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American manufacturers ripped off by Aussie greed
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Jul 18, 2011 at 11:12 am #1760511
In Norway it varies but most of us have five weeks (25 days) in addition to New year; two days (December 31 and January 1), Christmas; three days (December 24-26), Easter (three days), May 1, "independence day"; May 17, Ascension Day and Whit Monday.
Jul 18, 2011 at 12:48 pm #1760560Just move to Alaska…we get hit with all sorts of added "fees".
Free Shipping to the Continental US…last I checked we were still on the North American continent but, sorry…although many now say contiguous US so we can't argue our case.
The mysterious "Alaska fee" that is added with no explanation, just "policy"
Sending damaged goods intentionally knowing that most won't mess with the whole return and wait thing…
The price increase due to "added shipping costs"..this is the local vendors favorite one to use to jack up prices..the stuff comes up in cargo containers but somehow adds dollars to the cost of even small items….
Oh, and we are still paying $4.10 a gallon gas. When I asked why it has been that price for over a month when it has dropped everywhere else in the country, I was told "we are still trying to catch up"….yeah, with payments on your condos in Hawaii or Palm Springs….
Ah, the price of living in paradise I guess where the air is fresh, the water clean, salmon plentiful (and where there is little competition).
I'm sure Hawaii has similar complaints…
Jul 18, 2011 at 12:54 pm #1760562I live less than a kilometer away from the plant that make the most gas that Canada and what we export to the US, and its 1.11 a liter (4.55 a gallon). you guys in the states have it good when it comes to prices, you loose in the economy department though…
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:16 pm #1760568"I live less than a kilometer away from the plant that make the most gas that Canada and what we export to the US, and its 1.11 a liter (4.55 a gallon). you guys in the states have it good when it comes to prices, you loose in the economy department though…"
Maybe we should raise gas tax $1 a gallon so we'll have a healthy economy like yours : )
We'de have to do a few other things too, like regulate banks so we don't have financial collapses…
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:18 pm #1760569"you loose in the economy department though"
based on what economic metric?
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:30 pm #1760574"based on what economic metric?"
Canada unemployment rate is 7.4% compared to 9.2% in U.S.
No speculative bubble in real estate prices that caused a financial collapse because they didn't de-regulate their banks
No personal bankruptcies due to medical expenses
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:39 pm #1760575In Norway one liter og gasoline cost around NOK 14.50 now. That is about USD 9.8 for a gallon…
Jul 18, 2011 at 1:55 pm #1760581Many thanks to you, Ben, my favourite 'Gear Enabler'.
Your generosity is appreciated.
CQ.
Jul 18, 2011 at 2:01 pm #1760584I just burnt $20-30 of gas because I needed to sit in the snow this morning. I am OK with that. I felt the need to be at Rainier and I maybe used 7 gallons? Yeah, it is expensive at $3.65 or so (sale price for me) but compared to when it was $5.25 a gallon I can handle it. It was I might add a nice morning and I sat on top of 8 or so feet of snow and pondered about where global warming was ;-P
Jul 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm #1760587My issue is that I just got back from NM where gas prices were $.60 a gallon cheaper. And it really hurts when you heat your house with fuel oil and the price for it is even higher!
I can understand a few cents more a gallon for shipping but .60…..gouging because they can get away with it. And, it's not like we can counter that with buying it online!
Jul 18, 2011 at 3:13 pm #1760593Lets go back to just ONE of the many costs involved in running a shop, but before that let me say that one of the shops mentioned above pays 250k in lease per year and no it isn't all that big.
Hint : the Melbourne CBD is VERY expensive.
However if you are not there don't expect too many customers.
(shopping centers are about the same as the CBD)And American workers generally do NOT get 30 days a year off with pay!"
Quote from DW :
Neither do Australians – the standard is 20 days a year, not 30. Don't know what the other 12 days are that Franco is referring toThis proves just how little the average person (IE not an employer/shopkeeper) knows about the reality of doing business.
(no offence DW, most of my co-workers and even some of the managers used to come up with lines like that)We were up to 32 paid holidays a year.
That is not all there is…
We are entitled (and most take) 6 fully paid sick days a year.
If you do not take them they accumulate. I had several weeks paid when I left after 21 years .
So now we are up to 38 days that the employer has to pay.
But there is more..
Long service leave.
The entitlement is number of weeks worked : 60 x 1 week.
So for example after 11 years you would get 9.33 weeks of pay.
Lets call that 46 days , so add another 4 days per year.
We are now up to 42 days a year .
Of course not many work in a shop for over 10 years because even with the above conditions it's hard to remain enthusiastic for that long.
One of the reasons is that ,( apart from abusive customers that think you are ripping them off ), if you did work for Paddy Pallin and paid staff price (shop cost +10%) for that Western Mounteineering bag , you still could buy it for less from a shop in the US.
Staff turnover is high. So many do not get long service leave but to the employer that means extra costs in staff training.
Does anyone feel like investing in a retail shop here ?
Franco
Shop price on that WM bag. (oddly a mate of mine has that bag and worked there…)
There is a wholesale component built in to that price because strangely enough there are costs involved importing goods. But that is another story.Jul 18, 2011 at 3:33 pm #1760596"Many thanks to you, Ben, my favourite 'Gear Enabler'.
Your generosity is appreciated.
CQ."
Oooohh, that's heart warming. I am proud to be the gear enabler around here. You are very welcome, Chris. :)
Jul 18, 2011 at 3:40 pm #1760598For Bob Gross and some comic relief…
WM Board Meeting (end of)
oh guys, before you go.
tomorrow the warehouse is putting together the biannual order for Australia.Voice from the other end of the table :
"so what do we do in the afternoon ?"Franco
Jul 18, 2011 at 3:47 pm #1760601Franco – are these paid holiday/sick days required by law for all working Australians? Or, is your example a choice made by a particular employer?
It'd be interesting to work in a Gear Shop, make $20+/hour AND get 42 paid days/year. Most American workers don't get close to all that.
Jul 18, 2011 at 4:11 pm #1760605Aaron
Yes , those days are the legal requirement.
As for the wage there is a minimum for under 18 , the $16 .47 listed above.
So when a 16 year old kid walks into your shop, he is entitled to the $16.47 for 38 hours, plus the 20 days annual leave, plus the 6 sick days, plus the 12 Public holidays.
Of course when you are 30 with 10 year experience, you expect to get a bit more than that and many do get more than $20 per hour.
FrancoJul 18, 2011 at 4:24 pm #1760606Franco – Wow. Thanks for that information. (That will make for interesting conversation with my Lady's sister, living in Adelaide.)
Jul 18, 2011 at 4:36 pm #1760611Wow. That really highlights how screwed up the US economy and corporate culture is, with minimum wage here being right around $8 and with no assurance of getting a reasonable number of hours… in other words, our government not only doesn't want to faciliate job creation, it doesn't even have any interest in ensuring that the people who ARE working can live on what they earn.
Jul 18, 2011 at 4:46 pm #1760618I buy outdoor gear under wholesale agreements, rarely at 50%, closer to 60%, im only a very small fish but would need to be a lot bigger to have bargaining power. We operate with casual staff (as do many outdoor stores…which throw a spanner into some of the cost structures above…) though there are many hidden costs even for casuals (eg compulsory superannuation contributions/ associated management)
As mentioned its not black and white, there are many costs that consumers (and even employees) don't consider. It would be a stretch to say that market skimming doesnt exist though….
At the end of the day it matters little moaning about retail costs, if the money is being spent elsewhere that is all that counts. Its not just retailers who will suffer though and not just retail. The same factors driving $ offshore will come back to bite as local manufacturing and technology will also continue to be traded off.
I see people over the moon cause they have managed to save a few cents buying/haggling for cheap crap by the most direct route (or direct) from china. In the end there will be no option, cheap copies are all (us aussies) will be able to afford..
Jul 18, 2011 at 4:56 pm #1760621Rakesh
We get more but we buy less than you do with our money and that was really my point.
You cannot have higher wages, higher rents and lower volume and match the price.
Same reason why a Hilleberg (and a Big Mac…) are more expensive in Sweden than in the US.Franco
Jul 18, 2011 at 5:02 pm #1760625Ding ding! And you got that right Franco. That $20 an hour often equals $10 an hour in buying power…….
Jul 18, 2011 at 5:20 pm #1760639No argument there — but at the same time, our dollars are weakening against the rest of the world's currencies… and even within the US, a lot of people are having trouble affording basic essentials like food and rent, because the 9.2% unemployment doesn't account for people who've stopped applying for unemployment (ran out), or are working but aren't earning enough to do more than scrape by.
We may have more buying power than you right now, but I fear it won't last long. :(
Jul 18, 2011 at 5:29 pm #1760647"How is the economy in Australia? Unemployment? Real estate prices? …"
Our unemployment is sitting pretty steady at 4.9% and real estate prices have (finally) settled as well (depending upon where you live). We haven't experienced the housing crisis that exists in the US in respect to foreclosures nor the devaluations. Bear in mind during the GFC, our unemployment peaked somewhere around 5.9%. Our recession of the early 90s was tougher than the GFC. So yes, Australians are in reasonable shape compared to many other countries, want to spend on our new camping toys but prefer not to pay 2 – 3 times multiples.
Ben Tang – a big thankyou for your offer. Incredibly generous !
To clarify Franco's point on annual leave – we get 20 days as annual leave entitlements and 12 days for public holidays which gets you 32 days. This is for full time employees. Just in case you were all thinking of abandoning your careers for a cruisy gig in retail !
The bottom line here for many retailers is their economic model is outdated. I second the comment on a retailer here creating an online store and reducing wages, fit out, rents etc… Although I think such a model would only work if they bought direct from the US manufacturers. The 'Middle Man' master distributor adding 20 – 30% sounds like a killer for an Aus retailer competing with OS.
Jul 18, 2011 at 6:04 pm #1760663Some may find this amusing. A couple of years ago I was after a steripen adventurer. The local Aussie price was well over $300. The shipped price from the US was $90…
Jul 18, 2011 at 6:08 pm #1760666The 'Middle Man' master distributor adding 20 – 30% sounds like a killer for an Aus retailer competing with OS.
No, that does not work either.
To be able to import a brand , for a start, you need to have staff that understand importing rules and regulations, you need to deal directly with the manufacturers (IE fly over to Seattle or whatever) have a warehouse , and raise enough founds to pay for those goods.
You cannot just get a few thousand dollars worth at a time. Major brands are not interested in that, why would they ?
On top of that , you need to be able to provide training, service, spare parts , advertising .
All of the above (and this is a very rough list…) cost money .
Have you ever been a buyer ?
I can guarantee you that even the best will, at times, get it wrong.
When you do you can end up with many thousands of dollars worth of gear that you have paid for , is taking up space and getting obsolete..
That also costs money…
Oh , BTW, another manufacturer has just managed to undercut your brand. Better drop the margins..
That costs money
What about the exchange rate ?
yes , that can cost money too
FrancoJul 18, 2011 at 6:09 pm #1760667I order my dogs vet supplies and medicines from Austrailia because its cheaper than buying US. Delivered to my door in only 5 days usually too.
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