1.It is specialized equipment that the climbing shop doesn’t sell everyday. The climbing shop owner has to keep the climbing equipment on the floor which costs him/her water, electricity and rent.

2.You have to have a certain mark up on normal goods(goods which lots of people use) in order to survive, in specialized equipment like climbing equipment you have to have an even bigger mark up in order to survive.

3. I don’t see climbing shops in a bad light, don’t get me wrong. I don’t encourage anyone to use non climbing equipment for climbing if they are not sure if it is safe to do so.

COMING SOON TO A CLIMBING VENUE NEAR YOU:

DRIFTER DECKING and THE TOLD YOU SO's

It's not the gear that's expensive.

It's the Rand that's kak!!!

omg

JonoJ you are right it is also the exchange rate that effect the price of the climbing equipment. It would be nice if climbing equipment was made in South Africa(Is any climbing equipment made in South Africa?) as it would create more jobs.
A company like North Safety Products(South Africa) have the capital to invest in doing something like that. I suppose the South African market is not bigger enough for them to do that and a a lot of climbing stuff is made in Asia for cheaper. Blame Globilization.

Some importers also use the exchange rate as an excuse to create big price increases when the rand has only weakened a little.

When I say 'Some Importers are increase their price more than the rand has weakened by' I am not referring to climbing shops as I know evidence to suggest they are doing this, I know of other importers non climbing relating who have done this in the past.

The problem with goods whose inflation is linked to either the exchange rate, or the fuel price is that retailers push prices up when said rates increase, but do not necessarily lower prices when rates drop (which frequently happens).

This also means that goods which are sitting in the warehouse and was bought at the lower rate, is sold at a huge profit when rates (and selling prices) increase.

Twiga I agree with what you say, though there are many who will say it is not a sin to make a profit, for investors it is a sin to make a loss.

Offcourse it's ok to make a profit, but local companies shouldn't then start bitching when I take my business elsewhere and buy from rei.com and the likes.

The world is small, and the economy is global. Local retailers should keep that in mind when they want to start ripping people off. I'll much rather buy via the Internet from an international shop than paying exhorbitant amounts from local dealers.

Also retailers should realize that customer loyalty is a myth. We will buy our gear from whoever gives the best deals and the best service.

- twiga

bird-neck and bird-brain getting on like a house on fire

First off drifter, North safety harnesses do not make the safety grade - I mean they were using metal chains when they should have been using energy absorbers for cryin out loud! They never new anything about that type of gear and they still dont.

and twiga, check out the price of the petzl elios helmet at REI its almost R500 when you can buy it from mountain mail for R445!

stop flappin your gums about stuff you have no clue about!

So you compare one item from one retailer (and there are thousands) , and based on that one item you think you have an informed opinion?? I have been buying from online retailers for years, and I always do my homework.

I can quote a gazillion items that are cheaper online than local. What does that prove?? It simply proves my point to buy wherever the price is right be that online or not.

To quote myself:


c'est la vie...

- twiga

Grrr North safety products make the best hard hats. They make good quality safety products. The stuff is made in South Africa and it is good quality. There is nothing wrong with North safety products.

My harness is energy absorbant, though you are able to tie into the front of the harness as well if you like. The strap at the back is wrapped up in plastic and acts as a spring when you fall. This harness is called an Iron man. This harness is not from North Country, I can only comment on their hard hats and safety boots, though North is a serious company so I don't believe they would be making safety equipment for building sites which aren't up to scratch.

North Safety in PE are a complete bunch of prats. Usless, with attitude.

On average I found gear in SA to be cheaper than else where. But on an occasion there were nutsets at 'half' price. After shiping & tax they climbed to R25 less than a set here. Hardly worth the effort. Nice thing about e shoping is the range.

I don't think it is correct to attack a company's product without repersentative from that company beeing present to defend themselves.

I don't tell people where to buy, everybody must buy where they want, however I don't agree about making personal attacks against people or companies products without anyone beeing present to defend themselves.

I don't think SA climbing retailers are that bad, considering the specialised equipment and relatively small market.

Case in point,
Mad-Rock Phoenix shoes, $69 =+- R510.06 overseas, can get them here for R565. or roughly 11% more. Which seems quite reasonable, I'm sure some other stuff has higher margins, but probably still quite acceptable, at least it doesn't leave me with a sour taste in my mouth when I buy from the local shops.

My other hobby/sport is motorcycle/off-road riding, and that equipment is normally at least 100% (if not more) expensive than what you would pay for overseas.

After the crap service I got at North Safety, I don't care. They deserve it. In front of them or behind their backs. Maybe they should improve then they wouldn't deserve it.

I'm in Romania at the moment, I've been in the south of france last week and will be in Paris tomorrow. I walked into a few outdoor shops and to me it seems that the price of goods is comparable with SA. If you simply mulitply the product price by the exchange rate (Euro to Rand in France, Lei in Romania), you get a price very similar, sometimes even higher to those in SA.

Hey Gonzo ,
what the heck are you doing in Romania , shipping Gypsies ?
One of the really cheap places I found relatively cheap gear was in Andorra la vella , the capital of Andorra .