyres filter etc
A few bikes for sale
But the real money made in providing some sort of service that allows the customer to persue their hobby such as MX , days , track day, museum runs,,,supporting customers
Anyway no concern of mine as its not my money ....:-) :-) :-) :-)

[mossy1200]

Marilyn Munro caleneders coming from UK if i cant find any locally for the wife.

ECU flash being done in the US because nobody here can do it.

Yoshi tail tidy coming from US because only cheaper ones avaliable here and the yoshi is 4 dollars dearer and has plate lights and plate surrounds also (includes freight).

r-77 yoshi pipes from the local bike shop but they will just import them and pass them on.


We do live in a small market but ill buy local if the price isnt over the top.

[Padmei]

I think you guys have to remember that you aren't just paying for the product when you pay the money over at your local shop. You are paying for the rent, power, office workers, accountants bills, toilet paper for the dunny, advertising,envelopes, stamps etc etc etc

Years ago we bought local cos if you wanted something to fit or didn't know where to get things the loacl shop was the place to go. They made money off you guys & that was how businesses worked. A business HAS to make money off you guys to survive. You could always go to the shop on the other side of town & compare prices or even phone other shops around the country for a better deal.

Nowadays the expenses for running the local shops hasn't dropped however people now can buy from dedicated big overseas vendors with excellent computerised systems in place, massive discounts from suppliers with an enormous international customer base. How can they compete with that?

Businesses HAVE to make money from you to survive- that's from their margins. If they don't they don't last - as we see from time to time. I don't know how this internet shopping thing will evolve but I def think the govt has to charge GST on everything landed here to make it a level playing field for local businesses.

[kevie]

I think you guys have to remember that you aren't just paying for the product when you pay the money over at your local shop. You are paying for the rent, power, office workers, accountants bills, toilet paper for the dunny, advertising,envelopes, stamps etc etc etc
Businesses HAVE to make money from you to survive- that's from their margins. If they don't they don't last - as we see from time to time. I don't know how this internet shopping thing will evolve but I def think the govt has to charge GST on everything landed here to make it a level playing field for local businesses.

All very true BUT the argument the local have wages etc.... aaahhhmmmmm so do the overseas suppliers too!!!!! NZers in a lot of cases are on a limited income, and its not getting any better as wages stall and costs soar... and when you compare things like my Starter motor landed here from USA for NZ$218 and in only 10 days as opposed to an excess of $1400 locally and have to wait 21 days for it..... where do you think Im going to go ???
Also the 2 rubber o'rings at $20 as opposed to shopping around and getting them both for $1.
And an Indicator for the bike at $146 and none in the country as opposed to $47 and delivery in 2-4 days..... what do you do??
All very good them promoting buy local (and I try to when I can)... BUT ... one hased to look at it practically and while the prices are so high, more and more people are going to look at alternatives, especially when most people are on the net now.

We even have a supermarket in town here but we shop groceries in Hamilton A/cheaper and B/Local ones a dickhead.

One asks the question as to Why OEM parts are so dam costly when alternative totally identical units are a mere fraction of the price ...... what are we subsidizing the OEM supplier for??
Actually the unit wasnt identical ... the OEM was 2 brush and the USA one was 4 brush.

[Flip]

I think you guys have to remember that you aren't just paying for the product when you pay the money over at your local shop. You are paying for the rent, power, office workers, accountants bills, toilet paper for the dunny, advertising,envelopes, stamps etc etc etc

If that is a justification for a $100 helm costing $450 business as it was here is buggered. There way too many fat fingers in many of our supply chains. No wonder the cost of living in NZ is so high and the GDP is so low. The thing to remember is the $100 is the retail price over seas. The other $350 is the local slugs punching your ticket.

I also buy a few HD parts from overseas but they are usually only 10-20% cheaper.

I enquired about a windscreen for a sports car here recently, the local robber wanted $5k, I went to the lotus factory who couriered me one inc freight for UK 500 pounds. Thats $4000 for what..........thats a fuck of a lot of loo paper........

[Pixie]

Oh man dont get me started. Alot of the gear I am after cant be brought online, companies such as stihl and husqvarna have strict no online sales policy. It got a bit embarrasing for husqvarna years back when guys working on the factory floor in sweden were buying saws THEY WERE BUILDING IN SWEDEN and exporting to the US online from the US cheaper than they could get them fresh from where they worked even with the company discount.

One chainsaw carb. here $326 and took a month to get here. I could have got the same unit from USA for $130 and was here in less than a week.

Its cheaper for me to fly to LA, buy 4 small pro chainsaws, fly back than buy 4 here locally. (and I get a few movies, sleep and meals)

Starter motor for stump grinder here is $780, get one landed here from USA for $240

Solanoid for diesel engine $700 is less than $200 in the US.

And the list is a long one, its often not the retailers, is the distributors that are nailing us

I can beat those numbers.

A pneumatic gripper for a robotic system: from the robot manufacturer $3040:00.From the gripper manufacturer $US 308.00

[imdying]

Distributors / retailers have to pay all of these charges so why should it be any different for Joe Bloggs?

Because even if they were to happen, I am 100% sure that there would be another perfectly good reason why you wouldn't carry every set of forks and shock that Ohlins make.... that would be too expensive, or the market is too small, or some other excuse. That can't happen, but until it does then I want the right to be able to drop ship whatever I want to fill in the holes in the supply chain. I don't get discounts from the supplier, and I have to pay freight for a single item in a plane, so it evens out just fine.

[SS90]

Jeeewizzzz!

Don't you guys think?

The prices in NZ are higher, simply because the industry is saving up it's profits so they can finally offer a 7 day a week trading and free phone line/website advise service.

I assure anyone that cares, the margins for parts in Europe (maximum 20%) simply because the market is CONSIDERABLY larger than NZ, and the turnover, even for small shops is again, considerably more.

I can also assure you that (most) NZ distributors hold more parts than most European distributors.
As time whets tougher, NZ may introduce tax on all these private goods coming in, however, I suspect that may harness Free trade agreements with some nations..... Maybe?

[DEATH_INC.]

I could harp on about keeping us all in jobs etc...but you've all heard it.
Same with sunday trading...how many of you work sundays?
Now...something some may find interesting...one of the local NZ tyre importers (official NZ supplier to this brand) can buy tires off the shelf ex usa cheaper than they get them through the official channels (direct from the factory). They can't though, as they have a contract to said manufacturer, and if they parallel import they loose the agency, so have no comeback on warranty etc, and of course they will have to compete with the new importer too.
It isn't always because the local guys are 'ripping' you off....

[imdying]

Businesses HAVE to make money from you to survive

If you think that they're going to do what by charging me $630 for a part that cost me $163 landed, then you and Blue Wing Honda are dreaming

If it was $200, and probably even $300, I would've just put the credit card on the counter without a second though, and wandered around the store looking for other trinkets to buy... so yes it actually cost them two sales at once if you look at it like that. They won't survive if they don't earn my money, and they aren't going to do that by trying to plunder me.

[Bassmatt]

If you think that they're going to do what by charging me $630 for a part that cost me $163 landed, then you and Blue Wing Honda are dreaming

If it was $200, and probably even $300, I would've just put the credit card on the counter without a second though, and wandered around the store looking for other trinkets to buy... so yes it actually cost them two sales at once if you look at it like that. They won't survive if they don't earn my money, and they aren't going to do that by trying to plunder me.

Thats the part I cant get my head around either. many times I have thought exactly the same thing. You would think a small margin is better than none at all. I can accept that things will be more expensive here and I'm willing to pay extra if it is reasonable but in every case I have experienced, the price difference is huge.
I have a conspiracy theory about this - the nz distributors do not want to be involved in this side of the business but probably have to be as part of the distributorship(?) agreement. They are actively destorying the demand for parts to be supplied by them with the ridiculously over the top prices in the hope that people will just stop bothering to ask and will source them themselves.
FFS Ive been quoted $15 for a bolt which probably cost 5c to manufacture and sells at Bunnings for $2. If it had been $7 or $8 I would have thought that it was a bit fucking steep but handed the cash over anyway, but at $15 they can kiss my ass.

[imdying]

Worse, they did it to themselves. I was blissfully ignorant of the dramatic price difference (although I always knew it would be cheaper), and it was only over $600 for a seat cowl that made me look further afield. I now have a guy in the states who is very reliable, very flexible, and well priced. He basically gets all my business, except for Suzuki OEM parts, who I still ask the question of Avon City Suzuki first as they're good cunts (tm) and I'm not against buying locally if it doesn't mean walking around bow legged for a week.

[Bassmatt]

Slightly off topic but while I'm sitting here on my very high horse I'll have another moan.
The majority of times I have taken a car, trailer, pushbike or even a lawnmower into a mechanic/service center , the person I have dealt with has offered to try to find second hand parts in order to keep the cost of the repairs down. I have never had this when I have dealt with motorcycle workshops. When I was quoted $600 for a radiator fan, once I had stopped laughing, I asked about the possibility of a second hand one. This was met with a blank stare and an eventual "I suppose you (meaning me) could have a look on trademe". No real suggestions, no mention of motorcycle wreckers, no offer like " I'll see if I can find something and get back to you ".
The stupid pricks could have got the same second hand fan I did for $75 and charged me $300 and I would have been very happy at saving $300 and gone around telling people how fantastic (pun intended) they were.
End of rant. I feel better.

[98tls]

I think you guys have to remember that you aren't just paying for the product when you pay the money over at your local shop. You are paying for the rent, power, office workers, accountants bills, toilet paper for the dunny, advertising,envelopes, stamps etc etc etc

Years ago we bought local cos if you wanted something to fit or didn't know where to get things the loacl shop was the place to go. They made money off you guys & that was how businesses worked. A business HAS to make money off you guys to survive. You could always go to the shop on the other side of town & compare prices or even phone other shops around the country for a better deal.

Thing is ive no real interest in paying for a guys rent/power/accountants bills,i understand how it used to work but the reality is very rarely would i notice if bike shops disappeared (as in shops that carry a few bikes and bits n bobs).I know what i am after so online i go and its here around 7 days later for a better price.Bottom line is if the bloke that owns the bike shop cant afford a new boat these days tough,either can i.