Buying from Germany?

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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

anniesboy wrote:OK I see the need to save money,but when things need repair what happens then?
Further too much of this = fewer British bike shops



Still use the lbs when I need something small, but for expensive bits I'm not supporting them to the tune of 20% (Assuming they could/would have got the stock at all)
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pete75
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Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by pete75 »

I've had stuff from Roseversand and it was a quick and easy transaction. If your order wheels which they have to build it takes about 10 days from order to receipt.
The Euro is still overvalued and is likely to fall a lot against the pound over the next few months withe the problems in Ireland and the club med countries. It may even collapse completely next year - it's significant that Germany has been printing Deutsche marks as a precautionary measure.
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anniesboy
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Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by anniesboy »

[XAP]Bob wrote:
anniesboy wrote:OK I see the need to save money,but when things need repair what happens then?
Further too much of this = fewer British bike shops



Still use the lbs when I need something small, but for expensive bits I'm not supporting them to the tune of 20% (Assuming they could/would have got the stock at all)


Im much the same ,but too much buying from overseas, is bound to impact all British firms. Surely then the likes of Spa,SJS,Wiggle etc would suffer.
Also I don't think Sale of Goods Act will apply if things go wrong.
cyclingthelakes
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Joined: 13 Aug 2009, 2:34am

Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by cyclingthelakes »

I've tried to be a good Ebayer but I once bought something from Germany, then tried to wire the funds to the chap but the bank fees were going to be too high so I said "oh well, I'll just skip it, all of my ebay buys have been good so far" but the seller went ahead and sent me the shirts, football shirts, one a t-shirt with an image of, all people Beckenbauer on it for Addidas... so I hurried to post him a slightly generous amount for the two shirts: I mean what a very polite nice guy. I then felt a bit guilty so as I said, I paid him a bit over the original sales price. So a very positive experience.
pliptrot
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 2:50am

Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by pliptrot »

Having just moved to Germany I can recount my experience so far: volumes of bike sales at the utility and touring, "trekking" as the Europeans would say, end of things is much higher and there are many more cycle shops. The competition theory works out quite well here because prices are relatively low. At the "enthusiast" end of things prices are similar in the shops here to those in the UK. Quite how the mail order set-ups steal a march on those in the UK is beyond me, unless we have recourse to the whatever-the-market-will-stand idea. I've always thought -for example- that SJS are pushing their luck, but about that I'm now sure. If anybody would like a German address for stuff and someone to bring things back to the UK, feel free to PM me, I'd be happy to help. I usually fly between Berlin and Heathrow, so I can only manage whatever I can get on a plane.
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531colin
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Re: Buying from Germany?

Post by 531colin »

pliptrot wrote: Quite how the mail order set-ups steal a march on those in the UK is beyond me,.


In the UK, at least, there is normally an importer/wholesaler in the supply chain, ramping up the price (well, a sales rep. has to have a company car, doesnt he? Ever see a shop mechanic with a company bike?)
Of course, if a retailer shifts enough stuff to be able to buy in wholesale quantities, then they need to set up a "wholesale business" to get supplied direct, ie get some different headed paper printed. If you can find somebody to supply you who isnt afraid of upsetting their current wholesaler, then you can buy direct and retail to the public, and trouser wholesale and retail margins, without the tiresome business of sending goods out to shops.
And if you can demonstrate that you "manufacture" more than a certain number of bikes a year, then you can get stuff "OE". You know, thats the stuff you buy brand new in a plastic bag, rather than in pretty retail packaging. I wonder if somebody is not very good at sums, because these manufacturers seem to have a lot of bits left over when they dont have any frames left, so, obviously, they have to "sell off" the bits.......

Its an unpleasant business, lots of smoke and mirrors, everything done behind closed doors.
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