To develop, manufacture, distribute, sell and service a product (Fishfinder, GPS for example) you need the following:-
1. Head Office for R & D
2. Factory (manufacture)
3. International Distribution and Service Centres (Europe and Asia for example)
4. Local Distributors (Africa, Australia etc.)
5. Local Dealers (boat builders, tackle shops etc.)
6. Customers (You)
For customers within the country of manufacture it is just common sense that the product will be cheaper due to logistics. These units will generally have a sticker on the box saying “For use in Americas only†for example.
Therefore the customer outside of the country of origin would have to ultimately end up paying for the international as well as local distribution centre services / staff. Do not take these international distribution centres lightly, because this is big bucks to set up, and someone has to pay for it – the end customer (you).
If you buy your fishfinder here in South Africa, and something had to go wrong it, are you willing to not only pay for the shipping, but sit without your fishfinder / GPS for sometimes months at a time? This is why the local distributor is so important, it is their job to either replace the unit immediately and carry this burden / cost, or give you a demo unit while yours is being repaired free of charge. You are ultimately still paying for this service, but it was all built into the initial selling price.
All of a sudden there was the internet, and before long on-line shopping was the norm. This meant that an end user could buy an item in a foreign country at the same price as a local in that country. There is still the extra charge of shipping, duty and VAT, but it is still substantially cheaper – sometimes still half the cost. What a bargain!
The only problem with this form of shopping, is if something went wrong with the item. The cost to send it back, have it repaired, sit without the unit for months at a time and on the odd occasion the fault is not repaired, and the whole process needs to be repeated. This scenario soon has customers back on the ‘Local is Lekker’ wagon.
International as well as local distributors have obviously been hurt by this on-line direct shopping, and that is why further hurdles, such as geofencing has been placed on items such as GPS’s. This is an attempt to force the international buyers to go through their local suppliers.
So now the customer has made the decision to buy local so he can get local warranty / support, and accepts that he is going to pay for it. He has one last ace up his sleeve, and that is to find it locally at the cheapest price possible. We are all very familiar with the saying “Cut out the middle manâ€, and this has many buyers going directly to the Local Distributor / Importer of the goods and trying to buy ‘direct’. These ‘direct’ or ‘walk-in’ customers should then be referred to a dealer once a decision to buy has been made by the customer. But if the Importer / Distributor’s policy is to sell directly to the public, then this should be at (mrp) minimum recommended price or retail.
For example, here is Lowrance SA’s retail price list:-
http://www.lowrance.co.za/content/view/72/56/
1. Head Office for R & D
2. Factory (manufacture)
3. International Distribution and Service Centres (Europe and Asia for example)
4. Local Distributors (Africa, Australia etc.)
5. Local Dealers (boat builders, tackle shops etc.)
6. Customers (You)
For customers within the country of manufacture it is just common sense that the product will be cheaper due to logistics. These units will generally have a sticker on the box saying “For use in Americas only†for example.
Therefore the customer outside of the country of origin would have to ultimately end up paying for the international as well as local distribution centre services / staff. Do not take these international distribution centres lightly, because this is big bucks to set up, and someone has to pay for it – the end customer (you).
If you buy your fishfinder here in South Africa, and something had to go wrong it, are you willing to not only pay for the shipping, but sit without your fishfinder / GPS for sometimes months at a time? This is why the local distributor is so important, it is their job to either replace the unit immediately and carry this burden / cost, or give you a demo unit while yours is being repaired free of charge. You are ultimately still paying for this service, but it was all built into the initial selling price.
All of a sudden there was the internet, and before long on-line shopping was the norm. This meant that an end user could buy an item in a foreign country at the same price as a local in that country. There is still the extra charge of shipping, duty and VAT, but it is still substantially cheaper – sometimes still half the cost. What a bargain!
The only problem with this form of shopping, is if something went wrong with the item. The cost to send it back, have it repaired, sit without the unit for months at a time and on the odd occasion the fault is not repaired, and the whole process needs to be repeated. This scenario soon has customers back on the ‘Local is Lekker’ wagon.
International as well as local distributors have obviously been hurt by this on-line direct shopping, and that is why further hurdles, such as geofencing has been placed on items such as GPS’s. This is an attempt to force the international buyers to go through their local suppliers.
So now the customer has made the decision to buy local so he can get local warranty / support, and accepts that he is going to pay for it. He has one last ace up his sleeve, and that is to find it locally at the cheapest price possible. We are all very familiar with the saying “Cut out the middle manâ€, and this has many buyers going directly to the Local Distributor / Importer of the goods and trying to buy ‘direct’. These ‘direct’ or ‘walk-in’ customers should then be referred to a dealer once a decision to buy has been made by the customer. But if the Importer / Distributor’s policy is to sell directly to the public, then this should be at (mrp) minimum recommended price or retail.
For example, here is Lowrance SA’s retail price list:-
http://www.lowrance.co.za/content/view/72/56/