We are being ROBBED

[Izak]

Hello

There is this joke about the person who went to his employer and asked if he would kiss him in the neck. Employer was shocked and asked why, he never expected this type of behaviour from the employee. Employee said he prefer some fore-play before he is screwed.

That is how I feel after this weekend. I wanted a set of double Jerry can holders for my roofrack. In Alberton the price was R780, and I err on the side of caution. Went to one of the big names in roof racks. Their product, right from the factory is R 585. What irritated me the most is the R 50 add on where you can buy very thin prices of rubber to prevent friction between the two Jerrycans.

I had a look at their Bash plate , like the one that Peter developed, welded ect, and the price is more than double, way more than double and none for a Patrol because, "there is no market for a the Patrol bash plate"

I had one of their bracket to fit the extra spare wheel to the roof rack. SWAMBO forgot that the roof rack was attacked to the the Patrol when the parked the car in the Garage. The roof rack was no longer attached to the car and the bracket was bent all to hell. So I wanted a new one. R 585 or R575. I bought 6 meters of flat bar at R 68. One HT bolt and wing nut for R 35. I spend 2 hours of which one hour was working on it and voila. I have a spare wheel bracket that is vastly stronger for R100 consumables included. Now I need to Powder coat is, another R 50- R 100.

I do agree that anybody that provide a service is entitled to his/her profit. I do not agree to the fact that we are being ROBBED just because we are in a "nich" market

Shalom.

Izak

[Tinus lotz]

i agree
no need to rip people off make it for a better price and you will sell 10 rather than 1 !!!!!

[Mammoth]

Hi Guys

There is an old saying that goes: "baie bietjies maak baie" (Plenty smalls make big). A lot of people do not understand this concept.

[SRXy]

It's the South African way...

[Kagiso II]

Lukas 12:15; Ef 5:3 - 6; Spreuke 28:25;

Ek hou my by Lukas 12:15 se weergawe. Maar ek voel dit as die gieriges so opslurp dat mens minder en minder het
[Ek het NIE di eBybel geskryf nie - ek haal net aan. Vir die wat die skoen pas, gaan trek hom gou-gou uit, daar is nog tyd]

[Abri Hoffman]

I feel the same way about a number of things. Unfortunately these days it seems money come to easy and as a result too many people are prepared to pay these absurd prices.
I refuse to buy anything at those prices, thus what I cannot make, I buy second hand.

[Peter Connan]

Gentlemen

While I agree that there are things that we are being robbed on, I think we often do not realize how expensive it has become to manufacture things, particularly here in SA. We have had three steel price increases this year, despite the fact that in the rest of the world steel prices have gone down slightly. Added to this power, transport and wages keep going up (which is probably why our steel prices are going up).

Take as an example the bash plates I am currently manufacturing. The price you guys are paying does not include the following: Design time (I spent about four days just designing them, not counting the time I spent finding cars to measure. Consulting engineers charge upwards of R600/h). Welding together ( a good welder charges almost more than a designer). I am also not charging transport of the components from the laser cutters to me, and then from me to the galvanizing works and back. Nor are you paying anything toward the cost of the design software I am using (R60 000.00 for the package and a further R18 000.00 annual licence fee) or wear and tear on my welding equipment.

The point is that if I were in business and trying to make a living out of this, I would have to charge a lot more for these items. Since I have sold a total of 20 bash lpates, of three different designs, you can see that these added costs become very significant at these low volumes, and this is why many people do not offer accesories that are specific to the patrol.

So while R575 for a spare wheel bracket you make a hundred a month of is probably a rip-off, if they only sell 10/month, it is no longer a rip-off because now you have to factor in the cost of the jig you needed to make. So now you have to determine how big the market for such an item is, and how many other people are also selling them, to determine how much you need to charge.

Peter

[Kagiso II]

Absolutely Peter - no problem with a FAIR mark-up, but things get out of hand when a 48 liter steeltank goes in excess of R4000 A roof rack over R10 000. Or R200 for pieces of off-cuts gnashed together [you cant call that welding] and it is now suddenly a beercanholdertostuffachickentocookit.

OR brake pads on my car fetching in excess of R1000 - and G/Wagen sells the same make pads to go on Golf @ R200

[Herrie]

I just bought front disc pads for Ungili today for R337-00 and it took me 35 minutes to replace the old ones!

[Kagiso II]

Waar het jt gekry Kobus??? Ek soek nog steeds AGTERSE skywe vir Agarob?