Re: What performance from standard 350LC ?
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:39 am
Very interesting subject as you say and i call it as i see it really, as i know a lot of guys do when it is right there in their face. I also run a small business and most of my work is done in Europe, which means i still charge the same in Euros as i did before, but now earn less. no one in Europe would buy my services for 1.5x the price just because i want them to, they dont care about my exchange rate. Its a factor ive seen in many other small businesses in my area, if you sell abroad then you need to earn less in Au$ or dont sell anything. So i do see why people locally dont want to charge less just cos the rest of the world seems to be cheaper... services and products are not fuel in Aus, they stay mostly static in price.
Amusingly i was in MCA a few weeks back as i wanted an RGV250 38T sprocket for my LC and thought i would get a price since i try to buy locally when i can and it makes sense that Renthal sprockets come from the uk so with our currency on a high we should get a good deal locally even after imports/postage etc. So i ask and they dont have one on the shelf of course, and need to ring the importer. He says they dont bring the 38Tooth units into Aus and if they did they would be the normal price of 89.95. I said to the sales guy, 'shame as that means id be back to buying online...' The importer hears me and says ' {sigh}... like everyone else!'. So we chat about it and he isnt happy losing sales to online and i say that i can get a Renthal sprocket to my door for just less than $50 from the uk and yet if i go to MCA and order one and then go back to pick it up its 89.95 plus all my time/fuel etc. He moans im killing his business and he has to eat blah blah blah. I remind him that he has been steadily making more money year on year due to the fact that in the past 20 years the Au$ to GBP currency rate has steadily improved and even if he sold the same number of units at the same price annually he would be making more profit year on year. he doesnt want to chat to me anymore. This week MCA started listing Renthals at 69.95... im not saying i just saved all Aussies $20 on a sprocket but someone listened to that convo...
Wreckers do get a hard time of it, and thats why so many have closed recently. Ebay didnt help nor did google. we now are more clued up and have a wider shopping base than ever, and those guys cant compete. Anyone who has sold an item on ebay knows it takes ages to photo, write descriptions, wrap, quote, send, deal with hassle etc. The wreckers just dont want that hassle on each of the thousands of parts they have in inventory and i wouldnt either if i was them i guess. But it is a shame they are going, tho these days i just buy off ebay, its almost always better value and it comes to my door. Only one i do use is Deet at RGVSpares, hes good value and knows his stuff too.
Same with OEM parts really, the US sellers like powersportsplus and others are so much cheaper its unreal. Set of 3 PV seals for a YPVS in Aus... $110... set of 3 seals from Norbo in the uk 20quid(Au$31ish)... set of 2 seals from powersportsplus about US$23... add post... lol, how small are those things... no brainer and if you bought locally you would need 2 trips to the dealer to buy them as they would need to order them anyway. would i miss local main dealers parts... nope, they never have anything i need in stock anyway.
Doc03 I'll drop you an email, im all for buying locally if we can make it work, even if its just so we get to chat bikes for 10mins whilst we look for bolts
So... my final thought... I lived in the UK whist we systematically first killed the centers of our towns and cities by centralising shopping centers into malls on the edge of town and then basically killed them too by embracing the internet much earlier and much faster than anyone in Aus ever did. A good example is how Amazon ruined the sales of any book stores and yes i was one of those who would go to Borders and use my phone to photograph the title and isbn number of a book and then buy it for half the price on amazon. I was one of millions who did that and most books shops are now history. We also did the same with small electricals and other items, but bricks n mortar retailers also need to do their bit, they need to come closer on price or offer something else to value add over what the online guys offer.
One thing i didnt touch on was the sydney mark up.... ever try and get a bike powdercoated, painted or wheels blasted or trued? Try going up or down the coast... Central Coat or the 'gong can save you a packet. Paint a fully faired RZ in Hornsby, quote 'firm $2500'... Central coast, 'around $1k' and those out of town guys want the work and dont make it seems like theyre doing you a favour, or do any shoddy work cos they want you back.... Ok a generalisation i know, but its what ive found so far. Hmm.... Someone will tell me they are a painter next.. LOL As we say in Pomyland, 'I'll get me coat!' Haha
Amusingly i was in MCA a few weeks back as i wanted an RGV250 38T sprocket for my LC and thought i would get a price since i try to buy locally when i can and it makes sense that Renthal sprockets come from the uk so with our currency on a high we should get a good deal locally even after imports/postage etc. So i ask and they dont have one on the shelf of course, and need to ring the importer. He says they dont bring the 38Tooth units into Aus and if they did they would be the normal price of 89.95. I said to the sales guy, 'shame as that means id be back to buying online...' The importer hears me and says ' {sigh}... like everyone else!'. So we chat about it and he isnt happy losing sales to online and i say that i can get a Renthal sprocket to my door for just less than $50 from the uk and yet if i go to MCA and order one and then go back to pick it up its 89.95 plus all my time/fuel etc. He moans im killing his business and he has to eat blah blah blah. I remind him that he has been steadily making more money year on year due to the fact that in the past 20 years the Au$ to GBP currency rate has steadily improved and even if he sold the same number of units at the same price annually he would be making more profit year on year. he doesnt want to chat to me anymore. This week MCA started listing Renthals at 69.95... im not saying i just saved all Aussies $20 on a sprocket but someone listened to that convo...
Wreckers do get a hard time of it, and thats why so many have closed recently. Ebay didnt help nor did google. we now are more clued up and have a wider shopping base than ever, and those guys cant compete. Anyone who has sold an item on ebay knows it takes ages to photo, write descriptions, wrap, quote, send, deal with hassle etc. The wreckers just dont want that hassle on each of the thousands of parts they have in inventory and i wouldnt either if i was them i guess. But it is a shame they are going, tho these days i just buy off ebay, its almost always better value and it comes to my door. Only one i do use is Deet at RGVSpares, hes good value and knows his stuff too.
Same with OEM parts really, the US sellers like powersportsplus and others are so much cheaper its unreal. Set of 3 PV seals for a YPVS in Aus... $110... set of 3 seals from Norbo in the uk 20quid(Au$31ish)... set of 2 seals from powersportsplus about US$23... add post... lol, how small are those things... no brainer and if you bought locally you would need 2 trips to the dealer to buy them as they would need to order them anyway. would i miss local main dealers parts... nope, they never have anything i need in stock anyway.
Doc03 I'll drop you an email, im all for buying locally if we can make it work, even if its just so we get to chat bikes for 10mins whilst we look for bolts
So... my final thought... I lived in the UK whist we systematically first killed the centers of our towns and cities by centralising shopping centers into malls on the edge of town and then basically killed them too by embracing the internet much earlier and much faster than anyone in Aus ever did. A good example is how Amazon ruined the sales of any book stores and yes i was one of those who would go to Borders and use my phone to photograph the title and isbn number of a book and then buy it for half the price on amazon. I was one of millions who did that and most books shops are now history. We also did the same with small electricals and other items, but bricks n mortar retailers also need to do their bit, they need to come closer on price or offer something else to value add over what the online guys offer.
One thing i didnt touch on was the sydney mark up.... ever try and get a bike powdercoated, painted or wheels blasted or trued? Try going up or down the coast... Central Coat or the 'gong can save you a packet. Paint a fully faired RZ in Hornsby, quote 'firm $2500'... Central coast, 'around $1k' and those out of town guys want the work and dont make it seems like theyre doing you a favour, or do any shoddy work cos they want you back.... Ok a generalisation i know, but its what ive found so far. Hmm.... Someone will tell me they are a painter next.. LOL As we say in Pomyland, 'I'll get me coat!' Haha
