Why are we forced to buy top end fishing gear from overseas?
Submitted by Seaquest on Sun, 2009-12-13 08:13
Can someone explain to me why top end fishing gear is so expensive in Australia. This is not a dig at local tackle stores just curious to know. I can buy a Penn International from the US for $500AU delivered to my door and locally would have to pay around $1000. Are we getting ripped off by Australian suppliers? With the Aussy dollar near on a par with the US where does that extra $500 go.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18254
Date Joined: 11/03/08
the way i see it . the
the way i see it . the manufacturer sells it to the supplier over here which incurs an import tax plus shipping costs, then the supplier over here then marks up the price to cover his costs plus some for themselves.then you have freight costs to distribute to tackle stores which is then paid by the tackle store then they have to cover their costs and then put some on as well to make the whole thing worth while then you buy the item from the tackle store and pay tax on that item. so you see it isnt a case of just bringing it in and selling it . everyone involved gets their slice of the pie hence the costs are higher than buying overseas
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
hlokk
Posts: 4293
Date Joined: 04/04/08
All that happens to stores
All that happens to stores in the US, Japan, etc. It would be marginally more for Australia due to distances, etc, but not 50% more. Online stores are often a little cheaper (at the expensive of no advice and no service), but they're only a little cheaper, so that doesnt explain it either. Its mostly the middle men gouging on the price (as HuggyB mentioned).
When you can buy a single reel, air freight it over in just a few days, and pick it up for a significant saving here (even including 10% GST) then you know we're being screwed. That reel has gone from china (to perhaps japan), then distributed to the importer, then the importer moves it around, and adds on some profit, then it gets trucked to invidual tackle stores, then sold online at profit, then gets priority shipped on expensive air mail, added 10% and then hand delivered to your door.
Get it without all that freight in the US, at wholesale, not retail prices, ship it in bulk and you're going to end up with something even cheaper.
fishfish
Posts: 307
Date Joined: 01/09/09
price difference
MMMMMMM I dont think you will find there is that much difference between most top end gear especially Inters..
Which particular model are you refering to and where are these prices coming from???
Agree there is a difference in prices but $500 is a fair bit out of the ball park....
Are you looking at the bigger name websites for prices or are you going in and getting quotes from the little guys ??? Check around I think you will be surprised at what some shops can do but once again not always..
Cheers fishfish..
Seaquest
Posts: 1141
Date Joined: 22/10/09
Fishfish I have a 50vsw and
Fishfish I have a 50vsw and a 30vsw delievered to my door for $990AU from US tackle store Moodymarlin. I would rather buy locally to get the support and warranty but when you save 40-50% it is a no brainer. I think youll find most guys on this sight buy top end tackle from overseas. I even know of guys that work in tackle stores and buy overseas. Maybe local tackle stores need to get rid of the middle man.(Probably can't).
injected80
Posts: 90
Date Joined: 07/01/09
yeh i just bought a
humminbird 798 side imaging combo from the us , quotes i got here started from $1740-$1950 from the us delivered to the front door $1060 . how much mark up do people actually whack on 300 - 400 % business is business but i dont think were being looked after at all . sorry crew but its hard not to get a bit annoyed when clearly these savings are huge as seaquest says 40-50% cheaper go figure .
HuggyB
Posts: 2515
Date Joined: 03/08/08
not tackle stores
its the middle men, the wholesalers/importers that are creaming it.
The Terrorist - coming to a fishing spot near you.........
Oceanside Tackle
Posts: 2803
Date Joined: 23/07/09
agree
Seaquest, Huggy is spot on re not the tackle stores but the Australian wholesalers, that make the difference.
The conundrum is the Australian price is higher but they do offset alot of $$$ in spareparts & infrastructure that online O/S business dont have to fork out.
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streaker boy
Posts: 527
Date Joined: 23/05/09
i got my raymarine A65
i got my raymarine A65 sounder gps combo from the us i payed $1080 delivered and at shops here in aus they were selling them for $2400
Ectopic
Posts: 208
Date Joined: 19/10/09
Some gear is competitive,
Some gear is competitive, but alot isn't. Just bought a SW20000 stella for about $50-100 more than it would have cost buying it overseas. Was happy to buy it locally for that kind of premium.
YGK ultra jigman PE8 line: bought it for less than $30/100m, retails for double that here! ripoff!
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Jarra
Posts: 34
Date Joined: 16/12/06
Where can you get a Stella
Where can you get a Stella 20000sw for less than a grand. I just paid $800us for one off ebay and only $25us for shipping. Got it last week no problems at all. I did buy some varivas big one to go with it from another ebay store and on closer inspection found that its dodgy. Looks like a manafacturing problem. Sections of line damaged. So ive been burnt on that purchase. Spose its the risk you take.
Ectopic
Posts: 208
Date Joined: 19/10/09
Got mine for $1070 from my
Got mine for $1070 from my local tackleshop. On creditcard, would have been slightly less for cash. Worth it for piece of mind IMO, only just over 10% price difference from what you paid.
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big red
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 05/07/07
That's what I paid
That's what I paid for one for myself recently, and I owned a tackle store! No margin in a lot of this gear. We actually made a decision to stop stocking a lot of the top end gear because we simply couldn't compete with the prices from overseas.
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
I generally dont buy any
I generally dont buy any reels from Aust due to the prices but prefer to buy either from japan or from the singapore factory alot cheaper.as far as warranty never needed to use it yet.Service I have yet to see good service from the stores I have been in to
Nathan
Feral
Posts: 1508
Date Joined: 01/11/06
im inclined to agree with
im inclined to agree with seaquest on this one .. i have just got 3 penn inters from moodymarlin myself .. ive worked in the tackle industry and i know that the margins are not very good on high end gear but i cant see why we have such a massive differance to a US store .. they are still running high overhaeds as its not just an online store so why the $400 price rise ?? frieght is not that expensive and yes import tax is a bugger but someone out there is making a killing.
fishfish
Posts: 307
Date Joined: 01/09/09
inter prices
Seaquest are you saying you got two inters for a grand !!!! if so then damn thats good, I appologise, prices must have changed alot since I bought mine a few years ago and I did buy then from O/S ...
Cheers fishfish...
kane
Posts: 1752
Date Joined: 07/12/08
Some things are cheaper some arent
What i dont understand is why stores inside Australia in other states are able to offer alot more competitive deals than stores in Perth.
Ive bought some high end gear from SA and some from Queensland and saved alot too some gear was cheaper or the same price than buying from O/S.
It doesnt bother me, and I dont feel bad about shopping around, but itd definately be nicer to shop locally if we could.
I do try to always use local stores for things like braid, hooks, sinkers, lures etc and obviously bait :P
Gooooone Fishin!
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
What may happen is that you
What may happen is that you will no longer be able to feel the product before you buy it unless someone else you know has one.
This is the case with some items in other parts of the world.
Obviously distributorship cops the brunt of global market venting while the Aussie dollar is boyant against the USD. Theres great element of risk in purchasing when the Aussie dollar is down. This is one of those times when stock movement may slow yet "infrastructure costs" have to be carried. Its part of the deregulation of the Aussie dollar floated against the USD. Distributors are well entitled to refuse parts and service for an overseas reel. Look at trying to find parts for those overseas second-hand imported cars with lower standards than OZ. Many are still quite prepared to support the overseas import but not the warranty associated with the Australian market it must service. Theyre not all the big bad wolf. Distributorships are set up because global manufacturers arent worried about the small Australian turnover. If thats lost youll be looking for parts overseas having to pull the reel apart yourself or sending the reel overseas to be serviced. Those costs wont be absorbed in the purchase price.
Be aware "some" products have different parts internationally.
The other is any parts or servicing will be done overseas. In some parts of the world there isnt facility to have your reel serviced or fixed with things like drags. At the least it can be a long way anywhere to get anything if you can.
Most the stores in some parts of the world only sell you gear and most of the high end stuff doesnt appear in stores. All other services are all but simply gone.
Some fellas who have purchased overseas rely on local servicing and repairs despite the thought that they will never need parts or servicing.
The Australian market is internally competitive otherwise tackleshops wouldnt be closing. Sometimes people buy dumped product from broke tackle stores and get a bargain or an old model.
If you have bought something at X but the US dollar falls youd be stupid to sell it for less than you paid. Thats the variable of risk that can send a store broke quick fast as many past retailers and distributors know to well.
Im only trying to explain some of the "Aussie" intricacy of distributorship. Obviously theres more to it. Maybe Ive got it wrong but thats the gut feeling. Please dont shoot the messenger.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
>>i know that the margins
>>i know that the margins are not very good on high end gear but i cant see why we have such a massive differance to a US store .. they are still running high overhaeds as its not just an online store so why the $400 price rise ??<
If the Aussie dollar drops to 68 USD cents plus "tax" it will become evident? Obviously there must be port costs, import licence and customs etc etc associated with this for a distributor?
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
big red
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 05/07/07
Stock turn
The amount a retailer marks up on product in th US is much smaller than the amount retailers over here do / have to mark up their products. I believe in the US the mark up is only around 10% ($200 cost, sell for $220) on many tackle items, where as here you'll find that same product will retail at around $299 - $349.
The big difference between the US and the Oz market is stockturn. A helluva lot more people in the states, and the amount of stock turned over is huge compared to the Australian market.
In the US they might sell 10 of a particular product all day every day with a $20 margin and make their $200, where as here the retailer might only sell one of the same item a day and make their $100 or so.
Basically the sheer volume of product sold by some of these stores (in the US in particular) means they can still survive (and thrive) even with a low margin. Some of the bigger online shops in Australia use the same principal and do very well.
It's certainly not the only reason we pay more for it here but it's certainly part of the issue.
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
US = 305 Million
US = 305 Million people
Australia = 21.5 Million people
No wonder many manufacturers arent worried about Australia.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
big red
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 05/07/07
Yep!
Got it in one Saltatrix! We're bum fluff in the overall world tackle market.