Online shopping in America

zee those are some good points, i would have thought buying and shipping in bulk would have made it really cheap. Do you have a store zee?

yo drew im not trying to be a cunt or anything but heres why i chose to get these off ccs instead of this site.

bones wheels for 70$? they are the bees knees wheels but its not like im never going to have to replace them again...
suede eras i think where something like 120$, way to much for when you think about what actually goes into the shoe...
lastly i really cringe at paying over the 100 dollar mark for jeans/pants.

i dont know how much you actually buy this shit wholesale for but if the prices where dropped a bit myself and others im sure would be more inclined to order them from here. pretty much everything else i will continue to buy off here

Jamilio
15:52 13/Jul

Buy local , death to citybeach
I always buy locally knowing I can get it cheaper online just cause I want it in my hands straight away

Also Mark Brimson where do you buy raglans?


Are you located in melbs? Fast times have quite a few different raglans last time i checked. Anyone know where to get those thermal flannels Mark was talking about from? Sounds like they are hard to find

Retail price mark ups are usually 100% minimum. Its cool Mark I sussed it. Speaking of me not shopping online I found some on sale at urbanoutfitters

Mark- most companies won't bring in everything that's available from the US range. That's just not good business. What sells overseas doesn't neccesarily sell here so you'd be left with a load of stock that just doesn't sell. With footwear it's a lot of stock to carry half sizes to only sell a few. Think of it from a stores point of view - you have 1 shoe on display and 10 pairs in the backroom. A lot of space for 1 sale.
As for the aussie dollar being strong against the US dollar, prices of cotton and oil have risen drastically over the last year - both of these drastically effect the price of things we buy. Add on top of this higher import taxes, higher retail rent and costs of living in Australia and you start to get the picture. It's still hard to beat walking into your local shop, talking shit to the crew who work there, watching vids and coming out with some new proddy in hand.
Call me old fashioned....or just old.

I have some pretty strong views on this whole saga about buying online from the usa.....It is sending skateboard shops broke! As a business, like any other, if you can't compete you have to close. What people who aren't 'inside' the industry don't understand is that there is a cost to doing business in this country.

You are buying directly from the source a lot of the time online, taking out 2, sometimes 3 steps of the profitmaking that makes this industry go round. Many of these cheap online deals are the actual companies clearing stock onto a world market, as the usa economy has tanked in a big way, now they must take down the rest of the world with them.

Unlike the usa where 5 distributors as well as the manufacturer sell the product you want, here it is only available through one source. The competition is much tighter to deliver the best price so the retailers there can get considerably better deals.
If we buy direct, as a retailer and bypass the distribution chain, we could not offer products warranted and guaranteed, and by the time we pay shipping, gst, taxes and all the other things we are legally obliged to pay the savings are about 16%.

Whilst this seems a considerable saving, i find it easier as a business to split the difference and sell my stock for slightly less than retail, support the distributors who pay for the ads on this site, give me trading terms, hold stock in backup, offer incentives, and work with me to keep Australian skateboarding alive.

Our decks have always been $99 regardless of the wholesale. and its only now with the $ the way it is that the actual retail is anywhere near that low. The cost of rent, power, staff and borrowing is nearly double of that in running a retail operation in the usa, add to that an overrated aussie $ we have a perfect storm of badness for skateboard shops in this country. If the dollar was 70 cents where it was 2 years ago we wouldn't have this problem.

Be aware that core skateboard shops have a role in providing skateboarders with a place of community, sponsorship, video premieres, information and many other things that are intangible that you can't put a price on. We also sell the things that you need, hate scooters, offer sarcasm, perve on mums and offer a lot of other services that are becoming lost arts in this online world.

And remember if we all close up because everyone buys online where will you all go to stand on that board or try on that pair of shoes before you buy them from ccs or karmaloop. Just remember every time you do that though god kills a kitten, and our hearts break just a little bit more.

For me to consider buying from this site instead of american websites I would expect to pay less than retail at least. I would like to see any savings from the high aussie dollar passed on to customers. Obviously Australian businesses can't match America's low prices due to shipping, taxes and whatnot. To make up for this Australian sites like this one really need to offer great service. I haven't bought from this site before, so I don't know what delivery times are like, but the few times I have purchased online from Australia I've had to wait about 2 weeks for delivery. I buy online from the US and delivery usually takes a week or less. I'm definitely not prepared to support Australian business if I have to pay extra and wait longer to get my stuff. However, if delivery time was cut down to 2-3 days as it should be and prices were at a competitive level below retail price, I definitely would consider buying from here.

RWC, every time i have bought something from this site i have got it within 3 days.

Everytime I buy it comes all the way down to tassie in a day. If it's before they post for the day I think. Pretty good i think.

Have any of the distros actually got together to discuss with the US distros and online stores to stop them from shipping certain products internationally? Alot of cycling and snowboard companies don't allow their product to be shipped internationally in order to protect the local markets and I assume it works, Ballistyx in Ringwood has the most ridiculous amount of snowgear on the floor and is always busy.

I continue to buy from both online and local stores, as I have since first discovering online mail orders about 10 years ago. Most of the time when I buy online its because the products I want aren't available here, or it is Vans as I refuse to pay $90AUS for a pair of eras.

Darkside = best skateboard only shop I know of that I can easily drive to nowdays.

Definitely like the bit about going into the shop to talk shit and perv on mums...

Re Shep - I completely understand the cost and ability to get certain products in and would not expect shops to get in everything from the stocklist - who has that much room / capital nowdays anyway, and I definitely could not see much of a future in it as a small core skate shop owner, not making enough to support even one person off a skate shop income, hence places like Resistance, Skateboards Only and others have closed.

I had been told that it is possible to order in certain products or to request things, which sometimes has been very good and I have ordered and bought them through the local shop, through the local distro, eg I bought a whole box of the Antihero pirate logo mesh caps through Skatebiz (from Project Dist).

As per question from Drew, no availablility locally, etc - they were the main reasons for my purchases from the US, with still a lot being bought from local shops whenever I am in a given area, or have cash to spend on skateboarding.

This shop is always so good with products in stock, communication (email) and fast shipping, so now that some things like decks are being greatly reduced, it is definitely more reason to get more from here rather than US sellers, for those who would just buy their boards, etc from there.


You guys have already said it I know, but it is still so good to just go into a shop and look at all the products, stand on a board, check out the new shoes, talk about new products with the shop guys, etc.

If you walk out and then go order online, sure you can save some $$ but how much longer will the local shop be there to be able to go into when you want or need something right now, or break a board, etc.

"However, if delivery time was cut down to 2-3 days as it should be and prices were at a competitive level below retail price, I definitely would consider buying from here."

To try and be a little competitive we have a deal where is you spend 200 or more you get 20% off (shipping still free). Is that just a shit deal or is it poorly marketed?

I think it is a fucking amazing deal.

I even feel guilty about buying too much and seeing the price so low at the check out.

I would say people just don't know about it enough - unless they click on the shop, the banner of 20% off doesn't come up much in any other page from what I recall of late.

"Have any of the distros actually got together to discuss with the US distros and online stores to stop them from shipping certain products internationally?"


I know soletech has a ban like this on skate warehouse. So you can't get Altamont, Emerica, Etnies, Es and i think nixon from sw.
You can get them from ccs though which I don't understand, wouldn't the ban be on every seller?

moccos

09:55 14/Jul

Have any of the distros actually got together to discuss with the US distros and online stores to stop them from shipping certain products internationally? Alot of cycling and snowboard companies don't allow their product to be shipped internationally in order to protect the local markets and I assume it works, Ballistyx in Ringwood has the most ridiculous amount of snowgear on the floor and is always busy.

They have been trying to do this for a long time.

im on the fence about the whole thing.

But to me points like shops putting on vid prem, perving on mums, a place to hang out is although cool. Really doesnt mean a thing.

It makes sense for a kid to buy online, for the simple fact.. it is alot cheaper. You really cant blame them.

It's kind of difficult to tell a mum she shouldn't buy from ccs when she can get a bargain. The argument to her that us, as a local store has built up a long history of sexual harassment and objectification towards mothers is tough to make.

AN ENJOYABLE LIFE
11:29 14/Jul

moccos

09:55 14/Jul

Have any of the distros actually got together to discuss with the US distros and online stores to stop them from shipping certain products internationally? Alot of cycling and snowboard companies don't allow their product to be shipped internationally in order to protect the local markets and I assume it works, Ballistyx in Ringwood has the most ridiculous amount of snowgear on the floor and is always busy.

They have been trying to do this for a long time.

im on the fence about the whole thing.

But to me points like shops putting on vid prem, perving on mums, a place to hang out is although cool. Really doesnt mean a thing.

It makes sense for a kid to buy online, for the simple fact.. it is alot cheaper. You really cant blame them.

COUPLE OF POINTS:
- I just spoke to the ACCC and believe it or not it is illegal for su distros to get together to try to stop USA mailorders selling into Australia. All the govt cares about is consumers paying the cheapest price possible even it it results in the death of retail here.

- Shops not putting on video prems might not mean much, but what about when there are no shops, no distros, no sponsored skateboarders, no skate magazines, nothing. It may sound dramatic, but it's already happening.

We've just reduced our pricing for the second time in 8 months to try to be competitive, but there's just no way that we can ever compete with the US. It's a totally different playing field.

So how can it be solved mr ben?
As a distro yourself.
or is it kind of a sad fact that it cant be solved, and it comes down to kids not buying online and not saving as much and just going into the local shop to suport it.

AN ENJOYABLE LIFE
14:25 14/Jul

So how can it be solved mr ben?
As a distro yourself.
or is it kind of a sad fact that it cant be solved, and it comes down to kids not buying online and not saving as much and just going into the local shop to suport it.


To be honest I really don't know. We're investigating trademark law to see if we can do anything there, but even that will involve us spending thousands on legal fees.

The only way that this problem will go away is by the dollar dropping or if legislation changes, but I'm not holding my breath for either. By the time things change, there may be no Australian skateboard industry at all...

BNE, why would the ACCC have any say in a USA distro putting a stop to USA mail orders shipping to Australia? I know an Australian distro (or anyone from our shores) wouldn't have the power to stop it, but you would think that all the distros and companies around the world could work together to achieve some kind of balance that results in a steady profit for all involved. I'm sure its not just Australia that is currently suffering/benefiting from a strong local dollar.

Slightly off topic, but the one hypocritical fact that annoys me about the skateboarding industry saying 'support Australian stores, the industry needs it etc' is that a large portion of skateboarders with cameras, including pro dudes, all bought their products from online stores to save a buck or two and have been doing it for years. Is there not a camera industry in Australia that should be supported, or is the support online worthy for the skateboarding industry?

Distributors are dumb. There is an obvious an easy solution. They should all get together and pool a little bit of money to pay for "hired goons". These thugs can travel around the country visiting spots and skateparks and beat the shit out of people skateboarding who don't have valid Australian store receipts for the hardgoods, shoes and apparel which they are in possesion of at the time. I'm sure you could get some bikies or ex boxers riddled with parkinsons to do this. Problem solved.

I like this chatting.

The only way that this problem will go away is by the dollar dropping or if legislation changes, but I'm not holding my breath for either. By the time things change, there may be no Australian skateboard industry at all...

Is that true though? Surely all the mags, shopes distros arent going out of buisness and it all turn to nothing?

Dollar is not going down, at least against the american dollar any time soon. Since we buy from seppo companies it's an issue. They have purposely printed shitloads of money to devalue thier currency so they can more efficiently service their extraordinarily high levels of debt.

If importing is such a big cost/ issue then shouldn't Australian companies be offering a competitive price on their product rather than keeping with the same prices of the imports?

As a psychic I can perhaps give everyone a glimpse of the future.

Vertical retailing by major companies involved heavily in the surfing industry will rule the roost. They will buy up the brands or secure licensing deals with many of the skateboarding brands and use their own distribution channels to sell the products through their own shops, first at a discounted rate to make the smaller retailer either sell out to them or find life a lot harder.

Once the little guys are squirming they will buy out the online stores and fill them with their licensed products, and the brands which they produce and own, leaving not much room for what is left for the independent distributor and retailer.

These brands will be legitimized as they are in all the "cool" shops, on the big websites, heavily advertised, priced competitively with usa online stores. Sure, they wont appeal to the core skateboarder, but why worry about that market. Its only a small section and those guys buy direct from the usa online anyhow since all the little shops closed.

The most important part is they can compete on price, if the Aussie dollar is low they can price the product high, inversely if the dollar is high they can price their boards, tshirts and shoes lower, as they are cutting out middlemen, wholesalers, distributors etc.

i know it seems far-fetched and futuristic and i cant tell you exactly when this will happen, but sometime in the future it will, trust me!