Why are parts so overpriced in Australia?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

for years and years Dick Smith has been trying to get us to buy Australian for exactly this reason. and Dick Smith is an Australian legend, yet how did he make his fortune ? by importing and selling products at .... wait for it.... a profit to the likes of you and me...... shame on him for being such a capitalist :p

---

Rosscoe68,
Not disputing the buy Australian moto. But there is a point where "get ripped by Australians" is a joke. Yes I will look after myself and my family first, there are plenty of good Australian sellers that provide a reasonable service. If I see a 10% difference then I am happy to support the local guy. But what we are talking about here is often 100% and more mark up. (I have an example of 500%.)

Dick Smith has hunted down people on the internet for saying something bad about him.:lol2:

<<five paragraphs deleted>> :D

Love the guy, yeah leg end. ;)

hypothetical figures here, but lets just assume when you go online and buy direct from the wholesaler/retailer and save 30% you feel you aren't being "ripped off" against purchasing locally. yet that same wholesaler/retailer has put up there price by some 30% maybe more selling direct to market but bypassing all the other import duties and warehousing etc still being able to sell to you cheaper than local, in the end you save 30% but that seller has upped the price they would normally ship in bulk to resellers against your single unit cost. is that seller not " ripping you off " as well ??
the end result is you save money and that is where you stop looking,
unfortunately that's not the end of it.

the question really should be "Why do australians whinge so much about having to live in the best country in the world?"
we have amongst the highest personal income
amongst the highest personal wealth
we have one of the best public health systems in the world
one of the least overcrowded places

yet we still find petty things to complain about.

you should look at the floor covering industry.
Manufacture makes a carpet range. It is distributed around to the various carpet outlets. The non chain independent retailer is the best to buy from. Then you get the so called Big store, chains, I can't mention names, but well known. They buy the same product but here is the catch, they have the manufacturer relabel the range for the groups and major sellers.
IE, Manufacturer brings out a range say named "exquisite", it retails say for $100 per broadlom (3.66 mtre wide x 1 linial meter)
Then the Groups of Big Store buys the same product and has it renamed and labeled as ie "Tranquil Nights".and sell it for $180 per linial meter.
This is where it gets the consumer.
The Customer( normally it's the women who do the initial ground work and shop the stores.)
The same product but different names and prices.
The big boys at $180 will say this is an exclusive product to them, and with their buying power gives the customer the best deal.
After looking around the customer gets so confused with the daunting array of carpets, but shops around, goes to the independent retailer, asks a price of the carpet they saw at the big boys, but they don't have it. ( they do but it is hard to know what other retailers call their ranges.)
Also the large groups with the most stores are usually franchised. You pay a hell of a lot more there.
And don't get me started on the Seconds that some retailers sell to unknowing customers as first grade, but at heavily discounted prices, and the customer doesn't know.
I know of one lot of second grade carpet sold to a family as first grade. The carpet layer was told by business owner to lay it regardless even though the fault was there was no hessian secondary backing on the carpet. It was only tufted yarn into a primary poly sheet.
The customer paid. 12months later the customer had a flood, the insurance company sent out a carpet contractor to lift and try to dry and restore the carpet. After pulling it up, the carpet man was astonished, it had NO backing on it. They couldn't explain it, and the only conclusion they could come up with was that the backing must have dissolved in the water damage?:angel:
So if buying carpet etc, be warned... worst then car yards

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

the question really should be "Why do australians whinge so much about having to live in the best country in the world?"
we have amongst the highest personal income
amongst the highest personal wealth
we have one of the best public health systems in the world
one of the least overcrowded places

yet we still find petty things to complain about.

---

Whinge,we are having a whinge?,why would we be doing that?,because I can buy a service kit from england delivered to my door for $248 cheaper than buying it here.So my partner and I have good paying jobs that we worked very hard to get and as a reward for all our hard work we should let Oz companies mark their prices up to benefit from it?. Pat

It's all well and good buying local, however if the goods that you are buying are made overseas, then your money is still going overseas not staying in the Oz economy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ratel10mm

It's all well and good buying local, however if the goods that you are buying are made overseas, then your money is still going overseas not staying in the Oz economy.

---

The fact that money for the cost of the product goes o/s is not what is at issue here, it is the mark up that the local companies that handle the goods that is of concern. After all some of the product comes from the same place but the overheads/profits differ. It is this difference that we are all trying to minimise.

so **** off overseas where the wages are lower and rents are higher, steaks are dearer and taste worse.
You can't find affordable accomadation but you can save some coin on your spare parts.

owning a landrover in Aus is a CHOICE YOU MAKE
having good wages, good working conditions, good health care is something you get by default living here.
stop whinging about your choice and appreciate what we have

Mate, I don't think anyone's simply whinging about LR parts prices here, but rather about the cost of things generally? Yes the OP was about LR parts but the discussion's widened a bit.

Personally I think a lot of questions would be answered if retailers were to show their profit margins & a full break down of the cost of being an Aussie business.
I don't mean this should be on display in shops, I'm talking about putting the information here in this thread. I suspect it'd be interesting reading.
One of the new fast food joints on the outer edge of Robina Town Centre was telling me that the rental for their premesis is $15000.00 per MONTH! They get stuff all advertising or support from RTC for that, and reckon a lot of potential business is lost to the food court in the middle of the centre, because once you're inside, there's nothing to tell you there's all these alternatives to the food court - which predictably is Macca's, KFC etc.
Then he's got staffing, materials, utilities, tax, etc. etc. I dread to think what his break even point would be.

Just bear in mind that it's NOT only Oz where customers feel ripped off. It's a constantly recurring theme in the UK as well, and probably most countries in fact.
I personally know people who found that they could fly to New York, do all their Christmas shopping, have a short break as well & STILL save over buying the same gifts in the UK.