Kitepower Australia said...
I can't believe your question is serious?
I can't believe your answer is serious !
Anyway, there are lots of great reasons to support local industry whether its buying kites or cameras, or anything.
I have to see one reason here ... If there would be a local industry I would happily support them .. I do not consider retail an industry ... If you look at cameras or anything as you call it you finance primarily obscene rents in shopping centers making profits for foreign investment. There is lack of competitive trading space in Australia which would allow the retailer to be more flexible with pricing.
If there would be a decent product I need or want made in Australia I would support it, but there is not !
Supporting your local keeps a lot of your money circulating in Australia, supporting fellow Australians to keep bread on the table.
Not correct either, otherwise we would not have so much foreign ownership in business. The Australian dollar I spend overseas by exchange comes back because the only thing people want to buy in Australia is dirt with some resource content.
Ok may be a few life sheep and some wheat. And even if we have a lot of export our import is higher and it does not matter if I spend the money here and finance a greedy importer or if I spend it in a foreign country at a much lower cost .. the result is no different ..
Local retailers support their local areas, they generally are doing a lot that may not be so visible to maintain access to spots.
You think ? I have to see that .. financial interest is not really what sways councils and especially not from a sector with so little financial power .. council members are interested in votes and public perception .. not a few pleas from a little fish.
Local retailers can fix warranty and repair issues quickly and often on the spot.
I have to see that first hand yet .. Several occasions where I have just seen the opposite
Local retailers are often supporting legitimate schools, helping to make the sport safer and with sustainable practices/methods.
9 out of 10 schools in Perth I rather not see teaching .. they are overpriced, unconsidered mobs pricing schooling out of the market .. over east you may be right with a 5 hour course at 395. here you pay 300 for one lesson. Greed I do not support.
Local retailers have chosen the brands they sell, usually because they like them and know how they perform. They should be stocking brands they get good support from.
In most cases retailers have the brands they can get not the other way around ..
Companies try to not have too many retailers in one area to maintain price levels at RRP. To force a retailer to sell at RRP is illegal, but practices exist to make sure they do. Another reason why I do not buy local anymore ..
If you sell more than 2 brands you are more likely to be objective. Retailers push their own brands and also through the schools they run or support. This is not information you want as a consumer ..
You want selection and more objectivity.. with 2 brands at hand that is not the case .. I have never been told that a board next door may suit me better than the own offer.. I have only been offered alternatives within the shop ... not what I called good information .. I'd rather talk to buddies or people at the local beach than retailers.
There are many more reasons, including building relationships locally, new kiters need kite buddies including kite retailer buddies!
There are other ways to make buddies .. I don't want a buddy associated with a retailer pushing his gear all the time ..
If everyone bought everything they possibly could overseas as you seem to be indicating then we would be living in a very different and poorer Australia.
Well .. I don't think so .. It may put some pressure on governments and people to up their game and become a bit smarter and more inventive and not as complacent as they are because we still get enough resource dollars ..
On the other hand .. just to conclude this .. there are many other reasons why I would buy overseas where you have more consumer protection than in Australia.
Lemon laws, right of return with change of mind not just exchange for fault, longer warranty periods, better service ... I have all experienced this ... and a few shipping costs did not make up for the money saved over time .. The parts for my American truck are cheaper and land quicker on my door step than anything from Australia because the local shop probably does not stock even for the local brands.
2 service shipments and adjustments for a 12K$ camera have not even made a dent in the saving on the purchase price ..
There are many reasons why the situation is the way it is, but buying local is not going to improve anything as long as you can start a business with $2 shares, without qualification and make a runner with people's down payments when it gets too hard ..
Seen that a lot, fortunately not from own experience ..
I have found a few businesses over the years I would call honest, useful and worth supporting but they were in the minority.
The internet will change all this anyway ... Mayer's half yearly profit is down 17% and a lot of smaller retailers can't afford the rents anymore.
We will have product show rooms in the future, sponsored by manufacturers and importers where you can touch the goods, but you will buy online because local stock becomes too expensive, service is centralised anyway (Sony does that since a long long time) and the channel does not have so much old stock sticking around.
Different marketing strategies are tested in the kite world (for example: Ocean Rodeo, Switch) to sell direct and promote through team riders. And the prices are half. You can buy 2 instead of one kite .. and you may get an answer from the manufacturer instead of waiting for a retailer via his importer get into gear.
All the above is not theory for me, I speak from experience and telling me to support the local shop in order to be a "good" Australian makes me smile ...
By the way I am Australian and I am all for maintaining our freedom and quality of live .. but at the moment it looks like it is more important to make people stop eating Hamburgers than to buy from local retailers.
This is not meant as an attack on anyone .. and I do not aim to convince anybody ... it is just my opinion and observation ..
I like discussing any subject constructively .. only this will improve anything
Satisfaction is the end of progress.
regards
gmd
