Climbing Mag Vs Buying over seas

[IceIceBaby]

In the new climbing mag there is a letter from the editor in regard to all the Ero.com and their linkage to source of all evil and leading to the collapsing of the climbing industry in the US

I don’t know about you all but I disagree with his statement and think that the local manufactures and retailers should revalue their business model and let go of the fluff any opinions??

[Rafael_H]

Global economy is good for an average consumer w/ avg needs. With climbing being so narrow in scope and highly specialized, Climbing's view and predictions are most likely true. I suport it knowing even knowing its futility

[Rodchester]

ICEBaby

 

I have not read the article yet...I will and will respond more fully then.

 

However, my question to RH is what does the narrow scope and high specialization of climbing have to do with the globalazition of that segment of the economy?

 

Are you saying it is bad? that somehow companies that can't competge should continue to offer climbers subandard gear at inflated prices?

 

Sorry If I nee to read first..just curious.

[specialed]

The outdoor market in Europe is a lot larger than in the US. Higher demand = lower prices. That is obviosly more advantageous for European manufacturers and retailers b/c they can cross over into the North American and undercut the market price for goods here. Maybe American manufacturers need to exploit the European market more therefore expanding their market - lowering prices for us as well making more profit for themselves.

[JayB]

The word from the internet rumor mill (rec.climbing http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&threadm=abbduc%24kh%242%40reader1.panix.com&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Drec.climbing%26hl%3Den%26btnG%3DGoogle%2BSearch )is that the recent editorial had its genesis when quite a few specialty retailers and US manufacturers threw a tantrum when Climbing and/or Rock and Ice ran an ad from a Dutch website in their last issue that actually listed the prices for the goods that they were selling. I guess so long as Barrabes restricted its add copy to “Check Prices” it was okay (?). Supposedly (“It’s on the internet so it must be true”) the specialty retailers sent back their entire shipments of the magazines, and a few manufacturers called and threatened to pull their advertising and voila – we have an editorial asking consumers to stop buying their goods from European retailers and continue paying over twice as much in the US instead. In my opinion, a magazine dedicated to climbers would have better served its readership by demanding that US manufacturers, distributors, and retailers explain why it is that American consumers should continue to pay twice as much as their European counterparts for the very same goods instead of going to bat for a system that is currently working in the interest of everyone except the consumer.

 

See rant below if imprisoned, terminally bored, etc…

 

In my opinion, they (the folks in the outdoor biz here in the US ) have quite a bit of explaining to do as it’s not:

 

-Tarrifs: The current tarriff levied on climbing equipment is 4%.

 

-Production costs: Production costs in Europe are comparable to, if not slightly higher than in America.

 

-Distribution costs: Commercial shipping on containers and semi-trailers probably adds 2 to 4 percent to the cost of any imported consumer item, tops.

 

-The exchange rate: The current exchange rate gives US consumers about 10% more purchasing power when we’re buying goods denominated in Euros.

 

-Retailing expenses: There’s no evidence to suggest that they’re higher in Europe than in the US either.

 

-The size of the market: It may be true that a greater percentage of European public climbs than in America, but it’s hardly a sport for the masses over there. Even if a greater fraction of the European public participates than in the US, a fractionally higher rate of participation does not translate into goods that can be sold at a profit for around half of the retail price that we’re paying.

 

-The size of the market, again: I’ve heard some speculation that because the market for climbing gear is limited, manufacturers and retailers have no incentive to lower their prices because that won’t translate into greater sales. Therefore – why not charge as much as you can for each unit and maximize your profits. This argument simply does not hold up because the reality is that the market for EVERY good is limited by demand, be it concrete, crude oil, or automobiles – or ice tools. Therefore, it does not follow that having a finite market leads to high/fixed prices – the only thing that can do that is eliminating competition. If any manufacturer is selling a good within finite market and can increase their market share by offering an equivalent product for a lower price, they can expand their sales and their profits at the expense of their competitors even if the size of the overall market stays fixed. It’s just a matter of calculating how many additional units you have to sell in order to compensate for the lower profit margin per-unit. At that point the manufacturers who are being undercut can either lower their prices or hope that consumers will be willing to pay a premium for what they have to offer.

 

The fact that manufacturers and retailers can sell their goods at a profit in Europe for less than half of what they are charging here is about as clear a refutation of the notion that the size of the market dictates that we have to pay $235 for ice tools, $140 for rock shoes, etc. Taking a look as US produced goods on sale in Europe is especially revealing. It’s very often cheaper to buy US goods overseas and pay to have them shipped across the Atlantic twice –once at retail rates !- than to buy locally. And on a related topic – if you as a consumer are willing to pay twice as much at a shop for the expertise, hands on inspection, etc – you are certainly free to do so. I just don’t think that those of us who do not value those services should be forced to pay for them if we don’t value or want them.

 

If anyone out there actually has some factual information to share about the situation, I’d love to hear it. I’d be especially interested in hearing about the US distribution system and/or the contractual obligations (price range) that retailers have to abide by if they wish to sell a particular product.