Thread: are these prices any good

Well spotted! Its always good to have more choices, particularly where they save money.

Originally Posted by eskimo

The same tooling from H & F would have set me back AU$773.00
Same stuff from this Co cost AU$476.00 delivered. I know its the same Co as their logo is the the end mill i bought from H&F as per the above. I cant recall what my 1st enquiry to them was all about, but they responded by initially asking me what I wanted to order.... and when I told them they prompted me to got to H&F. I dont like this attitude from suppliers (Do we want his order or do we not..indecision etc etc call it what you will ...my persistence maybe?) so I shot them back an email asking why they asked what I wanted to order but then refered me etc etc...to which they responded by accepting my order. Will they do this again...i dont know, but I am going to find out before she finds out how much i got tucked aside ....

more later when the gear arrives

Don't be surprised... this is the usual BS involving the 'wholesale' market- suppliers don't want to tread on volume buyers' toes by selling direct to the end user. I've had quite a few arguments with wholesalers and manufacturers (mostly domestic) who won't even give me information about their product and keep trying to refer me to their retailer instead! Surely if, for instance, I want to know if their nails would fit my Hitachi coil nailer they could tell me before I wasted a drive to the retailer to find out they didn't fit? Or is it just shear laziness on behalf of certain receptionists?

Sometimes you phone up, seeking information about a manufacturer's product, and you get the question, who is calling, you say Joe Bloggs, then they ask 'From?', and I say 'Planet Earth' and they say 'We can't help you, this is a wholesale business, please contact such and such...' who usually has no idea about the product which they supposedly sell...

Fair enough, they might want to protect their retailers, but a little information isn't going to hurt anyone, surely? Especially if their suggested retailer ends up with the sale anyway?

Nowadays one of my first questions is 'do you do counter sales?' .I only deal with those who do. They are at least showing initiative by catering to small orders, and no advertising is more powerful than word of mouth. These are usually smaller companies that need as much business as they can get.

The previous rant is relavant to the current thread- bear with me...

Australian businesses should take note. The marketplace is becoming increasingly globalised and people are venturing out into the world wide web to get a better deal. The days of justifying huge markups because of low volume sales and Australia's distance from the rest of the world are disappearing. Australian manufacturers and wholesalers should prick up their ears and reduce their arrogance, because the small volume buyer will be looking elsewhere.

When challenged with internet prices for the same product, their argument is 'but you won't get the same service or after sale support...' What, 3/8 of effay instead of effay?

I've looked at importing a few items from America, one being a Lincoln Mastertig and a big Husqvarna chainsaw. I could land both here, including freight, exchange rates, import duties and insurance, for a little over half of what they 'retail' here in Australia. Despite living in a 'global' economy, why is there so much localised disparity in pricing? Why as an Australian am I being ripped off?

(If I was importing a container load the freight would be cheaper per unit and I could sell them and make a tidy profit!)

If the particular Taiwanese company you were referring to won't deal direct with the end buyer, look around, because I am sure there will be one who will.

Hmmm. I'll have to try that with woodworking gear as well.

Something else you might want to try...

I had a similar problem with Grainger in the US- well not really. I had read a few posts on 'Practical Machinist' about how Grainger was difficult to deal with especially if you were a hobbyist or 'backyarder'. The consensus was they prefered to deal with businesses only.

There were certain items that Grainger had that no-one else seemed to, so I saw this as a bit of a challenge.

I sent my order and paid with a credit card. The items arrived. No problem.

Honesty is a relative concept. Us 'backyarders' aren't generally interested in making huge amounts of money - it is generally for our own pleasure. Fair enough, we might accept a slab of beer or a bit of cash here or there if we do a job for a mate, but we are aware of the ATO's rules about the difference between a 'hobby' and a 'business' and we don't step over the line too often

Herein lies the difference... if we say to supplier 'It's for a hobby' we generally get jerked around. We might be a little too honest...

The previous example with Grainger was successful because of the 'implication' that I was running a business. All correspondence was signed 'Joe Bloggs and Sons'.

Yes I do have two sons, so it is not a huge stretch of the truth. Once their product arrives what I do with it is MY business!

Most overseas suppliers won't check up because they either lack the means to do so or simply can't be bothered, and are more than happy to accept the money.

Originally Posted by Gerbilsquasher

I sent my order and paid with a credit card. The items arrived. No problem.

I too did not have any problems with Grainger