Thread: Sleeping mats - avoid the ripoff

I agree.

Originally Posted by inside

Why are sleeping mats so expensive in Australia? I just bought two Exped 7 DLX Comfortfoam mats for $257 delivered, should take 3 days to get here. With the exchange rate so good why are Aussie retailers charging $200 per mat?

Like a Thermarest?, here a Base camp extra large is $190.00, so two of them is $380.00, in the US 2 are $171. Delivered to Australia within 3 days it comes to a total of $245.

I like to support the local guys but they are ripping us off.

Where from? Merrell shoes are the same - $100 in retail stores in the US, over $200 here!

Try these stores. All seem quite reputable and will ship to Australia.

REI - Gear, Equipment and Clothing for a Lifetime of Outdoor Adventure and Stewardship.
Buy camping and hiking equipment from SunnySports.com < This is who I used
Backcountry.com: The North Face, Mountain Hardwear and Arc'teryx Skiing, Camping, Hiking and Backpacking Gear

Could be good for sleeping bags too, anything light and easily shippable would be worth investigating.

Everything is way over priced in Australia these days. You can buy a you beaut Chinese made Oztent in the U.S. for a fraction of what we pay for them,but guess what?, they have a no export to Oz policy. Makes my blood boil.

They probably need to make a large amount on each item to account for the ones that people buy online.

A friend has a motorcycle shop and has people come in and try jackets on, then say they'll think about it, then buy online for cheaper than even the bike shop can get wholesale.

Jeff

Originally Posted by inside

Why are sleeping mats so expensive in Australia? I just bought two Exped 7 DLX Comfortfoam mats for $257 delivered, should take 3 days to get here. With the exchange rate so good why are Aussie retailers charging $200 per mat?

Like a Thermarest?, here a Base camp extra large is $190.00, so two of them is $380.00, in the US 2 are $171. Delivered to Australia within 3 days it comes to a total of $245.

I like to support the local guys but they are ripping us off.

i will argue that emphatically !

Originally Posted by spinyeel

Everything is way over priced in Australia these days. You can buy a you beaut Chinese made Oztent in the U.S. for a fraction of what we pay for them,but guess what?, they have a no export to Oz policy. Makes my blood boil.

sorry, soapbox time for me here.
what makes my blood boil is narrow minded people that just don't understand capitalism and the reselling system in general. the people in australia that bring products into the country or make products here in australia do it for one reason and one reason alone. to make a profit. they will offer you support and backup and .... to make you want to buy off them, but in the end it is for one reason. cash in the bank. how is that ripping you off if they are supplying a product that people want to buy. just because you "can" buy it elsewhere cheaper doesn't mean that the higher priced people are ripping you off.
follow the trail of a product grey imported versus "not grey" imported from say U.S via seafreight. this is just a simple example

grey import via ebay
1 warehoue in U.S with no store front or sales staff costs advertising on ebay at negligable selling costs to them.
2 airfreight to your door
3 maybe customs if you do the right thing and have it declared.
4 thermarest, its yours for say $245


1 same warehouse supplier in U.S.
2 Purchaser in U.S. (maybe, maybe not)
3 shipping in U.S. to seafreight.
4 Seafreight shipping.
5 Customs and importing Duties and approvals.
6 Freight from seafreight to central warehouse.
7 warehouse storage and local packing. (warehousing staff wages, rent, electricity, phone etc.)
8 Storage in warehouse for maybe 6 months
9 distribution to your local store via more freight
10 warehousing in your local store (rental, electricity, phone, staff wages, warehousing costs etc for the local store so you can go and pick up at your leisure.)
11 stocked on shelves for you to go grab.
12 Thermarest yours for $380

can you tell me where you are getting ripped off ?
i'll tell you. its the U.S. guys selling direct to you charging you probably 50% more than the export price that the australian importers buy it at. because you bypass all the local infrastructure you get it cheaper, but as a grey importer, you are the one getting ripped off by the U.S. warehouses. might pay less, and that may be the only consideration to you. but that doesnt mean the correct path of imports into australia is ripping you off.


/end rant

Point taken, Roscoe.

But I don't think when people are using the term "rip-off" they are making value judgements about local sellers and mean no offence. What they are doing they when they say that is speaking relatively about the price to your door.

We are in a phase where retailing as we know it is changing fundamentally. Fair enough it is not all upside. Local suppliers (and how are we going define local? The definition of that is changing too) can show us and explain to us and we can see and feel the products and it has been a great thing...but how would I buy a sleeping mat now? Well I'd probably come on here and ask and I'd gather the thoughts and opinions of a community like this one - and I'd go online and order if I was going to save that much money.

You pick and choose, I support my local hardware guy. I have zero practical aptitude and knowledge and the stuff I get from the hardware store, bits and bobs, I need to access my guy's help. It's easier than going online or wandering lost round the aisles of some mega warehouse.

When I need a dual battery controller I know where to go, I'm going "local". I think the guy on here lives in Queensland. And I'd go local for a TD5 ECU upgrade, local as in South Australia etc.

And what about that laughable (if it wasn't sad) decision the Fed Govt made on book imports. It's a book; I go to Amazon.

I think I know what capitalism is.

Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

can you tell me where you are getting ripped off ?

Err by $150 if I shop locally.

Just got my FL2 serviced they told me that by next service I would "need" new pads. To me that says by next service I'll "need" to spend $800 on pads on discs. Well I know exactly how much new pads and discs will cost me both genuine and aftermarket shipped form the UK to me. I know roughly how long it will take me to change them and my bet is I'll save 40%. Should I feel sorry or just accept that the LR dealer is looking at his profit margin and smiling. I'm in sales and I do well at it. The prospect, in this case me, is selfish and only cares about themselves and if the LR service guys were any good they could change my thinking but I know they wont try so they'll lose the sale.

It's the same with the local sleeping mat shop, they just aren't trying hard enough, just put the price on the site and that will do. Well google is your friend and it saved me $150, enough to put food on the table for a week. If the store owner of an outdoor shop can't understand that well they need to look at their business model.