surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

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longbum
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Post by longbum » Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:20 pm

^^correct.
Just for the record, I'm not crying poor and kicking stones. Just a sad future for the guys that are doing this because they love it, against the guys that are in it all for MONEY and GREED, and its plain as day to see which side of the fence they all sit !
There is a massive difference between the 2 so I ask you to just ask yourself the question before you group all "surf stores" together.

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Chamberess
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Post by Chamberess » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:16 pm

Not only is it a question of price but also the product availability.

I seriously think some of the buyers need to be shot in the foot for the crap they try to sell in surf stores.

A couple years ago, my then bf wanted the camo-print hurley wetsuit that pat o wears in the drive thru europe dvd.

Called up the head office here in Oz and got nowhere. I would basically have to special order it (i.e i would have to pay through the nose) i got told, and even then the damn idiot never got back to me.

So why the hell not source out an o/s seller. I don't mind paying a bit more here at home if there is decent customer service but i'll be damned if i'm being a loyal customer to an oz business when they can't even be bothered calling me back.

Anyways, enough agro from me

longbum
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Post by longbum » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:24 pm

Chamberess wrote:Not only is it a question of price but also the product availability.

I seriously think some of the buyers need to be shot in the foot for the crap they try to sell in surf stores.

A couple years ago, my then bf wanted the camo-print hurley wetsuit that pat o wears in the drive thru europe dvd.

Called up the head office here in Oz and got nowhere. I would basically have to special order it (i.e i would have to pay through the nose) i got told, and even then the damn idiot never got back to me.

So why the hell not source out an o/s seller. I don't mind paying a bit more here at home if there is decent customer service but i'll be damned if i'm being a loyal customer to an oz business when they can't even be bothered calling me back.

Anyways, enough agro from me
fair call, Hurley rubber has only been available in Oz for 12 months.

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Revolution
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Post by Revolution » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:34 pm

There is some hong kong site i hear about where almost all the brands under the rainbow are about 1/4 of the price over here.

Then again its hong kong and is probably made from cardboard and old pairs of undies (ones that didnt make the cut for a vending machine :shock: )

But i forgot the name. I will find it some how ... if you dont need a certain brand or a certain fabric or design or some shit .. good cheap clothes :wink:

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Squidlips
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Post by Squidlips » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:52 pm

Ringmaster wrote: Last time I looked, the 2 joints you mentioned were NOWHERE near Melbourne :?


You gotta get outta the big smoke more mate..........


There's some low key little distributors down here alone that would poo on the two shops you mentioned when talking about value for money.


Just gotta know where to go I guess :?:
Que?!!!

thats the whole point !!!

there are NO GOOD SURF SHOPS in Melbourne !! LOL !!!

to find a good shop its either the peninsular or way past torquay on the great ocean road!!

oh, and im not talking value for money with these two - im talking proper surf shops with proper equipment and no buckets and spades.

but there 3 hours apart - can you see why it appeals to get stuff delivered to my door?

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dUg
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Post by dUg » Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:42 am

Chamberess wrote: Not only is it a question of price but also the product availability.
Chamberess wrote: So why the hell not source out an o/s seller.
This isn't just restriced to wetsuits, and it's not just restricted to consumers. :shock:

'Friend owns a surfboard factory. Let's say he wants to buy a certain special model of a certain removeable surfboard fin. He checks all the US online surf shops like Beckers etc., and they have them. Rings up Aus office... and gets told they "won't be available until ( 2 months time )" in Australia. No shop in Aus can get them.

I don't understand, when the head offices of these businesses are located in Australia, why all new lines are released to the US months before we can buy them here. Needless to say, plenty of people see this great opportunity and stick all this "rare" gear up on ebay Australia.

How does that protect local retailers? All it means is they don't get the sale. Still, it sends a clear message about where Aus retaillers sit in the grand scheme of things.

Rock bottom. :evil:

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Chamberess
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Post by Chamberess » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:18 am

dUg wrote:
How does that protect local retailers? All it means is they don't get the sale.
I wonder sometimes the rationale behind these business decisions. Retail is such a cut throat industry that you would think they would be eager to get their product out their ASAP.

The internet/ ebay is great for this sorta thing :)

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Squidlips
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Post by Squidlips » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:10 pm

Ringmaster wrote:I was looking for a good multiple board travel cover last week and almost bought one off ebay for $200. (New ones at Rip Curl/Strapper were $300 plus)

Dropped into Baines crt in Torquay on the way home from work and scored exactly what I wanted for $168 :!:

Almost half price......so there's another shop you can add to your list Squidley :wink:
Good work - Baines Court does have peaches but its stock permitting - if you know what I mean.

what about this one?

Sticky Bumps Double Boardbag

Image

This travel bag from Sticky Bumps features 3/8" foam padding, 1/8" foan divider, and internal storage compartments. Exterior features Heavy duty 600D nylon top with 600D reflective tarpee bottom. The finishing touches include reinforced nose area, non corrosive heavy duty YKK zipper, and adjustable padde shoulder strap.

Price $97.99 + Postage from US $15

Total $113, delivered to your door.

This is from the first site I clicked on.



Use: http://america.google.com/

then search online surf shops.

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smw1
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Post by smw1 » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:53 pm

I promised myself I wouldn't weigh in to this debate, because I don't think it is newsworthy stuff. Still, with the amount of complaining it's hard to resist.

Ecomomists and businessmen will tell you Australia is an expensive country in which to live. They're right. Almost all consumer products are expensive here; end of story.

Although we have a very high GDP per capita, it is mostly thanks to our mineral industries, agriculture and tourism. Australia has no manufacturing to speak of, and consequently, has one of the highest trade deficits amongst peer western nations.

Put simply, most of the stuff on the shelves in our stores is manufactured, and imported from, overseas. We buy more than we make, and to do so, we need to borrow money at rates which make it expensive.

However, unlike some other countries in a similar situation, we have an extremely small population in a geographically constrained market which is a long way from everything else.

Although there are, of course, many other complex macro- and microeconomic factors at play, the above tend to combine to make the stuff we want to buy expensive. It's going to stay that way for the foreseeable. It is not as simple as saying that large corporations are simply lining their pockets at the expense of the consumer, although that is a convenient and attractive explanation.

I suggest we all get over it, and enjoy Australia for what it does have (which is a lot) and not what it doesn't have.

SMW1

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cambo
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Post by cambo » Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:18 pm

dUg wrote: I don't understand, when the head offices of these businesses are located in Australia, why all new lines are released to the US months before we can buy them here. Needless to say, plenty of people see this great opportunity and stick all this "rare" gear up on ebay Australia.
DuG:

1. consider the seasons - summer here is winter there - many of the internet bargains from overseas are actually end of season closeouts as they make way for the next season. You could optionally save a motza here (for example) by purchasing your wetsuits at the end of winter.

2. head office in Australia, manufactured in Mexico and shipped via the US - so the US gets almost no freight cost and first choice of merchandise.

--

But really it boils down to this: if you want the latest fashion, if you want what's hot, if you want to look cool, to imagine you are equal with the leaders, if you think a designer label will improve your life somehow, if you express your individuality by wearing the uniform, then you are a fashion victim and you *will* pay the price.

Everybody is a fashion victim to some degree, human nature I guess ;-)

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dUg
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Post by dUg » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:05 pm

cambo wrote:

DuG:

1. consider the seasons - summer here is winter there - many of the internet bargains from overseas are actually end of season closeouts as they make way for the next season. You could optionally save a motza here (for example) by purchasing your wetsuits at the end of winter.
Hmmm... not talking about run out or last seasons... I am talking about brand new released products that are not only cheaper to buy offshore, but take up to 5 months to become available here. :shock:

Wetsuits = no problem and I'll say no more ;)

cambo wrote:
2. head office in Australia, manufactured in Mexico and shipped via the US - so the US gets almost no freight cost and first choice of merchandise.

--

But really it boils down to this: if you want the latest fashion, if you want what's hot, if you want to look cool, to imagine you are equal with the leaders, if you think a designer label will improve your life somehow, if you express your individuality by wearing the uniform, then you are a fashion victim and you *will* pay the price.

Everybody is a fashion victim to some degree, human nature I guess ;-)
Believe it or not... I don't care if some guy in Santa Cruz can get the latest Rip Curl t-shirt before me. :shock: 8)

I do care that certain (nameless) products were for sale as early as October last year from US based sellers... yet they couldn't be ordered in Australia by legit retaillers until February.

Like so many others have, I see this stuff on the supplier's websites and then find I can't buy it here. Meanwhile the same products were released in the US months ago. So you buy them O/S... and domestic retaillers miss out on those early sales.

And of course it's always cheaper... so of course you'll be back...

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dUg
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Post by dUg » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:09 pm

Squidlips wrote: Image

Price $97.99 + Postage from US $15

Total $113, delivered to your door.
Jaaaaaaysus. Try posting one anywhere in Australia for under $35. :shock:

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dUg
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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by dUg » Thu Jul 16, 2009 8:29 pm

Image

With the Aussie dollar about to peep over the 80 cent fence again, it's worth shopping around again.

8)

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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by Animal_Chin » Fri Jul 17, 2009 12:32 pm

Someone mentioned that local surf shops need to provide the advice/service that you don't get from online stores. Could not agree more! There are 2 surf shops in Barwon Heads. One (Tonik)is a fairly generic clothing/fashion/token-board-rack-out-front, whilst the other (Rasta's) is a tiny outlet selling his hand-made boards and high end wetties.

Rasta aside from being a nice guy also does the daily surf report on swellnet and is often out in the surf with the punters. He's a part of the community and I would always buy off him rather than the larger (maybe cheaper) store.

The same goes for Murph's in Ocean Grove. If you wanted to discuss a SUP ( :roll: )with him, he's been known to stop work grab a board and take you out for a paddle. It's this sort of service that will hopefully keep the local stores going.

And btw... if you want to sea a graveyard of fcuked out/patched/pieces of shit, go to the Anglesea Surf Shop. 8)
Image

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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by marcus_h » Fri Jul 17, 2009 1:07 pm

I'm hearing ya Animal.

I would rather (and do) buy from Beach Beat than some big chain like city fking beach. Woodsy and Sutto are top dudes who always have time for a chat, and rip too.

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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by Natho » Fri Jul 17, 2009 3:35 pm

To be a good surf shop retailer ya gotta have the lingo wired.

While I avoid shopping at surf shops unless I have to, 2 weeks ago I had to visit a local surf shop to get some wax. This is how I was greeted by the bloke in the store:

"Yo broz hows it doing?"
"surfs pumpin hey brother ah yeeeew, frothing"
"check out these new threads from Quicky, filth ah. Crew are frothing over these sick boardies. There's a pic of Slater rippin in em over there hey bros. yeeeeeewww"

Not sure what he was saying but man he was way cool.
Id rather slam me nuts in a car door than go back to that store. Are they all like that?

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otway1949
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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by otway1949 » Fri Jul 17, 2009 3:55 pm

You can see squid never made a quid running his own legit business!
Based on postings in march 2008 but still relevant,

Unless you run your own business you have no idea how much it costs just to open your doors in the morning in the hope of getting enough trade, add employees and is a far bigger ball game.
Consider this alone, if you enter into a commercial lease you usually have to put up a personal guarantee to cover the lease often based on the value of your family home backing the lease!
In NSW all the costs that come from the current government have gone through the roof.
Lots of business are just working until they can get out without risking their homes.
Another potential soap box for me here. :oops:
Jaffa, I'm opinionated, and I'm sometimes right. So?

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Deesee
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Re: surfwear is cheaper bought in US and posted to Aus ! What !?

Post by Deesee » Fri Jul 17, 2009 5:06 pm

otway1949 wrote:You can see squid never made a quid running his own legit business!
Based on postings in march 2008 but still relevant,

Unless you run your own business you have no idea how much it costs just to open your doors in the morning in the hope of getting enough trade, add employees and is a far bigger ball game.
Consider this alone, if you enter into a commercial lease you usually have to put up a personal guarantee to cover the lease often based on the value of your family home backing the lease!
In NSW all the costs that come from the current government have gone through the roof.
Lots of business are just working until they can get out without risking their homes.
Another potential soap box for me here. :oops:
Yep, totally agree. I contract with minimal outlay (home office, computer, printer, communication costs, software, legal books etc), and am looking at approx $15-20k in costs each year before i start. (Then there's transport costs, meetings etc).

But you know where all the handouts go...
If it feels good, do it.

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