Who import Mavic to SA and what do they "add"?

[javadude]

Its not just the service that pisses me off, we are also being taken for a ride on the price front. Go compare the prices of a local Bianchi or Time with a European price. We are loosing about 6K per frame. I understand our volumes are lower and there is a cost in shipping, but the price difference is staggering.

 

There are some guys getting it right though. The local Specialized frames cost the same here as in the States, and i'm sure the local agents are still making a profit. 

[David #7]

Just buy your parts from Totalcycling or the like, you get your stuff in 7 days. It saves the hassle of going through the local agents and all thier bull.

[ewep]

The "B" grade story is a load of BULL!!!!!  The distributors are realising that their markups are under threat, so they added this CRAP.  What do the laywers have to say (hubbers)?  If a manufacturer, i.e. Campag and Polar, gives an international guarantee, shouldn't that be upheld by the local distributors?

[Ox_Wagon]

It is called FUD.  They try to create Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.  It is an old Microsoft strategy.

[Johan Bornman]

The "B" grade story is a load of BULL!!!!!  The distributors are realising that their markups are under threat' date=' so they added this CRAP.  What do the laywers have to say (hubbers)?  If a manufacturer, i.e. Campag and Polar, gives an international guarantee, shouldn't that be upheld by the local distributors? [/quote']

 

Yes and no. It depends on the gaurantee agreement with the end user.  Very few companies offer true international gaurantees, it is mostly those multinationals with full subsidiaries in the individual countries. But like I say, there are exceptions.

 

Some distributors have a flat gaurantee rate agreement with their distributor. For instance, they'll assume a 10% failure rate and supply 10% more stock. It is then up to the distributor to honour the gaurantees. Any less than 10% he scores, any more, he (and you) loses. However, such a distributor is perfectly entitled to refuse to honour a gaurantee on a grey-market or OEM product. After all, he didn't profit from the sale. That's when you'll find some strange distribtutorship agreements.

 

There are a few such distributors in South Africa. Because complete bikes are a mix of components from Shimano, Joytech, DT, Mavic, Campagnolo, etc, one cannot expect the individual distributors of those components to honour those gaurantees unless it can be recouped from the manufacturer. That's why you'll find several importers of DT Swiss spokes for instance and I'm sure many of the complete bike importers also bring in quantities of Shimano, Mavic and the like.

 

The problem comes when agencies switch. Immediately the new agency is wary of the gaurantee burden he'll inherit and the old agency is hardly in the mood to keep ex-customers happy. We saw that with BBB and it smells like this has happened with Mavic now as well.

 

[ewep]

JB, so the "international guarentee" that Polar and Mavic (I'm using them as an eg., not a CASE STUDY) is selling, is exactly that, a marketing tool.  So let's take a scenario, my friend who lives in France (and has done so since 1996) moves back to SA.  He now has a problem with his Mavic wheels.  Will the local ditro honor the warranty?

[madmarc]

the latest add is typical with agencies in this country. When i buy components i don't care for the warranties they offer because when you read the samll print they not worth the paper they are written on. I just bought a 2007 Trek 8000 and the life time warranty on the frame indicates its only for the 1st owner????? WHAT BS. since when does a lifetime warranty expire.

 

My LBS mentioned in a discussion, that during the last meeting they had with the local agents, it was decided that all these Bike shops bringing in components on the so called gray market are going to have their wings cut very soon. I asked "so are you guys in a bit of a cartel with the local agencies then" his response was "Yes we have had to in order to protect our business" THATS ILLEGAL!!!! in this country and hopefully they will find themselves in front of the competition commission shortly writing out huge cheques in fines.

 

I went to 9 LBS to buy Sidi Genius 6.6 none had my size or the style and all wanted 2800 - 3400 for them. I went to CWC & price was 2400 but i would have to wait until end of Jan for their next shipment. I went online Chainreactioncycles & got them for 1800 with my size in all the different coulours ex stock.

I am now upgrading campy chorus from 9 speed to 10 speed - online from chainreaction will cost me approx. 6K with LBS wanting approx. 9.5K

 

I highly recommend you guys start shopping @

CWC - cheapestr local supplier with a good returns policy

Chainreactioncycle - cheapest online supplier in Europe with biggest range and also an excellent returns and warranty service

 

So to all the LBS / local agents cartel mafioso, please take a long look at my middle finger, because thats all the support u gonna get from me in the future.

[AndreZA]

the latest add is typical with agencies in this country. When i buy components i don't care for the warranties they offer because when you read the samll print they not worth the paper they are written on.

 

I returned a rear hub 2 months after I got it and was told it's not a warrantee issue, it's just normal wear and tear and had to pay to get it fixed. So now with moving parts I don't care about warrantees.

 

 

[changepassword]

i support CWC too.

plus many other bike shops i have been too are always littered with rudeness and with the attitude and all - even after they have milked me for a year

[Johan Bornman]

 

I returned a rear hub 2 months after I got it and was told it's not a warrantee issue' date=' it's just normal wear and tear and had to pay to get it fixed. So now with moving parts I don't care about warrantees.

 

 

[/quote']

 

What was wrong with the hub?

[AndreZA]

 

I returned a rear hub 2 months after I got it and was told it's not a warrantee issue' date=' it's just normal wear and tear and had to pay to get it fixed. So now with moving parts I don't care about warrantees.

 

 

[/quote']

 

What was wrong with the hub?

 

The bearings felt very rough. The LBS fixed it and no problems ever since.

 

 

[widget]

Hmm, ewep its difficult.

 

..........but that said 99% of manufacturers (and I am talking of not only cycles and related parts here) do offer an INTERNATIONAL GUARANTEE.

 

They well know the world is not static and we are a travelling people, so they (the manufacturer) will usually honour any and all claims within the specified period, - they really dont care where the item was purchased, its immaterial to them as they sell globally, what is important to them is customer relations and how their product is percieved in the market. 

 

The issue ALMOST ALWAYS arises with the nominated distributor.

 

The manufacturer gives them authority to accept or reject any / all claims and will usually support their decision and refer all queries to them, so, generally, if the distributor has the attitude that if he didnt profit from it, and he wont support it, you will get this kind of scenario(no support) and the cold shoulder.

 

However, IT MUST BE NOTED, this is not necessarily the manufacturers view on the matter, and sometimes it pays to put your case to them.

 

This (no profit, no support attitude) is not a universally accepted practise though, a lot of distributors take the view that assisting the consumer with a problem now, will improve his chances of getting the sale next time, and will try do their best, but, sadly, in a small, immature businnes enviroment like cyles in SA its unlikely.

  

[Johan Bornman]

 

I returned a rear hub 2 months after I got it and was told it's not a warrantee issue' date=' it's just normal wear and tear and had to pay to get it fixed. So now with moving parts I don't care about warrantees.

 

 

[/quote']

 

What was wrong with the hub?

 

The bearings felt very rough. The LBS fixed it and no problems ever since.

 

 

 

Hmmmm. They normally feel rough if the are too tight. It sounds like an adjustment rather than gaurantee (i.e. failure) issue. I'd guess that the hub should not even have gone back to the distributor in the first place.

 

 

[AttieSlabbert]

Either way' date=' never let theats of "illegal products" scare you off. There is no such thing as an illegal product unless it is an unlicensed firearm or drugs. No local distributor owns any intellectual property from any of the cycling manufacturers and anyone can import, sell, repair (or not) any product.

 

 

[/quote']

 

I do not agree with you, Johan. (and I still believe in the ceramic bearings too)

 

Yes anyone can buy his stuff from anywhere and pay his own shipping and so on, and you can sell what you want. We at Token (and I'm sure others work the same way) signed a contract with our sole distributor Triangle Sports. We will only sell to them and no one else in SA. We've had a few people contacting us about importing Token and everytime we pass it on to Triangle. It is up to the manufacturer to stick to his end of the agreement. The contract covers this from both sides.

 

Think about it this way- If you are importing a product and spend a lot of money on advertising and the product is doing good and someone else jumps on the band wagon, does no advertising at all and sells heaps of parts that you could have sold. How would you feel? The second guy is reaping the benefits of the ads without spending anything!!

 

For us it is easier and faster to deal with one sole distributor who manages all  the issues in SA. Then we ship to one address and fewer but bigger shipments, which is cheaper. And almost all I hear about bike shops in SA are complaints and service problems!! And that is one thing I do not want!! Yes - sometimes things happen and you don't have a part in stock and the leadtime for most carbon parts are 90days, but then I believe in honesty and being frank with the person.

 

 Also with many companies importing from China or Taiwan- the language can be a big problem. Lost in translation is an understatement at best. Chinese is not a very straight forward language -  I do not know how many mistakes there are with orders from other companies who do not have a person over here to make sure that the order is done correctly.

 

I prefer that who ever puts in an order for Token with Triangle also e-mail me the request, that way I can stay up to date and help to resolve issues faster or even before they arise.

I'm going to SA in about 3 weeks time for a vacation and I'm gonna visit a few bikeshops to see what really goes on in there.

Maybe it will be an eye - opener!!  ????

[widget]

the latest add is typical with agencies in this country. When i buy components i don't care for the warranties they offer because when you read the samll print they not worth the paper they are written on. I just bought a 2007 Trek 8000 and the life time warranty on the frame indicates its only for the 1st owner????? WHAT BS. since when does a lifetime warranty expire.

 

CUT' date=' CUT, CUT.....

 

So to all the LBS / local agents cartel mafioso, please take a long look at my middle finger, because thats all the support u gonna get from me in the future.

[/quote']

 

Yes, very true.

 

I buy almost nothing locally, everything I source internationally and to be honest, I have never had any problems with warranties or replacements if needed.  

[madmarc]

Attie i think u gonna in for a surprise. most so called agencies in SA are what i like to call agency collectors. they collect lots of brands, become the sole and exclusive suppliers and then don't do much as far as marketing goes. They simply sit back and wait for the LBS to approach them. Very reactive and not proactive. (i'm sure you will find very few LBS with your product on their shelves)

 

Most LBS find your products on the net or in international bikes mags, contact the manufacturer, only to be told that they must deal with the local agency. Why has the local agent no sent a rep to the bike shop in the first place?. Then the agent does not carry stock so he consolidates all his orders and then ships in bulk, resulting in long lead times. They also tend to place huge markups on products (which is criminal because they add no value to the product), and that with the markup of the LBS drives us customers to buy overseas.

They then waste their money on full page advertisments telling their customer they won't honour a warranty on overseas purchased products, because they saw no benefit when we originally made the purchase.

At the end of the day it's the manufacturers who suffer because their local agent is not selling his product, brand awareness suffers and service levels fail. But the SA market is so small, the manufacturers don't really care

 

Here some examples

Try find latest CAMPAGNOLA components - very few bike shops have them

SIDI finally back in the country - but go to www.sidisa.co.za (now corrected) and see how few stockists are listed - one of the biggest brands in the world which has 4 or 5 stockists in SA (every LBS should have them off the shelf)

SRAM - you can never get their chains & up untill recently you would struggle to get the powerlink.

COLNAGO - since the demise of AVH cycles the only Colnago's you can get are in the second hand market.

 

Manufacturers must start thinking outside the box when it comes to the SA market. Appoint agents that will add value to your brand and proactivly go out and do marketing and selling, and who will also start taking cyclists more seriously, because we are your customers and we can make or break a brand in this market. If they don't perform then fire them and appoint another. You also need to dictate price structures with these guys as currently they have Carte Blanche and are ripping us off.

 

 

madmarc2008-01-02 04:29:59