Thread: Why are parts so overpriced in Australia?

i won't mention specifics, but i can tell you what we did last month ( major electronics retailer in a small town)
we did over $1m turnover at 3.56% profit ( thats not a typo )

I understand your position but to be fair you should also state that the 3.56% is NETT profit after all expenses , which would include depreciation, rental of premises, motor vehicles for the boss and probably some execs, super for all the staff, taxes etc etc.

Small businessmen aften "salary sacrifice " into very expensive cars eg BMWs trhat are expensed on the business as well as "salaries " for the part time work for the wife and kids.
Any cash that comes in the door is sometimes taken home and used as the housekeeping.
So what on the surface can be a very low nett margin in some cases hides a very lavish lifestyle.
We have firends who ran a very modest Kayak business and yet were able to send their children to the most expensive private schools in Sydney. ( which we couldn't do with two educated adults working ). EVERY trip they made in their car was a "business" trip, and the drawer full of money was used for housekeeping.
Just trying to provide a bit a balance.
Regards Philip A

The insulting elephant in the room is built-in obselescence.
Not only are we being forced to pay through the nose for parts (eg, disc rotor $40 vs $240), but the life of parts we buy is compromised. - Tell me again about EGR valves that are "non-repairable" and turbos on some LR diesels that have to be replaced (at enormous labout co$t$) because a little attached device has died...and will not be supplied as a separate item. Not by LR, or even the turbo manufacturer.

As mentioned above, the quality of plastic door-handles. Indeed a lot of plastic bits on LR is of, well, no better quality than what's found in a base model Jap vehicle.
- And that's being polite... I've pulled apart enough of them....

If its not the part, its the way its used/abused. We all know the reason headlight switches fail, and the permanant cure. I'm betting LR also knows, and knew from Day One.

If LR builds its vehicles with the idea of 'constant repair/replacement' of parts, - Sourced by them and their minions at whatever price the market will bear.... then no-one should be suprised if the intended victims shop elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

well the challenge has been put out there
i won't mention specifics, but i can tell you what we did last month ( major electronics retailer in a small town)
we did over $1m turnover at 3.56% profit ( thats not a typo )
and we are one of the ones that people complain are "ripping you off"
I bet you won't beleive me, but hey, i have the figures, but as i said previously
"don't confuse me with facts my mind is made up"

So how much does that work out to per year or has that been adjusted back to a per annum?

Has everyone got paid and all expenses and overheads paid for, did you get paid, did your car get paid for or are you expected to take that out of your profits? To me I understand profit to be what is left after all the business expenses have been paid for. Please correct me if I am wrong.

And please keep your shirt on Rosscoe68, this is a discussion on a forum and people are entitled to their opinion and can learn something if they have an open mind. Yes I do drive a land rover, as a matter of fact I have two road registered and a couple that may one day be on club plates. Yes it has been my choice and I was not forced into it. It doesn't mean that I can't participate in a forum discussion whinge session if you like.

I have lived overseas and I think that Australia is still the best place to live. As time goes on I think that the advantages and our sense of fair play are getting getting pegged back as we have our standard of living eroded by having our jobs exported in order to lower production costs (maintain profitability).

I don't always think with my back pocket but I'd be stupid if I just lined up to pay out my hard earned after tax dollars with out looking for alternatives just because they are local.

Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

Having 10 years retail experience in consumer electronics, and 10 years before that in auto spares, i know what the margins are, and i know that you guys are incorrect when you suggest you are being ripped off in australia by the australian agents. but again, you only care for your back pocket and the truth is irrelevent in this argument.

Interesting read in the fin review about this issue on Saturday. Basically the wholesalers are under pressure to reduce their prices to Australian retailers because a lot of them are complaining. Problem is if the wholesalers match a price that's given to say a US retailer that US retailer will get annoyed because they sell 10x as much. It's a problem and it'll be interesting to see how it works out.

Originally Posted by inside

Interesting read in the fin review about this issue on Saturday. Basically the wholesalers are under pressure to reduce their prices to Australian retailers because a lot of them are complaining. Problem is if the wholesalers match a price that's given to say a US retailer that US retailer will get annoyed because they sell 10x as much. It's a problem and it'll be interesting to see how it works out.

Interesting experience when I bought my son some MAGLITE spares. (NiMH battery, QH globes and vehicle charger mount etc.)
Took a while to find someone who would sell to me via Amazon, due to agreements with Maglite and Australian Agents. Obviously 'not' a restraint of trade.....

Ended up with everything, around 1/3 the price of locally sourced parts...

Or to put it another way, could have had the latest MAG-Charger torch for $99, compared with $360 to $400 when bought here.

As a self-funded retiree/pensioner, I no longer have the luxury of letting myself be bled dry in order to feel good about 'Local Business'

Aah! the good old Lucas headlamp/indicator switch where the contacts melt the plastic from the amperage passing through it,the easy way to rectify that is to fit a double relay, I use a New Era twin unit,then all the switch does is change the relay coils (my 85 RRC had poor lights when we got it, H4 90/100's,no relay,fitted relay,reduced H4's to 60/55's =brighter lights than before)

And the reason they also fail is/was Leyland's/Lucas creed to use thinner 2mm wire,and not to use a relay,2mm + amperage= heat =El-Cooko

"So, At the end of the day, Buy your spare LR Parts from the UK, over the net Because they are Cheaper and they are in Stock"

Originally Posted by 1disco

"So, At the end of the day, Buy your spare LR Parts from the UK, over the net Because they are Cheaper and they are in Stock"

Not at all, as I said earlier, I buy here at the right price and get an overnight delivery.
You can't get it that quickly from the UK