Do retailers and wholesalers rip us off?

Forums › Off topic › Do retailers and wholesalers rip us off?

Eitsop

584 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 153

ID Verified

#245310 28-Jan-2019 20:04

Do NZ retailers and wholesalers rip us off?

I need a new electric starter motor for my ride on lawn mower,

- here in NZ retailer sells for $480 incl GST (RRP was 550+GST)

- in USA it sells for NZ$200, $250 landed (excl GST).

Surely the wholesaler in NZ is getting for a reasonable price and can ship via sea for cheaper pricing..

I would have considered buying here in NZ if was $300.

This is also why building costs as high due to wholesalers and retailers taking huge profits

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 12

1413 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 556

#2169301 28-Jan-2019 20:08

Unfortunately money makes the world go round. US has a higher economic market, more reach and people here want things yesterday.

People still need to pay staff and expenses and make a profit to take a little home. Mucking with customs and the things that can go wrong with these kinds of orders is taken into account

dfnt

1553 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1036

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2169303 28-Jan-2019 20:21

Oh don't worry, it'll become an even playing field once "Amazon tax" is in place and GST is charged on more goods being imported by the average joe in October /s

Dial111

979 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 656

#2169305 28-Jan-2019 20:25

I work for a wholesaler that imports goods and sells to retailers. The amount of people that walk in off the street and expect me to sell to them because they have the “I’m not paying retail” attitude is extremely high.

People seem to think if we sell something for X and it retails for Z than Y must be all profit. Wages, mortgages/rent, power, taxes, duty, shipping costs into the country, freighting goods around the country, surcharges on top of that etc, it all adds up before you can look a profit margins.

Not everyone is out to rip you off.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#2169306 28-Jan-2019 20:27

One thing some retailers do seem to do in NZ, is have a higher RRP, and then regularly apply discounts. This is because kiwis like to think they are getting a bargain when something has a discount. So really you should compare the discounted price. Also in NZ, retailers have to cover all the costs with running a business in NZ, including the CGA. So think of that as a kind of extended warranty, because in the US, if it fails out of warranty, you may not have any consumer protection. Often instead they will try to sell an extended warranty, which possibly gets it closer to NZs price. Plus obviously freight and lower population etc. I think your example isn't that bad in terms of the price difference, plus they are a lot cheaper than they used to be.

Eitsop

584 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 153

ID Verified

#2169308 28-Jan-2019 20:30

Agree not a retailers do.. lack of competition maybe in segment I was buying in

quickymart

14940 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13954

ID Verified

#2169312 28-Jan-2019 20:42

mattwnz:

One thing some retailers do seem to do in NZ, is have a higher RRP, and then regularly apply discounts.

Briscoes immediately comes to mind, with their seemingly never-ending "50% off everything!" Consumer did a piece on them a few years ago and found that their initial price was fairly high, and once the discount was taken off, it was only slightly cheaper (or the same) as a lot of other retailers.

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

Geektastic

18009 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8465

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2169313 28-Jan-2019 20:45

The distribution model strikes me as outdated.
If the public can order over the internet, so can retailers. Camera shops here have, for example, been known to circumvent official suppliers by ordering from the USA using their credit card.

Tracer

343 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 151

#2169314 28-Jan-2019 20:46

quickymart:

Briscoes immediately comes to mind, with their seemingly never-ending "50% off everything!" Consumer did a piece on them a few years ago and found that their initial price was fairly high, and once the discount was taken off, it was only slightly cheaper (or the same) as a lot of other retailers.

Kathmandu is an even worse offender (even their 60% off prices are usually ridiculous).

l43a2

1784 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 591

ID Verified

Trusted

#2169316 28-Jan-2019 20:50

attewell:

Do NZ retailers and wholesalers rip us off?

I need a new electric starter motor for my ride on lawn mower,

- here in NZ retailer sells for $480 incl GST (RRP was 550+GST)

- in USA it sells for NZ$200, $250 landed (excl GST).

Surely the wholesaler in NZ is getting for a reasonable price and can ship via sea for cheaper pricing..

I would have considered buying here in NZ if was $300.

This is also why building costs as high due to wholesalers and retailers taking huge profits

go into business selling these products and see how long you last selling them for 300 NZD.

chevrolux

4962 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2638
Inactive user

#2169318 28-Jan-2019 21:03

When the likes of Jaycar sell an Arduino clone for $30 that can be bought on Aliexpress for $3, I would say, yes, they rip us off.

But there are plenty of industries where the margins just aren't there from the wholesalers.

snnet

1413 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 556

#2169320 28-Jan-2019 21:19

quickymart:

mattwnz:

One thing some retailers do seem to do in NZ, is have a higher RRP, and then regularly apply discounts.

Briscoes immediately comes to mind, with their seemingly never-ending "50% off everything!" Consumer did a piece on them a few years ago and found that their initial price was fairly high, and once the discount was taken off, it was only slightly cheaper (or the same) as a lot of other retailers.

Yeah, Briscoes is a pretty big partaker in that. They do, however, have some items that are always cheaper than everywhere else, which they either make a very small margin on, nothing at all, or an actual loss to get people in the store to buy more things while they're there (loss leaders)

The number of times I've needed something from Briscoes and it hasn't been on special

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

snnet

1413 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 556

#2169321 28-Jan-2019 21:21

Tracer:

quickymart:

Briscoes immediately comes to mind, with their seemingly never-ending "50% off everything!" Consumer did a piece on them a few years ago and found that their initial price was fairly high, and once the discount was taken off, it was only slightly cheaper (or the same) as a lot of other retailers.

Kathmandu is an even worse offender (even their 60% off prices are usually ridiculous).

Haha, I remember being given a voucher for Kathmandu, I think it was about $100 worth.. I think I could afford half a jacket when it was on special or 3 pairs of socks

quickymart

14940 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 13954

ID Verified

#2169336 28-Jan-2019 21:51

Never bought from Kathmandu but if that's what their pricing is like I can see why they're in trouble (I remember hearing something along those lines a few years ago).

bunker

35 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#2169344 28-Jan-2019 22:38

Yeah you have to be skeptical of Kathmandu sales. It's very rare that anyone would actually pay the RRP because there's always some sort of sale. If it's not on sale then you can usually get at least 20% discount if you're a Summit Club member and sometimes there are special Summit Club deals between sales where you get around 40% off. The Summit Club thing seems to provide a bit of a work around because they can still say their RRP is their "usual price". I think it's a bit sketchy but the Commerce Commission doesn't appear to have said anything about it.

Lias

5655 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3978

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2169362 28-Jan-2019 23:19

Dial111: I work for a wholesaler that imports goods and sells to retailers. The amount of people that walk in off the street and expect me to sell to them because they have the “I’m not paying retail” attitude is extremely high.

People seem to think if we sell something for X and it retails for Z than Y must be all profit. Wages, mortgages/rent, power, taxes, duty, shipping costs into the country, freighting goods around the country, surcharges on top of that etc, it all adds up before you can look a profit margins.

Not everyone is out to rip you off.

Couldn't disagree more. If your business can't import goods in bulk from the manufacturer and get them to customers in country for less than a customer can purchase retail overseas and self import, then your business exists solely to rip off and gouge customers. Enjoy that while it lasts, but I'd be job hunting if I was you, because progress is coming and it ain't gonna be pretty.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 12