Equipment prices in Australia - Page 3

Stephen65 · #41 20-08-2007, 05:12 PM

I take the "smaller market" with a grain of salt too - Sydney would be the fourth largest city in the USA if it were transplanted there and plenty of US retailers manage to survive despite being located in US cities that are much smaller.

It's not so much a question of total Australian population versus total US but rather population density versus number of retailers.

I also wonder about the legality under the US/Australia Free Trade Agreement of these exclusive dealer arrangements combined with rules that stop US dealers selling to us directly.

Louwai (Bryan) · #42 20-08-2007, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen65

I take the "smaller market" with a grain of salt too - Sydney would be the fourth largest city in the USA if it were transplanted there and plenty of US retailers manage to survive despite being located in US cities that are much smaller.

Even though I started this thread somewhat against the AU retailers & wholesalers, I must come to their defence here.
The perception of a "Small Market" is a very real thing. Dealing in imports, I have personally been turned away from overseas manufacturers because I am from Australia. These manufacturers are looking at long term, large volume & in their eyes 20m people will just not cut it.

ALTHOUGH, I don't believe this would pertain to Celestron or Meade as they have dedicated manufacturers in Asia who supply the entire world for that specific brand. So the "Small Market" syndrome should not affect these items at all.

gbeal · #43 20-08-2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louwai

Even though I started this thread somewhat against the AU retailers & wholesalers, I must come to their defence here.

And I'll wager that when you kicked this off, you didn't realise the can of worms you were opening either.

Louwai (Bryan) · #44 20-08-2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbeal

And I'll wager that when you kicked this off, you didn't realise the can of worms you were opening either.

I love a good debate Gary. It's always interesting to see peoples' comments & reactions.

gbeal · #45 20-08-2007, 07:23 PM

Yep, it has been a great place to vent about service or the lack of, and prices. I had hoped it didn't get too personal, as I don't think we need this, but then again, most are happy to praise when due, so where the service or price isn't up to scratch, that needs mentioning as well. A good thread.

merlin8r · #46 20-08-2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbeal

Yep, it has been a great place to vent about service or the lack of, and prices. I had hoped it didn't get too personal, as I don't think we need this, but then again, most are happy to praise when due, so where the service or price isn't up to scratch, that needs mentioning as well. A good thread.

So long as any complaint is an accurate account of the events that took place.

Louwai (Bryan) · #47 20-08-2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merlin8r

So long as any complaint is an accurate account of the events that took place.

Absolutely agree.
And I can certainly confirm that all details in my posts in this thread are factual.
I didn't name any businesses, good or bad, with regard to the pricing.

Although I did name Bintel with regard to a bad phone manner I encountered on more than one occasion.
I think that's a fair comment.

Melbourne Guy · #48 20-08-2007, 09:47 PM

Hi first time here and this thread twigged my interest. Good discussion on retail prices in Australia but I have notice an underlying issue in regards to the way people approach businesses, be it Myers, Optus, the local fish and chip store etc

I think that making a decision about a business sole based on a couple of poor telephone conversation does not justify the means. I have had similar dealing with business who exhibited very poor phone manners. I worked through the problem and eventual got the service I was looking for even if it mean driving halfway across Melbourne to visit the business and making myself known.

What we, as humans forget that we are fallible. We are quick to past judgment on others people but do not look at our own failings. Maybe Louwai, had you taken the time and worked through the issue in a courteous manner with this business, think you called it bintel, you would find that you would have receive the service that you were looking for.

I also notice that during one of your discussion you mention that you live close to this business but as yet not setting foot on the premises, don’t you think this is a wrong. While the phone is handy, getting in your car and driving down to the store and talking to the sale people is and will be more productive.

Guy

BOBBY · #49 20-08-2007, 10:22 PM

Hey Louwai
Jesus Im only new to this site, and I applogise for mentioning a particular supplier, but the name did get bounded arourd a bit, Some of you guys must be in sales or supply, in some form or another. Its fine to knock suppliers or distibutors, but when you your happy with the service there is nothing wrong with sticking up for them.
Having also looked around on the internet and checked out prices like any of us would ,when we are spending hard earned cash, I still belive that the official Australian distributors do offer competirive prices, wether the equipment is manufactured in the USA, Japan etc. However you must agree that they are suppliers of astro equipment who are not official manufacture's distributors that are only buyers and sellers and maybe this is where major currency fluctuations occur. As to Stephen65 comments Perth Metro area has a combined population just about as large as Seattle and Washington combined and all we can buy here is Skywatcher ,and Lun comments 65kg baggage allowance is your dad the CEO of QANTAS (I rest my case)

Nuri · #50 20-08-2007, 10:48 PM

<65kg baggage allowance is your dad the CEO of QANTAS (I rest my case)>

Lun? Try again! You obviously haven't travelled to USA with Qantas recently... The baggage allowance to and from Los Angeles is 64KG per person. Its easy to confirm this with a phone call ...instead of "resting your case" based on assumptions.

astroron (Ron) · #51 20-08-2007, 11:17 PM

Guy if you go back through this site you will see lots of praise for dealers in Australia, which they are probably happy to except, but I also think that when there are things that we are not happy about we should be able to mention them just as well.

PCH (Paul) · #52 21-08-2007, 12:22 AM

Guys,

when I recently wanted to buy a Canon 400D, like most people I just 'googled' the name and up came all the various prices from online shops and the likes.

I hadn't understood at this stage how there could be such a price range (from $985 to $1495 for the same product !) until I did a bit of digging and came up with what most of you guys will already know. That is, that the cheaper ones are selling stock from Hong Kong etc rather than "Australian" designated stock. It is genuinely all the same product from Canon, and so I decided to take advantage of the cheaper price and save about $500.

I read all the supposed reviews from this online store, and naturally they all came up trumps. Well they would wouldn't they - they wrote them !

Anyway, the item turned up in absolute record time with emails confirming where the item was at every step virtually until the van was at my door.. Terrific service I thought.

The product was perfectly ok in every way, and I have no complaints....

Except that I did just have a couple of simple questions for the store. I've tried emailing many times, and can I get an answer from them? - not likely.

So there you go, you take a risk when buying outside the square, and you have to offset the saving against this lesser quality service. You get what you pay for I guess

Cheers,

Louwai (Bryan) · #53 21-08-2007, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melbourne Guy

Hi first time here and this thread twigged my interest. Good discussion on retail prices in Australia but I have notice an underlying issue in regards to the way people approach businesses, be it Myers, Optus, the local fish and chip store etc

I think that making a decision about a business sole based on a couple of poor telephone conversation does not justify the means. I have had similar dealing with business who exhibited very poor phone manners. I worked through the problem and eventual got the service I was looking for even if it mean driving halfway across Melbourne to visit the business and making myself known.

What we, as humans forget that we are fallible. We are quick to past judgment on others people but do not look at our own failings. Maybe Louwai, had you taken the time and worked through the issue in a courteous manner with this business, think you called it bintel, you would find that you would have receive the service that you were looking for.

I also notice that during one of your discussion you mention that you live close to this business but as yet not setting foot on the premises, don’t you think this is a wrong. While the phone is handy, getting in your car and driving down to the store and talking to the sale people is and will be more productive.

Guy

Guy,
1) you are implying that I was not courteous on the ph. Why? What in my posts leads you to this assumption?
2) You state that I "have not set foot on the premises". Again, where in my previous posts do you get this info. I said I have never PURCHASED from them.
3) You also imply that I should make the effort to extract good service from the business. You may have heard the saying "first impressions last".
I discounted the first impression AND the 2nd impression by approaching the business a 3rd time. All 3 times were a typical product enquiry which EVERY business receives on a daily basis.
After receiving a similar short & abrupt response to each call on well separated occasions, why would I think that going to the shop would produce a different reaction??

I am employed by a company at National Management level & I operate my own business after hrs. If, as you say, I had never set foot on the premises, why would I want to waste my time going to a shop to possibly receive the similar discourteous response.

Maybe I'm being harsh & closed minded, but that is life & that is what businesses (including my own) must deal with.
For my own business I advertise that I am available on mob ph till 8pm, 7 days a week. Because I know the frustration of NOT being able to deal with suppliers / manufacturers after hrs. I am happy to do that for my clients.

I am also happy to praise suppliers / retails where good service is received, as I have done previously in this thread.

Please don't take this as a personal attack Guy, I'm just putting across my responses to your comments directed at me.

rogerg (Roger) · #54 21-08-2007, 01:16 PM

It's not just astro stuff - I ended up having to buy my Creative Zen W from DSE for AU$479 when if I could've bought it from the US it would've been AU$379. I simply couldn't find any avenue to buy it from the US, so had to live with the high price here. Exactly the same product.

It's a bit of a raw deal for the local dealers if people buy from the US then ask for support locally, that's wrong. I think if you buy from the US you should expect to get support from the US and not hassle the local dealers. It might be people doing that kind of thing which forces the local price higher for everyone.

DJVege · #55 21-08-2007, 03:56 PM

I believe this is the same deal with many items. A lot of stuff is cheaper in the U.S. Computers and computer parts, telecomms, etc... We're always at least 6 months behind and in some cases, up to 2 years behind.

cydonia · #56 21-08-2007, 04:06 PM

Nuri, if something went wrong with your Mount that you brought back from the US. Are you prepared to buy another return ticket to the US to take it back for warranty repair? If not then I rest my case. Most warranty is back to base, or the dealer you purchased it from and they send it back at their cost.

Seriously, I wander what benefit this topic has in advancing amature astronomy in australia. This topic comes up every few months and I fear the only thing it acheives is alienating distributors and dealers from this forum.
So what, someone finds a price too high and can buy it cheaper in the US, then go and buy it in the US. I don't believe it's an excuss to rubbish the local guys.
Everyone here knows how to surf the net and is more then capable in finding out for themselfs who has cheap prices and who doesn't. I think this forum would be much better if this type of discussion didn't crop up all the time. You don't see it on Cloudy nights!

g__day (Matthew) · #57 21-08-2007, 05:23 PM

Well I perserved with BinTel on an order for about $1,000 - sheerly because I felt they were trying to add value - and in the end they did. I spoke with Don today and I feel like we got it across the line.

Now on some purchases - particularly software - I think do all your analysis up front of the web an then go direct. In my case I probably put more effort into needs analysis and detailed spec's of what I needed - so they had to reality check this and match my needs to offered products to confirm it will all integrate.

End of the day - in 2 weeks time my rig should be pretty well sorted until I upgrade CCDs and scope control software.

Now the user has to skill up because the platform is excellent!

casstony · #58 21-08-2007, 05:35 PM

I think the level of moderation/censorship on IIS is about right. People should be allowed to air their views on any topic as long individuals or businesses aren't singled out for undue treatment. Anyone who has survived in business for a while will have a thick enough skin to not be too bothered by this thread.

Nuri · #59 21-08-2007, 08:18 PM

I agree Casstony, we should be free to express and exchange views.

Cydonia,

<if something went wrong with your Mount that you brought back from the US. Are you prepared to buy another return ticket to the US to take it back for warranty repair? If not then I rest my case. Most warranty is back to base, or the dealer you purchased it from and they send it back at their cost>

You can't be serious

You are basically saying there is not one person capable of repairing a CGE mount in Australia! I think you'll find many would disagree. If electronic parts are required they can be imported from the US. In the worst case scenario, even a whole motherboard would probably be cheaper to buy directly from Celestron than a dealer in Australia... For smaller issues there is a wealth of information on the net... So I'm afraid you can't rest your case, after all

Alchemy (Clive) · #60 21-08-2007, 08:51 PM

Passionate bunch aren"t we

Nice to see you have all got lots of money for those big dollar items.

I had a problem with my favourite astro store recently, i went in to purchase a paracorr for astrophotography, the only one in stock was the visual one, we checked the website at the store it said it could be photographically used, EXCELLENT, purchase made.

i got it home and the lens distance is no good for DSLR so i go back to mr manager tell him the problem, HE OFFERS ME BACK MY MONEY, .......so whats the problem..... its improved the view so much i am keeping it. Now i just know sitting on the shelf are some naglers..drool...another panoptic, so many choices not enough money.

Loosen up people buy wherever you want , im happy to return to good service.