Buy Local........ if you can...........

[Tony T]

I completely understand your position, George. And would do the same in your place.
But I also respect blokes like 3858 that are working really hard to keep their customers happy and make an honest living.
I originally started this thread to have a go at the major players that sprout off about loyalty to your local store but then don't offer anything like I'd like to believe that those that do the right thing will win out in the end........... we'll see.............. 
 

[VMX60]

3858

I feel your retail pain
The point most people are missing is the local retail guys cost or buying price is more than the USA  retails price point
How are you going to make ends meet when those middle men have sucked the profit margins dry, call them Importers/Distributers or Price gouging bastards   
 Over here in the West some of the bigger retail outlets have dropped their  stock by 70%

Somebody should tell W/sales companys the world has changed 

Cheers

[frostype400]

I have a auto place around the corner and they might be a little bit dear but they are great to deal with I don't mind paying a bit more to support locals as long as they are fair to deal with I will go to them I tried to shop at a local motor bike shop but a few bad experiences put me off for good I won't go there again.

For example I had a couple of parts numbers of parts I knew were still available the guy attending said what bike is it off I said 1980 pe400 to get the response we won't have it I said can you just type the part numbers I have in I had to ask like five times to make him do it and then he said oh they are both available but he was not doing his job how hard is it to just type some numbers in.

I feel sorry for the owners of these places they would struggle you only need one bad employee to give you a bad name and lose you thousands in sales.

[Tim754]

"you only need one bad employee to give you a bad name and lose you thousands in sales." Sums it up perfectly Frosty

[dt tas]

I should of wrote I also use a local suzuki dealer here that is very good so good to the point my boys ride a rm125 the other one has  a gsx650f road bike . the other week i brought a drz400 for trail riding there good service did influance my reason of buying it .There is good service out there just hard to find when you do use them or they will disappear.The only reason i went moto guzzi is they are low and light and iam a short arse so it suited me cheers George

[Nipper]

I have nothing but praise for my local suzuki dealer here in Adelaide. The owner is a suzuki rider from way back and is interested in my projects and how they are coming on. I have often got parts for my suzukis that I thought would well and truly be deleted from production years ago. The guys behind the counter are happy to go through the micro fische scouring for the parts I am looking for, and to top it off the prices are very good.

[Flatout]

Suck it in Jerry..I went to my local Yamaha Shop on Monday wanting price and availability on an exhaust gasket for my 74'' MX250.A young guy serves me and then proceeds to look up the part on his computer mumbling over and over you would have to be pretty lucky to find one of those..Anyway he found the part and gave me a price of $11.95..That same afternoon I jumped on Ebay UK and found the same gasket for GB1.95 [$AU.3.00 [ with $AU6.00 postage..however additional items cost no more to send.. so for AU$14.00 I have two gaskets and postage from England..as opposed to two gaskets costing 2x 11.95 from my local Yamaha shop..You work it out..

[Canam370]

How good is it that a young guy (have to be someones son trying to earn a living) went to the effort to find out for you that the pissy part you wanted was available for you! And you could maybe even have had it next day and used a couple of coins to pay instead of risking identity theft overseas. But, hey, what a saving!

[SPANISH ARMADA]

Yes by putting a bit money back into the local economy would be a good thing even such a small amount 

[VMX247]

Yes by putting a bit money back into the local economy would be a good thing even such a small amount 

and with this a good customer service grows with the pimply faced kid and his boss,then the discounts flow in the future.
A WIN WIN for your local bike shop and yourself   

[IT400C]

Best thing you can ever do is develop a good relationship with your local spare parts guy!

[hardhaacker]

Hi guys, I must confess i buy a lot of parts from ebay-But my local bike shop here in Mackay Bullet bikes have to the best bike shop i have ever used. Nothing is a hassel, the boys and girls behind the spare parts counter are very friendly and have a genuine interest in my projects. They can spend up to 15 mins looking up the data base and cross refrence part # while you wait. It does surprise me how many parts are still out there.
Most of the time the parts are cheaper than ebay and i get good service, Bullet bikes ALWAYS texts me or rings the minute my parts come in.
Another shop worth mentioning is JTR excellent service and price.
Have faith, there still are good bike shops out there you just have to find them.
I would Not hesitate in buying a brand new bike from them.

[Doc]

99% of my parts come from overseas and usually cheaper than locally. Of the thousand or so transactions I've had maybe 2 or 3 items that never turned up. Ironically 2 of those non received incidents were from Aussie sellers. If I can get 2 for the price of one than that's the way I'll go. In 15+ years of online dealings never have I had my identity details stolen. It does make sense to use a separate account to which you simply transfer money from a primary account in order to pay goods online so even if they do get your details they won't get much else

[GMC]

Suck it in Jerry..I went to my local Yamaha Shop on Monday wanting price and availability on an exhaust gasket for my 74'' MX250.A young guy serves me and then proceeds to look up the part on his computer mumbling over and over you would have to be pretty lucky to find one of those..Anyway he found the part and gave me a price of $11.95..That same afternoon I jumped on Ebay UK and found the same gasket for GB1.95 [$AU.3.00 [ with $AU6.00 postage..however additional items cost no more to send.. so for AU$14.00 I have two gaskets and postage from England..as opposed to two gaskets costing 2x 11.95 from my local Yamaha shop..You work it out..

It’s so easy to bag our country when you can find something cheaper somewhere else but I wonder if the average retailer ( bike shop) in the UK can sell those gaskets for $3.00 also so as to be able to compete with e-bay merchants.
Many other countries have way more buying power than us.

It’s a bit like bagging your local General Store because they don’t have the same stock levels or pricing of the Independent Supermarkets.

Or chastising your local Independent Supermarket because they can’t compete against Coles & Woolies.

Or abusing Coles & Woolies because they can’t compete with Aldi

In essence Australia is you local corner store

But still, maybe there’s an opening for you. Check with your UK supplier and see if he will sell you wholesale so you can set up a shop over here and sell your gaskets for $3.00 each.


What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Did people start buying overseas because the service was poor or did the service become poor because the sales rep knows he’s defeated before he starts as he can’t compete with on line sales.

[frostype400]

I think because it is so easy to buy online too you can be working on your bike and realise oh I need this jump on the computer or on your phone and order it then and there without having to go anywhere even in the odd case where you pay a little extra you still have the convenience of not going anywhere and buying what ever you need 24/7 so how can a shop beat that unless they join it.

What really pisses me off though is if I go into a shop I am there for no other reason but to buy my mates brother had a shop and people would go in try on gear and put it back so they knew there size to order online that stinks who cares if you have to pay more for gear they have it all there it isn't there to be tried on so you can buy it somewhere else I find that just plain wrong.