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Bicycle cartel brought to task by competition commission


Frank.Hutt

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great work from the nutjobs at independant. first sentences says 'usual', body says 'unusual'.

 

took its time, damage is done. i don't go to cyclelab anymore by choice

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Saw this - whats the point? We all know the score. You have to use a local shop for some of the stuff you need. Do the rest yourself and import all your expensive stuff. This is what I have been doing for years.

 

Regulators don't really ever do anything to fix the problem. IBM, Google, Microsoft etc all know its cheaper to settle 10 years later after litigating the sh*t out of it.

 

Just carry on importing directly and bypassing them. Although I think the grey market and direct importing has lead to some pretty sizeable changes in the overall model.

 

Plus with the Rand/$ at its levels we are now sometimes cheaper than international prices

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Cycling enthusiasts can ride a bit easier - and more affordably - as more of those involved in a nation-wide cycling cartel are brought to book.

Four of the 20 bicycle retailers and wholesalers implicated in the price-fixing scandal appeared before the Competition Tribunal on Wednesday, with the hope that the Tribunal will approve the terms of a settlement agreement they have reached with the Commission.
 
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Fortunately I was spared their greed.

During the time that our cartel was most active I bought over 90% of my cycling needs from overseas suppliers because of the competitive prices , large range of choice and efficient service they provided.  

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I feel for the honest bike shops out there trying to make a living - and I deal with 2 shops that (hopefully) haven't been implicated (or at least named) in this affair.

 

Sure, I also shop around and buy for the best possible price value - but the same honesty that I expect from a bike shop will get the same honesty from me. They know I buy stuff online, and while they're not happy about it - they do know I will support them with clothing and components that are competitively priced. They know they can't beat the price or come close - maybe this price-fixing problem has had an effect on that - who knows? They also know that I can't expect discounted prices or freebies, and I'm happy with that. School fees, rent, food on the table doesn't get paid from freebies.

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I see a fine coming, my guess is between 5 - 10% of their turnover for the period that the collusion took place.

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What rubbish...."we are unaware of any price fixing in the industry".... Keep spinning a new one, the prices are so blatanly standardized its embarresing.

75% mark up on clothing, no wonder you cought up over a R1000 for cycling shirt here; and not a very well made one at that.

Agree, the web has made the world a much smaller place, I feel for the smaller local bike shops who are at the mercy of the importer/ distributors; there is little chance for them to survive, but faced with being fleeced on this end or send my cash overseas and getting way better quality and deals..... Pretty much a no brainer

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I used to feel bad when I was shopping around for a good price of a product... 

No more. Wtf.

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I did not see a single thehubsa.co.za reference in either article! These journalists don't know the first thing about cycling related articles.

 

I can see the follow up article now: The view from thehubsa.co.za is very different and we have a quote from a user here " PRICES ARE TOO HIGH!! WE IMPORT FROM OVERSEAS ANYWAY AND MAINTAIN OUR BIKES OURSELVES!!!!' - Average hub user

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Guest Travis.

I did not see a single thehubsa.co.za reference in either article! These journalists don't know the first thing about cycling related articles.

 

I can see the follow up article now: The view from thehubsa.co.za is very different and we have a quote from a user here " PRICES ARE TOO HIGH!! WE IMPORT FROM OVERSEAS ANYWAY AND MAINTAIN OUR BIKES OURSELVES!!!!' - Dipslick

Why Dipslick??

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