local vs international suppliers

[aja540i 1906]

I know this has probably been covered before, but i am having trouble understanding the mentality of some NZ business owners! I needed a rebuild kit for the e21 carb, im a realist so i didnt expect to waltz in and buy one off the shelf, but after talking to a local supplier who quoted me $207, i said go ahead and order it, ring me when it gets here. 1 week later i havent heard anything so i call in to see if its arrived ?

No, we cant get it, they dont make it anymore would you like to buy a new carb for $1000?

No, i reply, i would like to rebuild the carb i have and get this car going so i can sell it.

We could order one from italy but i only order once a month so it wont be until the end of the month, should be about $90.

I will get back to you, i reply, and leave.

I have just spent about 3 minutes on ebay, found the exact kit i need, from a reliable seller, for $102 NZ shipped, and it will arrive before the other guy places his stock order, but i bet he keeps moaning about how hard it is to compete with "the internet".

If anyone can explain to me the logic behind this i would love to hear it, in the meantime i will support local businesses who make an effort to help me out.

[Breaker 980]

Lazy lazy lazy, that's generally the problem. Lots of Kiwi businesses won't go out of their way. In saying that if they do yip I'll support them as well.

Every overseas purchase I've made has been a positive one, maybe I've been lucky, can't say the same for kiwi co dealings.

Good Ol customer service can't be bettered, online or in person, that's what the focus should be from more kiwi businesses instead of whinging

[Red Dwarf 136]

Here's a rant I posted on FB only 5 days ago...

Here’s a message for the retailers of NZ…

Stop f*****g bleating about not being able to compete with online shopping!!!!!!!

As a consumer I’m completely over having to continually search for what I what to buy in "Godzown"… and then to be robbed by you for the privilege of buying whatever I’ve been searching for just compounds the insult...

If you want me to buy things from you then stock them, don't just trot out the old line "I can order it in for you"! If you do deign to keep whatever in your inventory, please don't expect me to pay 5x the retail cost of overseas and claim it's the cost of shipping… my f******g arse it is!!!!

I just can't be bothered dealing with the half arsed b*****t that I'm expected to put up with in NZ… you can go bankrupt as far as I’m concerned!

I am completely over having to deal with lazy retailers... Whilst I understand that there is a finite limit to what can be reasonably stocked the last week has been a real education into how people here are being robbed blind in NZ...

I'm going to be buying as much as I can from overseas from now on...

[lord_jagganath 421]

coming from a supplier/manufacturer, we don't stock too many parts because we are beholden to the accountants. NZ overheads are higher due to local costs, which translates to necessarily high margins. there is no way we can compete directly for identical products,

By no means this is to defend anyone, the reality remains that the NZ market is NOT large enough to rely on quantity of sales, and would be better if we had an online presence too.

Frankly, Internet sales is possibly the way these companies have to go.\, or suffer the consequences.

[zilvia 2]

Saab en

Brake rotors Chinese / third world low grade $149 each from various "trade outlets"

Genuine Saab / Brembo / Zimmerman $39 to $49 US each. Zimmermans for 328 landed for $218 kiwi the pair

Sorry thread hijack.Where did you order them from ? Pelican Parts has them cheap but shipping alone is $200 to NZ, total is $300 USD landed for a 330i

Edited March 10, 2016 by zilvia

[tcbaurpower 5]

I do not expect suppliers to hold something as particular as the tail light gaskets for an '87 e28 but they could offer the service of ordering them in. If they partner up with NZ Post and get bulk order discounts that might help.

Although parts direct from BMW are more expensive, it can also be cost comparable to when I buy parts from the US and pay for postage. I suggest it is a good idea to check with them and because the difference in price may only be few dollars but they do have pretty good customer service. NB As a rule this generally only works for smaller parts.

What I would really like to see is more companies provide an online price check/ order service.. that is what I am sure we all do with the US sites.

[tcbaurpower 5]

Sorry thread hijack.Where did you order them from ? Pelican Parts has them cheap but shipping alone is $200 to NZ, total is $300 USD landed for a 330i

He mentioned FCP https://www.fcpeuro.com/ they have OEM and brands that pelican stock. Or try http://www.getbmwparts.com/ for discounted OEM, have to use NZ Post though.

[kiwi328i 118]

The business structures here are rooted.

If I (just Joe bloggs, public enemy number none) can buy something online via a web friendly online store from the comfort of my own home, have it tracked to within an inch of its life using a worldwide respected courier company, have a better selection and a review of products and its natural competition and pay the relevant tariffs and duties etc and get it cheaper from buying the exact same product locally then I think it goes beyond just a matter of sub-par customer service.

Even great customer service counts for little (each to their own). If I was paying for a full set of shocks at say $600.00NZD online to my doorstep compared to $1300.00NZD collect, what kind of customer service and assurances bridges that sort of gap? Thats just one order. I have spent AND saved thousands shopping online for my BMW's and it will continue. The local ratio of parts bought here compared to overseas would be 10/90.

Whatever this govt is doing for business'es I have no idea but it cant be easy. I also buy sports clothing and shoes overseas, I only use the shops here as mere 'fitting shops' then source overseas. NZ is going to have to change something soon. Works for me.

What I consider good service also, is great communication, convenience, easy access and prompt delivery, its not just about 'talking shop'.

[aja540i 1906]

I am happy to support local businesses, everyone has to eat etc, what bugs me is that it took the guy longer to fob me off with his excuses than it would have taken him to look on ebay, find the part, order it, and tell me what it would cost me! How do they expect to stay in business when they are actively driving customers to look for their competition?

[polley 916]

Probably doesn't help when the government keeps increasing minimum wage

[Neal 540]

This is the issue with disruptive technology. That the Internet has brought. A company can carve out a neche area and compete on a global scale.

The generalist business owner can't compete and even lost money trying to bid for a slice of 90 dollar part. How much did your gasket query cost the small business owner in time and lost opportunity . Sure he could of googled / Amazon / aliexoressed it. Then he's got to make a quality call, ship and sell it. Any issues and it's back one him for maybe 10 points of margin to get the sale. Mean while he has a brand new carb that he knows will work and could sell you.

He'll likely go out of business and let go of the people that he employees. Not good for that community.

He should have been upfront realising that your a DIY'r , a low margin customer and it wasn't worth either persons time. He wants a volume customer or a customer that will pay for the repair where he has more flexibility and margin.

I think the person using the shoe shop for a fitting service and buying online is off . What service did they get for free in return ?

Edited March 11, 2016 by Neal

[jin108 25]

OP would you really be happy if the retailer ordered the part from ebay and charged you a mark-up?

[aja540i 1906]

OP would you really be happy if the retailer ordered the part from ebay and charged you a mark-up?

If he had done that to begin with i would have been none the wiser, the only reason i even looked online is because he wasnt helpful. I had already agreed to pay $207 for the part and i assume he was making money on that, he lost money on this one and the next time i need a similar part where will i go first? Thats right, not to him!

[polley 916]

Neal , read the original post key points:

Vendor offered kit for $207 buyer accepted - this is a contract to supply

The vendor then recinde​d the contract and offered a full carb as an new offer, the purchaser declined

The purchaser then found an alternative supply for $102 kiwi delivered.

who got dicked around and who missed out , answer the customer and the supplier in that order.

The supplier could have equally looked up an alternative supply, he had a "captive customer" who would pay $207 so he could have made $105 on a 102 cost, that's a pretty good margin for NO risk or investment . dumb supplier .

No risk for the supplier? You've clearly not been dicked around by cheap chinese sh*t on ebay then.

Yes, most the time its not bad and reliable, but its possibly a bit much risk for a supplier.

[gjm 3258]

I'll always try to buy parts here if I can, but it does have to be competitive. I'll happily pay a little over the odds for something for the convenience of having it quickly (if it is fairly local) but even locally sourced parts can cost more and take longer to ship than something from overseas. And that's before we factor in the price of the item.

I use Paul at MillAnd for a lot of new parts, and go genuine BMW for many others. Some will come from overseas (but not the final stage 'hedgehog' resistor - Chinese crap!) I hope I've developed a good relationship with suppliers. Paul, and BMW, are able to supply most things.

However, there are many less satisfactory examples. I was recently looking for a replacement brake caliper for another car. Used, here, $230, after negotiating down by $60 or so. Same item, shipped from the US, just under $160 delivered to my door in 3 days. I offered the local supplier the opportunity to come down further on their price but they weren't interested.

That's fair. It's their business, and I will go back to them again in the future, because they're not always too expensive. But if local suppliers can't or won't match price on a used part, from a parts car, which is on the shelf (and in this case unlikely to go anywhere very soon!) then what chance do those suppliers stand?

I do buy parts from Germany because I know people there, get very good deals, and know they'll have stuff on the shelf. Over here, it is likely not practical for dealers to keep the same range of products (as Jeevan said), because the customer base is a tiny fraction of what there is in Europe. A little lateral thinking can pay dividends - there's a lot of good engineering and fabrication work done here, and so long as you want quality but aren't hung up on originality, that can be a real benefit.

[Edit]: Just checked brakes pads suitable for those calipers. under $50 delivered from Germany for ATE parts; unknown manufacturer on the shelf locally - nearly $80.

If the prices are at least close I'll go local. Support local business. But...

Edited March 11, 2016 by gjm

[Ron K 7]

If you don't add value as a business you don't have a reason to exist.

Couldn't have put it better myself. I buy both local and overseas and it all comes down to this when it comes to decision making.

[polley 916]

I order from China multiple times a week, for customers, either because buying parts locally would write the machine off or the parts are simply not available anywhere else.

You're a fkn moron to assume there is NO risk.

Parts turn up faulty - good luck getting a refund or returning them.

Damaged by courier - good luck

Turning up late - China post is horrendously slow.

Parts that turn up are actually second hand (lol)

Parts are fake and don't actually work.

Don't bother ordering anything during one of their numerous holidays.

That's just a few examples, don't get me wrong it's still worth us importing from China, but it can be a lot of hassle.

Edited March 14, 2016 by polley

[polley 916]

Comment still stands. There is always risk involved with a business importing goods for a customer, wether it be from China or elsewhere.

[M3AN 4016]

Wow. Some people just have to win every argument don't they?

Anyway, first things are first - not everything from China is rubbish. It's an unreasonable generalisation and just a little bit racist.

But I agree with the predominant sentiment in this thread and one thing in particular irks me - even if you do buy from a NZ source you (read: I) often find that any warranty coverage can't be fulfilled by the NZ "distributor" because they're not an actual agent for the original supplier! They're just acting as a freight forwarder and have no liability. You return a faulty part to them but can't get a resolution until they return it to their supplier and get a resolution from them. Hell no! That's what I pay a margin for, value add, not just pushing product.

Next time you consider a NZ supplier ask how they deal with warranty returns - you should always have two options, immediate replacement (i.e. they stock them) or immediate refund. And you should normally have both options. Anything less and you should just get it online and act as your own middle man.

Edited March 16, 2016 by M3AN

[aja540i 1906]

Quick update, carb kit arrived today, 6 days from the UK, is exactly what i ordered, and looks to be very reasonable quality.

[polley 916]

More ramblings from a womble.

[M3AN 4016]

It was a piss take on the comment in the last line of the quote: "You should always have two options, immediate replacement (i.e. they stock them) or immediate refund" .

sadly you appear to have missed this, can't entertain all.

You probably shouldn't have quoted the whole post then Ron. I also had no idea what you were talking about.

You missed the part in my post, even though you quoted it, that I was talking about non-official agents.

I really think you need to read things a little more slowly. Might help with comprehension which is important when you're the type to fire from the hip.

[polley 916]

I think the epoxy fumes are getting to him.

[M3AN 4016]

Good of you to finally admit trolling Ron. Props.

[Olaf 3309]

More ramblings from a womble.

I think the epoxy fumes are getting to him.

thank you for your erudite contributions to this thread, Troy. Can you review and consider your posts as worthwhile, elevating discourse, encouraging understanding and discussion? Or are you merely flinging mud?

regards