Thread: WHEN WILL PARTS SUPPLIERS LEARN

It is going to be a growing issues I think for Australians, in regard to what we will all do for a job.

As the Americans have discovered they cant all sit around selling each other real estate and living high off the hog. US has 315 million people roughly in 3 times of Aus land mass, UK had 56 million in not much more than Victoria. Australia has 22 million, and all of us have very little industry.
Even leaving China out of it the scales of economy, easily explains why things are dearer in Australia. Less sales = higher prices.
If you run a business you have to try and cover money sitting on the shelf, Government obligations to accounting, WH&S, insurances, etc and then try an be competitive. Let alone the social worker side of things for staff. If we could all have the cash flow of Jerry Harvey we most likely would, but would we cut profits by half to be a nicer bloke for a strangers benefit?
I do find Coles and Woolworths not my friends and driving prices higher screwing Australians from the farm to the dinner table generally. Profits, profits, profits, business has no soul or ethics really.

I'd imagine there a lot of internet business that are doing very little. You cant see there stock, there ****ty little office with paper everywhere, or the possibility ol mate has another job. But little corner mower store shows it's poor stocks, rundown building, and has a desperate grab at making some profit when someone comes through the door. He has no choice, give it away or have a go.

I am guilty of buying overseas, and for me it basically greed and a first world thing. I WANT all this stuff for my car and don't have the finances to buy it all locally. So I convince myself i'm SMARTER and MAKES SENSE to buy overseas or online.
Maybe I'm dumb, got it all wrong, and have spent my money; but in deeper reflection of what will I do next because the car is done. I am not sure what my children will be doing when China and India get going. Maybe packing boxes for internet orders?

Just to add fuel to the fire, on the opposite side of the argument, a friend sourced a part from the usa, MADE in AUSTRALIA, CHEAPER than I as a retailer could buy..... And that was after he added freight to the cost!

And would that be the 3initials???

For me it's both the over-the top markups on items and **** poor customer service that makes me look elsewhere these days.

Example, few years ago I bought one of those chinese wiches. Worked well and I gave it a hard time but was reguarlly serviced. I neded up damaging the shaft, tried to get a replacement (winch was only 12 months old and it had a 3 year warranty) for it and the way this mob treated me was a lot to be desired, never returned my calls, rooted me around with bull**** excuses etc... I ended up getting the part after a couple of hateful phone calls but I won't buy one of them winches again. Shame because it was a good winch but if they can't be botherd to fix a small warranty issue then I'll be buying elsewhere next time thanks very much.

Trav

I do find it curious that some retailers only want high margin sales, and couldn't care about, or refuse to take reduced or low margin sales.

Surely some cash flow and some margin is better than none? Turning a customer away from buying a stocked item because they want you to match the price they've seen at a competitor (providing that price doesn't represent a loss), doesn't make sense to me. Sending a customer away happy because they think they've got themselves a bargain to me makes more sense than sending them away with a flea in their ear for daring to challenge the shelf price.

During my working life in spares I was taught that what one sells is SERVICE! even if your prices are a little above others if you can supply and guarantee delivery by a set time or date, then keep a client informed then he will give repeat business and if he knows your name he will ask for you

Rode down 35km to a local Kwaka dealer to buy a significant part and was told $1100 and place a 50% deposit and it will be in store in 11 weeks due to coming from Japan. Thinking everyone is dumb but I had already priced it from USA $560 delivered to my door, I said no chance mate as I now have to ride home then ride back again for double the price.
Part arrived on my door step 5 days later and I didn't have to go anywhere.
If I was him I would have done what I did and couriered it express to my door with maybe $100 mark up and I would have accepted it but greed and smugness seems to be the normal.
They bitch and winge about us not purchasing from them but when confronted about the mark ups and no courier service they then try to put the blame on us and state we won't have a dealer soon if YOU / US keep doing this to them.
They just don't get it. I suppose they are bike people not business people but they need to wake up and offer the same service. Employ some young business person who can set it up for them and train them in this area.

Originally Posted by UncleHo

In my work career as a spare parts person,one company that I worked for priced everything at cost into store,+200 percent,plus 12.5 sales tax, also while at Leyland Aust. There was an interior door handle for Mini and 1100's cost into store,18 cents,over the counter,$1.00 plus 12.5 percent tax,nice little earner,as these poor quality plastic handles would heat and during a summer day,and in the evening when cool would snap,an easy fix would have been to improve plastic quality,Nah! To good an earner.

Cheers

Hi Ho, Uncle. One of my past motor trade employers, you know which one, you worked at their roller skate division, used to add 210% to cost into store to set a retail price. So a $100 cost became $310 retail. They did give 27.5% discount to dealers and 10% to the repair trade. The $310 item was thus sold to a dealer for $224.75. Another, an importer and retailer of mining, construction, and earthmoving equipment, added 250% to cost making the $100 item retail for $350. They did not offer trade discount claiming they were the trade and all their customers were end users. They begrudgingly gave 10% discount to the then biggest coal miner who bought parts by the truckload.