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While I am loath to keep this thread alive, I feel I must add a few pieces of of information to this discussion.
#1 For the main Astro retailers it would be normal already for them to buy in container load quantities for many of their larger items. It is the only way to ship them in an economic manner. How do I know this...I used to import "Stellar Seats" and resale them through several local retailers. I had two samples shipped in...they came DHL and the cost for the rwo was in excess of AUD$800. For the record a container holds between 200 and 400 chairs depedning on how they are stacked. Oh and some manufacturers have minimum purchase requirements.
#2 Turnover on many large items are slow (few inventory rotations per year)...slow turing items need to have a higher margin to be profitable. It took almost 2 years to sell the container full of chairs! This item alone is huge versus the size of the US market...
#3 It is not cheap to store a container full of chairs...if you don't have space available you must rent storage facilities.
#4 Currency fluctuates faster than you can move sell slow moving items.
Monthly average exchange rate (USD$ to AUD$)
January - 0.674665
February - 0.648326
March - 0.666189
April - 0.713671
May - .763883
June - 0.805115 (MTD days)
#5 Store overheads are much more expensive in Australia than in the US...all aspects (rent, utilities, insurance) but expecially the cost of labor.
#6 Many manufacturers invoice from shipping date with 30 day terms...Unfortuntely deliver takes closer to 45 days depedning on where it is coming from and shipping container availability (not a big issue at the moment). Oh and GST and other expenses are due at import too...creates a bit of a cash flow issue.
#7 Customer wants to use a credit card...no problem the retailer gets to wear a few for that too...
So, if my order for a container full of gear was placed in January and shipped in February I would have paid for it in February and recieved it in March. It would hit my "showroom" in April...by June, I'm feeling pretty silly about buying a container full of anything...especially if someone wants to pay by credit card.
Moral of the story...
Astro gear suppliers are not getting rich...no matter what you might think.
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