Not a rant. A vent maybe.

[DomAU]

I know this has the potential to turn into another one of "those" threads / posts, but i need to vent.

I ordered a few small tools, in-stock, at a familiar large local&online tool retailer that we all know on Monday. I figured it wasn't unreasonable to expect delivery by Friday / today.

Well I just got an email saying "your items have shipped" this morning. In the meantime, my friend ordered a tool from a retailer in the UK on the same day and he now has his item.

If a local retailer is going to charge more for their products, then they really need to at least focus on adding value through superior service. Shipping items quickly is probably one of the major potential value-adds and sources of competitive advantage that local retailers have vs international online sellers. It can't be that hard, surely.

Now, some if not most Australian retailers are really good, particularly the smaller ones, but this isn't the first time this major retailer has taken a long-time to ship goods and I think it's hurting their business more than they think.

I'm happy to pay a premium to buy local for the same overseas-made item, but not if it means receiving worse service on top of the premium price - I'm then paying more for less.

Ok, rant over. Sorry. Needed to vent.

[Fumbler]

I hear you and I'm afraid that if the gov decides to stop us from using international sellers to help prop up the domestic market things may get worse as we then become captured clients. Their theory will be "where else are you going to go?"

[Chris Parks]

At least your order has been shipped, I can't even get that far. I sent two emails to different suppliers about three weeks ago, one took two days to reply and the other has never replied.

[BobL]

We heard good things about an on-line pet food supplier (Pet Circle) located in Sydney and started buying through them.
Our first couple of orders arrived within 5 days.

Following our last order of a large (17kg) bag of dog food, after 7days it had not arrived so I emailed them a gentle enquiry about our order and 10 minutes had a reply they would look into it.
Less than an hour later they had emailed me an (OTT) apology and a response confirming the order had been shipped.
The item arrived two days later.

If someone can do this for bloody pet food why can't tool sellers?

[Lappa]

I ordered and paid for a part over 1 week ago. They said they'd ring when it came in. Still waiting.
I personally don't mind if the Aust Govt adds 100% GST on imports - I'm not paying the 12.5% Goods and Services tax when I order for England so if I pay 10% here it's still less and the items retail prices are still cheaper than buying here.

[Big Shed]

In the UK the Value Added Tax (VAT) is actually 20%, in some European countries it is higher than that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_value_added_tax

[bueller]

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with Australian retailers. It's at the point now where if I need something that's not available locally in Perth I'll almost always buy from overseas. Last shipment from Axminster in the UK arrived in just over 48 hours and was 60% of the price I would have paid locally ($850 vs $500). Packages from over east usually take 3-4 days minimum and 1-2 weeks maximum and I'm paying through the nose for it. I'll support local retailers where I can but (am at Timbecon a couple of times a month minimum) but there's only so much money I can wave goodbye to in the name of supporting locals.

Another thing that annoys the HELL out of me is online ordering. Both Carbatec AND Timbecon have online ordering capabilities but no option for local pickup in Perth. So any potential savings I might have made buying with them are out the window because I have to add on shipping. And I know I could just go in an buy it at the counter but that doesn't account for their online only sales and issues with stock not being available in Perth when I need it (a FREQUENT PROBLEM HERE). Other companies will happily take my money and have the stock shipped between branches so I can pick up, if they're out of stock it's either pay for shipping or miss out entirely.

Which leads me to stock levels. You know how long I've been trying to get some of those cheap panel clamps that Carbatec and Timbecon sell? 6 FREAKIN MONTHS. Every time I go in they have no stock. Even called ahead once, got the A-OK and then arrived to find nothing. Could have had them months ago if I was willing to pay shipping on them, nearly ordered them on sale a few weeks ago but I just couldn't justify paying shipping on something that I know should be available locally. It's infuriating.

[Chris Parks]

I rang Timbecon some time ago inquiring about availability and found that not everything they stock is on their website and CT are the same if not worse in that regard. What is the use of having product that no one knows about?

[DomAU]

That's it guys let it all out haha. Sometimes you just need to vent :)

[graham.murfett]

If we let the company know of our dissatisfaction, then we get to rant & rave.
That's why I always tell 'em.
Coz I love ranting & raving. [emoji1303]

[bryn23]

I still don't know why these mobs think its acceptable...

We pay a higher price to buy local, the least they can do is offer good customer service.

I went into a big woodworking retailer last week, heaps of staff, not one of them offered any help, I brought the product online through a different company in the end.

I wrote and complained as i have spent over 15k buying stuff through them in the past and the reply was sorry, try coming in the afternoon are are aren't as busy!!!

I can only see it getting worst over time... together with this attitude from Aus retailers and Australia Post, we will be still better of buying overseas after the lower import GST rate and getting DHL, TNT or Toll to deliver faster than what we get here.

I read an article the other day, if i recall rightly, it was going to cost the gov 900 Million to per year to operate and the GST collected was expected to be 300 Million? i'll have to find the article to see if that is right.

[DomAU]

Yeah, I'm not sure if the GST on imports below $1000 thing is going to happen this July. There are a lot of implementation issues and concerns and I wouldn't be surprised if they delay it for another year to straighten it out.

They are expecting overseas retailers who export more than $75000 per year into Australia to charge us GST and collect it for the Australian tax office. Also, they are demanding that online market-places like ebay and amazon etc do the same, even though they are not actually the "seller" of the good, just a provider of the marketplace or link between seller and buyer. Ebay is saying they may stop Australians from being able to buy from overseas sellers if that is the case, as they are not set up to collect GST and they haven't been given enough time or consultation to do so before July 2017. Guess we'll wait and see.

20% premium over international price including shipping is about my limit for buying local, particularly if online. When I buy from overseas I typically do it around $800-950 at a time so as to minimize the cost of shipping per dollar spent. So for me, buying local has the advantage of not feeling pressure to buy more than I need at a given time and I'm happy to pay a premium for that. However, I also expect packing and shipping time to be less than from overseas; which it typically isn't and that's not really excusable.

[clear out]

Just want to second Bobs recommendation for Pet Circle.
Now if they want to diversify into tools etc?!
Not so sure about DHL I had an exhibition piece shipped back from the US by them.
I unpacked it at a mates workshop near the airport and as it was damaged took it back to their depot so they could acknowledge it was damaged and I could claim on the exhibition organisers insurance.
they refused point blank to have anything to do with it.
The mate who's workshop I'd unpacked it at was a JP so no probs in the end even took out people's choice at the W.W.W show.
This piece had been to 8 different venues in the states no probs but the clowns here had to chuck it off the plane.
maybe the mods better transfer this to rants and raves.
H.

[Bucky]

Placed my order, shipped the same day. Auspost 8 days from Sydney to Brisbane, Sometimes you just can't win.

[Tccp123]

Never had a problem with this...until recently.

Ordered (and paid for) a part on 19th May. This is a blade setting tool for a Ryobi thicknesser, for which they charged me (don't laugh) $30.59 plus $10.00 for postage and handling. Got an email to say it had been dispatched (from Vic) on 29th May. Emailed them saying I was less than impressed with their turnaround time and was told it was within spec!!! Followup email requesting the email address of their MD so that I could escalate my complaint was ignored.

I know Gerry Harvey will argue that the reason Australian businesses are disadvantaged is because overseas online businesses are exempt from GST. Rubbish! Australian businesses are disadvantaged because they routinely provide this level of "service".

Compare this with my experience a number of years ago of buying a HT projector from the PriceJapan.com website. Ordered on the Tuesday, arrived Brisbane on Thursday morning. Two days. From Japan.

It's now 1st June and my part still hasn't arrived...

Tony

[Handyjack]

My vent.
:ranton:
Ordered an item through eBay from a local tool shop. It took about a week to arrive, - in fact I forgot about it, - and it was the wrong item. Returned the item to said tool shop, 3200 metres away! (That's about 2 miles.) Got a refund. They told me that for some reason their deliveries were taking up to 8 working days.

Another item I ordered from a well known tool company. Item again sent by Aust. Post. Get an email to say delivery tomorrow (at 1:45 in the morning), later the same day get an email to say delivery today. Now which is it, today or tomorrow?

:rantoff:
Thank you I feel better now.

[Lappa]

Tcccp.
This wouldn't happen to be a tool spare parts firm with a name similar to a U.K. tool spare parts company would it??

[Enfield Guy]

The GST collection by overseas suppliers is going ahead. But, the USA has opted out, China has opted out.They both say they will not comply. Canada has implemented a similar thing, limited to magazine subscriptions, that has been moderately successful.

What our government is doing, they are going to do it, is setting a precedent that has the potential to make small business the tax collectors for any nation you send to. Currently my international sales equate to about 8% of my business. I have shipped to more than 17 different countries. Who is to say that, if this is successfully implemented, that other countries may determine different rules, maybe a higher trigger point, maybe zero.

The big players have said that they will seriously consider geoblocking Australia. So you may not be able to purchase externally from Australia through the big platforms. You may still be able to purchase directly with the supplier, but that would be up to them.

The potential for damage with this legislation is enormous. We live in a global world. It would, in my simplistic view, be far better to take the approach of collecting the revenue at delivery point, post office, courier, ect. If you don't want to pay, fine, the item can be held for 30/60 days and then put to auction. If you know the rules you can choose whether or not you play in the park. This legislation puts the onus of collection on the seller who has no legal or constitutional responsibility to comply.

Ridiculous. Personally, I would prefer for this can of worms to remain well sealed. Ain't gunna happen though, the dickheads we have elected have decided.

Have a nice day.

[Tccp123]

Tcccp.
This wouldn't happen to be a tool spare parts firm with a name similar to a U.K. tool spare parts company would it??

Good call Lappa :D

[Lappa]

My part arrived 10 weeks after I ordered it and 3 weeks after I cancelled the order and got a refund back through PayPal.
Kept getting told the part was out of stock at manufacturer (Makita said that they had them in stock in Melbourne) for 5 weeks, then it was being shipped for the next 2 weeks then I gave up.

[Tccp123]

I'd love to say that's encouraging information :) ...

[bryn23]

there is talk of the gov delaying the GST collection for another 12 months as the government isn't ready and haven't worked out exactly to collect the money.

[bueller]

The thing they're having trouble with is the whole scheme was doomed to fail from the start. Currently anything under $1000 is exempt from import duties and that limit was set for a very sensible reason. Basically they realised trying to collect taxes on smaller amounts would result in a net loss due to the sheer volume of parcels that would need to be processed.

[Tccp123]

there is talk of the gov delaying the GST collection for another 12 months as the government isn't ready and haven't worked out exactly to collect the money.

Regardless of what they do about the GST it won't cure the problem that we have with Australian businesses. If they want to compete with overseas online businesses they have to provide at least the same level of service.

ATM this isn't happening.

Tony

[bryn23]

The thing they're having trouble with is the whole scheme was doomed to fail from the start. Currently anything under $1000 is exempt from import duties and that limit was set for a very sensible reason. Basically they realised trying to collect taxes on smaller amounts would result in a net loss due to the sheer volume of parcels that would need to be processed.


yes i read a few weeks ago, they were going to get 300 mil in extra GST, but it was going to cost 900 mil to run it???

[bryn23]

Regardless of what they do about the GST it won't cure the problem that we have with Australian businesses. If they want to compete with overseas online businesses they have to provide at least the same level of service.

ATM this isn't happening.

Tony


Your right, i don't mind paying a little more to buy in Australia, but not for the owner to retire early on.

But the thing is that in reality we are playing for a service and the level of service that we do get here is poor and then we get to the delivery option:((

[woodPixel]

Its more than confusing.

It seems that they want some small business in Latvia or Uzbekistan to collect and remit GST to the Australian government (somehow) because they happen to sell more than $75k of stuff in a YEAR based on the address.

what if they sell a million fidget-spinners to 212 countries of the world. Little Auntie Flo in Germany orders one from Poland and its posted to her nephew in Australia. What address do they use? Germany? If so, no GST.

if it isn't for Aunie Flo's, what if I use my Trust.Zone VPN and appear to come from Germany, pay in Euro on my credit card and post it to myself? Is this counted?

If not, VPNs and made up people/addresses are going to explode.

Worse, do they HONESTLY think that some other countries Bodgy FLyByNight Co will remit the collected GST to Australia? What???? I'd recon Poland cant get Bodgy Co to pay their taxes at all!!!!

now, last but not least, as a small business owner, I can say dealing with the entire taxation system here is a cataclysmic mess. If you start a small biz, it's hard enough to work out how to do the right thing WILLINGLY let alone for a small business in another country.

What a complete disaster.

[Sawdust Maker]

On another note I sent a prepaid 500g satchel to a suburb of Adelaide. Posted Tuesday 23 May - arrived today
checking the tracking it spent a couple of days in Casino (North NSW) and a further couple of days in Sunshine Vic.

lucky it wasn't real urgent

[Chris Parks]

On another note I sent a prepaid 500g satchel to a suburb of Adelaide. Posted Tuesday 23 May - arrived today
checking the tracking it spent a couple of days in Casino (North NSW) and a further couple of days in Sunshine Vic.

lucky it wasn't real urgent

I just had a package RTS to Perth from Sydney before it got out of Sydney Parcel Centre so it has to do the trip again. I wonder if AP the stung the sender for the same postage again, it will be interesting to see if I ever get it. The whole thing went down hill when they rebuilt all the parcel centres on the East Coast and installed new machines. I think I left just in time as I would have been right in the middle of it all.

[DomAU]

Well, just to provide a bit more contrast regarding AU vs International service, I ordered two pairs of Starrett dividers from my favourite international tool seller; Classic Hand Tools, this time locally while I was in London (they are about 200 km away). Ordered at 4pm yesterday over the phone, was told that they would try to ship them out that day if they could manage it, got the items delivered today. And that's with their 'free shipping' option when spending over approx $80 Au.

So now I know they don't just look after their international customers, but their local ones as well! What a shock. What kind of business puts customers first? Outrageous! Haha.

[A Duke]

Hi,
Just to buck the trend, I must tell of some fantastic Australian service.
This happened in 2005, I hope they are still as good.
I was sanding the lid of a jewelry box when I sanded through the inlay decal, after muttering some naughty words, I went on the internet at 1535 on a Thursday afternoon to Vernier inlay and ordered a replacement. I thought if they pull finger I could have it by Wednesday, imagine my shock when at 0830 the next morning as I walked up my drive with my dogs after our walk, the Postie pulled up next to me and handed me a handful of mail including my order.
I knew they used over night bags but Canberra in spite of being the countries capital is considered "Rural NSW" by our postal service but they (Vernier Inlay) just happened to be in the same rural area. I had not even expected the order to be read by that time.
Regards

[Handyjack]

Best service I have had was in about 2009. Needed some hinges. Ordered over the phone at about 11am, and they were delivered that afternoon!

On another occasion I ordered a sander from a Forum sponsor on a Wednesday that I had to have by Friday so it could be used on the Weekend. Originally it was sent by a division of Australia Post, but they could not find the hospital I work at despite numerous vehicles with there signage appearing on site. The agent then resent the order with a different courier on the Friday and it arrived after 4 Friday afternoon.

So yes sometimes it can be done. One of the real weak points in the supply chain though is Australia Post. They might deliver, the question though is when? Is it timely, or could it be done better?

[Tccp123]

Its more than confusing.

It seems that they want some small business in Latvia or Uzbekistan to collect and remit GST to the Australian government (somehow) because they happen to sell more than $75k of stuff in a YEAR based on the address.

what if they sell a million fidget-spinners to 212 countries of the world. Little Auntie Flo in Germany orders one from Poland and its posted to her nephew in Australia. What address do they use? Germany? If so, no GST.

if it isn't for Aunie Flo's, what if I use my Trust.Zone VPN and appear to come from Germany, pay in Euro on my credit card and post it to myself? Is this counted?

If not, VPNs and made up people/addresses are going to explode.

Worse, do they HONESTLY think that some other countries Bodgy FLyByNight Co will remit the collected GST to Australia? What???? I'd recon Poland cant get Bodgy Co to pay their taxes at all!!!!

now, last but not least, as a small business owner, I can say dealing with the entire taxation system here is a cataclysmic mess. If you start a small biz, it's hard enough to work out how to do the right thing WILLINGLY let alone for a small business in another country.

What a complete disaster.

woodPixel, I feel your pain. I wish I had some answers but sadly I don't...

[bryn23]

It will be interesting once Amazon enters the Australian market.

I noticed that they use UPS here in Brisbane for package delivery from the US/UK and German Amazon sites. (i use them a lot, as I'm currently building a VW Campervan)

I would imagine they would push UPS to expand in metro areas and leave Aus Post to regional areas.

just looking forwards to ordering glue, and other items and receiving it the next day..:o

[Tccp123]

I'm currently building a VW Campervan :o

I'm in awe!!!

[Chris Parks]

UPS and AP in this country are handcuffed together so it will be interesting to see what happens when Amazon ramps up here. Many years ago I was emptying a mail box and had a lady come over and thank me for the excellent service she had just had when a parcel was delivered to her daughter over night from Wollongong to Sydney. That used to be the normal thing but no more apparently.

Domestic deliveries are always going to be slower than international deliveries and every country without exception has the same problem as all domestic mail is moved by surface transport. Large countries such as Australia will always have a time problem where small countries such as the UK will be able to get most stuff to anywhere in the country overnight, here it takes at least four days to get to Perth from the east coast, I used to control the dispatch of interstate parcels out of Sydney. A plane flies from the west coast of the US to Oz in less than a day so the comparison is apples v's oranges so to speak. If all domestic mail and parcels was air freighted interstate delivery would be next day and secondary (country) would be two day delivery. I doubt there are enough air freighters in Oz to do that job and curfews at airports prevent it anyway.

[bryn23]

UPS and AP handcuffed together??

Is that still the same, as the brown UPS van delivers to me all my Amazon deliverys and Startrack delivery all my AP/Startrack delivery's

Ive had to pick up from the UPS depot in Brisbane and from Startracks Darra depot.

[Lappa]

My son in the UK used Amazon frequently. Order before, I think 10 am and you have it the same day.
When I was there I ordered some Triton bits from toolsparesonline. Had them the next day before lunch.

[bryn23]

My son in the UK used Amazon frequently. Order before, I think 10 am and you have it the same day.
When I was there I ordered some Triton bits from toolsparesonline. Had them the next day before lunch.

If i ordered something before 10am and it was there on the same day, i think i'd have a stroke.

next day delivery before midday would be a dream, sometimes it does happen, but not often.

[Chris Parks]

UPS and AP handcuffed together??

Is that still the same, as the brown UPS van delivers to me all my Amazon deliverys and Startrack delivery all my AP/Startrack delivery's

Ive had to pick up from the UPS depot in Brisbane and from Startracks Darra depot.

Some courier companies feed (or used to) into the AP delivery system depending on where the delivery point is. I used to pick up cages every day from Fastway Wollongong for delivery by AP depending on where the delivery point was. They always used their own delivery network for metro areas I guess but I never asked the question. My information is not recent but that is how it used to work. The courier companies get very good bulk pricing on parcel delivery so they use it to their advantage.

[woodPixel]

It begins: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-business/In-detail/Doing-business-in-Australia/International-taxation-of-goods-and-services-supplied-to-Australia/ and https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Indirect-taxes/GST/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods/

This was put up today.

My earlier rant was bang on. They fully expect overseas businesses to not only register for an ABN, but GST and lodge monthly reports!

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!! :no::no::no::no::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

[Big Shed]

It now won't come in until 01/07/2018

Online shoppers to be stung by GST from next year, tax on tampons to stay - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-19/online-shoppers-stung-by-gst-from-2018-tampon-tax-stays/8632268)

[bueller]

Just noticed that. And not a week after I bought $600 worth of tooling to try and beat the clock 😑

Oh well, new tools!

[richmond68]

That isn't a surprise, and will probably work to Amazon's advantage as they can act as the fulfilment centre and save overseas vendors the hassle of all that.

[bueller]

I was thinking the exact same thing actually. Once this is implemented it will be very much in Amazon's favour, they already have the supply chain and just need to set up distribution within Australia. And they've proven in the past that they're not worried about making money immediately, they're about the long game and have oodles of money to throw at this venture.

They're also MILES ahead of most Australian retailers when it comes to e-commerce, here's hoping they manage to drill some better habits into the competition.

[sacc51]

I very rarely buy anything from Australian sellers. Australian sellers just don't seem to understand what good service is about. Order something, if your lucky they may dispatch it in a few days time, or a courier gets a hold of it and drops a slip in the mailbox saying you can pick it up at their depot, they don't even bother knocking on the door. If you have a problem with an order, tough, they simply don't want to know.

Now if you buy something from China it may take a while to get here, but they do usually dispatch the item straight away. The biggest plus though is their attitude, if it doesn't arrive on time they send another and you end up with two. If it's damaged, take your pick - refund or replacement. Poor quality, no problem -refund. Leave negative feedback and they will bend over backwards to assist. There are some Chinese sellers who have warehouses in Australia, same story, excellent service. I'll be happy to pay an extra 10%, far better than shopping in Australia. The markups by Australian sellers is extraordinary, their argument is they have overheads, shopfronts, warehouses, staff, etc. Someone should enlighten them, the Chinese sellers have the same overheads with the exception, in some cases, of no shopfronts.

[Sawdust Maker]

On the otherhand I just returned an expensive graphics card to an Aussie online PC parts retailer after the card died
They've given me a full refund and have also agreed to pay the return shipping

No 1 son is happy he gets a new video card, probably marginally better than the one that died

[bueller]

Yeah I actually had some great service out of Timbecon this past week. Late Thursday night I bought some panel clamps and a couple of turning tools that were on clearance and had a parcel on my doorstep Friday morning before midday. Unfortunately one of the turning tools was the wrong size and the other was missing altogether, told them about this and they shipped them both out right away and told me to keep the one they sent by mistake. Wound up paying $60 for three unhandled crown cryo turning tools in the end, can't complain about that.

[woodPixel]

Bueller, perhaps return it when next at the store?


Another thing that annoys the HELL out of me is online ordering. Both Carbatec AND Timbecon have online ordering capabilities but no option for local pickup in Perth. So any potential savings I might have made buying with them are out the window because I have to add on shipping. And I know I could just go in an buy it at the counter but that doesn't account for their online only sales and issues with stock not being available in Perth when I need it (a FREQUENT PROBLEM HERE). Other companies will happily take my money and have the stock shipped between branches so I can pick up, if they're out of stock it's either pay for shipping or miss out entirely.

...Even called ahead once, got the A-OK and then arrived to find nothing. Could have had them months ago if I was willing to pay shipping on them, nearly ordered them on sale a few weeks ago but I just couldn't justify paying shipping on something that I know should be available locally. It's infuriating.

Why not order online and specify the store as pickup?

[bueller]

I was more than happy to return but they told me to keep it, they were a clearance item though so I guess they had trouble selling them.

As for ordering online and picking up neither Timbecon nor Carbatec have this for the Perth branches. Thought it was coming for Carbatec when they brought the Perth branch under the national banner last year but it's still listed as coming soon.

[woodPixel]

I was being more obtuse! When asked for the delivery address, literally put thier own!

[bueller]

Ah I hadn't thought of that! Although they'd probably still whack a postage charge on it.

[dwcon1431]

I know this has the potential to turn into another one of "those" threads / posts, but i need to vent.

I ordered a few small tools, in-stock, at a familiar large local&online tool retailer that we all know on Monday. I figured it wasn't unreasonable to expect delivery by Friday / today.

Well I just got an email saying "your items have shipped" this morning. In the meantime, my friend ordered a tool from a retailer in the UK on the same day and he now has his item.

If a local retailer is going to charge more for their products, then they really need to at least focus on adding value through superior service. Shipping items quickly is probably one of the major potential value-adds and sources of competitive advantage that local retailers have vs international online sellers. It can't be that hard, surely.

Now, some if not most Australian retailers are really good, particularly the smaller ones, but this isn't the first time this major retailer has taken a long-time to ship goods and I think it's hurting their business more than they think.

I'm happy to pay a premium to buy local for the same overseas-made item, but not if it means receiving worse service on top of the premium price - I'm then paying more for less.

Ok, rant over. Sorry. Needed to vent.
Sometimes the ' locals ' think they already have you hooked because they are local. However, I'm with you. If you pay a premium for better service, they're obligated to provide it, whether they think have to or not.

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