bike24.com won't ship Shimano parts to SA?

[xero7]

Dudes,

 

Any reason why bike24.com won't ship shimano m8100 parts to SA? A few weeks ago their website allowed shipping. Did something change that anyone know of?

 

[jamest]

Hi, it's been happening for a few months. First I noticed was Chain reaction. I suspect that Coolheat who is the local importer has probably been losing business steadily to international ecommerce for some time now given that SA pricing appears to be significantly higher and has somehow managed to convince Shimano to agree to segment and restrict market access to SA consumers. If that is the case I would think this practice is possibly at odds with some sections of the Competition Act that prohibit market allocation.

[MudLark]

Exclusive distribution agreement. Very common practice. Usually legitimate ito competion law.

[RiverInTheRoad]

Its so we can get ripped of by the local price fixing distributors.

[EddieV]

How did Chris Willemse Cycles manage to import Shimano without using the local distributors? Did they have a forwarding partner who bought directly from the factories in Malaysia etc in order to bypass the local authorised distributor? 

I was told by my LBS that they couldn't compete with CWC prices at that point as CWC imports Shimano themselves, but the downside was that CWC had to supply a guarantee on parts themselves as it was not directly from Shimano.

 

Wonder if it's still the case with CWC under Cycle Lab, .. probably not.

[Eldron]

Word on the street is that buyers posing as OE bicycle manufacturers buy huge lots from Shimano at discounted prices then sell them on to the likes of CRC, CWC/onliners. This is against Shimano supply policies and is being shut down. We're seeing it at CRC, bikes24 etc.

 

There is no way Coolheat has the power to affect Shimano - hell they're barely big enough to affect Shimano Europe.

[Capricorn]

Word on the street is that buyers posing as OE bicycle manufacturers buy huge lots from Shimano at discounted prices then sell them on to the likes of CRC, CWC/onliners. This is against Shimano supply policies and is being shut down. We're seeing it at CRC, bikes24 etc.

 

There is no way Coolheat has the power to affect Shimano - hell they're barely big enough to affect Shimano Europe.

 

ok, but why does that situation require retail limitations when the problem is higher up the distribution channel?

[jamest]

Word on the street is that buyers posing as OE bicycle manufacturers buy huge lots from Shimano at discounted prices then sell them on to the likes of CRC, CWC/onliners. This is against Shimano supply policies and is being shut down. We're seeing it at CRC, bikes24 etc.

There is no way Coolheat has the power to affect Shimano - hell they're barely big enough to affect Shimano Europe.

Hi there, point taken that this maybe is a small market and there may also be issues at oem level but that doesn't fully explain the situation I don't think because you can still buy those very same Shimano parts from these retailers if you change your shipping address to an eu country. While market size may, in part, also explain the higher pricing here it seems excessive compared to eu pricing - if you happen to be in an eu country travelling it is still a lot cheaper for you to buy the product and pay the vat rates which in Germany are 19% and pay the incoming vat of 15% here- you still save bucs even if you don't reclaim the German vat on leaving the country which can be a bit of a pain. At the end of the day I think it is an example of how the SA consumer often gets worked over with local pricing.

 

I haven't been a cyclist for too long but I quickly worked out that pricing here doesn't stack up against available international pricing - I don't think anyone would moan about a small reasonable premium for local supply convenience but what I see is not a small premium - it's price gouging in many instances! Where in the supply chain that is happening is not clear

[Eldron]

ok, but why does that situation require retail limitations when the problem is higher up the distribution channel?

I would guess that it's being tackled at both ends but don't have any actual info beyond "word on the street".

[Eldron]

Hi there, point taken that this maybe is a small market and there may also be issues at oem level but that doesn't fully explain the situation I don't think because you can still buy those very same Shimano parts from these retailers if you change your shipping address to an eu country. While market size may, in part, also explain the higher pricing here it seems excessive compared to eu pricing - if you happen to be in an eu country travelling it is still a lot cheaper for you to buy the product and pay the vat rates which in Germany are 19% and pay the incoming vat of 15% here- you still save bucs even if you don't reclaim the German vat on leaving the country which can be a bit of a pain. At the end of the day I think it is an example of how the SA consumer often gets worked over with local pricing.

 

I haven't been a cyclist for too long but I quickly worked out that pricing here doesn't stack up against available international pricing - I don't think anyone would moan about a small reasonable premium for local supply convenience but what I see is not a small premium - it's price gouging in many instances! Where in the supply chain that is happening is not clear

Like I said to Capricorn I don't have the answers. All I was offering was a semi insider answer on why they're not shipping to SA any more.

[splat]

Its so we can get ripped of by the local price fixing distributors.

 

I would feel a bit better about being ripped off by the local distributors if they actually stocked everything.

 

So, now are being overcharged on limited stock AND prevented from importing the stuff they don't have (or wont get). That kinda sucks!

[Hairy]

At least we can still buy this in bulk to deal with the local pricing

 

[eddy]

Aramex global shopper solves the problem as you can specify a local German delivery adress

[Dirt Tracker]

Or even the ol' CRC shuffle. There are a few threads about how you can add it to a basket, move it to a wishlist change country and move it back to the basket and hey presto it's on it's way with free shipping. Trade off is that the CRC now ship with a Skynet who are fairly inadequate.  

[daveno7]

I would feel a bit better about being ripped off by the local distributors if they actually stocked everything.

 

So, now are being overcharged on limited stock AND prevented from importing the stuff they don't have (or wont get). That kinda sucks!

noted this problem with lower end Shimano parts...wheels etc...the volume has to worthwhile for them to import...i feel the shimano importer should be pressured to import more lower priced product ...

would be good if the shimano importer had their own standalone product shop who could supply your LBS...that seems to be the issue...SA needs more choice...the market is very fragmented if you are looking for competitively priced product..

[Hairy]

Or even the ol' CRC shuffle. There are a few threads about how you can add it to a basket, move it to a wishlist change country and move it back to the basket and hey presto it's on it's way with free shipping. Trade off is that the CRC now ship with a Skynet who are fairly inadequate.  

thought I would test the shuffle out the other day and it seems to not be an option anymore.....