Haldanes is closed

[Glowerss]

I got the impression that the $90 was to fit a supplied chain & sprockets bought from Ebay & imported without paying GST & Duties.

The 90$ was to fit the chain and sprockets. The sprockets came from the last owner, no idea where he bought them, and the chain I bought from the chap who fitted them as he gave me a fairly reasonable price on an X ring chain.

Was going to buy the chain from whomever went to fit it, as 100$ isn't really enough to warrant worrying about.

But hey, don't let facts get in the way of you being a pretentious dick .

I can agree with personal items being charged duties and GST or whatever to keep things equal. Fully behind that. What I won't do is spend 2-3x the price on something simply because it's local.

[Madness]

But hey, don't let facts get in the way of you being a pretentious dick

And don't let being an overly serious gimp get in they way of having a laugh occasionally.

[cc rider]

Sorry to hear of closure. Was going to head down that way today when weta told me

We're (company) closing 1 of the stores. But are expanding the 2 closest stores. Go figure. And owners have axed management & IT positions & streamlined staff hours. There's an approx 30% drop in sales across the board over here. Am thankful that I don't now work for one of the smaller dealers. 5 shops closed last year that I know of around Melbourne.

We have a web store that sells from shop stock which is fine, but get dweebs in all the time trying to get fitted for gear then buy on internet.
Or buy from random internet sellers & want to return parts to our store... I don't think so... dicks

[FROSTY:Me]

The 90$ was to fit the chain and sprockets. The sprockets came from the last owner, no idea where he bought them, and the chain I bought from the chap who fitted them as he gave me a fairly reasonable price on an X ring chain.
Was going to buy the chain from whomever went to fit it, as 100$ isn't really enough to warrant worrying about.
ut hey, don't let facts get in the way of you being a pretentious dick .

I can agree with personal items being charged duties and GST or whatever to keep things equal. Fully behind that. What I won't do is spend 2-3x the price on something simply because it's local.

hang on a mo dude -first you say $90 VS $350 now its $90 to FIT chain/sprockets with the price of the chain on top
At a guess the job cost you $190-$220 all up.
So yep you saved money but not as much as your OP suggested.

[307a]

They died when they left Mt Eden.

Moving to Penrose was suiside.

[Glowerss]

hang on a mo dude -first you say $90 VS $350 now its $90 to FIT chain/sprockets with the price of the chain on top
At a guess the job cost you $190-$220 all up.
So yep you saved money but not as much as your OP suggested.

The original quote from several shops was 300-350 just to FIT the chain/sprocket. That didn't include the chain. Several of them tried giving me some bullshit story of it's a "long and difficult job"

Moto doctors sold me a chain and fit it for 190$ all up. Took them 30 minutes from showing up at me house to leaving again.

It's a colossal difference.

[Paul in NZ]

The only truth is that nothing remains the same for ever. Shops have always come and gone.

When the once world dominating British Motorcycle industry shriveled and died a lot of old fashioned shops hung on and eventually closed. Some took on Japanese or European brands and trickled on while some became the big bright modern franchises and thrived. Even in the late 50's and early 60's the arrival of the cheap and reliable (relatively) car's like the Mini changed the industry for ever.

IMHO we are seeing another major sea change in the industry. Less people are buying large bikes and more people are buying scooters etc. Makers from China are gaining ground and nothing commercially exciting is coming from Japan. Shops cannot stop people comparing prices or shopping on the internet and neither can the manufacturers. Maybe its time for a new business model.

No matter what - life goes on...

[Katman]

The original quote from several shops was 300-350 just to FIT the chain/sprocket.

Bullshit..

[PeeJay]

The only truth is that nothing remains the same for ever. Shops have always come and gone.

When the once world dominating British Motorcycle industry shriveled and died a lot of old fashioned shops hung on and eventually closed. Some took on Japanese or European brands and trickled on while some became the big bright modern franchises and thrived. Even in the late 50's and early 60's the arrival of the cheap and reliable (relatively) car's like the Mini changed the industry for ever.

IMHO we are seeing another major sea change in the industry. Less people are buying large bikes and more people are buying scooters etc. Makers from China are gaining ground and nothing commercially exciting is coming from Japan. Shops cannot stop people comparing prices or shopping on the internet and neither can the manufacturers. Maybe its time for a new business model.

No matter what - life goes on...

Exactly, life goes on.
but some people have trouble dealing with change.
When I first started working as a bike mechanic in the 70's workshop work was dominated by British bikes, in as much as we were always rebuilding engines gearboxes etc.
The workshops I worked in always had 5-6 mechanics and we were flat out most of the time.
There were also a swag of indie workshops around 2,3,4 people servicing the industry.
90's onwards everything is so reliable that mechanics, sorry technicians, are mostly changing oils and fitting parts.
Look in any large dealership now and how many mechanics do they have . 2 ?
No one would be suggesting that bikes and cars should be made unreliable to keep kiwis in jobs fixing them. Or are they?

All the whinging and moaning from people about buying from the internet, they forget that the parts are imported whether you buy local or import yourself.
By buying local you are paying someone to import for you. If you are willing to pay someone to do it for you, great.
If you are happy doing it yourself thats great also.

I would have some sympathy for their position if the bits you (or an importer) were importing were being manufactured here and cheap imports bought about the demise of manufacturing in NZ.
Oh right, it already has, cars, clothing, whiteware, TV, radio, etc

[FROSTY:Me]

The original quote from several shops was 300-350 just to FIT the chain/sprocket. That didn't include the chain. Several of them tried giving me some bullshit story of it's a "long and difficult job"

Moto doctors sold me a chain and fit it for 190$ all up. Took them 30 minutes from showing up at me house to leaving again.

It's a colossal difference.

Sorry mon I do not believe you. Which dealerships did you contact that said $350 to fit a chain and sprockets to a hornet 250?
ctreads quoted UNDER $300 .Botany Honda $350 Cyclespot Honda $340 That is for THEM to supply 2 sprockets and chain and fit it.
So when you add $80-$100 for 2 sprockets the the now $190 you have $290 The difference from treads price is now $10 and $50 at honda
Before comeing back with a kneejerk reaction please realise that some of us here actually work in the industry and know charge out rates for products and services.

[xknuts]

I wonder if their Victory Motorcycle arm is still going or not.

The 3rd NZ Victory Dealer in 5 years, Damn!

Nah. I got the same email an it said that Victory will be appointing a new agent. Sucks.

If there are any dealers left who actually want it! It is a point of difference, which is important, but I truly believe that the Aust Distributor has too much margin in it.

I really agree with what you are saying, but where is the threshold of reasonableness? I went to Haldanes for a set of fly bars for my bike, they were $675 NZD. The same bars on line from a Victory dealer in the States were $150USD delivered to my door.

Thats Crap! Victory (Ness) Fly bars from Dealers are $US275, if you got them for $US150 then 1) It wasn't a dealer 2) Second Hand Used
3) Damaged / Marked

[skippa1]

Thats Crap! Victory (Ness) Fly bars from Dealers are $US275, if you got them for $US150 then 1) It wasn't a dealer 2) Second Hand Used
3) Damaged / Marked

Whatever you like. I know what I saw. Fucken penis

[gammaguy]

The 3rd NZ Victory Dealer in 5 years, Damn!



If there are any dealers left who actually want it! It is a point of difference, which is important, but I truly believe that the Aust Distributor has too much margin in it.



Thats Crap! Victory (Ness) Fly bars from Dealers are $US275, if you got them for $US150 then 1) It wasn't a dealer 2) Second Hand Used
3) Damaged / Marked

Its called snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

[Robert Taylor]

Exactly, life goes on.
but some people have trouble dealing with change.
When I first started working as a bike mechanic in the 70's workshop work was dominated by British bikes, in as much as we were always rebuilding engines gearboxes etc.
The workshops I worked in always had 5-6 mechanics and we were flat out most of the time.
There were also a swag of indie workshops around 2,3,4 people servicing the industry.
90's onwards everything is so reliable that mechanics, sorry technicians, are mostly changing oils and fitting parts.
Look in any large dealership now and how many mechanics do they have . 2 ?
No one would be suggesting that bikes and cars should be made unreliable to keep kiwis in jobs fixing them. Or are they?

All the whinging and moaning from people about buying from the internet, they forget that the parts are imported whether you buy local or import yourself.
By buying local you are paying someone to import for you. If you are willing to pay someone to do it for you, great.
If you are happy doing it yourself thats great also.

I would have some sympathy for their position if the bits you (or an importer) were importing were being manufactured here and cheap imports bought about the demise of manufacturing in NZ.
Oh right, it already has, cars, clothing, whiteware, TV, radio, etc

So a logical conclusion to some of your arguments is that there will be no local distributors left and by implication no-one with any expertise to look after the more technical products that are imported. Clearly you have no idea of the huge investment many of us have not only in stock but also plant, equipment and ongoing training to support fully and properly the products we sell. And our pricing is largely competitive and flexible against the overseas resellers, who put nothing back into our local economy. Manufacturers appoint distributors for each country and expect to have local experts on the ground, who will be kept updated by the manufacturer with training in new technology and the specific ways and equipment to look after their products etc. Unless Im sadly mistaken.
When you are buying offshore you are buying off a distribution chain anyway, not straight off the manufacturer, or very rarely. Sure there has to be parity in pricing and there are many restricting reasons why there isnt in many products ( some justified, some unjustified ) but Id rather buy off a distribution chain that is employing our own countrymen, as much as possible.
I apologise profusely for having the temerity to have some concern about the plight of the average business in New Zealand and therefore the employment security of people that they employ.
There has got to be a balance and right now it is clear that many people are being put out of work and / or living standards are actually dropping because this whole vicious cycle is self compounding.

[Marmoot]

Robert, I think your situation is quite different from bike dealerships (particularly around bike parts, rider accessories, etc).

With the area you are in, there is a significant value added by the local retailer (you, in a rather "consultancy" role) who is able to add expertise and customisation to the merchandise (the suspension) that is often needed, resulting in the buyer's satisfaction and correct solution. To add on top of this, I've done price comparisons and found yours to be rather-surprisingly quite comparable to the overseas retailers, making buying overseas only marginally better at best, and not a good sense in most occasions.

With bike parts, where an exact part is desired and the actual problem (with the bike, etc) is known (e.g., buying aftermarket exhaust, rider accessories, etc), it usually comes with a combination of two factors:
1. local dealers very rarely adding insights/values (is it due to the number of casual workers? Lack of expertise? Or vested business interest in certain brand/model?) and/or
2. the price difference being non-sensical (e.g., Sidi Vortice boots NZD450 landed from Germany vs. NZD750+ locally. Admitedly this is likely to be a product of demand volume vs. population, and delivery cost).
Couple these with the ever-growing issues with instore services that are often lacking.

For future's sake, the need to support local industry is beyond question. However, where (on the customer's side) there is a need to balance the spending against the money needed to more pressing needs such as feeding their children / servicing the mortgage / buying fuel / etc, making a decision suddenly seem a lot easier where there is no distinct advantage in buying locally.

Going forward, the question is whether a middle ground can be found by local retailers, where the price difference to fuel the local industry's survival can be made acceptable to the customers by being justifiable through (1) the lack of delivery delay, (2) GST guesswork taken out, and (3) expert help (probably being the easiest factor to fix?).