Ripoff Merchant!

[Coops]

Originally Posted by bony

Here's another classic example.

A Perko, Mortise, Door Lock Set

At this US dealer it costs $90.88
Perko, Mortise, Door Lock Set


At this Australian dealer $331.00 !!!

Perko Latch Set Lockable - Mortise - Latches & Catches - Cabin Hardware - Hull, Deck & Cabin Hardware - Shop Online | BLA Australia

How they justify the massive markup is beyond my understanding.

bony

Plus you cannot buy it over the counter. Mail order only, so they slug you for postage, or, you can buy it from another chandlery, like Whitworths, and BLA charge them $15 to get it off the shelf, so WW's has to pass that on to the customer. Yes it is a rip off, I worked at WW's for years and am not defending them at all, but we do get ripped over here for boat stuff in many ways.

Coops.

[Weyalan]

Originally Posted by bony

Our gov'mint's jealous they're not making enough revenue from online shoppers so there's talk about about lowering that $1000 limit next year.

Unusual though it is for me to defend our government, in this case I'm going to have to do so. I really don't believe that the motivator is the government and revenue from on-line shoppers. It is, in my opinion, the Australian Retail Industry that are lobbying the government very, very hard because they feel that it is unfair that folks are not purchasing these goods from them.

And the reality is that I am happy to support the local suppliers if they can get within "cooee" of what it costs me to buy on-line, overseas. I always get a local quote, and if the local guy charges no more than 20 or maybe 25% more, then I'll support them. But most of the time they are 50% or 100% or, sometimes, 150% more expensive and I can't afford to.

[Vasco]

Interesting thread. Should check out this thread that developed into a USA vs Oz issue to see the contrast. I'm neutral.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...is-116476.html

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Weyalan

Unusual though it is for me to defend our government, in this case I'm going to have to do so. I really don't believe that the motivator is the government and revenue from on-line shoppers. It is, in my opinion, the Australian Retail Industry...

led by Gerry at Hardly Normal who has been padding his margins for yonks.....

I notice camera shops seem able to get fairly close to o/s prices these days... obviously a case of adapt or die.

[Opie91]

WOW their website says everything is in stock too.

[bony]

Thought I'd post an update to let you all know how things turned out.

Following advice given in this thread I lodged a transaction dispute with my credit card company a few weeks before xmas. I sent them all the necessary details of my problem with Discount Marine Supplies, and just after xmas I received a letter to inform me that the sum of AU$93.00 (the cost of the parts not delivered) had been refunded to my account.

I was very pleased to get that news, so all is good now, and my faith in humanity is restored somewhat.

I am grateful to everyone who posted to this thread with their comments and good advice, much appreciated.

Regards,
bony

[onestepcsy37]

bony, i'm glad things turned out well for you. it sucks that you have to go through all that crap in the first place. hope we can all somehow put this creep out of business - although his type usually just opens up under another name. for all we know he may already have the same business running under other names.

fwiw, i would like to recommend a well run chandler in the states - defender industries. i've been buying from them since the 1970's and have never had a problem. true i'm in the states myself, but i know that they ship to other countries. it's a family business and i have actually spoken to the owner, stephan lance, who is very active in running the company, and who seems to really value having a good reputation. stephan occassionaly posts on this forum, especially when inflatable boats is the topic - inflatables seem to be his great love.

they have a website - www.defender.com - and will also send you a printed catalog. not as 'glossy' as the west marine catalog but the prices are way better.

i have absolutely no personal or financial interest in the company. just a very satisfied long time customer....

[Opie91]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

bony, i'm glad things turned out well for you. it sucks that you have to go through all that crap in the first place. hope we can all somehow put this creep out of business - although his type usually just opens up under another name. for all we know he may already have the same business running under other names.

fwiw, i would like to recommend a well run chandler in the states - defender industries. i've been buying from them since the 1970's and have never had a problem. true i'm in the states myself, but i know that they ship to other countries. it's a family business and i have actually spoken to the owner, stephan lance, who is very active in running the company, and who seems to really value having a good reputation. stephan occassionaly posts on this forum, especially when inflatable boats is the topic - inflatables seem to be his great love.

they have a website - www.defender.com - and will also send you a printed catalog. not as 'glossy' as the west marine catalog but the prices are way better.

i have absolutely no personal or financial interest in the company. just a very satisfied long time customer....

+1 on Defender. Great prices near wholesale. I especially love it since it is 10 miles from my house.

[Dod42]

I'm in OZ and have purchased several times from defender. Great to deal with. Their prices are good and service excellent. Only issue, and this applies to most US suppliers is the cost of postage to Australia. DHL is SO expensive and UPS is probably half but still a lot, and takes about 3 to 4 weeks to arrive. Basically means that a lot of what you save goes in postage charges, so I tend to limit my purchases to the specials only and big dollar items or items I can't get here.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by bony

Here's another classic example.

A Perko, Mortise, Door Lock Set

At this US dealer it costs $90.88
Perko, Mortise, Door Lock Set


At this Australian dealer $331.00 !!!

And the Chinese factory sold it to both of them for $3.00
Cheap pig metal junk.

[onestepcsy37]

Originally Posted by Dod42

Only issue, and this applies to most US suppliers is the cost of postage to Australia. DHL is SO expensive and UPS is probably half but still a lot, and takes about 3 to 4 weeks to arrive.

can't help but think it would be cheaper for you aussies to leave oz, sail to a cheaper country, and outfit your boat there.

i had an interesting experience with dhl/fedex/ups a few years ago. i had to send a dvd - yes, a single dvd in a protected package - from florida to italy. they each quoted in the $70 u.s. range. it was my first experience with international shipping and i was literally astounded by the quote. so i went to the u.s. post office, just to see what they would say. they charged me $7 u.s. - one tenth the price - and had it there in four days. go figure...

[HopCar]

I've shipped quite a bit of stuff to Australia. I always use Priority Mail International, if the package is small enough. It's a real bargain compared to UPS, FedEx or DHL. The US Post Office does some things right. They apparently work well with the Australian Post Office.

[El Pinguino]

I shop with Defender ( and others in the US ) and always get them to use USPS to my australian addy... some companys you have to email and ask that they us USPS where the option isn't shown on their site.... never had a problem.

[HopCar]

" some companys you have to email and ask that they us USPS where the option isn't shown on their site...."

That's the way my website works. It won't calculate shipping by mail but I'm glad to do it.

[Dod42]

Next time I will ask. I know it has always put me off when I can buy a block for $40 on special but the freight is $60. Just not worth it might as well pay full retail in OZ. I would think if the US sites offered USPS at a reasonable price they would sell more.