Yes I agree. That's why there are so many grey import online shops in Australia.
But actually, we do not plan to directly compete with Bintel. Bintel sells some high-end APOs, but not many APO products from China like Sharpstar/Skyrover/ExploreScientific. We do not intend to sell high-end APOs at all cuz they are not cheaper in China.
So there's no much overlap. We intend to make new products available to Australian amateur astronomers rather than competing with those highly-reputed shops. We'll have a very limited range of products compared to Bintel.
I think a low-price but opticaly acceptable APO is the best choice for beginners and many casual amateurs. But these APOs are not available in Australia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavytone
The problem in Australia is
A) getting enough sales volume to make a shop sustainable, long term.
B) being able to make enough margin (profit) for the shop to survive.
Internet sales are killing retail shops because no-one wants to pay the margins associated with the above, especially in Australia where the sales turnover is relatively low meaning margins must be high to cover rent and paying staff a realistic wage.
The amateur astronomy market is only barely able to support 2-3 decent shops with full-time staff, and Bintel already has them.
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