Technology Mark-up

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Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#1759871 9-Apr-2017 17:57

Geektastic: I've always struggled to see the value of distributors in the modern age.

I ring my distributor and ask for 10 widgets. He emails the manufacturer in Japan who send him 10 widgets.
He takes the widgets of of the box and sends them to me.

Alternatively I could email the manufacturer in Japan and he could send them direct to me....

So what is the value of the distributor?

I see the issue as sitting with the distributor you're dealing with...

Instead, choose one who holds stock at all times.

They tend to be a little bit bigger / established, and all things being equal, around to support you when said widgets go sideways and cause your customer to yell at you.

If a distributor doesn't look after you / hold stock, I agree - they're not a real distributor, they are a hobbiest and or fly-by-nighter.

The electronics industry is full of people who think they can do this sort of thing themselves, very few do it for more than a couple of years.

Geektastic

17942 posts

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#1759872 9-Apr-2017 18:01

Dunnersfella:

Geektastic: I've always struggled to see the value of distributors in the modern age.

I ring my distributor and ask for 10 widgets. He emails the manufacturer in Japan who send him 10 widgets.
He takes the widgets of of the box and sends them to me.

Alternatively I could email the manufacturer in Japan and he could send them direct to me....

So what is the value of the distributor?

I see the issue as sitting with the distributor you're dealing with...

Instead, choose one who holds stock at all times.

They tend to be a little bit bigger / established, and all things being equal, around to support you when said widgets go sideways and cause your customer to yell at you.

If a distributor doesn't look after you / hold stock, I agree - they're not a real distributor, they are a hobbiest and or fly-by-nighter.

The electronics industry is full of people who think they can do this sort of thing themselves, very few do it for more than a couple of years.

You don't get the choice in my industry. For example, Nikon has one distributor in NZ. Leica has one distributor in NZ. Sigma has one distributor in NZ and so on.

mattwnz

20141 posts

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#1759876 9-Apr-2017 18:22

Dunnersfella:

The electronics industry is highly competitive in NZ. I don't have any issues with the prices and amount of competition in general. Infact if anything it is too competitive, which can create problems for consumers with the higher risk of businesses going out of business, and then the consumer having nowhere to turn to under the CGA. But we have other industries which have little competition for a number of reasons. eg Food, building materials, some services etc.

If someone wants to make money selling things, unless they find a niche and get in before anyone else, there are probably easier ways than selling electronic goods.

old3eyes

9119 posts

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#1759878 9-Apr-2017 18:42

Geektastic: I've always struggled to see the value of distributors in the modern age.

I ring my distributor and ask for 10 widgets. He emails the manufacturer in Japan who send him 10 widgets.
He takes the widgets of of the box and sends them to me.

Alternatively I could email the manufacturer in Japan and he could send them direct to me....

So what is the value of the distributor?

Warrenty.

Regards,

Old3eyes

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1759941 9-Apr-2017 22:26

The retail sector in this country is fragmented and uncompetitive and, while there are exceptions in some sectors, prices are generally ludicrously out of line with the rest of the world.

There are some jeans I like to wear. Generally they are about $140, and you can sometimes get them for $100 on sale. When I was in the US on holiday and stuck my nose into Wal Mart, I discovered that the regular price on the same item was $US24.95 (approx $36NZ). The pricing on shirts etc was similarly good. Next time I go I'm going to just take a pretty much empty suitcase with me, and re-stock on that type of clothing while I'm there.

Cameras seem to have got better however. I still remember looking at a Digital Camera in the late 90s (Kodak DX210 plus from memory). The US price worked out to about $600NZ, as I had checked the pricing on the internet. I went into Hutt Cameras to but and asked for the price, and I was told something like $1,699. When I did a double-take and asked them to check the price again as they seemed to have made an error, quoting the US price that I could buy it for, the tall bearded guy I was talking to got very upset. He started ranting at me about how if people didn't support local retailers by paying a fair price there wouldn't be any local retailers. I walked out. Bought the same camera 4 weeks later, at a regular small suburban mall camera shop in Australia, for the equivalent of NZ $750.

I order a bunch of stuff of Amazon and Aliexpress etc. The range is much better. The pricing is much better, and when the local pricing is 2-4 times the imported price whether or not GST is charged is pretty much irrelevant to the decision. It's also often quicker than getting a NZ retailer to order something, as often they don't even hold what I am after.

JimmyH

2886 posts

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#1759942 9-Apr-2017 22:28

Plus, last time I was in the Middle East (about 2 years ago) the local supermarket was selling NZ butter and lamb significantly cheaper than supermarkets here do.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#1759968 10-Apr-2017 02:39

Contact lens solution somewhere else in the world: nzd 10 for 3 giant bottles. In nz = nzd 30 for one giant bottle.

Keep telling missus to make her own or import- any ideas?

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MikeAqua

7773 posts

Uber Geek

#1760022 10-Apr-2017 09:53

The main issue in NZ seems to be that we have a small population so turnover is low. Consequently margins are high to cover fixed costs.

I think fixed overheads like lease prices are way too high. In a low-turnover economy, why should commercial land be expensive?

Buy something from overseas and you get to buy in a high turnover, low-margin market. The cost is fewer retail jobs.

Mike

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