Tirerack.com why would buy anywhere else?

[G-rig]

Now that's before you factor in warehousing or other overheads.

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to justify high prices and yes there may very well be lotsof other factors... like I said every case will be a bit different, but you can quickly see how Australian prices can be higher.

and don't forget GST as well..

However the difference is a bit too much and it's not all just overheads. I believe a lot of stuff in Australia has too big a markup. Bike shops are pretty bad too compared to stuff from the UK even when you factor in the exchange rate.

[andyhui01]

I got my Pirelli Pzero Neros 225/45/17 from Tirerack for $700-800 Shipped... they were on clearance at about $100 each if I recall correctly. Huge bargain, would not be able to get any relatively decent tyres for $800 in Australia.

And in regards to Australian products having a huge markup. I work for an online retailer for Telescopes and the same product is sometimes 50-60% more than the US, this is due to the high cost of Shipping items to such a isolated country like Australia (Low import volumes = higher shipping cost per item), this is because Australia doesn't have the demand like the US or EU due to the Small population. Also, it costs a fair bit to get items through Customs and Quarantine and alot of Paperwork is involved which also means more cost.

And from personal experience, its not the retailers who have a huge markup, its the Distributors/Suppliers.

[Peter Jones]

There's a lot of factors at play with the cost of goods priatlely imported.

Avoiding customs duties is the obvious one.

What's not so obvious is the long traditional of mail order goods companies in the US, they've been doing sales by catlogs for 100's of years and they're very good at it!

Labour rates help too.

When I attend trade shows I hear a lot of importers whinging about internet competition but they don't do anything positive about it. What they tend to do is cut supply to any retailer suspected of parallel importing. What they need to be doing is working with government through trade associations to fix up the regulatory framework that makes life so difficult for all of us.

Mind you the model of having distributors/importers is part of the problem, they're another cost in the delivery chain themselves and tend to make better margins than the retailers.

Have you ever wondered why there are no large on-line VW part sellers in AU?

HSY, Imparts or Tooleys could easily set up such a system but choose not to to "protect the interests of their retailers". i.e. We won't sell on the internet if you guys (the retailers) don't buy on the internet.

Some people would see this as a sort of protectionism.

It frustrates me endlessly, I can't build a relationship with a retailer as I can't get away from work to go shopping and I don't know what's for sale without a lot of phonecalls and phonebacks which I don't have the time for either.

I'd much rather buy direct from the importer, even at retail prices, via an on-line, phone or mail ordering sytem.

I think there's a middle ground yet to be found. The importing industry in general is still living in the age of sailing ships and a competition free environment. The current model is not sustainable.

I think Tim and his DubAddiction site is one example of where the middle ground might lie. There's a real need to be served and the traditional models just aren't doing it.

That's my 2cents worth

Pete

[The_Hawk]

and don't forget GST as well..

However the difference is a bit too much and it's not all just overheads. I believe a lot of stuff in Australia has too big a markup. Bike shops are pretty bad too compared to stuff from the UK even when you factor in the exchange rate.

Agreed, some stuff is expensive for no good reason, in many cases I think historically prices were higher and while costs have come down some industries have chosen to maintain sale price and make a bigger profit, but to be fair business is about extracting the biggest profit you can while being competitive, if that margin continues to be too large people will seek alternatives.

In reality, however, most people don't know better, in the case of cars they pay someone else to do all the work so will never find out. Of the remainder that do work themselves, 25% probably get their parts from the dealers, 50% from Supercheap/Repco which doesn't leave a lot of market for a specialist parts supplier in Australia.

[G-rig]

I agree with all things said above, but still think retail stores could do a bit more to become competitive.

A good example is buying computer hardware from places like MSY and Umart - they are very cheap for those in the know and greater savings can be had by ordering online (but picking up at the store) which cuts down the retail sales time. You could just go to Harvey Norman and other places and pay a lot more. These shops are just as cheap as other online only shops and the system works.

Perhaps it's just that industry but after a while you get sick of paying top dollar for everything here and ends up costing you a fortune. Still good to support the local guys though (I bought my last wheels and tyres from Bob Jane) but the discounts don't seem good enough to be honest.

I realize it's often the supplier/wholesalers setting the price though.

Importers should also be getting better shipping/buy rate than the individual shipping/buying one thing as well.

[No457 Snowy]

Another differentiator I have found in my experience is that the US companies also just seem to take the customer service side of things a bit more seriously than many local Aussie companies.

A few times I've ordered parts for cars or computers from local and O/S vendors on the same day and receive the O/S ordered items BEFORE the locally ordered ones. One time I received the O/S parts (Wheels From LA) in 5 days, which was just 1 day more than it took the local company to call me and say they didn't have the part I ordered from them and then they took another 4 days to send me a substitute part. that kind of thing doesn't help inspire people to do business with them in the future as the attitude is like "whatever", on top of the inflated price.



Cheers,

Snowy

[Dub_Star_V6]

All good thoughts lads.

The current import/distribution model is unsustainable, and retailers should try to do more to be competitive. But under current arrangements, where would being competitive leave retailers if their only source of product (through a 'preferred' importer/distributor) charges huge mark-ups, forcing them to recoup their costs by on-charging just as much again to the consumer? I believe the shopfront retail model is an unsustainable match for the way buying patterns are heading. So I can empathise, to a point.

@Peter Jones, I understood the ACCC was trying to minimise or remove the competitive impediments associated with parallel import restrictions? But doesn't that have more to do with licensing, IP and trademark (protectionism, by any other name) rather than pure price-sensitivity? You'd think if Item A is too expensive from Importer A, Mr Retailer will just go to Importer B and get it from them so costs are smaller > margins better > price more competitive? You'd therefore have to assume the AU market works primarily on margin, because the methods I've seen some places trying move stock (asking full price for stuff that's 5 years old!) it can't be working on volume?

As individuals, we can all make enquiries and receive what we're looking for in much quicker time and at quite a saving than local retailers because we cut out the (price-gouging) middle man. Unfortunately, being blacklisted by their distributors (for cutting out the middle-man) is exactly what restricts local retailers doing the same... I place an order, I put my money down, and the 'overnight' bag takes a week to arrive in BNE? And for this I not only have to wait longer, but also pay more than if I purchased the same item on-line, without any of the associated hassles?

For those who are interested, the recent case of removing parallel import restrictions for books could be substituted here:

“The Australian Government, through the Productivity Commission, is reviewing the restrictive laws that unnecessarily inflate the price of books. The current laws stop Australian Booksellers importing books other than through the Australian subsidiaries or agents of overseas publishers.

This may sound reasonable but it prevents copyright-protected books from being imported from the most competitive market, usually the United States or the UK, whichever is the cheapest when ordering.

The current law stops us buying books at the lowest price to put in our stores for you to buy. […]"

[gareth_oau]

I checked the pricing of a new Audi S4 from www.audi.co.uk and with all the options boxes ticked, total rrp was around $72,000 (converted).

The same car would cost around $170k+ in australia.

Whislt I'm sure Audi Australia is making a tidy sum from imorting, there are also Import duties, GST, luxury car tax, stamp duty, registration.

The government arent really benefitting from this are they????

[John Deere]

That difference is simply crazy to the point of being insulting.

[Stuwey]

total rrp was around $72,000 (converted).

The same car would cost around $170k+ in australia.

Try a new 911... US$88,000.... AUS$250,000

[G-rig]

That is all very disheartening.. US would be more fun to live as well most likely and everything is cheaper. Get stung too much for Euro cars here, especially ones with any kind of power. Can see why a lot of people get fast Jap imports for cheap!

[MattyT]

I have bought brake rotors & rims from tire rack recently. While the price was very good they shipped the wrong rotors the first time and then didnt pack the hub-centric rings the 2nd time. Not very impressed.

With the rims I ended up bitching to Wheels World who are buddies of mine. They happen to be personal friends with the O.Z. australiasian distributor. After a bit of back and forth they can now get rims for the SAME PRICE as tire rack!

Interesting, eh?

[Manaz]

Whilst I'm sure Audi Australia is making a tidy sum from imorting, there are also Import duties, GST, luxury car tax, stamp duty, registration.

Shipping from Europe to Australia isn't cheap, though they pay most of the same other costs (VAT, MOT, etc) in the UK. LCT hurts, we can't do the volumes here to drive profit through volume rather than margin.

Duties just dropped to 5%.

The size of the difference still isn't justified IMHO, but it's not a total cash-in-the-pocket job for the importer.

[G-rig]

I have bought brake rotors & rims from tire rack recently. While the price was very good they shipped the wrong rotors the first time and then didnt pack the hub-centric rings the 2nd time. Not very impressed.

With the rims I ended up bitching to Wheels World who are buddies of mine. They happen to be personal friends with the O.Z. australiasian distributor. After a bit of back and forth they can now get rims for the SAME PRICE as tire rack!

Interesting, eh?

You did well there, how long ago was that? I go my O.Z. through a local tyre shop but weren't exactly cheap however that was about a year ago when there was no stock of the ultras (may still not be?) and was happy to get a set regardless. Also came with the hub centric rings, which most places should know about by now but always good to give them a heads up. Also got em within a week/few days.

[pkjames]

does anyone know how much it will cost to ship a set of wheels ?
I am actually thinking of shipping a set of wheels and rubber all together.