mark up on USA electronics in australia

[DR]

you must remember that a dealer/importer is not doing a "one off" save a dollar deal, they have Wages to Pay, Wharehousing costs, warranty handling issues, parts inventory to keep, Import tarifs, a whole host of stuff that a single purchase guy does not worry about, so I do not really think that to compare what you can buy off (say) ebay or a direct purchase option is a fair comparison, and if you do buy over seas and you have a drama, who do you see first, the poor guy in your Local Tackle shop that you just did out of his few bucks, or maybe even call the "proper" importers/agents to try to get them to "bail you out", by the way, I do not work for an Importer I just want to get across why there can be a difference that APPEARS to be huge, there is a lot more to running a profitable long lasting business than just buying and selling stuff for a profit!

i usually buy my electronics from a reputable company in the US that would obviously have all the above, warehouse, shipping, wages etc. except for the gst. as they would import from the manufacturer as our importers do. So i am still in the dark as to where all the extra expense comes from.
I can import fishing gear from US tackle shops that is cheaper than i can buy (reseller price) from the Aust. distributors..
While we have middle men, who all want/need to make a really good living, we will always be behind the 8 ball.
Truth is on most electronic items you can save enough so that you can send it back to the US a few times for warranty before you get to the price charged over here.If you buy quality gear you shouldn't have too much of a problem. I don't recall any real mass probs with much over the last few years except for a couple of Lowrance items.

[mik01]

i usually buy my electronics from a reputable company in the US that would obviously have all the above, warehouse, shipping, wages etc. except for the gst. as they would import from the manufacturer as our importers do. So i am still in the dark as to where all the extra expense comes from.
I can import fishing gear from US tackle shops that is cheaper than i can buy (reseller price) from the Aust. distributors..
While we have middle men, who all want/need to make a really good living, we will always be behind the 8 ball.
Truth is on most electronic items you can save enough so that you can send it back to the US a few times for warranty before you get to the price charged over here.If you buy quality gear you shouldn't have too much of a problem. I don't recall any real mass probs with much over the last few years except for a couple of Lowrance items.

i absolutely agree. what - don't any other businesses in any other country have overheads? you think its all to do with wages and the min wage? most electronics are made in asia cos its cheap labour - therefore they are exported out of asia on an equal price basis to wherever in the world.

the receiving country has different taxes, fees etc and then there are overheads etc. we pay more here for items than most other countries simply because we earn more than most other countries per capita (ie - we are a first world country), and businesses know this. problem is we pay more tax, therefore are we any better off than the min wage earners in USA?

with pressures on families due to increases in costs of living (fuel, groceries due to the drought, profiteering etc) people are forced more and more to make purchasing decisions based on the dollar, whereas in the old days it was all 'buy local' because we could aford to (and really had no choice).

all this rubbish I read about service centres refusing to service a product would be contrary to the ideals of the manufacturer. they don't care where you buy it, as long as you buy there product instead of the oppositions. A service agent is paid to service a product by the manufacturer (what do you think - they do it for free????), therefore any agent who refuses to service a product, or any manufacturer that has a policy in place of return to country of purchase, will very quickly become known and I'm sure sales WILL drop.

if I buy some electrical gear from overseas, yet buy all my fishing gear locally and that agent refuses to help me when there is an issue, say goodbye to all of my business for life.

rant over

[peterbo3]

I have had many words to say on this subject in the past & agree that we are being screwed. After being in the US for nearly two months with three weeks to go, I have priced a huge amount of electronic & fishing gear first hand. And yes, the dealers here do have the same overheads as we do.
My new Fisher will be fitted out with all US sourced electronics, right down to the Navionics card.

[Noelm]

hhmm I wonder how much the difference in freight and insurance for a whole container compared to a single sounder would be, I also wonder how much outlay is involved in purchasing that container full of goods, (and parts that may not sell) it is also little known that the price that an Importer pays is not all that much cheaper than a "one of" guy pays ,because of the volume market over there, they work on a very low margin to get the business, I also wonder how much is required to setup a Service Centre (which is where I came into it) and sure you get paid for Warranty repairs, but there is a heap that get done on a "good neighbour" basis and never get claimed for, and the Glossy Brochures that are given away free even to those shopping for a model to buy OS, and then it attracts GST as well and SOME items attract Duty (not all) then the poor old Retailer has to make a dollar as well, or do you expect him to give stuff away?? as mentioned, I am NOT in the Import Business, but I know what goes into making a business sustainable! I do not say that to buy OS is not unattractive, but tell that to the guys that work at (say) Mustang Boats that just went guts up, sure it may not have been solely "back dooring" that caused it's demise, but I have seen some that it has.

[Noelm]

I must also confess, that my replies are just to show "the other side" and do not impact me directly (except as an Australian) so do not take this as an attack on anyone, it is just my nature to "see the other side" of any debate, not just a tunnel vision approach!!

[mik01]

Noel - you do have valid points and I'm certainly not taking anything personally. its a good debate actually - I've seen the same debate on the digital tv forum about buying from the small guys vs big business. its really no different - people are made to feel guilty if they buy from a big chain store rather than support their 'local', same as this argument around supporting local retailers over OS retailers.

if you take it all to heart, then we would all be buying from the local farmer's doorstep and living in Nimbin making our own clothes.

The fact that all of the products are manufactured overseas means all of the money goes overseas, bar the markup that supports local jobs. I haven't yet seen a business survive that hasn't needed to diversify its product offer - what I mean is that marine retailers don't only sell electronics, they sell as much as possible. The reason there are no 'fishfinder superstores' is that it won't survive - period.

without any knowledge of the mustang boat demise, I can say that most businesses that go under either don't diversify or identify declining trends in certain products, or are poorly run.

if the tiny amount of people who are buying overseas marine electronics causes any business to go under, then I will eat my own hat (with tomato sauce!). perhaps those retailers can take a lower margin on electronics to take back some of the sales? I'd rather have 10% of something than 0% of nothing.

[Noelm]

no I will not take anything to heart, I have a hide thicker than an Elephant and almost no comment will see me weeping, as mentioned I usually take the "other side" in most debates , whether it be marine parks, 2 stroke V 4 stroke whatever, just to see an open and fair view to all possible sides, but I feel that if all things are taken into the equation, then the Overseas goods can be more of a liability than a saving (but not always) and the Importers are not always just ripping us off, it is a very complicated business to keep rolling and keep turning a sustainable profit especially when you are dealing in fluctuating dollars (good at the moment though) a lot of Importers can get stuck with higher priced goods purchased just a few months ago, it all has to be taken into context.

[Dunco]

Like many others I've had a say on this topic. What I stressed in the last posts is that we don't know if the importers are making the margin excessive or the exporters are charging a stupid amount to load Ozzy software. Also while the people of Australia are buying the gear at a massive rate why would the prices go down.

[mik01]

no I will not take anything to heart, I have a hide thicker than an Elephant and almost no comment will see me weeping, as mentioned I usually take the "other side" in most debates , whether it be marine parks, 2 stroke V 4 stroke whatever, just to see an open and fair view to all possible sides, but I feel that if all things are taken into the equation, then the Overseas goods can be more of a liability than a saving (but not always) and the Importers are not always just ripping us off, it is a very complicated business to keep rolling and keep turning a sustainable profit especially when you are dealing in fluctuating dollars (good at the moment though) a lot of Importers can get stuck with higher priced goods purchased just a few months ago, it all has to be taken into context.

so you are all for the greenies to take over the bay then?


lol - just kidding!

[Noelm]

no, but if it was a very one sided debate, I would certainly take a stand for the other side (and have done so) but it does not mean I fully support them, as I said, if ALL the options are put forward and not a "one eyed" hypocritcal view, then I would stay put and keep out of it!

[Noelm]

Dunco, I know that the price the Australian Wholesaler/Importer buys the goods for is not very much cheaper then you and I can get them for, so after you add on all the "extras" I have mentioned the item (whatever it may be) cost a lot more "landed and in store here" than it does off the shelf in the US of A!

[STUIE63]

I can understand that people want to save money and are buying from the US and that is their choice but think about this - don't be hypocritical and go into local shops looking at the goods because this is a cost for local businesses like having the stock on the floor to press buttons on and pamphlets the salesman that might spend 10-15 minutes showing the unit to you and answering your questions
if you are going to buy over the internet then research over the net as well
just my thoughts and i don't sell this sort of products either but I do run a sales business and understand the on costs of stock , training , product support , rents and wages plus more
Stuie

[STUIE63]

just think about it this place might one day give your kid a job or might not be there next time for all the free information
Stuie
good investment methinks