Buy locally they say !!! Read this ....

[rumy1]

I want to buy a Northstar 538 GPS. I looked at Whitworths and they have them for $429 + $27 postage to my door in Gladstone, CQ. I looked at Ebay and they have them for $449 free postage. Another site had them for $430 + postage.

I go to the local Northstar dealer here in my home town at CQ and he has one in stock and wants $650 ........

I explained that I can get it else where for alot cheaper and I said I am prepared to pay $460 (higher than any other business outside of home town) and he said no way !!!

Show locally and keep your money local ... like hell !!!!

[MyEscape]

Pretty difficult to spend locally when you have differences in prices like that. You're basically paying 50% more to buy locally.

Particularly for electronic items. They either work or the don't. And most local outlets are not able to repair. Not like an outboard for example, if it not going, or running a little rough, then your local dealer can fix it, so you are much better off buying from and supporting your local dealer just down the road.

Steve

[rumy1]

Getting my mate to pick one up from Whitworths in Brisbane for me this Friday. $429 - alot cheaper than $650 as quoted locally. Can buy a local C-Map chart and a carton of beer with the $220 I saved by not buying local !!!

[bundylundy]

I am like you RUMY1. If the local bloke can match price from elsewhere taking p&h into account, I will use them. If not, then have no hesitation in buying from elsewhere. Whether it be out of town, interstate or even os. I have found the internet to be a useful tool for price comparison, if you know what you want. I know there is a big push here at the moment for buying local, but if they can't match prices from elesewhere, then sorry sunshine you've just missed a sale. Hope you enjoy the beer.

Jeff.

[NEWBY]

Getting my mate to pick one up from Whitworths in Brisbane for me this Friday. $429 - alot cheaper than $650 as quoted locally. Can buy a local C-Map chart and a carton of beer with the $220 I saved by not buying local !!!

Mate, did you forget to mention that "The local guy" could not get the model you wanted as it is a discontinued model??? Fairs fair rumy eh?

I am an avid "buy local" person as I own and operate a LOCAL business and find that our local supplier of Northstar etc is always willing to price match. I have bought many products from him over the 5 years I have been here. Not once has he failed to match another supplier IF that product is available.

If someone deserves a spray then give em a spray but at least let people know the whole story. As has happened many many times in Gladstone, if the "locals" dont support the local businesses, they close. "Clark Rubber" "lounge room" " Vino Vino's" etc etc etc..... Then the "locals" whinge and moan and whine cause there are no services available in Gladstone.

Support them or lose them...same same in every community.

[rumy1]

Mate, did you forget to mention that "The local guy" could not get the model you wanted as it is a discontinued model??? Fairs fair rumy eh?

I am an avid "buy local" person as I own and operate a LOCAL business and find that our local supplier of Northstar etc is always willing to price match. I have bought many products from him over the 5 years I have been here. Not once has he failed to match another supplier IF that product is available.

If someone deserves a spray then give em a spray but at least let people know the whole story. As has happened many many times in Gladstone, if the "locals" dont support the local businesses, they close. "Clark Rubber" "lounge room" " Vino Vino's" etc etc etc..... Then the "locals" whinge and moan and whine cause there are no services available in Gladstone.

Support them or lose them...same same in every community.

THE LOCAL BUSINESS HAS ONE IN STOCK, HE SHOWED IT TO ME !!!! When I say local it doesn't mean in Gladstone. The dealer in Gladstone is very good and he doesn't have one in stock and like you said can't get one either. You being a local business owner could probably afford to pay 50% more for local items because you probably charge that yourself to local people !!! Why do you think so many people buy from Bundy, Rocky or Brisbane ???

[NEWBY]

THE LOCAL BUSINESS HAS ONE IN STOCK, HE SHOWED IT TO ME !!!! When I say local it doesn't mean in Gladstone. The dealer in Gladstone is very good and he doesn't have one in stock and like you said can't get one either. You being a local business owner could probably afford to pay 50% more for local items because you probably charge that yourself to local people !!! Why do you think so many people buy from Bundy, Rocky or Brisbane ???
I shall answer this in bits and I will type s l o w l y so you can maybe understand something.
1) It was you who said the local dealer in Gladstone and now you say its not him. SEE YOUR OPENING POST....And I will quote you here
"I want to buy a Northstar 538 GPS. I looked at Whitworths and they have them for $429 + $27 postage to my door in Gladstone, CQ. I looked at Ebay and they have them for $449 free postage. Another site had them for $430 + postage.

I go to the local Northstar dealer here in my home town at CQ and he has one in stock and wants $650"

Sound familiar Rumy????

Now for more reference, I have highlighted by bolding a section of your recent statement. To say it is confusing, is by far the understatement of this week so far but I am sure you will top it in answering this.

The last bit of your recent slag off is hardly worth the mention but it shows your sheepish attitude to YOUR local businesses. When i say sheepish I mean "baaaaaaaa baaaaaaa follow the pack"

SOMEONE elses Single visioned, narrow minded view on YOUR local suppliers and businesses that you have decided to take on. Obviously a "glass half empty" type person eh Rumy? You would find a negative in every positve situation.

NOW I would suggest that before you slag MY business or anyone elses, you get hold of REAL figures on what the shopping outside local boundaries are. My business for one, certainly puts a lot more of my product into Rocky than ever gets sold into Gladstone. Happy to show you the figures. Over Coffee and scones one day perhaps???

I am at a loss to see where your 50% more expensive rule comes from and you were the one that sent me a PM letting me know that our local Northstar supplier didnt have one. Now you say he did and then you say he didnt again.
Rumy, I believe that many years ago, SOME local businesses were guilty of profiteering from being a "one of" business. So no competition... Things change and I suggest that you do the same. Get your headout of your ass and actually look at your LOCAL businesses. Your so blinded by "others" opinions that you are $hitting in your own nest by canning local businesses mate. Like I said before, support it or lose it.
I wish I had a dollar for every person in Gladstone that I have heard them say " I would never buy from them, they are way too expensive" only to hear that they had never even been into the store or business or had contact with them. Someone told someone who told them that they heard they were expensive. When I took over my business, same thing and it had changed hands 4 times since the "apparent" original manager/owner. after 9 years of that person not being there, MY business is still branded their that mark in the eyes of some locals. Sad really , isnt it???
I will not entertain wasting any more of my time on this. You have contradicted yourself many times in your statements and you are making yourself look like an idiot. I suggest you stop now eh?

I for one will remain supporting my local businesses...

[levinge]

I shall answer this in bits and I will type s l o w l y so you can maybe understand something.
1) It was you who said the local dealer in Gladstone and now you say its not him. SEE YOUR OPENING POST....And I will quote you here
"I want to buy a Northstar 538 GPS. I looked at Whitworths and they have them for $429 + $27 postage to my door in Gladstone, CQ. I looked at Ebay and they have them for $449 free postage. Another site had them for $430 + postage.

I go to the local Northstar dealer here in my home town at CQ and he has one in stock and wants $650"

Sound familiar Rumy????

Now for more reference, I have highlighted by bolding a section of your recent statement. To say it is confusing, is by far the understatement of this week so far but I am sure you will top it in answering this.

The last bit of your recent slag off is hardly worth the mention but it shows your sheepish attitude to YOUR local businesses. When i say sheepish I mean "baaaaaaaa baaaaaaa follow the pack"

SOMEONE elses Single visioned, narrow minded view on YOUR local suppliers and businesses that you have decided to take on. Obviously a "glass half empty" type person eh Rumy? You would find a negative in every positve situation.

NOW I would suggest that before you slag MY business or anyone elses, you get hold of REAL figures on what the shopping outside local boundaries are. My business for one, certainly puts a lot more of my product into Rocky than ever gets sold into Gladstone. Happy to show you the figures. Over Coffee and scones one day perhaps???

I am at a loss to see where your 50% more expensive rule comes from and you were the one that sent me a PM letting me know that our local Northstar supplier didnt have one. Now you say he did and then you say he didnt again.
Rumy, I believe that many years ago, SOME local businesses were guilty of profiteering from being a "one of" business. So no competition... Things change and I suggest that you do the same. Get your headout of your ass and actually look at your LOCAL businesses. Your so blinded by "others" opinions that you are $hitting in your own nest by canning local businesses mate. Like I said before, support it or lose it.
I wish I had a dollar for every person in Gladstone that I have heard them say " I would never buy from them, they are way too expensive" only to hear that they had never even been into the store or business or had contact with them. Someone told someone who told them that they heard they were expensive. When I took over my business, same thing and it had changed hands 4 times since the "apparent" original manager/owner. after 9 years of that person not being there, MY business is still branded their that mark in the eyes of some locals. Sad really , isnt it???
I will not entertain wasting any more of my time on this. You have contradicted yourself many times in your statements and you are making yourself look like an idiot. I suggest you stop now eh?

I for one will remain supporting my local businesses...

Nice Spray their mate.

I do believe it all comes down to "Best Price Gets the Business" whether it be local, out of town or OS. If local can't do it for the price, they just don't get the business. In this day and age of the internet, no local business is safe, it is a new world and if business isn't willing to adjust, they suffer the consequences (eventually).

Sad to hear your business has still got a previous owners stigma attached, hopefully word of mouth will eventually filter through for you and things will improve.....

BTW I do support local business as much as possible, but on the odd ocassion that they cannot or will not match/beat the price, I walk away and purchase elsewhere...

[on-one]

levinge, it shouldn't all be about best price, knowledge of the product, quality service and after sales support is important too. Which is why I usually end up buying stuff from the states.

[Noelm]

the sad side to all this is, the "internet" shopper will go to the local, gather all the info, maybe even grab a couple of glossy brochures, ask about installation and so on, then blind side the poor bugger and buy online, and pity the poor local if the internet item fails and the buyer takes it to the local for help and the guy does not greet him with open arms, the local dealer will also then be saddled with being cranky and unwilling to help someone with a problem, unfortunatly, seen it a thousand times.

[Geoff-]

^^ seen that happen and it's not fair. I would rather spend a few percent more and have a local shop where I can go for service if required, but I am not an idiot it will only be called on if something is actually faulty. Happy to pay the margin to handle that problem locally rather than posting something away.

But if someone is charging a huge premium then forget it. I don't need my hand held why should I pay top dollar when it's not required.

[Steeler]

the sad side to all this is, the "internet" shopper will go to the local, gather all the info, maybe even grab a couple of glossy brochures, ask about installation and so on, then blind side the poor bugger and buy online, and pity the poor local if the internet item fails and the buyer takes it to the local for help and the guy does not greet him with open arms, the local dealer will also then be saddled with being cranky and unwilling to help someone with a problem, unfortunatly, seen it a thousand times.



Noelm

You are soooooooooooo right,some people don't mind picking the local blokes brains for all its worth think nothing of it and buy elsewhere.

Seen it so many times in the industry i was in,people go into the more populated areas to save a few bucks then when they have an issue take it to the local bloke and wonder why they get brushed.

In the case of this thread i wonder if the poor local bloke who would not have the same turnover of units got stuck with older stock after all Newby did point out that this unit was NLA so quite possible the other guys had the luxury of having purchased stock at a later date at runout pricing from the supplier.

If what Newby says is correct and i see no reason why it would not be,we now have some poor bugger who has had both himself and his business flamed on this forum without the full facts,WHO IS THE WINNER,NO ONE.

Steve

[Noelm]

It all comes down the fact that the "internet shop" makes it appear the the local "mum and dad" business is ripping off the consumer, nothing could be further from the truth, there is a heap of reason things can be cheaper overseas, a "one off" importer does not pay container sized shipping, does not need to cover wages and storage, warranty claims, brochures and a host of other things to get a product to our shores, I dont really care if someone imports their own reel or motor or whatever it is, but dont blame the local tackle shop for the price they charge, there are lots of occasions (as you should have worked out) that a tackle shop could buy his/her stock cheaper from over seas rather than the wholesaler who handles it here, but they are then left in the same situation as the one off guy, if it fails, they are in deep sh!t with warranty, and the possibilty that the product is not the same as the one we get here. By all means, if you can get a true "bargain" off shore, then do it, but do it at your own expense, do not lurk around at shows and tackles store to get all the info and then buy elsewhere, go into with your eyes open and be aware of the pitfalls, and NEVER take anything back to your local and expect a warm welcome if something goes belly up (but that also happens)

[on-one]

Noelm, if you ran a shop like the one you describe in Brisbane I'd shop there and happily pay a premium for excellent service. Sadly, my experience has been that local shops don't know their product and need to be constantly nagged to perform after sales service. The US stores I've used know their stuff and do all they can to make a sale and sort things out if they go wrong as a bonus they're also cheaper but you're kidding yourself is you think price is the only thing they do well.

[Noelm]

no, I don't think that all they provide is price, and I also know there is a thousand shops Australia wide that provide excellent service and a good price (as there is also crap dealers) but the main issue I am getting at is the local guy is not making the huge profit you see as the price difference from here and over seas, it just isn't so, never was and never will be, my local tackle store is great for reasonable price (way cheaper than a BCF nearby) never has a problem calling or replacing items that have a drama, I have a perfect example, my son got a GME GPS from them, good price and so on, but it was a dud, took it back next day, they called the supplier while we waited, then handed over another one, no questions asked, can't get too much better than that, plus they know my name, and always greet me or any of my family when we come in with a warm smile on a first names basis, as I said, I dont have a major problem with people shopping online, but they do so at their own peril, thats all.

[BILLY THE KID]

a good local shop will ask what you need and what it will be used for , then ask what price range you are looking at .

Our local tackle bloke asks what , where , tides then offers tips on what to target

I always go to him for Bait , tackle etc .

He has even pointed me to another shop that had electronics on sale as there is no way he could match the pricing .

That is a true local buisness , always helpful and full of tips constantly .

Most bayside/redlands residents will know who im talking about ;D

[FNQCairns]

a good local shop will ask what you need and what it will be used for , then ask what price range you are looking at .

Our local tackle bloke asks what , where , tides then offers tips on what to target

I always go to him for Bait , tackle etc .

He has even pointed me to another shop that had electronics on sale as there is no way he could match the pricing .

That is a true local buisness , always helpful and full of tips constantly .

Most bayside/redlands residents will know who im talking about ;D

having never been in retail how come 'say' this bloke will not choose to make no profit or break even in real term or even take a little loss to get the sale at times like this?

To my mind it may mean more paperwork, will increase his total numbers sold therefore increase his buying power with any wholesaler in the future therefore a better price for him into the future.

To my mind anyway I always chase the best price I can find, it allows me over any month a better quality of financial life and therofore life in general, it might make up only $100-$200 per month in total savings for us but that's now and forever our $200.

If I have a preferred seller and i have a few I will pay a little more than the best price found but this bloke took himself of the list straight away...bit like harvey norman did to me when I will ring around, I tried multiple times to give them a fair chance, now for the last 6 years I still consider them more than most likely a waste of the local call cost.

cheers fnq

[rumy1]

I had two choices

1. Buy local @ $650 (30km radious of Gladstone)
2. Buy from Brisbane $429

What would 99% of the population do? I will not shop locally when there is that much price difference and if you do then you must be stupid or loaded !!!

[Bros]

My old man had a saying which is still valid now.

A fool and his money are quickly parted.

I went to buy an item a few months ago , cost almost $12 ea over the counter; posted from Brisbane the exact item just under $6.

[Stubbie Holder]

I had two choices

1. Buy local @ $650 (30km radious of Gladstone)
2. Buy from Brisbane $429

What would 99% of the population do? I will not shop locally when there is that much price difference and if you do then you must be stupid or loaded !!!


Choice 3: Stop trying to get everything on the cheap and buy the better model from someone that will spend your money where you live!

Stubbie!

[Horse]

I spend much more money locally but if I can get more bang for the buck on a big ticket item I will weigh up my options. If another place can beat the best local price by 20% or so after shipping is included then I would be quite a bit worse off in the long run

[BILLY THE KID]

having never been in retail how come 'say' this bloke will not choose to make no profit or break even in real term or even take a little loss to get the sale at times like this?

To my mind it may mean more paperwork, will increase his total numbers sold therefore increase his buying power with any wholesaler in the future therefore a better price for him into the future.

To my mind anyway I always chase the best price I can find, it allows me over any month a better quality of financial life and therofore life in general, it might make up only $100-$200 per month in total savings for us but that's now and forever our $200.

If I have a preferred seller and i have a few I will pay a little more than the best price found but this bloke took himself of the list straight away...bit like harvey norman did to me when I will ring around, I tried multiple times to give them a fair chance, now for the last 6 years I still consider them more than most likely a waste of the local call cost.

cheers fnq

the price was ridiculous and he couldn't buy it for the sale price .

[NEWBY]

having never been in retail how come 'say' this bloke will not choose to make no profit or break even in real term or even take a little loss to get the sale at times like this?

To my mind it may mean more paperwork, will increase his total numbers sold therefore increase his buying power with any wholesaler in the future therefore a better price for him into the future.

To my mind anyway I always chase the best price I can find, it allows me over any month a better quality of financial life and therofore life in general, it might make up only $100-$200 per month in total savings for us but that's now and forever our $200.

If I have a preferred seller and i have a few I will pay a little more than the best price found but this bloke took himself of the list straight away...bit like harvey norman did to me when I will ring around, I tried multiple times to give them a fair chance, now for the last 6 years I still consider them more than most likely a waste of the local call cost.

cheers fnq

Owing a business myself I can answer that easily.
Where is the sense in buying something for $100 and selling it for $90?
How do you pay rent, wages, insurance, electricity and all the other overheads and taxes etc?
Do you pay your employer for the privelage of working for them?
Nuff said.

[BILLY THE KID]

Owing a business myself I can answer that easily.
Where is the sense in buying something for $100 and selling it for $90?
How do you pay rent, wages, insurance, electricity and all the other overheads and taxes etc?
Do you pay your employer for the privelage of working for them?
Nuff said.

exactly the same scenario , rather than lose money and waste his and my time with ordering / waiting on it to arrive .

I bought all the other hardware to mount it all from local bloke though ;D