Why are tyres in oz so expensive

[mybb]

i spent in the realms of $40k on parts overtime from the states for my jeep. Order from Oz and pay double the price and think yourself lucky if you get the parts within 6 months. Same things imported from the states was sometimes under half the price and was generally delievered within the week.

Australia even make a great set of diffs for the jeep (rockcrusher). At the time that I was after them, you had to get them from the US anyway. Go figure.

I have never had problems with orders or deliveries from the US so I would have no hesitation in buying direct from US.

There may be a lot more people in the US to sell to but this is a global economy and it is easy to buy and sell all over the world these days. Its not the 50's (even if thats when most the busa guys got their bike licences)

[rb3221]

It comes down to the fact AU importers are reaming us! they get it at an importers price they bring it in they put a massive mark up on it, then sell it to the shops who then have to try and sell it to the public.

You don't see many poor importers here, but you do see alot of parts shops going down.

I beg to differ rb. Many importers don't make huge profits because if they mark up too much their customer will just go to another importer with a lower price.
For myself, if I sell stock RETAIL, then yes I'll put up to 100% on it depending on what the item is.
But when I am supplying a customer WHOLESALE (ie by the container load) the most I am able to put on is 10% or maybe 15%.
If I put any more on my price is too high & they go somewhere else.

If the importer has distribution rights for the specific product, then that's a differrent story.They can charge what they want cause no one else can get it.
Also, most importers will not deal in qty's less than a container load, or under a certain total order $$$ value.

I have been building my business on supplying small qty's to small business owners who can not afford to outlay the money for a full container load of 1 item.

But also to rebut your comment,
You are annoyed at the importer supposedly reaping high pofit. If the same item was manufactured in AU how much would it cost, accounting for high wages, high transport costs etc. Probably more than the retail price of the imported item.
The Importer is the one outlaying huge amounts of their own money to bring very large qty's of said item, & going through all the dramas of getting stuff into the country,
+ copping it when the AUD drops but deposits have been paid & so the importer misses out due to the exchange rate. etc......
If you are so concerned about the pricing, have a look into importing yourself. I think you'll find it can be a pretty scary type of work. Especially when you are dealing in orders & payments upwards of AU$50k per order.

I'd suggest the biggest problem is the opportunistic importers.
They are not an importing business. They are people who search the world for a "fad" item & then import many & sell at a huge profit. Usually not complying with all AU regulations.

eg. Pocket bikes.
When they first appeared on the AU retail market they were selling for well over AU$2k
Today you can get them for AU$250
That's because they cost about AU$90 to buy & import into AU. They always have been the same price. The early sellers were making HUGE profits on these.

Sorry Louwai, but I have spent over 30yrs in and around after market parts industry to do with cars and motorcycles, as well as the last 15yrs importing my own parts. I have seen first hand what the importers do with their mark upâ€s, and that is what I was commenting on.

The way it is, I can import my own parts, stock then and resell to my customers cheaper then I can buy them from the WHOLESALER here. If I donâ€t have the part I can get it from overseas quicker then the WHOLESALER here will, hell some times I can get it from overseas quicker then getting sent from down south and may times itâ€s a newer model, not something that has been sitting on a shelf for years.

May be in the Water Dispensers / filters import side you do it different, but as this thread had to do with parts mainly tyres I commented on what I knew.

[Louwai]

Sorry Louwai, but I have spent over 30yrs in and around after market parts industry to do with cars and motorcycles, as well as the last 15yrs importing my own parts. I have seen first hand what the importers do with their mark upâ€s, and that is what I was commenting on.

The way it is, I can import my own parts, stock then and resell to my customers cheaper then I can buy them from the WHOLESALER here. If I donâ€t have the part I can get it from overseas quicker then the WHOLESALER here will, hell some times I can get it from overseas quicker then getting sent from down south and may times itâ€s a newer model, not something that has been sitting on a shelf for years.

May be in the Water Dispensers / filters import side you do it different, but as this thread had to do with parts mainly tyres I commented on what I knew.

Sounds fair. No dramas..........

[mybb]

no louwai, more dramas, ive missed them