Shopping for parts -RANT

[Urban_Legend]

Hi All

Had a bit of a "Wow" moment today. Let me explain. Some time during my ride yesterday, I managed to lose the top nut of the head stock on the triple clamp. I don't know how. but i managed it. So anyway went looking for a new one this morning on the World wide Google. I looked first at one of our Australian Yamaha dealers sites. This mob is supposed to be reputable. So i found the part number in their database (90179-22455-00) and hit add to cart. Went to the check out and they were going to charge me $42 for the nut and $12 shipping. Bugger that! Tried Flee Bay nothing.
So i tries some of the US parts sites. First one i went to (sorry not RPM Randy) and the same part is $8 and $6.99 international shipping. So the Moral is shop around. And the australian dealers wonder why we shop over seas.

Rant over

Mark

[FJools]

And the other moral is to make sure your nuts are tight 

[Urban_Legend]

And the other moral is to make sure your nuts are tight 

True....I thought it was all good. Dab of blue locktight next time.

Mark

[FJmonkey]

I am not sure what is worse, loosing your nuts or loosing your marbles...

[Urban_Legend]

I am not sure what is worse, loosing your nuts or loosing your marbles...

Probably a little bit of both is a bad thing Monkey.  Ok lose nuts and marbles jokes aside  ( i have berated myself pretty harshly already) i wonder how Australian businesses think they will survive when you can get the same item from overseas for less then half the price. I understand they have to pay for shipping and need to put their bit on top of the price, but $42 compared to $8 is massive,  and even with our crappy exchange rate it doesn't come anywhere near the $42 plus $12 postage. That is rubbish.

[FJmonkey]

Probably a little bit of both is a bad thing Monkey.  Ok lose nuts and marbles jokes aside  ( i have berated myself pretty harshly already) i wonder how Australian businesses think they will survive when you can get the same item from overseas for less then half the price. I understand they have to pay for shipping and need to put their bit on top of the price, but $42 compared to $8 is massive,  and even with our crappy exchange rate it doesn't come anywhere near the $42 plus $12 postage. That is rubbish.

Many business do not benchmark where they currently fit in the market. The internet has blown the benchmark up like an atom bomb.

[Arnie]

I think there was a a fat sweaty Hockey (sans ice) guy who tried to tell Aussies that the Age of Entitlement was over.  The motosikky dealers shut their ears.
Didn't fly, and he made sure that he got all his entitlements and more.

[FeralRdr]

Out of curiosity, was that $42.00 before or after taxes?

[Urban_Legend]

Out of curiosity, was that $42.00 before or after taxes?

After taxes.

[ribbert]

And the other moral is to make sure your nuts are tight 

Noel

[aviationfred]

How many companies do you know that are still not fully tied into the internet? IMO the internet is an extremely powerful tool.

As we all know, certain parts for are bikes are becoming increasingly more difficult to acquire. Even some common parts have had their prices raised simply because of demand and limited availability. The bonus for us is. We can find parts from the UK, Germany, the US, Italy, Australia, etc.etc.. The main concern is the shipping charges. For those parts that are dearly needed and no other are available, the shipping cost be damned.

On the other hand.... Often times a company loses sales because they are not fully integrated on the web and lose sales because of it. A good example is poly26.com. This is the company that makes fiberglass fairings for pretty much any sportbike made. They are based in France and currently, the only way to place an order is by telephone, or posting your order by regular mail. I know they have lost a sale by me on the dual headlight FJ fairing.

End of rant

Fred

[Nova]

How many companies do you know that are still not fully tied into the internet? IMO the internet is an extremely powerful tool.

As we all know, certain parts for are bikes are becoming increasingly more difficult to acquire. Even some common parts have had their prices raised simply because of demand and limited availability. The bonus for us is. We can find parts from the UK, Germany, the US, Italy, Australia, etc.etc.. The main concern is the shipping charges. For those parts that are dearly needed and no other are available, the shipping cost be damned.

On the other hand.... Often times a company loses sales because they are not fully integrated on the web and lose sales because of it. A good example is poly26.com. This is the company that makes fiberglass fairings for pretty much any sportbike made. They are based in France and currently, the only way to place an order is by telephone, or posting your order by regular mail. I know they have lost a sale by me on the dual headlight FJ fairing.

End of rant

Fred

Gah! I'm drooling over the full lower fairing

http://poly26.com/produits/photos/2098.jpg

[Urban_Legend]

[
[/quote]

Gah! I'm drooling over the full lower fairing

http://poly26.com/produits/photos/2098.jpg
[/quote]

I have one very similar to that hanging in my shed. I am trying to decide what to do with it.
Mark

[Arnie]

Fred,

Why do you have a problem with this?  Aren't you computer literate and able to place your phone call to France via a VOIP service like Triatel or Skype where your international call would cost you $0.02 - 0.03/min?
Surely you can appreciate that this company may not have the technical expertise, nor want to add the cost of hiring a website designer just so you can have another method of ordering.
Does this choice by poly26.com reduce the number of sales they make?  Probably, but that is their choice.
If they make something you want, pick up the phone.

Arnie