I am planning on buying a PSH from a local dealer this weekend. He has the boards in stock, gave me a demo, gave me a range of boards to test, gave me good advice and invested a lot of time to help me make an informed purchase. I will get to see it and check it is perfect before I pay and if a fault develops I can take it back to him and I am sure he will remedy it.
The most he would be making out of the sale would be $500 and he has already spent hours with me. Take away premise rent, cost of holding stock, phones, and internet, staff ……etc. Talk about slave labor.
From what I understand is PSH in Hawaii have told their dealers they will be selling the boards direct at a “wholesale” rate. If I was a regional dealer over there and had bought demo stock and promoted the brand for PSH I would be the one feeling ripped off.
IF PSH wanted to open their own retail outlets in OZ and sell at wholesale too, that’s their call, but why should we expect to get boards cheaper here? They are not costing any less ex factory and the importer and local retailer has to able to make something or they will not survive. Then no boards to try touch and test before we purchase.
It would seem PSH have decided their brand is strong enough now in their key market to tell their dealer to get lost.
So I am going to buy it from the local guy, even if it might cost me at most and extra $250. Good insurance if you ask me and I don’t think PSH deserve a pat on the back for going direct and screwing their dealers they had set up.
Don’t get me wrong if PSH want to drop their margins, so there volumes go up and they can compete with a similar priced product to the comp that is cool, just in my opinion don’t screw the dealers who helped build the brand.
Oh, and I’m not a dealer, !!

Just a thought and I know I'm no businessman or anything but would it be in the realms of possibility for shaper(s) in Aus and/or NZ to be licensed to shape for the companies who's boards are in demand? for example I know 'Town and Country' let a shaper in Taranaki shape boards for them so NZers can get hold of one if they want.

No shipping costs or customs to worry about??

Apologies if this has already been covered or is a theory that just couldn't come to fruition.

Kagey

We have a distributor in AUS. It is their call to who and what dealers to open or close not mine. I am letting the distributor run things down there. I can make suggestions but in the end, they make the final call. The moment I see problems with the end users as a result of dealers or my distributor, THEN I would step in.

The choices I'm making for PSH in the long run are all customer driven. In Hawaii, we are set and doing it the way we want. I had so many problems with dealers like not getting paid on time, customer complaints etc, etc, etc. In the end the customers are the ones that lose. Higher prices to top it all off? No more.

In the US, our distributor has worked with us and they have come to a system that they are comfortable with and they are moving forward and will have success.

In AUS that system is still being figured out. I have no plans on moving down there to open up stores... I have no plans solid on anything yet. All I know is the distributor was stoked to be able to lower prices for the customers so he is trying to figure it out. As you can see with all the different views, it is not an easy task.

I have a feeling things will work out. Prices will go down and we'll see how it goes. We'll know in the next few weeks how it will play out...

Figure this one out.....

I purchased two new PSH SUB's at the same time from the same store.
11' WAA with deckpad $1990
9'6" WAA without deckpad $2100

Say no more

Pete

So Bryon, does that mean that PSH will rebate the Aus importer for his stock and what he has on the water, and then the importer rebates the dealers for their stock and then when I buy my board tomorrow at full RRP do I get a rebate too some time I the future? Doubt it.

Agree with PSH comments that bad dealers and slow payers are more trouble than they are worth, so sack them, or simply put them on COD, but the good guys are just that, support them and your business will grow

Hmmmmm,

PSH ripping people off in Aus?

Let me see I had an issue with my 10'6WAA it was resolved within one day and I got a new board.

I recieved a direct PM from Blane explaining what he would do and by when and he kept his word.

I wanted to run a paddle board day to allow people to try boards of all shapes and sizes and brands as I wanted to promote the sport.

Blane was extremely helpfull, allowed me to use his info and intellectual property, asked the current Vicco Champ to attend got me a 12ft gun etc etc etc (yes it did market their product and everyone elses) but hey they fell over themselves to help us out to support the sport and so did AA. Many told me out right to Piss Off.

I recieved excellent support from Strapper Surf in torquay who is thier agent, cant recommend them highly enough.

If I paid a premium for the 2 boards I love to ride, I personally dont believe I got ripped off. In my opinion I got the best board by far for me and I would pay the extra $250 again just to get the service. I guess I am a total DUMB A$$

As far as the future goes Blane still appears to be working to reduce prices in AUS and you would expect that the local dealer network will respond as best they can when the new prices are announced.

It will be interesting to see how Nash GSI etc respond, because if PSH which I still belive is a premium product roll back prices you should a huge reduction across all ranges to compete.

HMMMMMM doesnt that mean Blane just got all SUPers in AUS a discount?

I dont want to pay any more than I have to, that would be really DUMB. I still want the insurance of dealing with a retailer I trust.


Phill

If someone is willing to import a container load of psh boards direct from Hawaii and think they can make a quid, so what. Personally, I reckon they'd do better by importing a container of Coreban boards from Ivan in Sth Africa.

Until we get a better range of boards in Australia - I'm happy with what our locals are producing on a value for money basis. If it's only money we are talking why not buy a second hand board, seems people are jumping boards faster than cane toads can breed.

Brendan's idea is tempting - holiday in Hawaii with a board thrown in for around $3k

Why is the surf crap every weekend?

I don’t think there is a magic formula that is sustainable, to reduce prices outside Hawaii.
The manufacturer in Thailand has to make his margin to pay his overheads, the designer PSH must make a margin to pay for the R &D and the molds. Importer and retailer the same. In Hawaii PSH are designer, importer and retailer, so can obviously afford to amortize there over heads and reduce their sell point to the end user.
Everywhere else in the world there can only be agreement driven by the designer that everyone in the chain is prepared to work on lower margins. The problem is when an end-user walks into a shop and has the choice of a range of manufacturers products the retailer will naturally head you in the direction of competitor’s product that he makes more money on. He will also stock less PSH, less people will see the product and test it and the ground swell of support for PSH will eventually dissipate.
The bottom line in my opinion if it is a superior product, it is worth more, so you pay more. As I am!
So just keep the R & D going an stay at the top of the tree

You could save a dollar

loco4olas said...

petemc said...

Figure this one out.....

I purchased two new PSH SUB's at the same time from the same store.
11' WAA with deckpad $1990
9'6" WAA without deckpad $2100

Say no more

Pete

I'd guess supply and demand-that 9'6" is a very popular board (for good reason).

Pete,

I guess you have a choice there seveal suppliers and I am sure they would compete for your business.

I can only say what you have posted price wise makes no sense to me at all.

Phill

loco4olas said...

OG SUP said...

Hmmmmm,

PSH ripping people off in Aus?

Let me see I had an issue with my 10'6WAA it was resolved within one day and I got a new board.

I recieved a direct PM from Blane explaining what he would do and by when and he kept his word.

I wanted to run a paddle board day to allow people to try boards of all shapes and sizes and brands as I wanted to promote the sport.

Blane was extremely helpfull, allowed me to use his info and intellectual property, asked the current Vicco Champ to attend got me a 12ft gun etc etc etc (yes it did market their product and everyone elses) but hey they fell over themselves to help us out to support the sport and so did AA. Many told me out right to Piss Off.

I recieved excellent support from Strapper Surf in torquay who is thier agent, cant recommend them highly enough.

If I paid a premium for the 2 boards I love to ride, I personally dont believe I got ripped off. In my opinion I got the best board by far for me and I would pay the extra $250 again just to get the service. I guess I am a total DUMB A$$

As far as the future goes Blane still appears to be working to reduce prices in AUS and you would expect that the local dealer network will respond as best they can when the new prices are announced.

It will be interesting to see how Nash GSI etc respond, because if PSH which I still belive is a premium product roll back prices you should a huge reduction across all ranges to compete.

HMMMMMM doesnt that mean Blane just got all SUPers in AUS a discount?

I dont want to pay any more than I have to, that would be really DUMB. I still want the insurance of dealing with a retailer I trust.


Phill

Agree with Phil's comments on the quality of the people behind the product (AA and Jason here and Blane and Austin in Hawaii).

Real issue is the differentiation in pricing between here and Hawaii and mainland USA (taking into account the exchange rate and fluctuations).

Blane's really shaking the tree with the lowering of prices, like others have said not just with PSH but across the brands (deja vu all over again re kitesurfing and BEST).

I would expect at least a 10% price drop here-bringing PSH boards below the RRP of Naish, Starboard and the other Thai/Chinese moulded boards and likely putting downward pressure on other manufacturers' prices.

I look forward to the PSH price changes here-would love a 12' gun for my wife () and one of the new smaller Rippers (for my kids)-and more chance of that with lowered prices.

More than happy to support the product and those behind it-quality all around-just like to see the prices here move closer to parity with those in the US.

Wait and see.....

I belive the reality of the situation is something like this:

Based on the prices posted on the forum 1150 US$ on Main Land US = $1407 AUD lets say you take up space in the container at 200 US$ = $245 AUD

Sub Total so far $1652

Transport from QLD to Vicco $100??

Total so far $ 1752

+ Customs ?

+ duty?

Add the risk of damage in transit in the container.

hmmmm

Even if you got the $950 US in Hawaii base price you might get $1550 landed here before customs and duty but at what risk?

For that amount of messing around I would go and negotiate with the local suppliers and see what you can haggle.



The Travel to Hawaii to surf and bring board back option makes lots of sense, When are we going loco??

Phill

Phill

Timber mmmm any pics yet??

Hmmmmm, a very interesting topic indeed! And just to clarify, I did say in one of my early posts that I am looking forward to seeing what the local prices are going to be............So, I am not planning to take any business away from the local guys at this point.

Also, just so you guys have some idea of what pricing is (and I havent checked pricing in the last 8-12 months as we aren't bringing containers in any more-thanks GFC), but a container from Asia to Australia shouldn't be any more than $3k inclusive of all port charges, etc. This is based on the fuel surcharges that were in place when we were last bringing in containers. This price certainly goes up considerably when only sharing a container.

We imported cables and were subjected to a 5% surcharge as these cables COULD be produced locally. We then also paid the obligatory 10% Get Stuffed Tax (GST). Also, dont forget that when you pay GST that the retailer gets to claim this back. For example, if a retailer sells you a board for $2k and they paid $1.2k for the stock, they are only paying (2,000 x .1 - 1.2 x .1) $80 in GST.

Finally, $50K in shipping insurance costs our company roughly $600/year for the number of shipments we bring in.

Overall, there is certainly some economy to be appreciated in bringing in quantities based on the information I have mentioned above.

Finally, it is worth noting there are considerable differences in the wages which would be paid in Hawaii as compared to Oz (I would think-haven't lived there in ages). However, Honolulu real estate (which I guess is where PSH is) would not be a very cheap place to have a shop.

Hope this adds a bit more fuel to the fire!

I am sure AA will be giving us all some OUTSTANDING news when he returns.

Cheers,
Ronnie

OG SUP said...

loco4olas said...

petemc said...

Figure this one out.....

I purchased two new PSH SUB's at the same time from the same store.
11' WAA with deckpad $1990
9'6" WAA without deckpad $2100

Say no more

Pete

I'd guess supply and demand-that 9'6" is a very popular board (for good reason).

Pete,

I guess you have a choice there seveal suppliers and I am sure they would compete for your business.

I can only say what you have posted price wise makes no sense to me at all.

Phill

Agree with you Phil, I'm not knocking Blane or PSH. As far as I'm concerned I got a bargain with the 11'er.

Hey, how;s the outlook for tomorrow down your way?

Pete

B Chambers said...

Howzit everyone... I read this thread after a PM sent me to it. First off, Stoked people in AUS are even into our shapes to begin with...

AUS is a market that I would like to stay in and dropping prices there is a sure thing. The question is to what amount which is what we are in the process of working out. Even in the US mainland it has been a challenge to do. Anything international adds a bit more obstacles to the mix.

Getting boards to surfers and paddlers there at a fair price is the goal. All I can say for now is stay tuned and within a few weeks a plan will be in place. This goes for other parts of the World as well...

Aloha, BC

Sounds great, NZ is even closer to aust now after the earthquakes last week we are 100mm closer