And they want me to shop locally....

abc40kids wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
My Dads biggest complaint was "we don't have it in stock, but we can order it for you."

That was back in the 1960s.........

That would be the same for Amazon and most like them, they too must order it and it's then drop-shipped from the manufacture to you the customer.

But from Amazon, I get it TOMORROW, not the end of next week!

Eric&Lisa wrote:

garyhaupt wrote:
....I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00 for new....

Be careful how quickly you blame the local dealer.

I was looking for a replacement car alarm system a few months back. Doing a self-install. Amazon wanted $110 for the system. The dealer wanted over $200. I told the dealer I would prefer to work with him, even if he is a few dollars more. His wholesale buy price was $135 - $25 MORE than Amazon's retail. He simply couldn't pay the wholesale, add a reasonable profit, and even come close to being competitive.

My point: It may not be the local dealer causing the price difference.

-Eric

When I owned a PC repair business I was able to order from several online sources cheaper than I could order from my wholesalers. I ordered online in these cases to stay competitive locally and take the hit with online sales. Our business was more about service than products, but it wasn't a good feeling knowing we couldn't compete on a larger scale.

Eric&Lisa wrote:

garyhaupt wrote:
....I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00 for new....

Be careful how quickly you blame the local dealer.

I was looking for a replacement car alarm system a few months back. Doing a self-install. Amazon wanted $110 for the system. The dealer wanted over $200. I told the dealer I would prefer to work with him, even if he is a few dollars more. His wholesale buy price was $135 - $25 MORE than Amazon's retail. He simply couldn't pay the wholesale, add a reasonable profit, and even come close to being competitive.

My point: It may not be the local dealer causing the price difference.

-Eric

Yup yup..you are making an astute observation. They ALL have their hand in the cookie jar, not just the last one in the line. And I too, would much rather buy locally and support my community and shops but when the counter price is waaaay over what is available in other places, one cannot just turn a blind eye to it.

As an aside...the very operators that are wanting me to shop in their store, are seen buying their snacks, bottled drinks, at the sort-of local-cheap food place, not the local food place...for the very same reason I shop outside. It's cheaper and they get to sell it with their mark-up.



Gary Haupt

Eric&Lisa wrote:

garyhaupt wrote:
....I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00 for new....

Be careful how quickly you blame the local dealer.

I was looking for a replacement car alarm system a few months back. Doing a self-install. Amazon wanted $110 for the system. The dealer wanted over $200. I told the dealer I would prefer to work with him, even if he is a few dollars more. His wholesale buy price was $135 - $25 MORE than Amazon's retail. He simply couldn't pay the wholesale, add a reasonable profit, and even come close to being competitive.

My point: It may not be the local dealer causing the price difference.

-Eric

Amazon does not sell everything direct. A very big part of the Amazon business model is similar to Ebay with a few differences. Anyone can sell on Amazon and Amazon will take their cut of the sale. Another big part of their business is their fullfillment. As a business you can warehouse your product with Amazon and they handle everything. From packaging, shipping and inventory tracking. It is not cheap and you need big margins to be successful. I find many things on Amazon where the seller has to be losing money unless they are buying in huge quantities.

garyhaupt wrote:
....I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00 for new....

Be careful how quickly you blame the local dealer.

I was looking for a replacement car alarm system a few months back. Doing a self-install. Amazon wanted $110 for the system. The dealer wanted over $200. I told the dealer I would prefer to work with him, even if he is a few dollars more. His wholesale buy price was $135 - $25 MORE than Amazon's retail. He simply couldn't pay the wholesale, add a reasonable profit, and even come close to being competitive.

My point: It may not be the local dealer causing the price difference.

-Eric

Yea, they have a Ford Stealership here locally .... I don't see how this place stays in business. I recently looked at an 06 or 07 4x4 SuperCrew F150 with about 90k ish miles .. it was really nice, loaded.. etc... but 28k bucks... Really? For a 7 year old half ton... no thank you.... no wiggle room either.

They want more for used trucks than I can buy a new truck for.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I try to buy locally, and do for the most part. But there are some local sellers that mark things up so much or in the case of vehicles, charge you for the privilege of buying it from them with a so-called "dealer processing fee". When I asked what that fee was for, I was told it was to recoup the cost of doing business...and by the way, the sticker price was the price and there were no discounts. Thus, I drove 300 miles to Indiana to a small town dealer that didn't play those games, got a good price, all were happy. You want my business, earn it. Don't think you're entitled to it simply because we share the same geographic location.

I'll pay a small premium to buy locally, but I'm not a big fan of shopping in the first place.

The exception is when a local business provides service & expertise along with their products. I place a lot of value on trusted advice and will pay a large premium at these places. For example, the local trailer place here sells accessories that are sometimes double what they can be had for online. They've given me solid advice in the past and I've purchased some small parts from them over the past few months. While they were inspecting my trailer last month I had them install a Prodigy P2 brake controller at the same time. I gladly paid an extra $50 for the part and $45 for the install. I guess that's my way of saying thanks and the install was very clean.

garyhaupt wrote:
I have need of an older style A/C cover. On-line I find new at $130.00 from Amazon and used for $40 thru an E Bay seller. Here at home..I am just off the phone to the local RV dealer/robber...$240.00 for new.
Gary Haupt

As a fellow Canadian, I fully understand. We are fortunate to live minutes from the border. We buy anything we can online and get it shipped to a US mailbox just across the border. Stuff in the US can be as much as 1/2 of what we have to pay for the same thing in Canada. We have only been pulled aside once to pay taxes and duty and that was for a single $500 item. For more expensive things, we try to time the pickup for when we go camping in the US so we can get the increased exemption amount. We have Nexus cards and can normally get back and forth across the border quickly.

Before DW or I decide to buy something online, we take as much time as needed to find the best price (item cost + shipping). Amazon is often overpriced. Same with ebay. For RV stuff, we typically buy from one of the 8 or so popular online vendors like PPLmotorhomes, Tweetys, MakariosRV, etc. Dealers are usually waay overpriced. Worst case I ran into locally was a water filter housing I wanted - $20 at a plumbing wholesaler and one dealer had the same thing on the shelf for $200!!!

Never, ever get anything shipped to Canada if you can avoid it, and especially with a courier. Couriers (UPS and the rest of them) charge fees, more fees, fees on top of fees and then a surcharge to boot adding 30-50% to the item cost. If you must, get it mailed as long as you are willing to wait the extra time it takes.

Shop locally - why? Life is a game of survival and you have to look after yourself. Not my fault the government is driving costs up from taxes, duties and tarrifs and whatever else.

57 Panhead wrote:

Tom N wrote:
Your local RV dealer has a lot more overhead and expenses than Amazon.

Really? You believe this drivle? Amazon has a nationwide network of ENORMOUS warehouses and thousands and thousands of employees not to mention shipping costs much of which they pay. I would venture a guess that they have just as much over head per dollar of product sold as any retailer in the business. They just sell more.

Steve

Amazon in Canada has two warehouses, one in BC and the other in Ontario. The majority of the products are not shipped from them but from the manufacturer directly or a distributor.