These should fit it nicely.
I wonder magkano kaya coz ex-singapore is a little expensive compared to ex-HK being offered by a friend of mine.
will always be at parity with global MSRPs.
Not to be construed as bidding for your favor, but it is ultimately a question of who has the gumption of disregarding BMC brand direction. Sadly, those under the corporate mantle have no luxury of such.
Tricky question though..
HK remains an enigma. Aside from adopting hardware store tactics, it has the habit of ordering more than what the local market can absorb, and sells the residual to neighboring countries. Because of this 'tubong lugaw' mentality, it fails to distinguish the line between mature/'commoditized' products and innovative products. Hence, out there in HK and some countries, everything is commoditized. A buyers’ heaven, so to speak.
On a micro level, I guess you can observe this phenomenon in Quiapo and Monumento.
With this approach, HK gets to enjoy prominence with manufacturers (quota met), LBSs, viajeros, and end users....even if the approach is near-sighted.
In good ole 'Pinas, a new class of sellers are emerging...with networks/connections, and idle funds at their disposal. Mostly under the radar, they can sell any brand from any country. This is well and good IF the brand is not available here, but alienates the reliable LBSs if the brand already exists. We have to remember that the LBSs have taken a risk in stocking and promoting the brand, and have already incurred storage and flotation costs. The sometime seller does not take any risk but merely short sells.
Then again, it is a free country.
There are some notable individuals though who stock saleable items. I guess I have to doff my hat to them. But…..
LBSs are then relegated as mere showrooms, with the actual selling transaction taking place outside. This would inevitably diminish incentives for anyone to bring products that have something new .... or a bit different/superior to offer.
If the LBSs themselves are importers, then I guess it is ok but the pressure of quota comes into play and you either move upstream or downstream the supply chain because you cannot do both effectively in the long-run....unless you're Newton or YKK at this infinite timeline ... and you risk competing with your own dealers if the pressure becomes great.
If we do away with the LBS, and assume that we have a secure and perfect online payment scheme, wouldn't that be great? Products can go directly to consumers at a lower price due to the absence of intermediaries. Cash pa!
But most of us are still at that stage where we would rather see an item first, touch it, do some research, touch the item some more, before buying it. And lest we forget, some LBS do extend credit with the ubiquitous index card, and most provide good bicycle maintenance. So LBSs are here to stay.
To sum up, all things being equal, buy from the local authorized LBS if the disparity is not that significant.
What is assumed from this question -
- this is not your first transaction with your friend, hence
- your friend has already given you terms
- your friend has already promised you after sales service in HK
- you are based abroad, hence you are not alien to buying online
- which means you buy stuff after researching reviews
- which means further that your price benchmark is in HK
- which means he has already assured you that he can compete
with any price quoted.
Egad! your friend has me beat, hehehe
drool!
