I'm curious to hear anyone's experience on this matter. Be interesting to hear if it is the same in the other states of OZ, the UK, Europe, or even the States. Or perhaps it's happened and I have turned into my father (grumpy old man)
Don't get me wrong this is not a whinge or complaint, just an observation. Particularly when retail businesses in Australia are consistently complaining about shoppers buying overseas.

Having bought my TEN about a month ago I've been researching mods, all the usual stuff, you know how it goes. Of course I end up here on XT660.com. What a great place this is. Have learned heaps.
So I end up replacing the OEM pipes, which of course then leads to the fuel mods, and now air filters.
What I'm finding is that it is easier and cheaper for me to purchase just about anything really, on the net rather than in my local shops. I find that overseas retailers also seem to be better at communication with the customer and their general knowledge of the products that they sell is better.

For example, I tried to get some DNA filters from my local Yam dealer. Yes he can get them from our Aussie importer.......but it will take 4 weeks and EXPENSIVE, also they were not really sure what I was talking about, even after showing them on the DNA website. And these guys sell Tenere's . But to be fair the majority of what they sell would be dirt bikes but even so... So I go home and hop on the net, place an order with BRspecialtuning. I receive a conformation email quickly that the order has been received and is being processed. Next day I receive another email, order has been dispatched, and I should receive the order between 5 and 15 days (I think). So far pretty good service and cheaper than buying it here, be interesting to see how long it takes for the delivery.
Now I really do want to support our local shops, even it is a bit more expensive. But more and more I find it harder to do.
Our local Touratech importer....I ordered a luggage rack for the Ten. First off I hear nothing for a while, then a phone call to say they're out of stock. They'll ship it out ASAP. Two weeks down the road I've heard nothing, hmmmm? An ETA would be nice.
It just seems to me that Australian businesses are dropping the ball somewhat. I consistently seem to get better service from overseas. Of course there are exceptions to the above, Kev here on XT660.com has been so helpful and patient,especially when one asks dumb questions! So I'm not generalizing by any means.
Perhaps you've purchased something from OZ and have had a good experience....I'd love to hear it. I hope it's not just me otherwise IT really has happened

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il dolce far niente

Dont worry, not just you!

Found the same, its amazing getting parts from Germany and the UK is cheaper and quicker than getting from the eastern states!!!

I bought Zega pannier mounts from Touratec but from the states! In Aust Touratec wanted $120 per side plus postage from E to W. In the USA Touratec charge only $60 for the exact same product and you cant blame postage....everything comes from Germany in the first place!

I ended up getting two sets and paying postage from the US and still saved about $70?? How does that work?

Plenty of Aust suppliers are doing themselves out of business with pricegouging, the dealerships are the worst for it.

Matt.

Same here as well, I've stopped bothering using Yamaha dealers here unless I'm really desperate even then it's painful. My clutch cable snapped, only 1 available in all of Aus from Yamaha and took 5 days to get it Just checked out the price of Hyperpro spring sets here, unbelievable!!! they are nearly 200 bucks dearer here than buying them and having them shipped from Germany. As already said I would love to support local businesses but their pricing sucks

It's the same in the UK too, particularly with Touratech products. Everything is 33% more expensive if bought from Touratech UK than Touratech DE. Take their seat for the Tenere as a typical example: �400 here and �300 (350 Euro) in Germany. It is even more baffling when the UK and Germany are both in the EU, which is "supposed" to be a common market?!

I could fly to Germany, buy a Zega Pro "+S" pannier system direct from the Touratech shop (�760/899 Euro), have a meal and a few beers, fly back home again and it would cost me less than getting it delivered from the UK distributor (�1025), plus I would have had a nice day out to boot! Work that one out...

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Yep, it's sure is a lot more expensive Down under than back home.

After a big off on the Plenty Highway on the BMW GS(A), it turned out to be a third of the price to get the bits from the UK then it was to buy here in AUS. I know having the VAT (17.5%) taken off amounts up, but paying �500 instead of �1500 makes a big difference.

Not slagging off all the Aussie dealers, but most were pretty slack in getting back to me after emails and phone calls were sent/made.

Hmmm and I could almost guess some of the dealers / shops /suppliers that you are talking about ... but they do have to pay for those shiny new shops somehow

I've just brought some Yamaha heated grips for the XT1200 in from the States ... yes I would have rather supported my local guys but Yamaha Australia's price gouging policies make it extremely difficult

Some items can be got locally at very reasonable prices (after allowing for freight and gst components) but hell some suppliers do have to understand the real meaning of the term "global economy"

Amazingly that even allowing for some equally gross freight & postage costs from Europe and the States you can generally land parts faster and cheaper than local sources

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Regards
Pete

expat Kiwi - now living in Melbourne - now riding a XT660R and a XT1200Z