Can't buy SRAM groupsets in Australia from overseas online retailers?

[mmel]

I had put this in the online purchases thread, but I would like some wider discussion about it.

I tried looking for a SRAM Rival groupset online, and none of the usual places seemed to have them (wiggle/ribble/chainreaction, merlin would let you add it to your basket but then complain when you went to checkout saying they can't ship that part to Australia).

I contacted a couple of retailers, and they responded with:

• "I'm afraid that due to shipping restrictions placed by our suppliers we are unable to send SRAM to Australia at present, really sorry."
• "Unfortunately we can no longer sell SRAM outside of the EU. We appreciate this is frustrating but we are bound by various supplier restrictions that leave us unable to help you out with what you are looking for."

Seems really scummy if you ask me!

I'll be looking at a Shimano/Campagnolo build if SRAM are going to be pulling BS like this.

The one place I did find is tbsm.com.au, which is 50-70% more expensive than the other retailers.

Any ways around this? Or should I just not reward their bad behaviour by trying to work around the blocks they've put in place.

[Trevtassie]

Welcome to the world of Australia's middle men, who believe that they, as exclusive distributors, deserve retail margins.
In the meantime find a mail forwarding service. Yeah, you'll have to pay 17.5% VAT, but at least you're not giving somebody a BMW for running a warehouse.

[mikgit]

yeah this happens all the time, wiggle have only just started selling garmin stuff again after getting the shutdown a year or so ago, they also had to stop selling asics and brooks running shoes.
The local guys get bent out of shape that the online places are undercutting them, complain a heap and the companies put their foot down.
I can understand the local guys point of view, it just sucks that Australia is such a small market that the normal distribution model doesn't really work, I mean wiggle/c r c probably buy way more stock than the Australian distributor of any brand, so huge volume with low margin...

[AUbicycles]

Each brand has their own approach, mavic is well known for doing this and wholesalers and dealers across the globe certainly want to push the business through their own doors if they are getting competition from online retail.

SRAM don't provide local warranty on parts purchased outside Australia. I can understand this although SRAM Australia is part of SRAM Global so essentially is the same company.

Shimano however will do warranty for items purchased overseas. A lot of bike shops would prefer that the groupsets and accessories were not available overseas however as the biggest component brand, they have limited say.


I think the bit where you can be upset is that the Headquarters have different pricing and allows an online retailers to not only be marginally higher priced, but substantially higher priced. If the price is 50%+ more locally, then the brand strategy and overheads are not working in the favour of the customer. For SRAM seeking to be more competitive, they need to look at becoming more attractive and even global pricing would help... infact it is possible as some brands do this already and (legally) ensure that wholesale pricing is fairer.


If you are after a groupset, buy a new bike with the groupset and then strip the parts and sell the frame and other bits.

Or you could use a mail forwarding service. They are popular in the US (where prices for bikes and parts online is not that cheap for Aussies) and I am sure there are options in the UK as well.

Or buy a competitor brand... and let SRAM know. At this stage, brands are not getting enough feedback or resistance from customers - in the short term while some gear is cheaper online, it is fairer for all (customers, dealers, wholesalers, brand) when the the brand doesn't create the massive discrepancies.


Christopher

[RonK]

Bike24 will ship.

[Calvin27]

I have zero tolerance for stuff like this. I won't use sram anymore after this until they fix it. I care little for the sob stories of middlemen etc. Big corporates want the benefits of globalisation but still apply geo-tax. Go screw yourself sram, same goes to mavic. I haven't even got a garmin but they are back on the list - the 20 is just what I need. Apologies /endrant

[Lukeyboy]

Calm down mate.

[mogwaiboi]

Bike24 will ship.

Not anymore

[mmel]

Bike24 will ship.

Not anymore

Oh wow, they stomped on that pretty quickly!

[Velt]

It's the same for SRAM subsidiaries too. Can't buy zipp wheels from those places either.

[biker jk]

Just don't buy SRAM if they choose to rip off the Australian market. Only fools keep rewarding this exploitative behaviour by buying their products.

[RonK]

Let 'em know how you feel on Twiiter @SRAMroad

And Facebook SRAMroad

[familyguy]

twitter.com/SRAMaustralia
twitter.com/SRAMroad

Well...back to the bad old days. Looks like I'll be hanging onto my two Force groupsets for the foreseeable and not upgrading to Force 22 any time soon.

Jim

[madmacca]

Bike24 will ship.

Not anymore

Oh wow, they stomped on that pretty quickly!

They probably read this thread.

[warthog1]

I have zero tolerance for stuff like this. I won't use sram anymore after this until they fix it. I care little for the sob stories of middlemen etc. Big corporates want the benefits of globalisation but still apply geo-tax. Go screw yourself sram, same goes to mavic. I haven't even got a garmin but they are back on the list - the 20 is just what I need. Apologies /endrant

+1 Well said.

[queequeg]

Bike24 will ship.

Not anymore

Yep, went to get a spare cassette today, having only recently purchased a Red22 RD & Cassette from them for my R5 build, and not long before that I replaced the old Apex shifters with some Rival ones. Now it looks like it's just a blanket ban on anything with a SRAM brand, including consumables such as brake pads (Avid), chains, cassettes. You name it, it's gone. I guess instead of buying a new cassette locally, I can just swap over to Shimano Di2. Problem solved.

[Thoglette]

Each brand has their own approach, mavic is well known for doing this and wholesalers and dealers across the globe certainly want to push the business through their own doors if they are getting competition from online retail.

Once upon a time (about two decades ago) I had some sympathy for this when the in-country retailers were responsible for in-country marketing and the global brand did zero marketing (e.g. Grado). Back then, local papers and local magazines mattered.

Today, that's just so much bunkum. What brands should be doing is providing a seamless, single interface to brand: local bricks & mortar and web pages drive sales everywhere, regardless of who's got the stock today.

Current best practice is: talk to us in person and on-line; buy anywhere; zero shipping fees (or pick up in store) if you pay RRP. Return/repair anywhere. And both branded stores and resellers have the same deals and, importantly, support each other.

( I was recently after some specific shoes and, because of the brand, the sales person rang their competitor up the street to see if they had the stock the brand's IT system said they did. )

And getting the financials sorted out has been a solved problem for a decade or so. See Apple "we make no profits here" Inc. for example

[familyguy]

Given that SRAM Australia don't have a Facebook page, and their Twitter hasn't been used since April, I'd say they had lost focus and are now getting head office to give them a leg up. SRAM Road are non-responsive to anything.

Meanwhile, Shimano Au are doing much better on that front and will probably get any new business I can afford. And they know it.

[Calvin27]

Now it looks like it's just a blanket ban on anything with a SRAM brand, including consumables such as brake pads (Avid), chains, cassettes. You name it, it's gone.

I totally didn't even think about brake pads. I hope sram get absolutely smashed in this regard. If you are buying a complete bike I'd hope that Aussies have the sense to snob anything with Sram on it, tell the bike shop and ask them to tell the bike manufacturer. Best outcome is they stop building bikes with oem srams stuff here because of their discriminatory policies.

[march83]

just going through this to replace the pads on my s700 discs. local retailer or buy off-brand form an international store. I know which i will be doing...

[Duck!]

Given that SRAM Australia don't have a Facebook page, and their Twitter hasn't been used since April, I'd say they had lost focus and are now getting head office to give them a leg up. SRAM Road are non-responsive to anything.

SRAM Australia is a dealer support,service and product training office; they don't actually bring the stuff in for wholesale distribution.

[DavidS]

One of my bikes has SRAM Apex gears. If I can't get replacement cassettes then I'll just get Shimano. Really, what do they think we are going to do?

Businesses exist to make profits, I have no sympathy for any of them really. I just want quality at a reasonable price and good service at bricks and mortar stores.

DS

[familyguy]

Given that SRAM Australia don't have a Facebook page, and their Twitter hasn't been used since April, I'd say they had lost focus and are now getting head office to give them a leg up. SRAM Road are non-responsive to anything.

SRAM Australia is a dealer support,service and product training office; they don't actually bring the stuff in for wholesale distribution.

Who is local distro? Are SRAM head officw themselves doing that? Seems all the more silly a move to try to claw back a little profit at the cost of what could be significant market share.

Jim

[Duck!]

Monza Imports (based in Melbourne)are SRAM's main distro in Aus, have been for many years but Echelon Sports in Queensland also deal with SRAM Road & Zipp, a continuation from being the Zipp importer from before SRAM bought Zipp.

[g-boaf]

Given that SRAM Australia don't have a Facebook page, and their Twitter hasn't been used since April, I'd say they had lost focus and are now getting head office to give them a leg up. SRAM Road are non-responsive to anything.

Meanwhile, Shimano Au are doing much better on that front and will probably get any new business I can afford. And they know it.

I have a sram crank/chainrings on one of my bikes. When it comes time to replace them, they'll probably be replaced with Shimano.

I guess instead of buying a new cassette locally, I can just swap over to Shimano Di2. Problem solved.

I hope SRAM takes note of the above. If you frustrate customers, they'll take their business to a rival brand. Shimano Di2 is excellent anyway.