Prices in Oz

[billwest]

I need a bracket to fit the brake master cylinder to my handlebar.  Simple, get the part from the local dealer.

Price:  $88.00 !

Boats.net:  $20.00, incl postage.

I don't mind waiting a week......

Bill.

[Arnie]

Bill,

While I've been here for a long time, I still don't understand how or why prices are so high.
Is it just greed by the dealer or importer?  Taxes are maybe a bit higher than in US, but not much.  Freight from Japan shouldn't be any more to here than to US.  Why are the prices so high?

Tires 2 X US prices.  Parts sometimes 4 or 5 X US prices.  Bikes 1.5 X US prices.
Jacket I bought in the US has a RRP of $180.  I got a great deal and only paid $135.  Sells here for over $400 !!!!! WTF.

Oh yeah, usually the local stealer has to order it and it still takes a week to get.

Arnie

[oldktmdude]

  It's got to a point where I don't even call the local stealer for a price on a part, I fire-up the computer and order it direct from Boats.Net. With the Aussie dollar so high at the moment, it's amazing how much you can save, even with the freight costs added. Parts usually arrive in 7-10 days, which is not much slower than it takes from a stealer, because they don't carry many FJ parts in stock, anyway.  Pete.

[billwest]

My stealer's explanation:

"We would love to get parts from the US, but Yamaha won't allow it.  When parts come in from Japan, we get charged so much extra freight.  It first has to go to Sydney, then it comes to Perth.  That is double freight costs."

Bollocks!

US dealers get it from Japan.  Freight cost.
We order it. It gets shipped to us in Oz.  Freight costs.
Still a whole lot cheaper.

Anyway, the National Account Deficit will just have to suffer some more.

Bill.

[Kopfjaeger]

dont support your local stealer. parts interpreters arnet.  its what i tell all my mates who i ride with. buy a manual, understand it ask questions AND DO IT YOUR SELF!!! someone should blow bike shops up....( ahhh ted bullpit.... where would we be without u?)

[richardphillips6208]

I buy most things on the net now, even found a way around US dealers not being allowed to ship overseas (bongous.com).
If you think that bike parts are more expensive here, try buying climbing gear. I don't mind paying a local stealer $95-$100 for something I can get from the US for $85, but when the cost ends up being triple I get really pissed off.
Good luck if you can get a Yamaha dealer to work on an FJ anyway.
I asked my local stealer if they would balance the carbs and adjust the mixtures for me when I first bought the bike. They told me, and I quote, that "We don't work on bikes that old". They would sell me parts at inflated prices, but their "Mechanics" don't know how to do anything other than bolt on complete new parts. If it can't be plugged in to a computer to tell them what part they need to replace, they wouldn't touch it.

Unacceptable.

[the fan]

Just to play devils advocate...

When I helped open a local service shop most of the dealers in my area did not work on bikes 10 years old or older. I though this would be a gold mine but it didn't take long to realize it was usually a loser. Once a bike in the US is 10 years old the OEM is not required to provide parts. Usually the aftermarket fills the need, but not always.There is very little organized availability for used parts so that is rarely an option. Parts on a $1500 bike are just as brand new bike. If I had a dollar for every time I hears " this estimate is for more than I paid for my bike"... I could afford a new bike myself.

The biggest hassle is the fact that there is usually more wrong with the machine than the customer expects. In this case you have 2 options;
1. call the customer and tell them about the problem. They will tell at least 10 people about how you are trying to rip them off...
2. Ignore the problem and have the customer return the next day claiming that the problem was not there before you worked on it...and then THEY tell 10 friends.

Of course sometimes everything goes right and the customer is pleased with your efforts... only to hear from his buddies or some online forum how you ripped him off... and he calls 10 friends to bitch.

Every once in a while a great customer with an older bike shows up, understands that he has an older bike and things may get a little complicated. This customer comes back again and again becoming one of your favorite customers and a good friend, Hell he even invited me to my first FJ rally.




As far as I know Dean only told 1 friend... and Jon told another.

[richardphillips6208]

Sure, I can see your point.
Means I get to learn a lot more about motorcycle mechanics I suppose! Not a bad thing all in all.

[Pominoz]

Interesting to see now that some of the larger retail chains are lobbying for GST to be payable on goods bought on the internet because they can't compete.
Tough shit, charge a reasonable price for your goods, throw in a bit of customer service and the threat goes away.
Even if GST was imposed on most of the stuff I've bought online from overseas, it would still be cheaper, and most likely get here quicker than if I bought online from within Australia!

I bought 4 float valve repair kits (gasket, valve, valve seat and o ring) from a US web site a couple of months back for the FJ. They were shipped from Canada and arrived 5 days after I ordered them.

My local dealer couldn't put one kit together for the price I paid for all 4, and I would have waited a week at least for them to come from Sydney.

[richardphillips6208]

Yeah, like the things they sell are only 10% plus postage more than off the net.

Riiiiiiight!

Anyway, Good old Julia said she wasn't interested.
Bribe sorry kickback sorry political contribution probably wasn't big enough.

[carsick]

The biggest hassle is the fact that there is usually more wrong with the machine than the customer expects. In this case you have 2 options;
1. call the customer and tell them about the problem. They will tell at least 10 people about how you are trying to rip them off...
2. Ignore the problem and have the customer return the next day claiming that the problem was not there before you worked on it...and then THEY tell 10 friends.

Of course sometimes everything goes right and the customer is pleased with your efforts... only to hear from his buddies or some online forum how you ripped him off... and he calls 10 friends to bitch.

Sigh. This is a very aptly put description of why I'm not a (car) mechanic anymore. The only part missing is the fact that the customer did most of the damage either due to negligence or trying to "fix" it themselves to save money. But I digress, before my rant gets cranked up. I feel your pain.

[Travis398]

Sigh. This is a very aptly put description of why I'm not a (car) mechanic anymore.

I thought it was because your kids lost all your tools 

[richardphillips6208]

Here is a prime example guys:

I need a set of rotors and pads for my Ford Cougar.
Dealer wants $500 for em - fitted.
I found a set in the US for ~AUD$52 + $28 postage.
Does fitting rotors and pads really cost $470?

...waiting to see if they will be able to send them!

[islandbum]

yeah well sometimes we get ripped off by our own manufacturers
take Staintune exhaust for my Triumph Speedmaster .....made here in Australia and can be had for between 1100-1200 dollars fair enough you might say....
the same mufflers made here in Australia.....shipped to the U/States then bought by me online and shipped back to Australia for the sum of $700.00
go figure huh

[Arnie]

yeah well sometimes we get ripped off by our own manufacturers
take Staintune exhaust for my Triumph Speedmaster .....made here in Australia and can be had for between 1100-1200 dollars fair enough you might say....
the same mufflers made here in Australia.....shipped to the U/States then bought by me online and shipped back to Australia for the sum of $700.00
go figure huh

Yeah, unfortunately most of the cause of outrageous prices charged in Aus is the greedy Australian retailers and distributors. (think Jerry Harvy)  If they also sell to the US market they have to be competitive.  They still make a profit, just not as much profit as they do in Aus.  Same thing happened with the Ford Capri made in Aus.
Way too many Aus CEO's see the dinki-di market as full of mugs. :-(

Arnie