hockey monkey

[sebseb 0]

Bottom line, did you have a good experience with the ebay shops? btw I'm in Europe. Plus with the ebay shops I can negociate some aspects, like not putting the right price on the package so I don't pay a fifth of the price+shipping to the governmant ;)

easy math, let's say a pair of x:50 skates from monkey 469$+80$ shipping =549$, what I pay: 549+19%*549=654$ for a pair of skates that costs 469 in the US (you get free shipping for this price)

[monoclub 5]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer? There are a load of people getting a piece of the action before it gets to you. Don't you live in a free market economy in Australia? Are you suggesting all of the major brands are in cahoots with each other and price fixing? I believe thats illegal even where you come from. One thing you might like to ponder, why is it that hockey gear is so much more expensive outside of the US? Is every distributor outside of the US dishonest and just out to make a buck?

[sebseb 0]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer? There are a load of people getting a piece of the action before it gets to you. Don't you live in a free market economy in Australia? Are you suggesting all of the major brands are in cahoots with each other and price fixing? I believe thats illegal even where you come from. One thing you might like to ponder, why is it that hockey gear is so much more expensive outside of the US? Is every distributor outside of the US dishonest and just out to make a buck?

I would have to say yes, what other motive could there be?

[Larry54 243]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer? There are a load of people getting a piece of the action before it gets to you. Don't you live in a free market economy in Australia? Are you suggesting all of the major brands are in cahoots with each other and price fixing? I believe thats illegal even where you come from. One thing you might like to ponder, why is it that hockey gear is so much more expensive outside of the US? Is every distributor outside of the US dishonest and just out to make a buck?

I would have to say yes, what other motive could there be?

I'm guessing that the manufacturer also has some say in setting the prices in different countries. One irony is that hockey equipment that's made in Canada costs more in Canada than in the U.S.

[sebseb 0]

I'm guessing that the manufacturer also has some say in setting the prices in different countries. One irony is that hockey equipment that's made in Canada costs more in Canada than in the U.S.

Exactly, how can you explain that, and the other thing, lots of stuff is made in China, so there should not be such a big diff betwen the prices in US an Europe and still there is. So big that is cheaper for me to order from US and pay the shipping and all of the taxes than ordering from Sweden or Germany, at least on skates is.

[roguefan99 0]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer?

No actually based on seeing the wholesale price lists from the distributor. I know what they charge the LHS for gear and personally its extreme. The store here is extremely honest about how much he has to pay, and that he is not ripping people off. He also expects if you are going to by online then you go do that, and dont waste his time! (fair enough IMHO)

Don't you live in a free market economy in Australia? Are you suggesting all of the major brands are in cahoots with each other and price fixing?

No I dont live in a free market economy, because there is no such thing. As for price fixing between brands, no there isn't that, however there isn't free market economics because of the trade restrictions forced by manafacturers in the US on their retail stores. IMHO that isn't free market economics at all because its providing restrictions. I would expect brands to look at each other and put up comparable prices as this happens in all lines.

I believe thats illegal even where you come from. One thing you might like to ponder, why is it that hockey gear is so much more expensive outside of the US? Is every distributor outside of the US dishonest and just out to make a buck?

Yea I would say thats the case. Companies regularly charge more outside the US than inside the US, and its not just hockey gear. Look at the price of a PS3 in the US and in the UK, look at the prices of computers in the US and c.f UK or Australia. Personally these items dont have the regulations that are forced by distributors over there so why couldn't hockey gear have the same freedoms.

I dont mind paying slightly higher prices to get things locally but with the way the distributors charge here I will be looking at taking the risks on ebay to get stuff, or finding shops in the US that will breach the distributor rules (I have had a couple in the past do it).

[Bender 0]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer? There are a load of people getting a piece of the action before it gets to you. Don't you live in a free market economy in Australia? Are you suggesting all of the major brands are in cahoots with each other and price fixing? I believe thats illegal even where you come from. One thing you might like to ponder, why is it that hockey gear is so much more expensive outside of the US? Is every distributor outside of the US dishonest and just out to make a buck?

It's all gotten to the point that we (in melbourne) had I believe 2 non-rink stores that sold hockey equipment, one of them ended up closing their hockey section as people just kept buying online as it was (and is) so much cheaper. The other place still sells hockey equipment probably helped by its being about the only place you can try on what ever it is you want to get rather than just what they've got like at rink stores (range still isn't huge, just better than most rinks). Now the owner of the rink I play at has taken to ordering large amounts of equipment from the U.S and selling at a slight profit, as far as I know it's working well for him too.

[sebseb 0]

I don't know US's financial policy, but maybe they have low taxes on imports and exports and that would explain the lower prices, something like sell a lot for a small price, at the end you still get a big profit.

[adam14 182]

you must take into account living standards in countries aswell. switzerland has a pretty high standard of living, and i can therefore see why gear here is even more expensive than it is in canada...

[sebseb 0]

you must take into account living standards in countries aswell. switzerland has a pretty high standard of living, and i can therefore see why gear here is even more expensive than it is in canada...

ok, I'll give you that, but what about the rest of the world, they don't have high prices only for switzerland, but all of europe and from what I understand australia to.

[Chadd 916]

Nothing new in know it alls having a shot at the distributor. Based on what facts? the price of goods to the end consumer?

No actually based on seeing the wholesale price lists from the distributor. I know what they charge the LHS for gear and personally its extreme. The store here is extremely honest about how much he has to pay, and that he is not ripping people off. He also expects if you are going to by online then you go do that, and dont waste his time! (fair enough IMHO)

The international distributor often pays a similar amount to the larger shops in the US. As the distributors need to make some profit for their efforts, it adds an extra level of cost to the products. That was accurate for the smaller guys that I'm familiar with. It may not be exactly the same for someone like Bauer or Easton but I would guess that it isn't too far off.

The only way to reduce the cost to the shop would be for the manufacturer to make a smaller profit on the sales to distributors and I don't see them significantly reducing their prices.

[Hede 2]

From what i understand RBK/CCM in EU comes from Jofa Sweden´s warehouse in Malung. At least some of the Scandinavian dealers are online with them to order and see whats in stock. The gear comes to the stores direct from Jofa too. That must reduce cost as well. But the price is still to high... Just look at the price of the X60 at 803.25 € in Germany. Thats over $1000.... And that price is from an online store...

[sebseb 0]

From what i understand RBK/CCM in EU comes from Jofa Sweden´s warehouse in Malung. At least some of the Scandinavian dealers are online with them to order and see whats in stock. The gear comes to the stores direct from Jofa too. That must reduce cost as well. But the price is still to high... Just look at the price of the X60 at 803.25 € in Germany. Thats over $1000.... And that price is from an online store...

and you still have to pay some taxes for shipping and possibly even taxes and duties when they arrive in your country, so is way cheaper to pay full taxes and extra shipping and have them delivered from the US. honest, shops like that deserve to run out of buisness, they're the next best thing to loan sharks

[monoclub 5]

With all due respect, you simply don't know what you are talking about. Ranting about Loan Sharks etc. just shows your ignorance as to the economics behind the prices. Otherwise I would suggest you get into the business.

I was at ISPO in Munich in February, I couldn't believe the prices for consumer electronics and pretty much anything else. Alot of that discrepancy has to do with the strength of the Euro, just as with Canadian prices 2 years ago when it was around 1 to 1 against the US$.

I'd say that the base International Distributors pricing is closer to the small U.S. LHS rather than big ones Chadd. But as of course the higher the volume the lower the price which gets passed on to the distributors that do the volume, obviously Sweden etc would fit into that category - Australia not. Another thing, the big boys in Hockey have been cashing in on the international markets for years.

As I have posted here in the past, one of the things that affects the market for hockey equipment the most is the introduction of new models on an annual basis, this forces companies to clearout inventory at around cost, or even below, at volumes which only the big retailers/online stores can handle. These guys then flog it for ridiculously low prices creating a false sense of the price of product - eg. XXV on sale for $200!

[SlowLarry 0]

So the canadien customer suffers because of tax's/duties but also because if the pice stay's up then it means the stores stay in business and the employee's keep their jobs? i'll continue to buy from us online stores thank you, you can find ones that'll do it just keep lookin around that's what i did. Why woudl i spend upwards of $50 more so someone else can keep their job, when i gotta get a 2nd job just to pay for all my gear

I try to find stuff online out of my state so I won't have sales tax(Some states charge 10% or more for sales tax.). The nice thing now it that free shipping is getting pretty common so I get a good price, no sales tax and no shipping charges.

I don't worry about the sales guy at the local shop losing his job, he can go get a better job at UPS or FedEx. Buying stuff online is only going to get bigger, people need to figure where that puts them in the future.

[Chadd 916]

I don't worry about the sales guy at the local shop losing his job, he can go get a better job at UPS or FedEx. Buying stuff online is only going to get bigger, people need to figure where that puts them in the future.

You may have a hard time getting UPS employees to sharpen your skates.