Gluey_trails
Likes Dirt
TBSM.com???
pretty sure it also affects New Zealand, Parts of Asia, South Africa and other countries of comparable size, not inter-connected to Europe or the US.One thing that annoys me is the fact that this big difference in cost on seems to be only in Australia.
Fact is we now live in a global market where we can order allmost anything cheaper online sitting in the comfort of our own home. The longer the LBS and local importers spend complaining about it rather than doing something to get customers into their store or buying online from them the harder its going to be to stay afloat.
Anyone who says they would rather spend double the money to buy locally rather than buy online needs help.
Here is a comparison of some of the things I have bought online from CRC over the past 12 months compared to if I bought them online Locally-
Shimano Saint Shifters 9sp M810 - RH Only-...............CRC- $65.14...Locally- $144.95
Shimano Saint Rear Derailleur M810 - SS Short Cage-..CRC- $112.31..Locally- $199.95
SRAM PG970 Cassette 9sp - Downhill - 11-26-............CRC- $53.34...Locally- $89.95
SDG Bel Air SL I-Beam Saddle & Seatpost-.................CRC- $72.22...Locally- $254.90
Shimano Disc Rotor XT 6-Bolt RT76 - 203mm 6-Bolt-...CRC- $46.55...Locally- $83.95
Pro DH Riser Bars 31.8mm - Atherton 2010-...............CRC- $70.10...Locally- $89.95
Total Price from CRC= $419.74
Total Price Locally= $863.65
Savings of $443.91 But I guess a lot of people reading this thread are more than happy to sacrafice this much just to support their LBS.
I work hard(when I work) for my money im not about to give it away.
I have spent $1,728.28 with CRC since the 12/09(Not all were for my own bike). Locally this would have cost me $5000+. In that time I have prob spend $400 in Local stores or Locally on line. And maybe $1500 on Second hand items mainly from this site.
If the savings were enough I would also buy a complete bike on line as my experiance with local warranties on new bikes is not good anyway.
I still spend money here but its usually only if I need the parts today or I can not find what I need on line. I then pay the premium. I also always shop around locally on line to see if I can find a similar price first before buying overseas. But this rarely happens.
T7 also kills the "Market Share" argument. They are based in NZ and also have an Aus base.
The old LBS vs the internet argument.Note: The cost of the Saint RHS shifter to your LBS is $68.00 + GST +Freight..Now You tell me how your LBS can make any money selling the Saint RHS shifter at CRC pricing !
They need to buy it from CRC tooNote: The cost of the Saint RHS shifter to your LBS is $68.00 + GST +Freight..Now You tell me how your LBS can make any money selling the Saint RHS shifter at CRC pricing !
Not sure if your laughing at the general thought of surviving on 15% or you misread my post.ROFL @ the thought of a small shop in sydney surviving on %15 margin.
Sadly, the bike stores cant affort to stay open on a 15% mark up
think about any piece of clothing you have bought, this stuff typically has margins of several hundred percent over the wholesale price.I wasn,t going to, but i will give you the $ involved.. The bike i bought cost $5300. They made $1000. As i said, i had been loyal to them and only shopped in "their" store for around 4 years ( and spent a F@#ken lot of hard earned coin ) .I just felt that they could have looked after me a little better . Hence my decision not to commit to a bike shop again !! Specials / Bargains Only - Otherwise it,s online browsing for me.
I really don't get your point in this thread I see what you are saying but it doesn't make it right.Note: The cost of the Saint RHS shifter to your LBS is $68.00 + GST +Freight..Now You tell me how your LBS can make any money selling the Saint RHS shifter at CRC pricing !
The fact is they will not survive on the margins they are making now if people continue to buy online. The more people that buy from places like CRC the cheaper their prices are going to get.ROFL @ the thought of a small shop in sydney surviving on %15 margin.
I do very much agree, I don't think that every item bought at CRC would then be bought locally (if CRC et al shut down) or even that every cent spent at CRC would be spent locally.Another thing to add. If prices were not so cheap buying online and overseas, it doesn't mean that people would be buying from their LBS. If I had $600 to spend on forks and could currently get some runout Fox 32 action at CRC brand new, but CRC shut shop, I wouldn't go to my LBS and buy some elastomer Suntour jobbies for $600. I'd be straight onto this forum, trading post, ebay etc to find a used set of Fox 32s. So I purport that the cheaper online prices don't correlate as closely to slowing LBS sales as some might initially think.....for some people, it just means they can afford new items instead of used. It's still an issue, I'm not dumbing it down, just wanted to add a different perspective.
What saddens me is that these guys are typically perceived as cheap price wise, and pretty good guys. But because of stupid distributor pricing, prices on big ticket items like frames or complete bikes are mind boggling.TBSM.com???
I,m a 47 year old plumber... You should see the shitty clothes i wear ! i,m not joking .If you want to buy snazzy clothes to wear, thats up to you. I just want reasonably priced bike stuff , that,s all.think about any piece of clothing you have bought, this stuff typically has margins of several hundred percent over the wholesale price.
20% margin is pretty cheap.
There is a perception that if it's on the net it's cheap. Strictly are far from cheapThere aussie BMX online stores like Strictly and Backbone who seem to be able to, once discrepancies in shipping and currency conversion are taken into account, consistently have a large inventory of items that are price competitive with the US online stores. Why not MTB?
2600 + 5% import duty on stuff over $1000= 2730TBSM - Santa Cruz Tallboy frame: $3699 (apparently $3800 Aussie retail) from TBSM
Competitive Cyclist (US based) - Santa Cruz Tallboy frame: $2350 (USD, and US retail), so ~ $2600 AUD
Now ok thats not completely fair, you've got to add 10% for GST, factor in a dodgy exchange rate, some shipping charges. But still, does all that really add up to $1200?
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