RocknBlues
Well-known member
Seems that Jade Australia is now selling Tokai. 
http://www.jadeaustralia.com.au/tokai4.html
http://www.jadeaustralia.com.au/tokai4.html
new Australian distributor
- Thread starter RocknBlues
- Start date
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stratmoto
Well-known member
Yep.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Tokai-Love-Rock-LS85F-Les-Paul-Guitar-SALE-/300521445929?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45f8795a29
$1010AUD
or
http://www.jadeaustralia.com.au/tokai2c.html
$1695AUD
They bought their stock at 83JPy / AUD against 68JPY / AUD, we paid for our stock yet they still go up $300 over the "old" price. Mercedes before Holden, not Quality before Quantity.
Harvey Norman et al have helped open Australian eyes to the advantages of overseas guitar purchases. Now everyone knows about it, not just the internet savvy punters.
It will be very interesting watching them try to cram $1695 RRP guitars down the throats of guitar shops. The dealer price on the $1695 LS98F is $1070.00 AUD, with their normal margin And that is just one example.
Australian retailers are already frustrated by guitars, especially the same guitar bought online for less than than they would pay through a distributor, being brought in by people wanting a "setup".
From a conversation that I had with Jade, their way around this is to stop overseas online sales of Tokais being sent to Australia. I thought it best to keep quiet and patiently watch how that one unfolds from the sidelines. :lol:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Tokai-Love-Rock-LS85F-Les-Paul-Guitar-SALE-/300521445929?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45f8795a29
$1010AUD
or
http://www.jadeaustralia.com.au/tokai2c.html
$1695AUD
They bought their stock at 83JPy / AUD against 68JPY / AUD, we paid for our stock yet they still go up $300 over the "old" price. Mercedes before Holden, not Quality before Quantity.
Harvey Norman et al have helped open Australian eyes to the advantages of overseas guitar purchases. Now everyone knows about it, not just the internet savvy punters.
It will be very interesting watching them try to cram $1695 RRP guitars down the throats of guitar shops. The dealer price on the $1695 LS98F is $1070.00 AUD, with their normal margin
And that is just one example.Australian retailers are already frustrated by guitars, especially the same guitar bought online for less than than they would pay through a distributor, being brought in by people wanting a "setup".
From a conversation that I had with Jade, their way around this is to stop overseas online sales of Tokais being sent to Australia. I thought it best to keep quiet and patiently watch how that one unfolds from the sidelines. :lol:
Johny642000
Well-known member
But surely, as other distributors have proved elsewhere, it's impossible to stem the flow of guitars or any other goods internationally and the internet has given great transparency to the individual consumer...
I work in the book business - Amazon has brought total transparency to worldwide pricing. Australia has the tradition of marking up books against US$ list price and carries on doing so...result; Amazon.com sells more books to Australia than any other country with the exception of Canada - international sales of course, US domestic sales excluded...as a result fewer books are sold in Australia by our company which has an office there but continues to mark up...
Same in Brazil - I bang my head against the wall when meeting with our key distributors as they carry on marking up hugely against the US$ - result; Amazon.com has Brazil 3rd on its list after Canada and Australia...
The solution: don't be greedy, work with a global selling price allowing for local tax and import charges, etc and try to maintain your margins through goood service and repeat business...people might pay an extra $50-$80 locally for good service and set up...but if the can save $300-$400 by buying sight unseen on the internet then they will - especially when your talking about consistant quality goods like MIJ guitars...
I work in the book business - Amazon has brought total transparency to worldwide pricing. Australia has the tradition of marking up books against US$ list price and carries on doing so...result; Amazon.com sells more books to Australia than any other country with the exception of Canada - international sales of course, US domestic sales excluded...as a result fewer books are sold in Australia by our company which has an office there but continues to mark up...
Same in Brazil - I bang my head against the wall when meeting with our key distributors as they carry on marking up hugely against the US$ - result; Amazon.com has Brazil 3rd on its list after Canada and Australia...
The solution: don't be greedy, work with a global selling price allowing for local tax and import charges, etc and try to maintain your margins through goood service and repeat business...people might pay an extra $50-$80 locally for good service and set up...but if the can save $300-$400 by buying sight unseen on the internet then they will - especially when your talking about consistant quality goods like MIJ guitars...
stratmoto
Well-known member
Yes, plus duty and GST if it is over $1000AUD. The AUD price has come down to $1003.45 it is getting closer to being under the threshold.
They don't want me to have guitars being sold in the marketplace once they start selling. Unfortunately, for the next few months the Tokai Direct prices will be considerably less than the new Aussie pricing and may be of some irritation to them while stock lasts. From my discussions, they are going to target the Epi dealers that are unhappy with Gallins to take Tokais, as well as begin an agressive advertising and endorsement strategy.
Staying well below Margaret and Con's radar system is vitally important if Tokai are to remain in Australia. The push for a more mainstream prescence is not going to be easy for them with Tokai. I can hear Con screaming and thumping his desk now, and Margaret will be on the phone to the family Hi-Po legal eagle.
I'd like to check back in on this discussion in, say 12~18 months time and see how they are handling "the product".
They don't want me to have guitars being sold in the marketplace once they start selling. Unfortunately, for the next few months the Tokai Direct prices will be considerably less than the new Aussie pricing and may be of some irritation to them while stock lasts. From my discussions, they are going to target the Epi dealers that are unhappy with Gallins to take Tokais, as well as begin an agressive advertising and endorsement strategy.
Staying well below Margaret and Con's radar system is vitally important if Tokai are to remain in Australia. The push for a more mainstream prescence is not going to be easy for them with Tokai. I can hear Con screaming and thumping his desk now, and Margaret will be on the phone to the family Hi-Po legal eagle.
I'd like to check back in on this discussion in, say 12~18 months time and see how they are handling "the product".
RocknBlues
Well-known member
I see what your saying about priceing here in Australia, I recently bought a new product from the UK that cost me AU$38.00 deliverd to my door in under 10 days, If I was to buy the same product in a store here the price is AU$69.00 plus :-?
Johny642000
Well-known member
Yes, Australia is one of the last of the old mark-up countries!!
After posting I thought about pricing in the UK...I have bought several guitars from Japan but that was only because they were unavailable here in the UK at the time I saw them...
When I look at new Tokai prices from Japan then add EMS and import charges, I would not be saving anything by doing this rather than buying the same model from Richtone.
I have also bought twice from Richtone and apart from very fair pricing, they are also brilliant and efficient to deal with...that's just not props to Richtone for the sake of it, but they are operating in the right post-internet spirit...they sell at the right price, they obviously make their margins otherwise they'd go out of business and they also offer good, competitive service...
After posting I thought about pricing in the UK...I have bought several guitars from Japan but that was only because they were unavailable here in the UK at the time I saw them...
When I look at new Tokai prices from Japan then add EMS and import charges, I would not be saving anything by doing this rather than buying the same model from Richtone.
I have also bought twice from Richtone and apart from very fair pricing, they are also brilliant and efficient to deal with...that's just not props to Richtone for the sake of it, but they are operating in the right post-internet spirit...they sell at the right price, they obviously make their margins otherwise they'd go out of business and they also offer good, competitive service...
If us lot in Australia have to have a conversation about what the local market will support in terms of pricing then we should have that conversation.
That would be preferable to dumb asses trying to control things to suit their own ends.
The reality could be that the Aussie market simply isn't big enough to support US style pricing? If that's the case (and there'd need to be some strenuous economic analysis from impartial sources to prove it), then we Aussies will have to get over it and pay a little more to keep our society ticking over.
I do buy from overseas, but it's almost always stuff that I can't get here in Australia.
That would be preferable to dumb asses trying to control things to suit their own ends.
The reality could be that the Aussie market simply isn't big enough to support US style pricing? If that's the case (and there'd need to be some strenuous economic analysis from impartial sources to prove it), then we Aussies will have to get over it and pay a little more to keep our society ticking over.
I do buy from overseas, but it's almost always stuff that I can't get here in Australia.
stratmoto
Well-known member
Diamond said:
One is Fender, the other is Gibson.
