Quote:
Originally Posted by jenchris
If you can get a job - which I can't
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Give Woolies, Coles and Aldi a shot, I do nightfill there to help make ends meet, and they always seem to need more staff. I have two degrees, but I aint proud. Hopefully I will get a teaching job this year when I finish my pracs.
Our unemployment benefits come to more than the US minimum wage, I lived over there for a while, sure things look cheaper, but overall life is way tougher there, and things are about the same or more expensive in real terms.
The problem with Celestron is as stated, a distributer and a retailer means more dollars.
I used to run a retail shop about 8 years ago. We had to sell everything at just under twice what we paid for it to break even.
So a roll of fabric that cost us $10 per metre had to sell for $18 per metre to break even. To make a profit we had to sell it for about $22 per metre to cover wages, insurance, phone internet, rent, stock losses, returns etc. etc.
So if a distributor enters the mix, then that roll of fabric is sold to the distributor for $8 per metre, they sell it to us for $15 per metre, and we have to sell it for $35 per metre to make a profit.
It jumps from a 'cost' of $8 to $35 if two lots of people are involved in needing to make a living from that one product.
Throw in an overseas company that is nervous about possible currency fluctuations and return shipping costs (overseas bulky items/damage/wrong product etc.) killing them and they may add another 25% cost on the Distributors price to cover themselves, which increases the retailers cost and then the buyers price.
For the tiny market here, it is hard to deal with a lot of little companies and their idiosyncrasies, so a distributor is the easy option, but it means we and up paying a lot more.
It always doesn't hurt to write a letter to Celestron and the Distributor pointing out you want to purchase locally, and also including the price difference in doing so. They may not take any notice but every letter they get (not e-mail, take the time to make it a proper letter, and address one to the Celestron marketing/sales manager
by name ) is another reminder to them that the model isn't working.
Just buying the product from overseas doesn't really worry Celestron as they still get their money. Let them know, and then buy overseas if you don't get any satisfaction, but don't put the OS retailer in the poo by naming them!