Why so much cheaper to import than buy local?

[bradleyfutter]

Hi All, new to the forum so be nice :P haha

Been looking at getting some bull bars and side steps to give my 05 TJ Wrangler a tougher look so been shopping around a bit.

It seems its sometimes close to 1/2 the price to import bars from the US than it is to buy local? Even after the cost of shipping !!

There is a package I'm interested in the US, i can have it landed (incl. shipping) for a bit over AU$1000, but the same kit here is around AU$1850 mark. Same brand, same bars, same finish.

I want to support our local Aussie retailers, I'm happy to pay a couple hundred extra to support our local stores, but a grand extra is a different storey

Very interested in everyone elses thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Brad

[Steve F]

Lots of reasons for the price difference so I'll just list a few.

Convenience of buying locally
Support/Warranty - what if it doesn't fit or is the wrong thing?
Import tax on items over $1000 + GST (so add another 20%)
Fluctuating exchange rates, it's cheaper today but maybe not so much next month

Interested in the shipping costs you got for a bullbar, I'd expect it to be a lot.

Cheers
Steve

[bradleyfutter]

I'm looking at US$550ish for parts and they quoted me US$500ish to ship. So thats about what AU$1100 with current exchange rate.

Because the value of the items are under AU$1000, no gst, no duty, no tax, ive spoken to customs already and this has been confirmed.

My main concern is warranty, but for close to half the price is warranty an issue? not sure...

And then the place in Australian that im speaking to, they have to order the parts anyway, so their is neither more nor less convenience with waiting, 10 days for local retailer to get parts, or 10 days for me to ship.

I'm just trying to understand why it is sooo much more expensive to buy in Australia than it is to buy anywhere else? If you look at just the price of parts, Australia is about 3 times more expensive for the same product.

Thanks for your ears :P

[Hunno]

Careful they don't ship as as 1 package as they may add up to over the thouasand dollars.
Not so much a problem from what I can see for bars & steps but remember anything with suspension your car is not lefthand drive.

[SteveC]

With the huge range and reputation of over seas suppliers, especially USA, I would always investigate O/S to source Jeep parts. As an eg; I imported some new pro-comp adjustable shocks to my door for less than half the price of a more inferiour brand in Australia. What more can you say? Most things take less than 5-8 days to ship. You can see the quality too. In two cases dealers here just did not respond positively to my enquiries as opposed to O/S they always responded professionally and very quickly. That my opinion .....

[Miraz]

Add in the free trade agreement with the US (no import duties from the US) and it's pretty compelling

[azasjeep]

Just bear in mind US based companies dont contribute to local clubs, events, forums etc all the things that you use and take for granted wouldnt survive if we dont support local vendors.

I dont mind paying a little more for the peace of mind something will work, easy to deal with no obligation advice, and to help ensure the future of the hobby in Aus.

Supporting local vendors supports the club.

[Wolfe]

Support the venders that support your club, its easy,



Wooders all the way :)

[driftdave]

You also need to take into consideration the cost of currency exchange too.
That has burn't me i the past when buying from the States.

As well as the daily flucuation on the exchange rate.

I.e
You place the order on Monday @ Rate 0.95, it take them 4 days to process it, by then the rate has droppped to 0.90, add 5 % for currency exchange and it just cost you 10% more then you budgeted for.... On a $1500 bar thats $150

Just something to note....

Cheers
Dave

[bradleyfutter]

Ok so if we look at absolute worst case, currency bounces by 10c, and 5% for currency exchange, that increases the price by 15%, still means its 35% cheaper incl. shipping charges

I'm no mathematician but what i dont get is that its costs US$550 is for parts, so about AU$600, but to buy here is about AU$1800, so thats 3 times the price... 300%

now if currency fluctuates between 60c and 95c, thats only 50% price difference, not 300% ?? So are we saying there is 250% fluctuation in economy of scale or buying power?

oh and sorry, stupid me didnt realise that this sydney jeep club and ausjeepoffroad seem to have the same user base, so sorry if your reading the same posts :P

[Steve F]

I'm no mathematician but what i dont get is that its costs US$550 is for parts, so about AU$600, but to buy here is about AU$1800, so thats 3 times the price... 300% <snip>

That local dealer still has to ship it here the same as you do, so don't forget to add that back on, and of course HE has his own overheads as well with a shop and staff and family to feed etc as well as honoring the warranty on a part that you return to him but he may have to ship back to the USA and get another (no cost to you). Anyway it sounds like you've made a decision anyway so maybe just buy it overseas and let us know how it all goes :)

Cheers
Steve

[azasjeep]

and dont forget your foreign currency transaction fees on your credit card as well.

[bradleyfutter]

the problem for me is that i havent made up my mind, it is still a massive dilemma... yes i want to buy local, its safer, i get the support of the dealership if there are problems, and i support local, no shipping hassle, no problems with customs, i get to build a relationship with people who are passionate about what they do. BUT its at a cost, double the cost... and its whether i can afford/justify that cost at the moment...

how is this for a different angle, who can recommend me a local shop front retailer for me to go talk to and see what kit they can provide me that will suit my budget. Im very new to the 4wd world, so dont know who to turn to.

Im not into rock crawling and such, so i dont need the strongest of bullbars that will add substantial protection, to be honest i just want to make my wrangler look 'tougher'...

[Wolfe]

For good advise and great service you cant go past wooders.

[Hunno]

For good advise and great service you cant go past wooders.

I 2nd that.
Atleast take the time to talk to them, they may have better options & Ideas to offer.
I was looking at the same Idea with a suspension kit & found things I didn't know that would have cost more.
Don't be surprised if there are more import cost the just tax. I got caught out importing my own Unimog Diffs.

[SteveC]

It's interesting to read all these points of view which mostly are valid - If you buy a reputable product and do the right extensive research, you can save a lot of money. Asking questions on a forum like this can be very helpful. This goes for anything retail not just Jeep specific products.
You cant tell me honestly that you'd buy an item locally that you can get from overseas at half price you would still buy locally???
I can only speak from my own experience and say I've saved many hundreds.

[bradleyfutter]

It's interesting to read all these points of view which mostly are valid - If you buy a reputable product and do the right extensive research, you can save a lot of money. Asking questions on a forum like this can be very helpful. This goes for anything retail not just Jeep specific products.
You cant tell me honestly that you'd buy an item locally that you can get from overseas at half price you would still buy locally???
I can only speak from my own experience and say I've saved many hundreds.


in the short term yes i may save hundreds by buying international... but long term id like to believe that i would end up even. You take your car back to that local shop, and you might get a return customer discount, you might get something checked and fixed for free. Id hope that i would get looked after in the future by supporting local.

if im only saving a couple hundred, then in my opinion its worth going local. BUT if im saving 500, 600 or even thousands, its a different story.

I now know what i can get overseas and for what price, and what its going to cost me to ship, import duties, taxes, gst, customs and so on... now i guess ill just have to hunt local and compare apples with apples.

Im am talking with a some local guys now and will see what they can do for me.

[azasjeep]

It's interesting to read all these points of view which mostly are valid - If you buy a reputable product and do the right extensive research, you can save a lot of money. Asking questions on a forum like this can be very helpful. This goes for anything retail not just Jeep specific products.
You cant tell me honestly that you'd buy an item locally that you can get from overseas at half price you would still buy locally???
I can only speak from my own experience and say I've saved many hundreds.


Absolutely, i have and will continue to do so, remember half the aussie forums you get that info from are sponsored by the Aussie vendors.

[AJ]

Also you won't get any of the oversea's suppliers meeting you in the Watagan state forest on a sunday night when your stranded and have nobody else to call. Then surprising you again when your still stuck on the F3 on the way home at 12:30am with a spare battery coz he picked one up for us, just incase we didn't make it ::)

That kind of customer service is above and beyond the call of duty ;D

[sbadman]

Also you won't get any of the oversea's suppliers meeting you in the Watagan state forest on a sunday night when your stranded and have nobody else to call. Then surprising you again when your still stuck on the F3 on the way home at 12:30am with a spare battery coz he picked one up for us, just incase we didn't make it ::)

That kind of customer service is above and beyond the call of duty ;D


You know who certainly is the man ;)

[NT-Boy]

Im am talking with a some local guys now and will see what they can do for me.


It's cheaper to by jeep aftermaket parts from the USA, because thats where they are made !!!! :o :o ;D

Good luck trying to get a local manufacturers to make aftermaket jeep parts "thats if you find one" for the same price as the usa manufacturers.

Wooders is the cheapest, jeep parts supplier in OZ..... ;)

[SteveC]

Also you won't get any of the oversea's suppliers meeting you in the Watagan state forest on a sunday night when your stranded and have nobody else to call. Then surprising you again when your still stuck on the F3 on the way home at 12:30am with a spare battery coz he picked one up for us, just incase we didn't make it ::)

That kind of customer service is above and beyond the call of duty ;D

Ehh??? Sorry - but I don't understand.... Any way, it's just my opinion based on my experiences which I'm always happy to share openly. If I can save nearly $500 on one transaction then that's good for me. Also I found some items are just not available here probably perhaps owning a WG Grand lessens my options and willingness from dealers to help me in Oz too.

[sbadman]

Also you won't get any of the oversea's suppliers meeting you in the Watagan state forest on a sunday night when your stranded and have nobody else to call. Then surprising you again when your still stuck on the F3 on the way home at 12:30am with a spare battery coz he picked one up for us, just incase we didn't make it ::)

That kind of customer service is above and beyond the call of duty ;D

Ehh??? Sorry - but I don't understand....


A few weeks back a group of guys off the AJOR forum went wheeling on Rope Road up the Watagans and ended up breaking most of the vehicles in the group! David Woodley drove up there on the Sunday night (the trip had started on the Saturday morning!) with a bunch of parts to help get the remaining vehicles out and back to Sydney.

[Wolfe]

Also you won't get any of the oversea's suppliers meeting you in the Watagan state forest on a sunday night when your stranded and have nobody else to call. Then surprising you again when your still stuck on the F3 on the way home at 12:30am with a spare battery coz he picked one up for us, just incase we didn't make it ::)

That kind of customer service is above and beyond the call of duty ;D

Ehh??? Sorry - but I don't understand....


A few weeks back a group of guys off the AJOR forum went wheeling on Rope Road up the Watagans and ended up breaking most of the vehicles in the group! David Woodley drove up there on the Sunday night (the trip had started on the Saturday morning!) with a bunch of parts to help get the remaining vehicles out and back to Sydney.


And may I say not the first time, He's helped me out at least twice in similar situations

[Miraz]

I import a fair amount of stuff from overseas - used to run an import business as a sideline.

If a local supplier is not adding value for their margin, and it's a low risk product then I'll spend my money wherever I can get lowest bang for buck. I recently imported a set of tyres, local suppliers didn't hold stock or provide a decent warranty and wanted twice the US price. The US supplier was able to supply on shorter lead time, had experience in shipping to Oz and provided an insurance based warranty that is valid in Oz.

The OEM parts supply network is one of the worst offenders, minimal stock, minimal product knowledge, long lead times and eye-watering prices - not a terribly compelling proposition is it?

OTOH - if the local supplier does add value (stock, knowledge, advice, assistance, warranty) then chances are that I'm prepared to support them even if there is a premium to be paid. Wooders does add a lot of value - the advice, service and shared enthusiasm is worth paying for.

One of the things that I used to find frustrating was that the wholesale prices offered for Australian importers were sometimes higher than US retail prices, making it very difficult for a local importer to compete. Australian manufacturers are guilty of this too - the US wholesale price of some locally manufactured parts is 50% of the locally available wholesale prices.

[rainman]

.93 it is time to order from the states again!!
Last thing I bought was a moter mount for $6 + $25 postage. best I could get locally was $74.
I have found rockauto.com very good.
Miraz care to share the supplier?