The new cut-down Honda Goldwing, manufactured in Japan and shipped to the US is selling in the US for $20,000 plus on-roads. In Australia the price is $25,000, same bike, same manufacturing plant, close to same shipping distance.
Why %25 more in Australia.

Government sanctioned market interference; AND THAT IS MY POINT!

Consider exchange rate at $US1.00 = $A0.95 and the $US20,000 price is actually only $A19,000; a difference of more than $6,000. That's a 30% markup in Australia over what Honda is selling for in the US.

If you look back through this thread you will see I have emphatically made the point that all bikes imported into Australia are over-priced. Not just Harleys.

We are being gouged and it is government sanctioned.

But let me knock over a few of the strawman arguments that have been made against my argument that we are being ripped-off;

1. If you can't afford it, buy something else.
a. All bikes come at an inflated price, so the idea of buying something else to get better value-for-money is moronic.
b. The personal slur suggests I can’t afford being ripped off, not true. I just prefer not to be ripped off, in fact I think supporting others to rip-me-off is about as stupid a thing as one can do. I won’t go into personal finances but my two Harley’s have cost only a fraction of what I sold my 40ft sailing catamaran for when I decided to give up sailing and ride a bike.
So, it is not about affordability, it’s about a national ripoff related to all bikes and sanctioned by the Government.
2. Harleys are a premium bike that you need to pay a premium for.
a. People who ride BMW’s and Honda’s also think of them as premium bikes, it’s a mindset, not a manufacturing quality that permits this egotistical but irrational argument.
3. If you complain about the ripoff you must hate Harleys or not enjoy riding.
a. I’ve quite liked my Harleys and enjoyed riding them. They look good, sound great, get along well, and are comfortable. I ride regularly, most days, and do short trips (Sydney to Crescent Head and back last week) on occasion. I look forward to my next extended tour – thinking Sydney-Perth-Darwin-Alice-Adelaide-Sydney, but may not get away this year. My Sydney-PortDouglas-Darwin-Sydney trip two years ago lasted 8 weeks. I don’t hate anything about Harleys. I do hate the national ripoff and it pisses me that Harley is part of it.
4. If you complain about the national ripoff you must not care about the industry or dealer’s livelihood.
a. Does anyone think that the almost $6,000 (30%) extra that Honda is gouging out of Australians and not Americans for the new Goldwing is going to stay in Australia? I for one do not. It will go back to Japan, just like the gouged profits by BMW go back to Germany, and the gouged profit of HD goes back to the US. Paying foreign corporations big premium profits is offensive to me. I’d happily pay a premium if it was staying in Australia, but I’ve been assured that dealers are not reaping these big profits. The overseas parent company is and that does not benefit Australians.
b. I’ve discovered that one of the biggest blowhards on this thread doesn’t give a shit about the industry or dealers and does everything he can to undermine them while claiming to do otherwise. I care about the industry and pay for regular services, do not import my own parts, and do not screw dealers for discounts, but I object to the government fucking up the pricing.

In summary, I put the information on the new Honda up on this thread so I could emphasize a number of the points I’ve made above.

I do not see the cut-down Goldwing as much different to the Harley Switchback though the easy conversion of the Switchback makes it more attractive than the cut-down Goldwing in my opinion. However, they are both discounted models to get a certain market segment that the full price models cannot attract.

BUT, both are fucking over-priced when compared to other markets and there is NO rational reason that should be the case.

I havn't read through all 22 pages of this, but has anyone taken into account the average wage in Oz as apposed to NZ or USA? everything is more expensive here, but we make alot more money than most people!!!
The way i see it is everything works out the same when all factors are concidered

Shhh..> Luke... You will upset people with that mentality!!

 I reckon the whole lot of this is rubbish, Nearly all goods we purchase are via a distributer, A seperate entity from the factory/company who pays the parent company/ factory for distribution rights.

Harley arent too bad when compared with many other branded goods. EG: I paid a distributer for a rear halogen work light the price they sell the light to the retailers, cause he is a mate, I paid $23, The light retails for $120 - $135. Yes, its one of the known brands. I paid my mate $ 145 for a set of high end driving lights that retail for $560. We pay huge mark ups on everything we buy due to most manufactured goods being on sold to a distribution company. A distribution company is not a delivery company. A distributer manages the distribution of goods, using transport companies

.Take supermarkets, Most charge manufactures for shelf space and seperate distribution companies as well.

If you think harley are bad, i can assure you, youll get a massive shock if you new the distributer pricing of even many everyday goods.

Harley are way down the list on whoes gouging who in Australia.

I know the distributer pricing on one popular brand of sealants, threadlocker, ect and youd have a heart attack if you knew the retailer markup.

Why do you think Australia is the fifth most expensive countryt to live in, in the world.

The point is taxes are paid through the chain from manufacturer to retailer. Of course the government will never change the distibruter way of doing buisness in Aus.

Harleys problem is there crap service by Australian dealers cause they pay pittance wages to there mechanics, workshop staff ect just like most car dealers do, Ask a Ford or Holden dealer workshop forman what his income is. I know folk who wouldnt get out of bed for the pittance there paid, yet alone what the workshop staff are paid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There is an ability to get organisations to explain their pricing.

This is an example of what can and will eventually happen on this motorcycle pricing issue. See here.

It is a torturously lengthy process and in the case of motorcycle pricing also needs to overcome Government complicity, but it will happen.

Seen on tv the other night , this exact subject was discussed , they reckon the reason we get slugged more than other countries for the same products , is that we have it good and are more willing than them other comparable countries to pay that extra to have what we want now , there are cirtainly other market factors but mainly it`s due to us saying ahhh fuck it i`ll buy it anyway and then more and more sellers jumping on the band wagon saying well i will just have to take advantage of this wicket , promoting that get it while we can sorta attitude toward customers , i guess if purchasing habits changed or we all just said fuck it we are gonna save our dollars and pay off our debts , we may just see a difference in cunts gouging us for everything , sad thing is it`s mostly fuelled by high personal credit debt ?
Though this is just my novis opinion after watching it on the news recently ?

i can always remember what one of my first bosses told me "when quoting the job look at your client. what do they look like they would pay ?"

 For some reason, we, here in Australia, seem to pay more than other countries for the same goods. If I was to buy my bike in the US, I would have paid nearly 12 grand less. I understand that there is shipping and customs costs, but 12 grand, really.

Ok... I will keep the thread going...

ROB - And if you bought that bike for 12 grand less, how many other bikes would that shop sell in a week? Not as many as the one here in Aus.

AND... what is the minimum wage that the shop will pay it's workers?

Mate, it's purely a numbers game, but some don't seem to get that we live on an island, and we have WAY better living conditions. How in god's name could a local dealer survive if it tried to compete with $7 an hour, and selling probably less than half the number of machines??

I am not Pro-Dealer, don't get me wrong, but this fantasy that we should pay the same price than a country with 220 million people, and where the bike is actually made, is crazy!!

 I've owned many Jap bikes, a Yank bike & an Italian bike over the past 20 years. I'm saving at the moment to buy my first Harley....at full Aussie price. Interesting thread this but you all need to just get over it. Our immortal Julia, I've got red fluff too, Gillard gets paid MORE than the Yank president! There's your problem. Suck it in and get over it! Then enjoy yer rides. 

So now the Aussie dollar is coming down (to where is should be), I wonder if they'll try to jack up prices again?

is this not the same thing all the dirtbikes and ATV company's in Aus do, for example i can get a brand new Kawasaki brute force ATV delivered to Aus for almost half the price i can buy one in AUS! being that its really a non register-able vehicle that's why i can import it with no fuss and save so much coin on the way.

if Harley were making so much money wouldn't other "similar" (ie Victory) motorcycle brands be so cheap it would force HD Aus to reduce prices?

I have to agree with Rodtrain. Business are obviously making money, and so they should. The local HD dealer near me went from a poky little store into a nice large premises that has it's own cafe.

I don't agree with everything the dealers do, but they employ people and when I need something urgently, I know where to get it. That's got to be a good thing.

8% - 22%??? You are smoking!!

I know for a fact there a products in places like Bunnings that are marked up 500%.

30% is generally the bottom line - any lower than that and business go broke.

Well - How's this...

I know one product they buy for less than $7 and they sell it for $39.

you guys are lucky to have Bunnings marking up 500%

an example. .8mm gasless mig wire
we have
Mitre 10, $33.00
Stratco. $38.00

Bunnings $18.00

what are the others markups

MMM prices go up so workers try for a wage rise months of negotiations then arbitration then get half of what they asked for 

next day company puts up prices no negotiation no arbitration and they get the full amount back to above.

Wheels go round in circles

Don't need price control need market share control and force competition

JMHO

There is some high smelling shit in this argument. I bought 2 new HD's in the US (Indy)and imported them after considerable difficulties like having to register them in the US and pay tax etc. All along the way I was being gouged at and reamed by everyone, resulting in quite a premium to get them here. When the dust settled they cost me the same price as local bikes. Now I am in business myself and I find it difficult to swallow that the local dealers are operating on an 8 to 20% markup even after selling the products at close to double the prices in the US. Even at half of our prices these US dealers are still making their profit, which means that a 13k bike in the US minus, lets say 20% markup is $10,400. I wouldn't imagine HD is charging our dealers more than the US dealers, which means that my Fat Bob ( 13k in US) being 27k here at that time was marked up by $16,600 in Aus. I know this is a simplistic way to look at it and there are obviously other costs to consider but any way you carve it up we are getting gouged.
I was in Shanghai early last year at the HD dealership there, my Fat Bob was on the floor at 40k USD and with a 96 cube motor not a 103 (2013 model). Is this premium the result of chinese taxes or HD gouging?? I also visited a HD outlet in KL recently, where a new 72 was on display with a price tag of 28k USD, once again local or HD premium pricing?

Aussies get raped every where dude, apparently petrol is 70 cents a litre cheaper in the USA, as is the Xbox. There was a thing about us being raped on A Current Affair a few months back.

Maybe the yanks are really clever and they must know how to make the petrol cheaper. Or could it be that our government tax the crap out of petrol.

We are being ripped every where you look and there is jack shit anyone can do about it because the countryman wont take a stance. As a result the wealthy are becoming more so and the battler like myself remains a battler.

I've been plugging away trying to get more info out of the Government but with little success. Their Freedom of Information policy is all hot air. There is no Freedom of Information if they even sense it may expose their corrupt behavior. They get to decide if they want to air their dirty laundry - and they obviously choose not to.

With the twat Abbott in power it has gotten even worse. Everything is secret. The media can't even get updates on what's happening.

But the reason for this post is that the price-gouging which I have repeatedly said is a result of corrupt Government policies that have sold us, Australians, out to US corporations is about to get worse.

If you haven't been paying attention, there is a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that the US is ramming through, and while Australia is resistant to some of the terms, they are accepting others without even telling the Australian public that this TPP is being negotiated. Some democracy!!

If it goes through US corporations will be able to screw Aussies just like blood-sucking leeches on a host, like ticks on a dog.

And it won't just relate to motor bikes.

Take the time to read this: http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/shopping-and-legal/legal/trans-pacific-partnership-secretly-trading-away-rights.aspx

And if you care about being screwed, and some on this thread obviously don't or in some cases like it, tell your friends about the TPP. It's legislated gouging that Abbott is supportive of.

Oh, and ask yourself why is it that it is being negotiated in complete secret? If it was good for us it could be negotiated publicly and we'd all be cheering.