'Course they'll rip us off - we let them!

Percy M See

Interesting post - over the last 6 years I have bought loads of stuff from Luke, big ticket and small, and he has always been competitive - at least compared to other UK chandlers. I'm happy with that - and what price all the great advice I have received from him....

H
 
Twister_Ken said:
If you think chandlery mark-ups are high, consider opticians and spectacle frames!
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800%+, that was the mark up on a pl259 VHF plug (compared to Maplins) charged by my local. Annoyingly I had one at home but felt in the end the time and diesel saved made it worth it. Later I actually bought a job lot of 10 from ebay for what I paid him for one.


Compared to that the £10 I paid for a pair of glasses from Tesco a week or so ago seems a real bargain.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
I'm sure it isn't ;) . After all resale price maintenance is illegal and the sh*t hot lawyers at the OFT would be down on them waving brollies and bowler hats.
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Sadly, in the case of Barrus, they seem to have a stranglehold on their re-sellers, which is why they all only have one price for their Yanmar bits - just check around!

So, NO, whilst they might pay lip-service to the notion of competetive pricing, in reality, in the UK from Barrus, the importers, it does not exist. And indeed Yanmar 'forbids' US sellers, from selling into the UK - don't ask me how they can get away with this but they do, fact. I have to have my stuff sent to my Brother-in-law in Illinois, who then ships it to me. Doesn't take long but still saves cash!

I would (and do, frequently) happily pay a bit more to keep a local business going but the operative word is 'a bit' - I won't pay stupid amounts more.

And my main point is that unless we have some kind of unanimity amongst us, it AIN'T GONNA CHANGE!
 
maxi77 said:
800%+, that was the mark up on a pl259 VHF plug (compared to Maplins) charged by my local. Annoyingly I had one at home but felt in the end the time and diesel saved made it worth it. Later I actually bought a job lot of 10 from ebay for what I paid him for one.
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I used to buy AA Alkaline batteries in bulk from Rapid Electronics - usually about 400 at a time. That took the price down to 19p each - in smaller quantities they were 22p. Shortly after I bought the last lot I browsed around a chandler in Inverness - NOT Gael Force - and found precisely the same batteries on sale at £3.95 for four.
 
NPMR said:
Sadly, in the case of Barrus, they seem to have a stranglehold on their re-sellers, which is why they all only have one price for their Yanmar bits - just check around!

So, NO, whilst they might pay lip-service to the notion of competetive pricing, in reality, in the UK from Barrus, the importers, it does not exist. And indeed Yanmar 'forbids' US sellers, from selling into the UK - don't ask me how they can get away with this but they do, fact. I have to have my stuff sent to my Brother-in-law in Illinois, who then ships it to me. Doesn't take long but still saves cash!

I would (and do, frequently) happily pay a bit more to keep a local business going but the operative word is 'a bit' - I won't pay stupid amounts more.

And my main point is that unless we have some kind of unanimity amongst us, it AIN'T GONNA CHANGE!
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The problem is none of the distributors is going to make a fuss because they will lose that trade, and it can be difficult for any one else to prove without getting at some one on the inside. Equally compared to Tesco or the oil companies etc this is all very small beer so unlikely to be sought out by the authorities.

Of course in the US such restrictive practices are allowed so there the distributer would have no recourse it the principal struck him of for breaking the Ts & Cs.

Of course if you do have reasonable evidence of price fixing a formal report to the OFT will perhaps force some action.

In the days when I had a volvo engine some of the suppliers would offer special discounts if prompted.
 
SeamanStaines said:
I have spent hours on Google trying to get eight engine mounts for my two Yanmar 3JH2BE engines for something more reasonable than £150 each to no avail :-( They cant really cost more than a few quid each to make!
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http://www.go2marine.com/category.do?no=13826&view=item


86662
DF-2205-2 Engine Mount
DF-2205-2 $51.21

Note, there are lots of replacements about. They seem to be identical to all GM series, so loads about.

Good article here

http://www.yanmarhelp.com/i_mounts.htm

and the manual (not covering engine mounts sadly,but good anyway)

http://www.motoren.ath.cx/download.php?filename=yanmar/3JH2-3 ENGINES.pdf

I make that a total saving over over 400 quid, in about 30 minutes, with a free workshop manual thrown in.
 
NPMR said:
Just bought a new impellor for a Yanmar 1GM 10. The local seller charged £17.95 + VAT = £21.09 and £4.00 P&P (stamp was £1.80).

I was so cross at the price I 'Googled' the part number and got several responses.

US price - remember for the self same thing - identical part number £6.67 + P&P; certainly less than £25.00

On a telephone trawl around UK chandlers I got prices up to £23/£24 or so.

And why do they charge so much? 'Cause we let them mug us and don't let THEM know - we whine amongst ourselves, loads.

The Yanmar resellers say the price is fixed by Yanmar (Barrus in the UK).

Why Do we not rise up and complain.

I for one, am a poor person. Maybe you lot can all afford the stupid pricing?
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Go to this thread http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219466&highlight=md22+engine+mounts
My post gives some data, Robush sell different ones, they are not peculiar to VP, look at the pix and find your shore hardness
Stu
 
NPMR said:
.

Why Do we not rise up and complain.

I for one, am a poor person. Maybe you lot can all afford the stupid pricing?
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Have a look at it the other way round - you do want a local chandlery when you need those bits and pieces don't you?

An average chandlery would do well enough to take an average of £500 per day (more in summer, nearly nothing on many days in the winter) open 360 days a year = £180,000 gross.

Less VAT = £153,000

Average margin markup on input price = £51,000

Rent on 10000 sq ft, heat, rates - say £12,000 pa

One counter assistant at national min wage, plus NI = £14,000 pa

Leaving £25,000 for owners' income, and many other costs.

For one, I wonder how and why, and for how much longer, these folks stay in business.

PWG
 
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