Profiteering and Ripoffs.

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Slowboat35

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Two came to hand today, a box of 100 blue nitrile gloves for engine maintenance, Amazon price £18
same item April 2019 £6.99
That's pretty disgusting opportunism, isn't it?

The other is a Yanmar rocker box gasket, a simple loop of 2mm dia rubber total length (if split) about 2 feet.
£23.
I know Yanmar's agents charge like a wounded buffalo but that's obscene.
 
18p for a glove?
You try making and selling anything for 18p.
Normally these things are stupidly cheap.
Who are you accusing of making excess profit?
The retailer? He's probably had to use a different wholesaler.
The wholesaler? He operates in the market.
So Covid has cost you 11 quid extra in gloves. You've probably saved that in petrol cost.
The world has gone mad, some things are in short supply, they are worth more than they used to be.
If you want to make your own gasket, you can buy neoprene cord, foamed or otherwise on ebay quite cheaply. Maybe £20 of that cost is for knowing whether neoprene is good enough for the job.... I join it with superglue from screwfix for dinghy hatch cover o-rings.
 
Strewth! You're clearly one of two things, a witless leming or one of the profiteers.

"18p for a glove? You try making and selling anything for 18p."
One can probably make 1000 cigarette papers for a penny.
Don't come up with such unthinking, unconsidered nonsense - puhlese! You can't make Mercedes for 18p either, but quite how such ludicrous comparisons are relevant I have no idea. Do pease explain!
A mere 12 months go they managed to "try and make" the self-same thing for a third of the price and presumablly sold at a profit, as all the other merchants selliing the self-same goods did.
Explain how anything but greed and profiteering achieved 300% inflation in that time? Really, please do!

How can you - how dare you - justify a 3 X price increase on a product not in short supply simply becuse it is topical? That's just the excuse of a dishonest vendor.

And 15grammes of 2mm rubber band for £23- are you related to Barras by any chance? What are you smoking??? That product would be pricey at £3.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that anyone would try to justify such ripoffs - I thought most yachties were sensitive to being stung but Mr lw395 appears to be closer - much closer in attitude to one of the greedy, racketeer traders than to the poor ripped-off public.
It cerainly appears so.

Or else just being contrary for the sake of it.

Staggering that anyone would dare defend such blatant profiteering. I'm astonished.
 
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Basic economics say that price balances out supply and demand. The spread of the virus has raised demand worldwide for items of PPE at the same time as it has disrupted supply chains. Not surprising at all to see a price rise of this magnitude.
Can I also request that you reserve the use of the words “rip off” for situations that involve fraud or deception, which is the traditional meaning.
 
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Slowboat35 said:
Strewth! You're clearly one of two things, a witless leming or one of the profiteers.

"18p for a glove? You try making and selling anything for 18p."
One can probably make 1000 cigarette papers for a penny.
Don't come up with such unthinking, unconsidered nonsense - puhlese! You can't make Mercedes for 18p either, but quite how such ludicrous comparisons are relevant I have no idea. Do pease explain!
A mere 12 months go they managed to "try and make" the self-same thing for a third of the price and presumablly sold at a profit, as all the other merchants selliing the self-same goods did.
Explain how anything but greed and profiteering achieved 300% inflation in that time? Really, please do!

How can you - how dare you - justify a 3 X price increase on a product not in short supply simply becuse it is topical? That's just the excuse of a dishonest vendor.

And 15grammes of 2mm rubber band for £23- are you related to Barras by any chance? What are you smoking??? That product would be pricey at £3.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that anyone would try to justify such ripoffs - I thought most yachties were sensitive to being stung but Mr lw395 appears to be closer - much closer in attitude to one of the greedy, racketeer traders than to the poor ripped-off public.
It cerainly appears so.

Or else just being contrary for the sake of it.

Staggering that anyone would dare defend such blatant profiteering. I'm astonished.
Click to expand...
I am afraid I am in the camp that considers "witless" an ill-conceived faith that prices reflect anything other than supply and demand, and that fails to understand why that's a good thing.

Profits and High Prices: More Economic Nonsense | William L. Anderson

High prices of something
- encourage holders of inventory to release it
- encourage importers to import
- encourage makers to make more
- encourage makers of other things to switch production
- encourage makers of nothing to consider making things
- encourage buyers to use their stocks more carefully
- encourages buyers with lesser needs to give way to buyers with greater needs
- in the long run, the ex ante possibility of profits, and ex post observation of profits, encourage entrepreneurs to speculate (take risks) by investing in capacity to make whatever stuff might be required; this requires them to invest heavily in research and consultation as to what that stuff might be.

All of which it should be clear are Very Good Things. Right up to the point where somebody rocks up whinging that the price went up.
 
Incidentally I came across something that I perceive as a rip-off today. An air filter for my D2 55 costs £40. It's a piece of sodding sponge glued into a cylinder with a flat piece glued onto the end. Any idiot could make one.

So I'm going to, and have bought a sheet of air filter sponge on eBay for 4.50 including postage; I think it''ll be enough for 2 or 3 filters.

Do you really need nitrile gloves? Or could you get away with barrier cream?
 
I've brought things on eBay from China that cost les than a US postage stamp and it's been delivered to me .

I think some countries governments subsidizes over seas trade but some of it is ridiculous

I went out he other day, probably the first time in several months It's now law here to wear a mask n public, well my parents sent me some and of course I couldn't find them So my first stop was the local pharmacy - I didn't get 5 feet though the door before getting screamed at for not wearing one I explained that's why I was there and got charged nearly $3 for one cheap paper mask.

I'm not sure what price gloves are. Every worker here is wearing gives and masks, I wonder how many have to buy their own?

W.
 
Slowboat35 said:
Two came to hand today, a box of 100 blue nitrile gloves for engine maintenance, Amazon price £18
same item April 2019 £6.99
That's pretty disgusting opportunism, isn't it?

The other is a Yanmar rocker box gasket, a simple loop of 2mm dia rubber total length (if split) about 2 feet.
£23.
I know Yanmar's agents charge like a wounded buffalo but that's obscene.
Click to expand...

Must admit, Amazon prices do seem to have gone bonkers..

But "other stores are available" eg screwfix have a box of 100 for £5.83 - admittedly not as convenient as having them delivered to your door but Amazon have done very nicely out of people being (or feeling) captive. If people want to pay the mark up for the convenience and reduction in risk then that's their decision. Amazon have done very nicely out of us because when Tesco imposed a delivery limit we shifted all non food items to Amazon eg batteries, cleaning stuff etc so we could maximise food items from Tesco. More expensive from Amazon, but helped us out when shortages were the primary concern
 
Part of my job is engine servicing and maintenance, been working on engines since the 70's. When did it become necessary to wear nitrile gloves to service an engine ?

Save the £18 and buy some hand cleaner. :)
 
Yesterday I took delivery of 50m of jackstay webbing. Cost me less than 12m would have cost me at my local chandlery where I could buy a spurious oil filter for about 20 quid when the original from Volvo would cost about 10...

Recently I bought a lift pump from a German tractor parts supplier for 30% of the price quoted on marine engine suppliers....

We are constantly challenged with the possibility of being ripped off if we drop our guard.

on Amazon... My usual flavour of dog food nearly doubled in price..at one stage... The dog got to like the other flavour...
 
Slowboat35 said:
I know Yanmar's agents charge like a wounded buffalo but that's obscene.
Click to expand...
I've seen many people walking along the pontoons with their yanmar branded new parts.
They tell me what it cost and it's always shocking. I roughly know the cost of parts for my own engine and it's often 25% or less of yanmar prices.
I saw a guy doing a cam belt on a yanmar straight 6(Toyota Land cruiser engine?)
He told me it was around £600 ?
Genuine from Toyota around £80.
Outboard parts are hugely cheaper in usa compared to EU ?
Yanmar parts seem just as expensive in the USA.
 
Slowboat35 said:
Two came to hand today, a box of 100 blue nitrile gloves for engine maintenance, Amazon price £18
same item April 2019 £6.99
That's pretty disgusting opportunism, isn't it?

The other is a Yanmar rocker box gasket, a simple loop of 2mm dia rubber total length (if split) about 2 feet.
£23.
I know Yanmar's agents charge like a wounded buffalo but that's obscene.
Click to expand...

Had this exact problem start of April, went from paying a fiver for a box of 100 to paying £25 for the exactly same product from exactly the same wholesaler - total f*&%ing ripoff. As for your Yanmar maybe next time consider purchasing an engine that's derived from either plant machinery or a car, you then go to your local motor factors and pay car prices not marine.

As for the marine industry in general; its been one long con for 40 plus years. If it makes you feel any better i paid £16 for a 'continuity strap' for my flexible coupling when installing my boats engine. After going through the box that my coupling came in i found what looked like a piece of rolled up chewing gum wrapper in the smallest poly bag (1" x 1") to say i was fuming is putting it mildly.

Because of this and many other instances whilst trying to put my dead Centaur back together i purchase next to nothing from the UK preferring the States, Europe & China. The only purchases i make here are Plywood (I use suppliers i use for my work as a joiner) and Epoxy (Easy Composites EL2 ).
 
guardian said:
Had this exact problem start of April, went from paying a fiver for a box of 100 to paying £25 for the exactly same product from exactly the same wholesaler - total f*&%ing ripoff. As for your Yanmar maybe next time consider purchasing an engine that's derived from either plant machinery or a car, you then go to your local motor factors and pay car prices not marine.

As for the marine industry in general; its been one long con for 40 plus years. If it makes you feel any better i paid £16 for a 'continuity strap' for my flexible coupling when installing my boats engine. After going through the box that my coupling came in i found what looked like a piece of rolled up chewing gum wrapper in the smallest poly bag (1" x 1") to say i was fuming is putting it mildly.

Because of this and many other instances whilst trying to put my dead Centaur back together i purchase next to nothing from the UK preferring the States, Europe & China. The only purchases i make here are Plywood (I use suppliers i use for my work as a joiner) and Epoxy (Easy Composites EL2 ).
Click to expand...

Loving your Centaur blog btw. She is gonna be awesome, absolutely beautiful work and a joy to behold ;-)
 
Wouldn't feel right if working on donk & mitts not covered in grease & muck. Comes with the territory as any true engineer will tell you. :p as he splashes on his diesel brute substitute.
 
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