So, is your business included in our 'Rockstar' economy?

[Ocean1]

Its really sad that

1) No political party has the balls to tackle this or the inequities in taxes charged at the border ( commercial importation versus private importation )

2) No political party has the balls to get up and say ''We are going to be colour blind, all race based seats and treaty settlements are henceforth abolished''

Heck Id consider doing the unthinkable and vote Labour if they had such policy and the conviction to implement

At some point you just have to start considering such foreign economic behaviour as hostile and respond accordingly. The USA hasn't done us any favours for a very long time, and when their openly larcenous targeted pricing can be seen to have an actual dollar value attached I'm surprised many more kiwis aren't seriously pissed about it.

I've already had words in any ears even vaguely likely to be able to provoke discussion in the relevant quarters, but the fact remains we're a tiny economy, being taken advantage of by some very big ones.

[scrivy]

Heck Id consider doing the unthinkable and vote Labour if they had such policy and the conviction to implement

WTF???

[scrivy]

At some point you just have to start considering such foreign economic behaviour as hostile and respond accordingly. The USA hasn't done us any favours for a very long time, and when their openly larcenous targeted pricing can be seen to have an actual dollar value attached I'm surprised many more kiwis aren't seriously pissed about it.

I've already had words in any ears even vaguely likely to be able to provoke discussion in the relevant quarters, but the fact remains we're a tiny economy, being taken advantage of by some very big ones.

....and therein lies the issues with the TPPA..........

[sidecar bob]

Yip, know the feeling. Wife works 13-14 hrs everyday - seven days a week - damn near 100hrs a week.
I refuse to do any more than 70 hours a week now. But it keeps creeping up.
My main staff each take home more than me now for doing only 40 hours, and have 4 weeks leave, sick, bereavement, lieu days etc. etc.....
I've had 8 days of 'Leave' in 5 years, while all my friends are going away having fun in the weekends....

It certainly aint a Rockstar economy for me......

Maybe I should go belly up and be a burden on the tax payer....... probably be better off....

I think you know what to do, & it needs to be done sooner rather than later.
Being self employed should have advantages that suit the individual & the work give you a sense of satisfaction & achievement ( Id hardly need to explain that to R.T). Im happy to do the hours, the trade off for that is that I suffer no financial stress & can have a few luxurys.
Our friend with the blue Honda seems to like the freedom to work flexible hours & involve himself in activities that are not work related at times during the week. There should be an advantage that suits your purpose & if there is not, its time to move on, as you seem to be getting none of this.
And whats this about all your friends having fun?? Racing is not as fun as it looks anymore.

[Robert Taylor]

WTF???

It would of course never ever happen ( they are such a bunch of moronic inbred philistines ) but it seriously disturbs me that no political party has small business on the radar screen. We are just seen as a huge taxation base to feed their own luxuries and to help buy the votes off those with shonky historical ''grievances'' and other groups with their hands out.

[sidecar bob]

It would of course never ever happen ( they are such a bunch of moronic inbred philistines ) but it seriously disturbs me that no political party has small business on the radar screen. We are just seen as a huge taxation base to feed their own luxuries and to help buy the votes off those with shonky historical ''grievances'' and other groups with their hands out.

Go Greens bro, That Russell Norman fella seems to talk a lot of sense on important issues.

[Robert Taylor]

At some point you just have to start considering such foreign economic behaviour as hostile and respond accordingly. The USA hasn't done us any favours for a very long time, and when their openly larcenous targeted pricing can be seen to have an actual dollar value attached I'm surprised many more kiwis aren't seriously pissed about it.

I've already had words in any ears even vaguely likely to be able to provoke discussion in the relevant quarters, but the fact remains we're a tiny economy, being taken advantage of by some very big ones.

200 percent with you on that. The more and more I learn about Americans ( a country with neither creed nor culture ) the more and more I seriously dislike them. You can always pick an American in a crowd, you can hear their excruciatingly annoying /penetrating accents and general loudness first and foremost

The reason most Kiwis arent aware of the big picture is because they dont even think about all the implications of the American fed bullshit that is happening and they cant see past the ends of their own noses

[Robert Taylor]

Go Greens bro, That Russell Norman fella seems to talk a lot of sense on important issues.

Yeah, he would shut down all the means required to fund his expensive Communist utopia. A dickhead of the highest order.

[Brett]

I understand what you're saying, but unfortunately, it's just not the case now - price is king, and there is no loyalty anymore.
I know, because I have different pricing for some items on my website than in-store. Guess which ones sell the most....

As for service, we are constantly advising/helping customers (for sometimes up to 30-45 mins) about products, and then they say thanks... stand beside you, use their smart phones and look for the cheapest price on line. Cheeky cunts.
There is always going to be someone selling your products cheaper. (Not all of your products at one site mind you).
So adaption is almost irrelevant in todays 'I want it as cheap as fuck' world.

The landlords need to 'Adapt' too. There are simply too many stores empty now.

Yes, price is still somewhat king, however price competition strategies very, very seldom win in the long term. I have quite a few suppliers who will not sell to low cost discounters or e-only businesses (except us...but for a reason). The trick is realising that price comparability is still important, but creating augmentative strategies is equally important. Find ways to add value that competitors cannot easily replicate. People ARE price sensitive, but they are also lazy and many will take the least path of resistance to find what they want. As a business consultant (as well as owning two companies) I see this problem with many clients' businesses. The strategy is largely the same, individual approaches will vary. Increasingly, for many businesses, it is becoming an increasingly "adapt or die" situation. I have one business that is highly susceptible to market changes and one that is an absolute rock and where our competitors struggle to compete or beat us. Adaptation is most definitely not irrelevant. It's often that business owners end up in a "not seeing the wood for the trees" scenario being jaded by day-to-day issues. This is where external help/mentoring can be invaluable. IMO anyway.

Edit - there will also be industries struggling a lot more than others of course. Some industries are simply shrinking and that is all that there is to it.

[Brett]

Because they don't leave you any choice, try ordering these through the US site:

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/pr...workstation/fs

And you'll find they insist that their kiwi clients pay twice as much:

http://www.dell.com/nz/business/p/pr...workstation/fs

I'm getting fucking sick of subsidising my American competition.

Download one of the many browser options/add ons that will block your IP address and location and have the item shipped to a US forwarding agent who will on-ship to you. Easy. Done and dusted.

[Ocean1]

....and therein lies the issues with the TPPA..........

Absolutely, it's not for no reason it focuses on IP and patent protection issues, they're the only means whereby the US maintains their export pricing premiums and their ability to negotiate impossibly cheap imports.

That is only one part of the agreement, but I'd be surprised if most of it's terms didn't favour the larger economies, access to their markets is far more important to us than access to ours is to them. Painful, but something we're used to from our years of import restrictions through tariffs and distance related costs.

And I wonder if that strategy will work for the US forever. In spite of costs likely double those of a US business we're not only in the black again but earning just 20% less than them. And when their economy finally reflects their productivity, (as it eventually must) then they will have lost the work ethic required to earn their way out of trouble.

[Ocean1]

200 percent with you on that. The more and more I learn about Americans ( a country with neither creed nor culture ) the more and more I seriously dislike them. You can always pick an American in a crowd, you can hear their excruciatingly annoying /penetrating accents and general loudness first and foremost

The reason most Kiwis arent aware of the big picture is because they dont even think about all the implications of the American fed bullshit that is happening and they cant see past the ends of their own noses

To be fair, Robert not many are in a position to routinely compare US prices with NZ prices. And those that are can do fuck all about it.

[Robert Taylor]

Absolutely, it's not for no reason it focuses on IP and patent protection issues, they're the only means whereby the US maintains their export pricing premiums and their ability to negotiate impossibly cheap imports.

That is only one part of the agreement, but I'd be surprised if most of it's terms didn't favour the larger economies, access to their markets is far more important to us than access to ours is to them. Painful, but something we're used to from our years of import restrictions through tariffs and distance related costs.

And I wonder if that strategy will work for the US forever. In spite of costs likely double those of a US business we're not only in the black again but earning just 20% less than them. And when their economy finally reflects their productivity, (as it eventually must) then they will have lost the work ethic required to earn their way out of trouble.

If it wasnt for the fact theyd likely take down the rest of the world with them Id happily see the Yank economy collapse. These bastards have been so parastical into so many markets for so long

[Ocean1]

Download one of the many browser options/add ons that will block your IP address and location and have the item shipped to a US forwarding agent who will on-ship to you. Easy. Done and dusted.

Yeah, but I don't have the knowledge or contacts required to do that, and by the time I did I could have earned more than enough to pay the extra. Besides, Dell have no retail mechanism at all, anywhere, they ship orders out of Singapore and I suspect they're more than capable of tracing your credit card details or bank address.

But I agree, if more people went to the trouble then their international pricing strategy would be toast.

[pete376403]

Dell aren't the worst by a long chalk, basically any US based IP is between 150% and 250% dearer here. Microsoft CEO got arseholes in Aussie last year because of 60% mark-up there, so did visiting Apple dignitaries.

Don't know what you do about it. Maybe we should take a leaf out of China's book wrt respecting international copyright conventions, but that don't help with hardware.

Fuck 'em all.

In my case I'm going to suggest to my customer that he take a short break in Hawaii and pick up the ultrabook there, will work out about the same and he'll get a holiday. International warranty should take care of any concerns.

Or could buy online and use ShipitTo for the local (US) address and shipping.