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Australian Landscape Photography by Michael Boniwell
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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 4 of 5. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 60 | 61 to 80 | 81 to 86
Author
Australian prices!
patto
20-May-2011
9:21:10 PM
BD is not "by far" the largest manufacturer of climbing equipment. Their market dominance pretty much is only in SLCDs in the US, Canada and Australia. Quickdraws and other gear come from many other manufacturers.

Go to the UK and Europe it is completely different.

Pat
20-May-2011
9:21:52 PM
Petzl would be pretty big.
maxdacat
23-May-2011
10:01:59 AM
On 20/05/2011 The good Dr wrote:
>A friend is currently bringing specialist tools into Aust. As an example,
>one of these items can be purchased online for 50GBP, about $AUD80 at the
>moment. To get the stuff in the wholesale price is abot 30% less than the
>UK retail. His importation costs are about 25% of the wholesale (transport,
>insurance, customs broker fees, customs tarrifs etc) making his raw price
>for the goods about $70. He charges a 50% markup for his wholesale to retailers
>= $105.00. If the retailer charges a 50% markup then adds 10% GST, the
>cost becomes $173.25.
>
Good post there which adds a useful dimension....esp since this thread has the potential to become just another bitchfest against Oz gear retailers.
strerror
23-May-2011
10:50:56 AM
On 23/05/2011 maxdacat wrote:
>On 20/05/2011 The good Dr wrote:
>>A friend is currently bringing specialist tools into Aust. As an example,
>>one of these items can be purchased online for 50GBP, about $AUD80 at
>>the moment. To get the stuff in the wholesale price is abot 30% less than
>>the UK retail.

the relevant point.

>Good post there which adds a useful dimension....esp since this thread
>has the potential to become just another bitchfest against Oz gear retailers.

Well it's a different perspective but I've quoted what I think is the relevant part above, everything else just follows. The issue is that his wholesale price is not competitive, that simple. WHY it's not competitive I'm not so sure, from a negative perspective it could because the distributor is gouging, or from the positive you could make some kind of (imo tenuous) argument about how Australia doesn't have the buying power to buy bulk. At any rate that appears to be the heart of the problem. Now the question is, as we steadily move towards global markets, can they continue to price like this and actually sell anything in markets like Australia?
maxdacat
23-May-2011
11:37:11 AM
I do however feel sorry for anyone having to either import or export right now which highlights the cost of doing business in this country. Unfortunately the MUA seem to think that productivity increases should not be part of an above-inflation wage rise and their strike action is leagally protected Labor's "Fair" Work Act.

The Good Dr
23-May-2011
1:54:45 PM
There are two types of people who buy things - those who can claim it on tax, and those that can't.

For the example that I gave, the majority of my friends clients are able to claim it on tax, as it is generally business-business sales. so for the end user, they can claim the GST (-10%) and claim the tools on tax (- approx 30%) which brings the price eventually paid down to about $109. This makes it competitive for these tools as postage would probably be around $10-20 without easy access to warranty or returns and however long it takes to be delivered and the chance that it might not be delivered.

For those who can't claim it on tax it is unfortunately a different story.

StuckNut
23-May-2011
4:32:10 PM

Ok, now this is what shits me! After reading plenty of reviews I had my mind set on buying a Patagonia Houdini jacket, searched online and cant find anyone who stocks it in Australia, plenty of online stockists in the States - but it seams that no one will ship Patagonia clothing to Aust?

So basically by protecting their local distributor they are potentially losing out on sales as now its much easier for me to go and buy a competitors product than to frig around trying to source their product locally at highly inflated price.

cruze
23-May-2011
4:35:07 PM
mail-forwarding (never used it but it seems very simple).

Speaking of which, I can only find one Canadian mail-forwarder and they charge a fee of $50 on top of the postage. Does anyone have any Canadian recommendations?

atreyudelacy
23-May-2011
6:08:04 PM
On 23/05/2011 StuckNut wrote:
>
>Ok, now this is what shits me!....

Yep. Same reason i will no longer buy Black Diamond gear.

And yes, I could use a mail-forwarding service - But id rather take my business elsewhere.
Rolsen1
23-May-2011
8:29:29 PM
On 23/05/2011 atreyudelacy wrote:
>On 23/05/2011 StuckNut wrote:
>>
>>Ok, now this is what shits me!....
>
>Yep. Same reason i will no longer buy Black Diamond gear.
>
>And yes, I could use a mail-forwarding service - But id rather take my
>business elsewhere.

There are stores that will ship black diamond climbing gear, use the search

BoulderBaby
23-May-2011
10:13:12 PM
It's because of the gentlemans agreement, they won't ship to aus. If you want it, you should organise it through the supplier (which I think is now patagonia australia)

Also, I can't believe how cheap patagonia gear is in Australia compared to the UK!!

I now think of prices in how many hours it takes me to save up to buy it.
for example - UK - patagonia cap 3 - about 50 pounds - around about 9hours to earn it (earning 6 pounds an hour)

Or in oz, same thing - about $80 - takes me 4 hours to earn.

I know we all love to save a buck or two, and I especially do, but things in australia currently are really really affordable, I was so suprized how much things have dropped in price since I've been back, and how the hourly wage has increased for australians. We're getting it pretty good. It's not that hard to specially order something...
ninth10
23-May-2011
10:33:34 PM
The car example is a great one to highlight how we kill our own industries. Australia has some of the lowest import Tariffs in the world for things like cars- which would seem like a good thing, except it becomes so much cheaper to import than build locally. Which means local builders become non exsistent, and we are forced to import, and imperters can then charge whatever they choose.
If tariffs were increased significantly, we would initially pay more for imported gear, until companies started to produce the gear locally again, at a competitive price. Our desire to have cheaper imports is our undoing in the long run.
Philtown
23-May-2011
11:03:12 PM
On 23/05/2011 ninth10 wrote:
>The car example is a great one to highlight how we kill our own industries.
>Australia has some of the lowest import Tariffs in the world for things
>like cars- which would seem like a good thing, except it becomes so much
>cheaper to import than build locally. Which means local builders become
>non exsistent, and we are forced to import, and imperters can then charge
>whatever they choose.
>If tariffs were increased significantly, we would initially pay more for
>imported gear, until companies started to produce the gear locally again,
>at a competitive price. Our desire to have cheaper imports is our undoing
>in the long run.

This is bullshit. Relative to income, car prices have gone down since import tariffs were removed. If you worked in manufacturing, then damn. If (like 99% of people) you don't - you won.
martym
24-May-2011
6:43:01 AM
On 23/05/2011 ninth10 wrote:
> until companies started to produce the gear locally again,
>at a competitive price.

The interesting thing in this whole debate is the notion that Aussie prices are so high.
I am currently in the Czech Republic - home to Rock Empire, Triop and Saltic (right here in my girlfriend's town) - and all climbing gear here is relatively expensive - particularly since the average income is about $10/h.

I was in the mythical city of Arco last year - all BD cams were between 75-100 euro.
Simply put, once a product is in a warehouse - moving it once, twice, three times adds costs. There simply isn't the demand in Oz for someone to start producing another dragon cam? Maybe a thumb ring and extended sling!

And where do you think most of this gear* is manufactured? Have a good look at the fine print next time you buy some gear. Fact is - once demand increases, production will move to countries with cheaper labour to reduce costs.

*yes, I know this is a generalisation.
JDB
24-May-2011
8:48:18 AM
So what does one make of all of this.........
The logical end point of buying gear on-line is the demise of local shops.
I for one buy the bulk of my gear from a shop (Bogong, Melbourne) because the staff are well informed and are prepared to take the time to discuss your requirements based on their first hand knowledge.I'm fully aware I'm paying a bit more by adopting this approach.
'On the flip side' if I ever have any problems with gear purchase from fore-mentioned shop they will look after me with no questions asked.
There probably isn't anyone employed in Australia whose job couldn't 'out-sourced' for less money.
I guess I'm just an old fashioned guy

Big G
24-May-2011
9:09:18 AM
On 23/05/2011 BoulderBaby wrote:

>Also, I can't believe how cheap patagonia gear is in Australia compared
>to the UK!!

sometimes prices are a reflection of how the brand is held in esteem. try comparing north face (outdoor nike) to prices here. go to europe and look at the mercedes cabs (i know someone will talk about luxury tax etc etc but that only explains part of the difference).

there are many many factors that go into pricing - taxes, import but the number one reason outdoor gear is more expensive is because people are willing to pay those prices. use your hard earned dollar wisely, make every retailer earn it from you!

cruze
24-May-2011
9:54:03 AM
On 23/05/2011 BoulderBaby wrote:
>It's because of the gentlemans agreement, they won't ship to aus. If you
>want it, you should organise it through the supplier (which I think is
>now patagonia australia)
>
>Also, I can't believe how cheap patagonia gear is in Australia compared
>to the UK!!
>
>I now think of prices in how many hours it takes me to save up to buy
>it.
>for example - UK - patagonia cap 3 - about 50 pounds - around about 9hours
>to earn it (earning 6 pounds an hour)
>
>Or in oz, same thing - about $80 - takes me 4 hours to earn.
>
>I know we all love to save a buck or two, and I especially do, but things
>in australia currently are really really affordable, I was so suprized
>how much things have dropped in price since I've been back, and how the
>hourly wage has increased for australians. We're getting it pretty good.
>It's not that hard to specially order something...

That's an interesting comparison but it is, of course, overly simplistic. For just about everybody the purchase of outdoor gear represents a drop in the ocean of their spending. Wages and salaries are kept in line with the overall cost of living. For those of us that have chosen to borrow money to buy a house, it is my understanding that interest rates in Australia are currently significantly greater than most developed economies (including Britain). So while cams might cost you an arm and a leg in Europe, housing affordability in Australia remains historically high with our major cities regularly appearing in lists of the most expensive (judged on median house price to median income ratio) in the world. If the apparnetly "cheap" gear were more expensive in Australia then I doubt many people would be buying it locally at all.

I guess what I am saying is that products are priced at the point at which the supplier thinks people can afford, not what they are intrinsically worth. Whilst I think it would be a shame if importers/distributors and retailers went out of business, I think that we have to face the fact that the global economy is now more accessible to the average punter than ever before and will only become more so. If we look at the recent demise of A&R/Borders, a significant contributing factor is probably the accesibility of "grey imports" (ie books imported directly from O/S where the price point is lower). There is a strong similarity between that trend and low turn-over non-essential purchases such as outdoor gear. There will come a time where the head will get pulled out of the sand. Claiming a 12 month supply cycle to maintain prices might provide some accounting advantages but the clear downside is that when the AUD swings upwards your customers will look elsewhere.

Eduardo Slabofvic
24-May-2011
10:12:32 AM
The answer is blindingly obvious, you all need to become independently wealth to the extent that money loses its meaning and you can buy whatever you want whenever you want. Alternatively, you can become so poverty that each day is a struggle to survive, so partaking in frivolous activities (like climbing or other outdoor pursuits) is completely out of the question. I have chose the first option for myself.
citationx
24-May-2011
10:42:11 AM
http://www.smh.com.au/business/retailers-markups-under-threat-from-online-20110524-1f1g7.html
micko
24-May-2011
12:21:21 PM
Chockstone should ask for copyright on its threads. The article is almost a direct copy of this thread. Just search replace the climbing gear for jeans and shoes.

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There are 86 messages in this topic.

 

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