"Prices"

$18.40 to ship 10 spokes is ridiculous. A lot of retailers around the country are suffering, some I've talked to have just had their worst 12 months in the last 15+ years.

Can't you deal with a distributor here in the US, rather than Shimano directly?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by paulmurphy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Can't you deal with a distributor here in the US, rather than Shimano directly?

I don't think the industry is as opened here compared to the the US and elsewhere.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Paul Agius [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I would like to appeal to all cyclists and tell them of a quandary we the retailers have to put up with plus appeal to Shimano Japan to do something about this problem. I am a bicycle retailer and our prices are more expensive than internet purchases because our stock comes into the country and has to pay for all the extra taxes, wharfage charges and warehousing and then delivery to the shop. We cannot do anything about that so I am happy to install parts bought from the internet etc as i think imy shop should not be a stumbling block for you the customer who can save some money. But this morning i got a new surprise. Shimano Australia cost me an extra $18.40 in freight because their store personnel is too lazy to simply cut some of the tape and push 10 Spokes into a carton already coming to us on the same van. They also packed the spokes into a carton almost as big as the one the other order was in. We stock about $5000.00 worth of shimano parts but guess what. We will not buy any shimano parts or maintain a stock level in future, we will fit other brands. the reason why I am putting this thread is because i even tried to complain to the Japanese parent company and because i only speak English i could not even get into the site. Mr Shimano I respect your right to have your site in any language you like but if you are doing business with other nations who speak other languages maybe you could be humble enough to have a contact button on your site so we can complain to you direct instead of having to go to a public forum. so commit the crime pay the fine. By the way we have been doing business with shimano for at least 18 years and now we say good by Paul Agius

Sympathy has never been one of my strong points, so bear with me, if you will...

I've bolded your main issue as I read your post, and that has nothing to do with Shimano's lack of sympathy concerning the shipment of the spokes. You need to be complaining to your national governing parties. Your country's protectionist import tariffs are why you can't compete with online sellers.

Your spoke issue is ancillary to the main issue, IMO. You're mistakenly making Shimano to be the scapegoat here. Furthermore, you're 'cutting off your nose to spite your face' by dropping Shimano over this situation.

My $0.02 worth - I know, it's probably even not worth that much...

Try placing your order in all at once.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by davereo [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Try placing your order in all at once.

That could help [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG] Tony did mention some excellent points. We have a very backward mentality over here, currently GST isn't charged on imports under $1,000. Large retailers (mostly junk importers) are pushing a campaign to have the goods and services tax added to all imports no matter the size. 10% doesn't make much difference (ie; buying books is still 50% cheaper when buying from the USA ) It just highlights the mentality of unproductive companies who sell overpriced junk in this country.

Retailers such as Harvey Norman and David Jones defiant in online GST war
dailytelegraph.com.austory fn300aev 1225984722790Open ↗

Online tax push faces backlash A campaign backed by Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman, Target, House, Borders, Angus & Robertson and a number of others began today with the placement of full-page advertisements in some of the nation's newspapers. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/online-tax-push-faces-backlash-20110104-19e3h.html?rand=1294360473832 Rogue retailers rorting online GST-free deal http://www.theage.com.au/national/rogue-retailers-rorting-online-gstfree-deal-20101127-18bjh.html?from=age_sb Several of the book and clothing companies have since gone bust, other big name retailers campaigning are on the edge as their debt levels are huge.

WOnt it affect your sales ecen more by not haveing shimano parts. Limits the bikes you can sell as well as after sales etc. Can certainly see your point though. THe internet is affecting alot of Buisnesses in Australia, and it probably wont stop.

[FONT= arial]I think it is just a fact of life. It’s the way the marketplace is today.[/FONT]

[FONT= arial]I used to sell a particular bike locally AND on the web. But businesses on the West Coast could always sell the same cycle for about $50 less because they were landed on that coast. I had to add the cost of shipping to my bikes.[/FONT]

[FONT= arial]So, I dropped that line.[/FONT]
[FONT= arial]I only sell used and vintage cycles now. [/FONT]
[FONT= arial]Much better margin.[/FONT]

It might be the way it is, but it doesn't mean it should be this way.

The OP was talking about Shimano Australia. They have the sole license to import and distribute Shimano and Pro products here. There are no other importers who can undercut them. In the grand scheme of thisngs this is a relatively small hiccup but it is symptomatic of a broader problem in the bike industry in Australia.

The Australian bike industry is a pretty small one and still largely operated by a lot of "old hands" who've been around since the sport grew up here. Unfortunately the attachment to tradition which the importers and distributors seem to favour here has come at the cost of the ability to run efficient businesses and has also lead to plenty of less-than-capable people being given positions with too much responsibility. As one who works in a bike shop, it never ceases to amaze me how long it can take a distributor to get hold of some simple parts which they should really always have in stock. Its alright for them, they aren't the ones who have to pass charges on in order to recoup costs, they aren't the ones who have to deal with the (rightfully) frustrated customer who still can't get their wheel repaired because the Neuvation distributor cannot keep a stock of spare spokes.

It always ends up being the bike shop owners and workers who have to cushion against the frustration which should really be directed at the distributors.

It is for this reason that so many customers buy online. It is usually cheaper to do so and (despite the fact that these items come from as far afield as Northern Ireland) frequently faster than waiting for an Australian distributor to get their act together.

Paul, Shimano are probably not really aware of the insult that the extra freight is to shops who buy so much of their gear. An annoyed phone call/email/letter wouldn't go astray. Also if this sort of thing happens regularly, contacting the parent company by mail is a good idea. Japanese brands (and Japanese culture generally) tend to take their image and quality of service seriously. They also place more credence on written (postal) communication than we ("westerners"😉 do nowadays. After a bit of googling here is the address.

Shimano Head Office
3-77 Oimatsu-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakaicity, Osaka 590-8577, Japan
(General Affairs) Phone +81-72-223-3210 / Fax +81-72-223-3258
(Corporate Communications) Phone +81-72-223-3957 / Fax +81-72-223-6045

I'd be pretty certain that there would be more than one english speaker working there.

Things will never change unless we actually confront the sources of our disappointment.

The recent blow up here in the retail sector over the affects of Internet purchasing on retail sales is a slightly different kettle of fish. Currently anyone can import on invoices of value under AU$1000 without having to pay import duty (usually the 10% GST/VAT). The big retail companies David Jones, Harvey Norman, Myer etc have requested that such duties be applied to all imports as overseas internet purchases were affecting their bottom line.

Twenty odd years ago, the retail companies were among the most vehement opponents of import tariffs because they wanted to import goods cheaply for sale here. They were also among those companies arguing strongly for deregulation of the labour market so they could change working conditions on a whim. So now that they have got the free-market they asked for, they now want more regulation so that they don't loose market share? That sounds like having your cake and eating it. Perhaps they can explain how they can keep paying massive dividends to all their shareholders without affecting their bottom line.

thanks Tafi

You seem to understand the problem and yes i will write a letter to the people in Japan as they should know how the retailers are being traeated by the local manager.

by the way i actually also posted this on a site called sydney cyclists and they suspended my memebership for haveing a say so to all sydney cyclist members get out as the organisation you are part of is pandering to the higher prices charged bu the wholesalers etc

so thanks

paul

hi Scottri

i hope i spelled that right

yes things are the way they are but if no one says anything things do not change.

i used to run a wharehouse and we made sure that if an order is small we checked to see if it can be sent with another this way our customers were happy and everyone was a winner.

Shimano in Australia does have got a lot of problems as to the way they treat theeir retailers. And it is all because they believe that we cannot exist without them well they have not heard from anyone that that ours is a symbiotic relationship and no one wins with their approach to the problem

thanks

paul

hi Steve
thanks for letting my say so go ahead.

Sydney cyclist decided to play safe and suspended my membership
so i made up a quote and it goes like this, just for sydney cyclist.com i think

"some of us are glad to be alive but some do not know they are dead"

so many thanks

i have a very busy day today so i will look at the sites you suggest some time tomorrow

paul

hi Davereo

the spokes wer needed urgently as were we live Goulburn we have a cycling track and a couple of buddies were doing a sprint around it. the guy in front slowed down and got clipped by the guy behind he broke 6 spokes and i thought my order is still fresh all they had to do is simply tell the store man to include it in one box.

obviusly 1 no one at shimano has any communicating skills and 2 they do not care about the customer.
sad state of affairs i think

thanks
paul

hello tonyzackery

hope i got that right

the iisues here are different one is the priceing with all the protection penalties etc. but the freight is Shimano Australia's problem and it is created by them and them alone. one must wonder if there is any intelligence in both their office and wharehouse and this is only one of many problems we have had with them. finally i have decided to basically not be as kind and kick butt.

thanks for you wise words though

paul

Hang in there, Paul. Sounds like Shimano Australia has a chokehold on Shimano products for now, but if enough of you contact Shimano directly voicing your concerns I would think Shimano would address those issues.

I can't believe Shimano would want their products associated with a company that has such poor business practices....

Thanks 64 paramount

What they are doing is absolutely crazy.

i have customers who buy from England and anything over something like $500 they get free freight but the big surprise is the retail price is exactly the same as my wholesale price. So why should I stand in the way of a customer saving money. But tell that to the Authorities and or the Importers and they act surprised. We all know there is Tarifs etc but there must also be a big markup.
we all need to make a buck but should we do it in this fashion?

thanks for your support i wish retailers in Australia come to the party and do something about all this

paul

hi everyone,

here is the latest bit a raving from this tyrant. now everyone knows that i am not against Shimano products as such just the lunacy behind all this. simply put.
I made an order ( by the way this has happened before with Shimano Aust) and a customer came into the shop. he just had an accident by coming in contact with his mate's bicycle front wheel to rear wheel he came of the bike but in the process he broke about 8 spokes on his Shimano front wheel.
So i quickly emailed the order for spokes and did mention that i had the other order there. I was told it would be a separate invoice but should make it into the original box. the rest of the order was worth $97 including $18.40 for freight and it came on the same van as the spokes only this carton had plenty of room to fit the spokes now the spokes came in a carton almost as big so the freight was again $18.40. so the whole thing started.
Now if I was the manager of a company were this was going on I would do something about it.

So here is the latest in his ravings. now if he was man enough he would let the general manager of Shimano Japan sort it out but he is just playing "Powerfull Man" now let us see what will happen when and if Japan finds out.
by the way i would have contacted Japan but their web age does not allow English so i do not know which button to push.

Mr Agius,

Would you please refrain from trying to secure Shimano supply from other sources outside Australia. We are not an agency but a fully owned subsidiary of Shimano Japan, and therefore in direct contact with every Shimano sales across the globe. I may remind you that you are the one who claimed he could do business without us, so at least be a man & stick to your original statement.

We also do not appreciate your childish attempts to have posted the original email exchange between you and me, as again we have many friends across the country who have no interest in your miss guided ranting and wasting their time (apparently in all the reported approaches this wasn’t their first contact with you??) I might also point out to you that they legally are unable to post any exchange that includes another individuals contact details. (Why you wanted to post that exchange is surprising as you look like a complete chump!)

Just so you can use the correct spelling next time, the word meaning to pass on ones farewell, is spelt “Good Bye”. The expressions “God buy” and/or even your second attempt “Good by” have two totally different meanings altogether. This may be of help in the future.

Lastly your Shimano account was closed due to the abusive language you directed towards us, and which was completely unwarranted. If you would like it reopened then a hand written apology will be a positive step forward to doing so.

The ball is in your court to move on, I suggest you take this opportunity to get on with it

Regards

Drew

Hi, I am not taking sides in regard to this matter, but ... I would have thought, considering Shimano's size, that Shimano would have been able to deliver 10 spokes for much less than $18.40. I recently had 2 tool boxes delivered to me for $5.99 and they were quite large.

So, $18.40 for 10 spokes [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif[/IMG]

FWIW, I am not taking sides :-)

hi Klabs

i think they must have some sort of agreement everyone gets a box and an $18.40 charge.
i would put small orders into a post bag ans send them once a day.
it is quite funny because i managed a warehouse which supplied plumbers and they (the plumbers) would order by job so sometimes we could have 20 orders so rather than cost them money we used to process all the orders together put each order into a small carton then into a bigger carton to save them money and send the lot in one delivery.
But obviously the customer in this situation does not count they are so important they forgot that by costing me money they are hurting me and my customers.

then rather than try to sort it out they come on with silly arguments like the order update was two hours after the original order. wow but the biggest one is the fact that they are trying to stop me from telling you guys about it.
i have been banned from three forums already because of this.
so i now started my own.
i now have the freedom of saying what i want to say there and it will be expanded as we go forth

i am not sure if i can mention it here so i won't but if you type Australian bicycle forum you might find me
Paul