rip off australia

bigmark99

Spot the difference.....


http://www.thenorthface.com/opencms...W2L&language=en


http://www.thenorthface.com.au/secu...p?ProductID=260

How can Northface justify charging $200 more just because you live in Australia?
sorry. wanted somewhere to rant about this.

coneofsilence

Exchange rates i guess and costs of transport. Are just my guesses. Maybe they are working it off when the aussie dollar was 50cents

biker jk

The AUD/USD has averaged around US87 cents over the past year. So the USD price translates into around A$230. If the jacket is made in China then transport costs to Australia shouldn't be higher than shipping to the US. Hard to justify the price being more than 70% above the A$ equivalent. Perhaps they did import it in 2001 when AUD/USD was below US50 cents! This and numerous similar examples of price gouging are encouraging purchases from overseas which even with freight costs result in significant savings for the consumer compared to buying from local bike shops.

fitz

Just compleated building a bike. Apart from the frame which was made overseas but bought through a dealer here I bought everything else from online sites at half the price I could get them here. Even with one issue with a wheel that needed to be returned it was hassel free. I could not afford to built the bike like I have from shops here.
I offered several opportunities to LBS and others to even consider coming within $1000. They couldnt and I believe them.
Im sure it's the dealers and importers who are at fault. And the LBS looses out. Its not that the overseas sites are cheap. Its the crazy mark up here! There are clearly enough "golf converts" with heaps of cash to throw at the stuff here otherwise competition would force a better price here.
Examples:-
Wheels here $1400 - shipped $700
Record group $2800 - shipped $1900
and I could go on...
I will also be buying another frame soon and will be more than happy to get a good builder here to do it for me, I'd love to see them get the buisness. I've no problems paying for a Baum or Llewellyn (and a few others) as I think what these guys do represents excellent value for money and craftsmanship as good as any in the world. But the build kit will come from overseas again.
So endith the rant
Fitz

Thylacine

Why are you buying shithouse TheNorthFace rubbish anyway?

Buy online, save yourself some cash, problem solved.

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Crankyfeet

Sounds like a rip-off... but then again... no one is forcing anyone to buy it. Like you say, the currency would take it up to AUS$230. Then factor in about a 15% import tariff on clothing, that takes it up to about $275. the goods are probably not shipped directly from China... they probably go to the US first then are shipped out. Which means extra shipping costs compared to shipping locally in the US. Is there an extra middle man??

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Thylacine

Duties on clothing is 20%, then add GST, then add the local wholesalers margin, plus the fact they don't often buy at the best prices because the amount of stock they purchase at any one time is less than an average size US mailorder house.....rising costs of freight......

Retail has a fairly bleak future.

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Crankyfeet

I had my brother and his family over to visit me in Seppoland last August. They went crazy on the clothes shopping. They couldn't believe the prices here.

I remember when Aussie's used to go to Hong Kong for cheap clothes in the 70's and 80's. Now they can go to America...

__________________
Originally posted by Frigo's Luggage...

"[Calling him] 'dickcheese' is the insult of a master. Some people work in oil, some people work in clay. He [thoughtforfood] works in profanity. Open your mind and enjoy its beauty."

Thylacine

It's all thanks to the great exchange rate.

Wasn't so good last time I was in the US when it dropped to .49

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Eagle of Toledo

Yup, nows the time to buy up, but we Aussies are being slugged, no doubt about it.

I had a screw go through new Rubino Pro Slick. Went to my LBS and they wanted 70 bucks for one tyre. All the online sites I found in AU were similar.

I went to the Total Cycling site and all the way from Ireland they sent me 2 Rubino Pro Slicks and 2 Vittoria tubes for 74 bucks (shipping included).

I want to support my LBS, but not at those prices.

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mds2076

For the last four years I have bought all of my bikes and most parts from the US eBay.
Even with the postage/container charges it is still cheaper than what you pay here.
Seems Aussie bike shops charge roughly double what you pay in the US.

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Conan

Buy your Northface gear from Backcountry.com, or moosejaw.com. Moosejaw are more reasonable with their postage but both are pretty steep. Mind you, it still works out a lot cheaper than buying here in Oz. I have purchased several of their 1/4 zip fleece tops and they are fantastic. Some of theitr tee shirts are pretty crappy though!

Chris

HarryCallahan

I've researched such a purchase around other online sellers before and found that they won't ship to Oz.

Moosejaw has this clause,

"We are pleased to offer our mail order and online shopping services to members and customers around the world. NOTE: Moosejaw cannot ship Arcteryx, Patagonia, Burton, Yakima, Thule, Quiksilver, Western Mountaineering or North Face products internationally."

So no dice with them either.

My hunch is that it's the marketing departments decision to make Australia a high price low volume market. Sell 10 jackets and make $10 on each and you make the same if you sell 100 and make $1 on each.

Their US distributors have obviously been told that it is a condition of sale that they don't ship outside the US, wouldn't want their high price Aussie products being undercut.

Screw them it makes me mad too, treating us like dirt. Certainly don't ever pay the normal Australian retail it's highway robbery paying $500+ for a raincoat which some of them go for. Would love to see an explanation from NF with reference to why US sellers can't ship.