A Rant- Buying OS

[Daddles]

Veritas Medium Shoulder plane (I'd like one!)

from Lee Valley US$ 174 add say generous $50 express postage gives US$ 224 conversion plus bank conversion rate will get you up to about AU$250
Australian price $319, plus the half to 3 quarter hour drive to pick it up, and come home (another 1/2 to 3/4 hour drive)

why should I pay the extra $69.00 to shop locally? for that I could pick up a wixey and still be in front

It depends on what else you're 'buying'. If you driveg into your local shop, spend an hour or so discussing the various weapons with a knowledgeable bloke, choose exactly the right one for your purposes plus learn some stuff you didn't know about using/maintaining it, you are buying service and the use of his knowledge as well. Add to that a warrantee that can be honoured with a short drive and maybe other specials, and the price begins to narrow. Of course, none of this applies if you already know it all, don't intend to buy other stuff from the shop, the manufacturer has a crap warrantee policy or the shop is one of those places that treats every customer like a generic wallet.

The other thing to consider is that if you cultivate a good relationship with a good shop you visit often, you can gain quite of lot of extra value - discounts, advice, immediate servicing in emergencies (as opposed to booking it in for next week), sales staff that understand YOUR needs as opposed to treating you like one of the herd, etc. However, you can not build up this relationship if you buy all your stuff over the internet ... and it depends on what it is we're talking about, sometimes the online purchase is the best option.

Richard

[Mickj]

Economics 101 - The Law of Comparative Advantage : Countries should specialise in fields that they have a natural advantage over their competitors.

The reality is that Australia has never been a strong manufacturing country, and they never will. We rode the sheeps back(in the 50's) and now we're riding the shovel. We are good at taking advantge of our natural resources, but we're not good at investing back into the country and creating value added industries.

We have a car industry that should of shut down years ago. The cost of an Australian made Family sedan is so ridiculously high, yet the government still has to subsidise it for it to survive.

People then demand high wages so that they can afford the new car.............and there the spiral continues.

We're a high developed, well educated country, yet we continue to hang onto an old fashion view of where we fit in this world.

Just my 2c

[underfoot]

Economics 101 - T
We're a high developed, well educated country, yet we continue to hang onto an old fashion view of where we fit in this world.
Just my 2c

Nailed it Mickj!

also worth remembering,

we have a "working" population of about 11 million people (depending on which stats you believe)
Beijing has a "working" population of 12.3 million (again, depending on stats)

[Sebastiaan56]

Economics 101 - The Law of Comparative Advantage : Countries should specialise in fields that they have a natural advantage over their competitors.

The reality is that Australia has never been a strong manufacturing country, and they never will. We rode the sheeps back(in the 50's) and now we're riding the shovel. We are good at taking advantge of our natural resources, but we're not good at investing back into the country and creating value added industries.

We have a car industry that should of shut down years ago. The cost of an Australian made Family sedan is so ridiculously high, yet the government still has to subsidise it for it to survive.

People then demand high wages so that they can afford the new car.............and there the spiral continues.

We're a high developed, well educated country, yet we continue to hang onto an old fashion view of where we fit in this world.

Just my 2c

Yup, lets just give up and let the country be bought by the Yanks, Japs, Chinese, whoever. As a small local manufacturer I deplore this lay down and die attitude. We have children to feed, future generations to think about, do you want them to become economic slaves? Once the minerals are dug out and the profits sent overseas then what will we have left? And they will run out, commodity prices are strong at the moment but also spend decades in the doldrums, this boom wont last. Then there will be less Australia left for the future (literally, pun intended).

Mate, we've got to do something for the future, spending our borrowed wealth overseas seems to me to be a one way track to nowhere. I try to buy Aus where I can, because the bloke Im buying off is trying to make a living as well. The taxes paid build our society and provide a future for my kids. Sending it OS is just peeing it away as far as I can tell.

[wheelinround]

What about ubeaut?

Aussie owned

Surely Neil makes his products using all Aussie products and manufacturing equipment.

He exports

Sabastian's stuff is Aussie made ok its made in OZ

Why dont we manufacture in OZ for the same reason we whinge about Tradies costs, engineering costs, Union interferance, government interferance.

[Big Shed]

Surely Neil makes his products using all Aussie products and manufacturing equipment.

Whilst I am a very satisfied user of Ubeaut products, I would doubt that even our intrepid leader would have difficulty sourcing Aussie shellac and a lot of his other raw materials

Regardless of the origin of the raw materials though, the end result is a great product that works very well. Beauty Neil.

[Mickj]

"..Mate, we've got to do something for the future.."

Exactly my point...we are, AGAIN, taking the easy route.
We are not reinvesting in areas where we have a natural advantage.
We can't complete with the Chinese & Indians. And its not just labour costs, its also the lack of regulation.
OH&S....no such thing in China.
Copyright....no such thing in China
The list goes on and on.

We can't compete, because we play by the rules.
So my opinion is ... lets play a different game.

[Andy Mac]

I know a guy who builds caravans here and tried at one stage to source local supplies of ply and laminate for benchtops. It turned out he can land already laminated (Laminex) oak ply direct from Canada for half the price of ply AND Laminex supplied locally, which he then had to glue together!! Why would he bother, especially when the ply was pine not oak?
Ditto with power tools like Makita drivers, he buys in boxed sets (with torch and drill etc) for well under the local price of just the driver; and I've already mentioned on another thread that he buys in bulk Robertson style screws for under half the local price.
Groceries are higher priced here than equivelents in NZ, UK, Canada, US etc, and then the big two complain that our local conditions mean we can't be compared!?!

It seems to me that Govt. duties plus the cut middlemen take, make prices way too high but are somehow untouchable.

Have a good day!

[wheelinround]

Whilst I am a very satisfied user of Ubeaut products, I would doubt that even our intrepid leader would have difficulty sourcing Aussie shellac and a lot of his other raw materials

Regardless of the origin of the raw materials though, the end result is a great product that works very well. Beauty Neil.

Use it also not knocking it

Just pointing out that eve he may have to use imported products or buy off OS owners of companies here.

[wheelinround]

I know a guy who builds caravans here and tried at one stage to source local supplies of ply and laminate for benchtops. It turned out he can land already laminated (Laminex) oak ply direct from Canada for half the price of ply AND Laminex supplied locally, which he then had to glue together!! Why would he bother, especially when the ply was pine not oak?
Ditto with power tools like Makita drivers, he buys in boxed sets (with torch and drill etc) for well under the local price of just the driver; and I've already mentioned on another thread that he buys in bulk Robertson style screws for under half the local price.
Groceries are higher priced here than equivelents in NZ, UK, Canada, US etc, and then the big two complain that our local conditions mean we can't be compared!?!

It seems to me that Govt. duties plus the cut middlemen take, make prices way too high but are somehow untouchable.

Have a good day!

Andy love the new avartar

Makita warehouse just down the road wonder if they do 2nd's sales

agree or should that be greed Andy

lets say the attitude is "OK so I can't make it here that cheap I'll import it at cost, Then add import duties etc shipping etc union rates for workers and 100% for myself"

[Bleedin Thumb]

Australians are known worldwide for being the most tight fisted people on the planet.

Really...news to me

Buying overseas costs a lot more than you think, it takes jobs away from Australian, Australians who have to buy things to keep our economy growing, they do not have the money to buy your hand-crafted items.

Local suppliers have to increase margins becausre volume is reduced which then causes more to buy OS , which then leads to local suppliers closing, along which local support and service.

The balance of trade also continues to blow out, this forces interest rates up as we have to pay off the debt to cover the difference which then puts more ppl out of work which lowers demand and so it spirals out of control.

Buy Australian, if you can't buy Australian, then buy from a Australian Supplier.

Saving yourself a few $ is costing us a lot more.

Sorry but what us poor consumers buy and from whom has very little influence on the Trade deficit figures.

The trade deficit figures are more to do with :


1. Bottle necks, restricting our export volumes and


2. Our own governments defence spending on weapons upgrades as well as business, manufacturing and mining acquisitions of plant and equipment.


So you can sit back and sip on your Perrier without feeling guilty.

[Check twice!]

I know a guy who builds caravans here and tried at one stage to source local supplies of ply and laminate for benchtops. It turned out he can land already laminated (Laminex) oak ply direct from Canada for half the price of ply AND Laminex supplied locally, which he then had to glue together!! Why would he bother, especially when the ply was pine not oak?
Ditto with power tools like Makita drivers, he buys in boxed sets (with torch and drill etc) for well under the local price of just the driver; and I've already mentioned on another thread that he buys in bulk Robertson style screws for under half the local price.
Groceries are higher priced here than equivelents in NZ, UK, Canada, US etc, and then the big two complain that our local conditions mean we can't be compared!?!

It seems to me that Govt. duties plus the cut middlemen take, make prices way too high but are somehow untouchable.

Have a good day!

I listen to you say you can buy cheaper from Canada, I say I can buy cheaper in the USA than my own country. Don't figure!

Our country is a resource for the manufacturing companies outside our own country, our manufacturing is weak and we live the fine life from our natural resources.

I wonder what we will do when we run out of resources?

We live in a global economy and other countries not as well off as ours have a work force willing to work for much less than ours so the out sourcing of manufactured goods makes good money sence.

It all boils down to dollars and cents, not the well being of our economy.

I wonder if you as an individual were working for "Joe local" and a company from another country built a competeing plant beside "Joe local" and offered you a job making more money, would you take it? This is the carrot that dangles infront of business as well as ourselves and they have to answer the question, do I stay local or go where my take is greater.

These are all decisions, we all have to make on a day to day basis.

Do I buy where it is the cheapest, Yes! Why, because it is good for my pocket.

We have to think global and not regional to compete in a global world in the 21 century.

Through the eyes of John

Have a great woodworking day!

[Andy Mac]

also worth remembering,

we have a "working" population of about 11 million people (depending on which stats you believe)
Beijing has a "working" population of 12.3 million (again, depending on stats)

Yes, I agree, but isn't Canada's population pretty close to ours, and they seem to trump us on competitive pricing?

Andy love the new avartar
Thanks mate! A couple of years out of the last one, and kept seeing that little guy on Blacksmithing forums! This one is a light box/shadow theatre I made

agree or should that be greed Andy

lets say the attitude is "OK so I can't make it here that cheap I'll import it at cost, Then add import duties etc shipping etc union rates for workers and 100% for myself"

A-Greed!

Cheers,

[Cruzi]

Sorry but what us poor consumers buy and from whom has very little influence on the Trade deficit figures

"Poor" consumers imported $4,650,000,000 in Febuary, a lot more than Defence.

It is the sad truth that a lot of that figure is goods that Australia simply does not make, but a 25% reduction would put our Trade balance into black.

As I said in beginning, our actions have consequences, despite all the denial, be aware that they do.

[Pheonix]

My wifes cousin runs a rubber company, he is always in the Far East buying and has branched out into hospital equipment,from what he tells me you can take a drawing,blueprint whatever over there and within 24 hours you will have at least six companies willing to manufacture the item for you all at differing prices,all around half of your best price in Australia.What chance have we got?