Coleman Suzuki - Rip off of the month

[Katman]

Would you not buy a similar item if you found it elsewhere at a better price?

Believe me, we're out there. You just have to look past the flashy dealership signs.

[boomer]

Secondly, most Filipinos I've met speak (and no doubt write) better English than NZ'ers. I'm sitting next to a Filipino at work these days, and his English is just fine and his manner is couteous and helpful. He's been here 6 months. On my other side is an Indian, only 1 year the country, and he's the same.

I bet you three have great fun striving towards your 2nd Ronald Mcdonald Trainee star

[Max Preload]

I bet you three have great fun striving towards your 2nd Ronald Mcdonald Trainee star

I didn't know mechanical and project engineers qualified.

Of course the main reason they've had to get so many immigrants is that NZer's simply aren't up to the task. Why don't you ask some of your pals on the night shift restocking shelves at Pak 'n' Slave with you if they even finished high school...

[insane1]

colemans arent that bad at all have had some really good deals from alastair and willnot shop anwhere else.

[boomer]

I didn't know mechanical and project engineers qualified.

All that time at school wasted.

Never mind, another 2 stars and they'll let you make the difficult stuff.. like a Big Mac and Chicken Burger

Of course the main reason they've had to get so many immigrants is that NZer's simply aren't up to the task. Why don't you ask some of your pals on the night shift restocking shelves at Pak 'n' Slave with you if they even finished high school...

finished...??? finished....??? you have to 'start' to finish!

[Robert Taylor]

What do you mean "Its people like you who are ruining this industry".

By this Do you mean people like me who refuse to get ripped off?

Do you like getting ripped off?

Would you not buy a similar item if you found it elsewhere at a better price?

Be honest with yourself now.

I buy stuff from overseas on a semi regular basis, and your right sometimes you do need back up.

One electrical item I bought recently from a Chicago company failed. I emailed them, they replied overnight and I sent the item back. 10 days later the goods were returned all fixed. Thats probally better service than what I'd get from down the road.

Your also right when you say "Why buy a car in NZ? They are soo much cheaper in Japan"
I expect thats why theres thousands of Jap import Cars on our roads.
I would even go so far as to say You probally own one.

Maybe we should ask "Why buy a bike here"? They too are much cheaper elsewhere.

Maybe we dont need Stealerships, Maybe they will dissappear, Maybe no will care

As long as the goods people want are still avalible to them through some other means maybe no one will miss them either.

Would the last person to leave NZ please turn the lights out. I am in the position of seeing it from all sides and without time to engage in a large diatribe it is not as black and white as many of you guys see it. Suffice to say the cost of doing business in NZ is very high, the returns at the end of the day are very average and an isolated country of low population magnifies many of the stocking issues for distributors. How can everything be stocked with a good stock turn when we have such a small population, half of it on welfare....
Every overseas purchase is a kick in the guts for the employment prospects of joe average New Zealander, FACT.

[James Deuce]

Yeah well if there was $50 or so in it I probally wouldn't bother.

As for relationships I just wanna buy stuff at a reasonable price, not marry the theiving bastards.

And I've found there's more reward in puttin effort into sniffin out the bargins.

Sometimes thats the local guy, Sometimes Not.

The retail stuff I buy is the least of my purchases at my friendly dealer. You'd be surprised how quickly stuff will get turned around for you if you behave in a friendly and polite fashion.


There usually is only $50 or so difference, mostly less, in Internet purchases. The whole shipping thing from the US is a nightmare. Fed-Ex and UPS charge a freaking fortune including insurance which some vendors insist on.

I bought stuff of Shaun Harris for the Zed. He got the Ohlins sprung and setup for my bike before it went out the door. It cost me no extra, but it was right first time, no screwing about, and he genuinely gave a shit about how it had worked out for me. I'll taken personal service over a muntered box and no recourse any day.

[The Pastor]

at the end of the day, $150 for a light bulb is a complete ripp off. I hate having to pay $60 for some o rings, $100 for a set of bolts. $300 for a waterpump.

[vifferman]

Something no-one's mentioned is that I'd imagine brand dealerships have to stock and obtain factory parts, and don't necessarily have the luxury of obtaining parts through alternative sources.
That doesn't excuse shit service though.

I value loyalty very highly: I tend to be loyal to stores that treat me OK, and if I'm committed to buying goods or services with them instead of shopping around for the cheapest I can find, I expect they'll treat me OK in return.

That's why I keep going back to Motohaus: Kerry is pretty much straight with me, so I buy as many of the things I need from him as I can, and because I do that, he gives me good prices in return. However, the bottom line is I know he has to make a living, so I don't expect him to do stuff for free (although sometimes he does), or to sell me stuff at a loss, just to meet a price I saw somewhere else.

The best example of pragmatic thinking I've come across is a computer supply /service company that used to share the premises of a software company I worked at in the late 90s. This was the time of expensive IBM products and cheap clones starting to come on the market. The owner aimed to make 30% margin overall, which meant a profitable company. Time and again, he had customers saying, "Why are you so dear? I can get this product at Joe's Computers down the road for $150 less!"
His answer: "You buy it there then, if price is important to you. But I'll see you six months down the line, when the computer craps out and Joe's gone out of business."
And more often than not, that's what happened.
Heh. There was one building in our street that saw a procession of one 'fly by night' PC importer/dealer after another - something like 6 or 7 in two years. All but one went bust; the one that didn't had such a good business model that they had to move to bigger premises.

[uksteve]

I agree its not all about price. Quality, lead time then price. If you haven't got the first two then price is irrelevant. I do also agree about relationship building. I'll give you a good example of this. I brought a charger for an i-pod off an internet sight in NZ. When i ordered online a conformation e-mail was sent immediatly notify me it was in stock and would be shipped the next day. The next day i received an e-mail to say that it had been shipped with the tracking number. That day i receved the goods. It was packaged well, proffesionally labelled. When i opened the box there was a complimentary pen and a thankyou note for buying their product. The next day i received a call to make sure i had recived the goods and if the service was satisfactory. This going the extra mile didn't cost them much at all, although I became one of their best salesmen, telling all that would listen what a fantastic company and service they provided. Colemans have the same opportunity but decline to use it. Why??????

[The Pastor]

cycletreads also take not of what uksteve just said.

[pzkpfw]

For the record, I needed a new bolt for my Z. (One fell off; another story.)

Used www.Kawasaki.com to get part number of bolt.

Ordered from Motorad over the phone.

Got here in just three days. (Two nights)

Only $7.50 so I got two, just in case.

(I don't think that's a bad price for a genuine - made in Japan exactly the same as the other three similar bolts still on the bike - bolt).

They were friendly too.

[MarkDv]

I agree its not all about price. Quality, lead time then price. If you haven't got the first two then price is irrelevant. I do also agree about relationship building. I'll give you a good example of this. I brought a charger for an i-pod off an internet sight in NZ. When i ordered online a conformation e-mail was sent immediatly notify me it was in stock and would be shipped the next day. The next day i received an e-mail to say that it had been shipped with the tracking number. That day i receved the goods. It was packaged well, proffesionally labelled. When i opened the box there was a complimentary pen and a thankyou note for buying their product. The next day i received a call to make sure i had recived the goods and if the service was satisfactory. This going the extra mile didn't cost them much at all, although I became one of their best salesmen, telling all that would listen what a fantastic company and service they provided. Colemans have the same opportunity but decline to use it. Why??????

Customers are a great sales tool, but the old saying is "People will tell 10 people (or hundreds if they piss off a KBer) about bad service and one about good" Personally I agree with the above comments, Jamie at Whangarei Yamaha provides great service at good prices, has done since i went to him to get parts for my last bike. in fact was good enough I bought my XVS off him this year.

The 2 things to remember is know your prices and build a relationship with a parts retailer (either dealership or Repco type company)

[Dave Lobster]

At the risk of being sent to the corner with the D hat on..

I've found Coleman's to be alright. I'm buying a brand new bike off them today. Matt the salesman has always been alright with me. Always friendly and chatty, even though I've never bought anything from them in the past. Never hassled me into buying anything, or to go out for a testride on things, just to force a sale. He's even knocked me a fair few bucks off a bike that was already up at a discount price.

I've never bought any 'spares' from them. But to be honest, if I was buying a bulb for a bike, I'd have gone to Repco anyway.

[Tank]

The best example of pragmatic thinking I've come across is a computer supply /service company that used to share the premises of a software company I worked at in the late 90s. This was the time of expensive IBM products and cheap clones starting to come on the market. The owner aimed to make 30% margin overall, which meant a profitable company. Time and again, he had customers saying, "Why are you so dear? I can get this product at Joe's Computers down the road for $150 less!"
His answer: "You buy it there then, if price is important to you. But I'll see you six months down the line, when the computer craps out and Joe's gone out of business."
And more often than not, that's what happened.
Heh. There was one building in our street that saw a procession of one 'fly by night' PC importer/dealer after another - something like 6 or 7 in two years. All but one went bust; the one that didn't had such a good business model that they had to move to bigger premises.

And the problem is as soon as someone did it cheap AND well IBM died. Dell took over and everyone who purchases a machine off them has the machine made to order in Singapore (or somewhere). Whens the last time you saw someone buy a new IBM pc?

This is whats happening to dealers. TRADEME is allowing loads of cheap 'shops' and its becoming a de-facto choice when shopping around.