AndyInnes
I import all my strings now - I just found the prices here too high.
I buy bulk from www.juststrings.com, send them to a remailing service in Florida and ship them here.
Examples of savings:
Elixir Nanoweb lights electric - Jhb price R150-180
Juststrings price $8.86 per pack or $16.95 for a triple pack
Saving on three packs - R300 (less a bit of shipping)
D'addario XL110
Jhb price R90 per pack
$4.29 per pack OR $67.00 for 25 packs bulk (shop pack)
Saving per pack - around 50 bucks.
Saving on 25 packs - roughly R1600 (less a bit of shipping)
Anyone else doing this?
AndyInnes
Sorry got that wrong - the 25 packs are on sale for $60. More like a R1700 discount!
Gearhead
Discussed before.
One of the reasons for buying local might be to support your local guitar store. You might want them to stay in business.
AndyInnes
I support local stores and buy from them, unless their pricing verges on usury, of course.
Importers are equally to blame.
I called my local store to ask for a price on a BSS DI - R3600. I imported two from Germany with shipping and duties / taxes for R1900 incl shipping for both.
So, presuming they are getting the stock at retail pricing (Bwahaha please girlfriend! ? ), they still marked the products up 250%!!!
I'm not supporting that and neither should you.
Bob-Dubery
AndyInnes wrote:
I support local stores and buy from them, unless their pricing verges on usury, of course.
Importers are equally to blame.
I called my local store to ask for a price on a BSS DI - R3600. I imported two from Germany with shipping and duties / taxes for R1900 incl shipping for both.
So, presuming they are getting the stock at retail pricing (Bwahaha please girlfriend! ? ), they still marked the products up 250%!!!
I'm not supporting that and neither should you.
We don't know how much they marked up until we know what they paid.
I find this a very vexed issue. Things are more expensive here - though I hesitate to say that the shops are ripping off the consumer, "expensive" and "rip off" are not the same thing. However, there's something to be said for spending money close to home so that at least some of it stays in the local economy.
I do know that some brands here enforce a maximum price. A while back, when I was a moderator on this forum, there were some claims made here about the price of a certain well known brand of equipment in a certain Johannesburg shop. OK... freedom of speech and all that, and I didn't phone that store for a quote so what do I know? I walked into said shop the next weekend and one of the sales managers asked me for a word RE the figures that were being bandied about. Firstly because he had seen those figures, was concerned that one of his staff had quoted such a price and had questioned them all individually to find out how this had happened. Secondly because the importer had also seen those figures - which were above the list retail price - and was on the shop's case for overcharging.
Moral of the story here is that the shops don't have carte blanche to apply any old markup they like.
deefstes
I'm just thankful we don't live in a socialist state and that the trusty old mechanisms of a free market economy still applies. If shop A sells a product at a price vastly more expensive than shop B, I will buy from shop B. I don't care what the reasons are, who the middle men are, what the driving factors are, none of that. I buy where I get the better deal, simple. The local music industry won't collapse because of that; The worst (best) that will happen is that it will restructure so as to be more competetive
singemonkey
Whatever the reasons, loyalty to local vendors is not going to extend to paying nearly 3 times as much. It's just as simple as that. It does not seem feasible that local companies buying at wholesale prices are paying more than we're paying retail from the states. I've heard a lot of talk, and that point still escapes me. Yes, they must cover their staff etc. (although where are the web based SA companies selling strings at US retail prices +15%? I don't see them). But if I'm paying $2.25 for a pack of strings, it seems to me that local companies can't be paying more than $2.25, and they're benefiting from bulk shipping. No one has adequately explained how they therefore need to charge $9 for a pack of strings. Even if it could be explained, the process is so vastly inefficient, that it clearly is not a viable way of selling strings in this era.
AndyInnes
X-rated Bob wrote:
AndyInnes wrote:
I support local stores and buy from them, unless their pricing verges on usury, of course.
Importers are equally to blame.
I called my local store to ask for a price on a BSS DI - R3600. I imported two from Germany with shipping and duties / taxes for R1900 incl shipping for both.
So, presuming they are getting the stock at retail pricing (Bwahaha please girlfriend! ? ), they still marked the products up 250%!!!
I'm not supporting that and neither should you.
We don't know how much they marked up until we know what they paid.
I find this a very vexed issue. Things are more expensive here - though I hesitate to say that the shops are ripping off the consumer, "expensive" and "rip off" are not the same thing. However, there's something to be said for spending money close to home so that at least some of it stays in the local economy.
I do know that some brands here enforce a maximum price. A while back, when I was a moderator on this forum, there were some claims made here about the price of a certain well known brand of equipment in a certain Johannesburg shop. OK... freedom of speech and all that, and I didn't phone that store for a quote so what do I know? I walked into said shop the next weekend and one of the sales managers asked me for a word RE the figures that were being bandied about. Firstly because he had seen those figures, was concerned that one of his staff had quoted such a price and had questioned them all individually to find out how this had happened. Secondly because the importer had also seen those figures - which were above the list retail price - and was on the shop's case for overcharging.
Moral of the story here is that the shops don't have carte blanche to apply any old markup they like.
There is at least one supplier here charging heavily inflated prices on gear and the shops sit on the back end of that. While I feel bad for them (the shops), I can't justify paying that much extra for gear. My markup argument was based on them purchasing the item in question from a RETAILER overseas, importing it and then adding 250%
Due to our physical remoteness, there is good business to be done shipping in container loads of gear at 0% duty and applying economies of scale. I know of several shops here that do exactly that. When a middle man inflates the price to extortionate levels the model is not sustainable. We have google now - it's not like we don't know what stuff is worth any more.
IceCreamMan
i tend to buy strings locally , it is in my interests to do so ...i need the local oke to be there....but i buy strings in bulk so i get em at a fair price .....still a lil more expensvice than importing but i dont have the shlep fo going to post office etc....i tend to buy a years supply at time....
yr comments about markups are completely valie though, big ticket items i look around ..a lot and import where prudent to do so.....
i think the fact that there are 6 flagship stores ( i consider them flagship as they are large an well stocked) within 15km's of my house means that business is good an ppl are making more than just normal profits ....i then have another 3 or 4 smaller stores in the same radius....
Bob-Dubery
Another problem with this debate - a recurring one here on GFSA - is the numbers. Looking at the strings I buy - Elixir phosphor bronze lights - I pay R180 a set, and I can get a discount if I buy in bulk. Shopping around on line I see prices in the region of $13 for a single pack. At the exchange rate I just looked up that comes to R118 a pack - before I've paid shipping, duties etc (I won't factor waiting time into this particular equation because the problem of waiting for Elixir strings to hit stores is well known in Johannesburg).
It is more than you'd pay in the USA (from an e-tailer) but it's nowhere near three times the price.
Alan did
an analysis a while back to address the costing of Fender amps in this country. Yes, you pay more than you do in the USA, that's not being disputed, but the savings from importing yourself (or, depending on your POV, the extent of the rip-off) seemed to be not as great as was being claimed, and you'd be stuck with a 110v amp and you'd have to return to the supplier at your own cost if there was a warranty claim.
I have no problem with the assertion that we pay more in this country, but I do question the actual extent of the price difference.
AndyInnes
Here are the two products I quoted on in my initial example - ones that I actually use. I think my maths was pretty good:
http://www.juststrings.com/elx-50052.html local price R150-R180 per pack. I took the low end of that, so R450 for three packs. Saving equals R300, factoring in VAT. Bearing in mind that I usually order about R5k's worth at a time, the shipping costs are negligible.
http://www.juststrings.com/dad-exl110-b25.html 25 sets in a shop pack for R545. Factoring in VAT, that's around R25 a string change.
To be fair - I haven't found the triple packs or shop packs here, but that doesn't change the reality of the sums.
chris77
Aaaaah, this topic again ?
I have now twice imported bulk packs for my electric guitars and when the current supply runs out I will do so again. I am in a slightly different boat because I cannot shop around locally for the best deal. We have only one shop in town and you have to take what you get at the price at which it is offered to you. I still buy my acoustic strings from them, even though online will be cheaper. I mainly do this because I feel like a bit of an ass for not buying locally and like an even bigger ass if I browse around the shop without buying anything at all. :-[.
Guilt only goes so far however. For the more expensive items I will first look for something second hand and let some other poor sucker take the new price hit, and if I then can't find it I will go where the new price is cheapest. And if that means importing then so be it. The schlep of importing sure beats the frustration of playing a role in the local store's price guess bonanza game where the price you see is not the price you pay and your actual price is determined by a variety of factors so diverse that nobody can explain it.
AndyInnes
One other thing. I'm basing all of this on a current dollar exchange of around 9:1. I did most of this business at exchange rates of between 7 and 8:1, so the saving was more than I highlighted here.
I'll get the exact figures later for you, but, if memory serves me right, on my last big string purchase of around R4500, I calculated a saving of around R5k. That included buying my bass player ten sets of his d'addario strings for just under R1000. The best price he can find on those here is R180 a pack. Shipping came to roughly R400.
Bob-Dubery
Ok... this is now interesting because the price of ACOUSTIC strings (Elixirs, comparing to the price as per Juststrings.com) seems reasonable in Johannesburg, but the electric strings are about 1/3 cheaper on juststrings.com. If the electric strings are being charged at the same per pack price as acoustic strings at our end then that seems less than OK.
I haven't seen triple packs here either, nor any shop running a 2 for the price of 3 offer, but I can get a decent discount if I buy a box of 10 sets.
AlanRatcliffe
I agree that if the prices are far out of line or if they don't bother stocking the items want, you should let your feet do the walking.
But to be fair, you do need to compare apples to apples to ascertain if you are being ripped off or not. Comparing the price per set of a "shop pack" of loose strings to single sets locally does not give you an accurate picture - and it isn't fair to accuse of profiteering if you don't have accurate facts. Have you spoken to the local supplier of D'Addario (TOMS/MIDI) to see if they can get you the shop packs and at what price?
I did the math carefully with all costs involved (bank charges, delivery, VAT, etc.) and spoke to my local supplier to get a good price for bulk and ultimately, the difference between me buying a years worth of sets locally and internationally was not worth the effort (plus they would not supply me with certain brands I wanted). Buying online was cheaper, but not by enough of a margin. Plus I have a revolving credit account with my preferred supplier that basically lets me split the payment for a larger purchase into three instalments.
Norman86
dont we just love this?! 8)
www.stringsandbeyond.com are currently selling 12 packs of ernie ball for $44 (R396).
Factor in shipping pf $25, and its $70 altogether (630).
add your 14% vat for when they land (R88.2), and they come to R720 odd.
Or, R60 per pack.
The last i paid for Ernie Ball's, i was not offered a discount, and it was R90/R100 for that pack.
so even at R90 a pack, 12 packs wold cost R1080, versus imported at R720.
Thats a saving of R360.
Whats R360 nowadays? Still a lot of money imo. or, another 6 packs of strings!
AlanRatcliffe
<Sigh> Comparing retail to discounted prices now are we?
Ernie Balls are R89 retail a set. Buy a dozen sets and you'll get a third off... You can also wait for a birthday sale and get the same for three sets. It's all about buying intelligently.
...guess what the cost works out to per set? R58.75 - or a little cheaper than your imported sets. Plus no waiting.
Plus, what happens if the Rand takes a dive while you are waiting for them? What happens if they go missing in the post?
Oh, and BTW - Strings and beyond will nail you at least $30 for shipping 12 sets and reserve the right to charge you more. They will only ship priority mail.
Norman86
Seriously?! Their price is normally $4 a set. so you're only scoring 1 pack "free".
Uhm... yeah, when the next birthday sale?
and why should i wait for a Sale, just to get the true price of an item?
thats just dumb, not intelligent!
anywho, i'll play.. i'll give the retailer a call and see if i would get discount and what it will cost..
coz i sure as hell got no discount last time buying quite a few packs of strings.
Norman86
the only retailer this side that stocks EB, only has Coated slinky's, not regular slinky's.
and retail on that is R150 a pack. if i get a discount, it'll be R120 a pack.
Reinhard
I tend to buy strings when Bothners have a sale on. If memory serves me right it works out to R40-45 for a pack of Ernie Balls and R100-120 for Elixirs. Not too bad.
