Australian Members - Page 312

Hey Guys

For anyone thinking of using Katolan as a Proxy, I have and they were a pleasure to deal with. Also received goods from Malford too.

Unfortunately, I specified the wrong size so if anyone is chasing a BNWT RLX Golf Sport Navy Polo in Large let me know!

Cheers
Kris

Good customer service seems such a rarity these days

I haven't had an experience that bad, but it puzzles me why when ordering online from an Australian retailer, it consistently takes longer for the transaction to process, and for the shipment to be made, than it does when I order online from Europe, and even the US - which has a notoriously slow postal service.

I think the fact that Australian retailers will have to adapt quickly to the online threat will only be good for the industry, and the consumer in the long run. Those Aussie brands with better service and a smart online operation to compliment their bricks and mortar stores will survive - those slow to embrace the online revolution and rely on the goodwill of consumers will perish.

Also, I'm sick of hearing about the Australian dollar - a high dollar is a double edged sword and should mean local retailers are able to purchase overseas goods (let's face it, 90% of the stuff on our shelves are foreign made) cheaper. The fact is these savings aren't passed on to the consumer, so you can't blame people for cutting out the middle men. Very rarely has foreign merchandise been discounted here as a result of the higher dollar, which could happen even if wages and rents are high.

Just received an email from Herringbone re their winter sale, commencing tomorrow.

Shirts $119 • Ties $70 • Suits from $399 • Knitwear from $100
• Selected accessories from $20

I will be checking it out!

Ben

^^Do you know if this is an in-store sale? Or is it at the warehouse?

RM William croc card cases sound like Steve Irwin wannabees

acid wash - nah - I asked because they have a wide range of styles, fits and denim. I guess I 'll have to try them on

In-store I understand. Also online.

For Reference :

http://www.herringbone.com/edm/110524/index.html

I didn't mean to imply I thought the markups were excessive.

I haven't read the whole report yet - just media reports - so I'm not sure what that markup is - retail on wholesale or retail on landed here - or retail on o/s price etc. There is the small population argument, long distances, transport, relatively high staff costs (although I'm not sure what retail people get paid/ rental costs are in comparison in EU/UK - anyone have data?)

One of the points made is that Australian retailers are way way out of touch on online buying.

I don't know why - I suspect they have had it easy too long - it was easy to see that books, cosmetics/toiletries were over priced here and superbly suited to online retailing - standard product - no size issues and small packages easily shipped.

The cosmetics are very very overpriced here and contribute significantly to chemist and DJs and Myers bottom line - in terms of gross profit one of the biggest contributors. Even Chemist Warehouse manages to sell EdT etc at half the price of DJs and other high street chemists.

Tony Delroy (possibly the best talkback radio person in Australia) last night had the report last night as the topic. The range of callers and experience was a welcome departure from the golly gosh sound bites of daytime talk - farmers telling of importing water pumps from China @$400 each that sell here for $1200, others clothes, shoes, books etc.

Part of the reason was the lack of any information from retailers and staff if you do walk into a store in Oz. We all have had the experience of asking a retail staffer for information to have them look blankly and start to look at the label - after you have already done that.

Compare that to just the other night I was online to a USA clothing mob and asked on live chat about an item - I was able in two minutes to get - availability, a colours check, measurements of cuff opening, etc and all pleasant and with a small chat about the weather thrown in all at 12 am while watching Dave Letterman and sitting in my warm room.

The consensus was that the only bad online experience people had was with australian online retailers.

Every caller also said the GST was next to irrelevant in pricing.

Most online buyers also buy online in Australia if it is possible or reliable - unfortunately this is rarer than it should be.

I must say my recent oz experiences have been ok - Officeworks has been good - next day delivery - and I just ordered my second Kogan DAB+ /internet radio yesterday at 3pm and it arrived today.

When my supermarket opens up a call and pickup near me at their supermarket or nearby Shell service station - as I hear they are going to do - I'll be doing the majority of shopping online.

The bad side of online shopping is rip offs by courier companies - watch out - if the GST limit gets lower than $1,000, couriers will charge for compliance costs and no order will cost less than $50 at this end to deliver.

Thanks for the detailed response there mate. I think I will hold back on the suits, they're just something I don't like to mess up. I might go for a few shirts though just to check the guy out. This way, if I'm not happy with the cut then at least I can wear them under sweaters and have only the collar show. I'm sure they will get the collars right

Thanks

I'm currently in the process of using Katolan. His customer service appears to be great, however, I ordered some stuff from JCrew which has taken almost a month to arrive at his address....he has since posted it (excellent). I will report back with confirmation of a good transaction when I receive the items.

Does Herringbone do short sizes or they just have one length per chest size?

^You referring to shirts? I believe they are all standard sizes. Similarly I've never seen a L or S length jacket...

The NADEL WEAVE 4 POCKET JACKET on the herringbone site looks pretty sweet. Unfortunately no 38's. Does anyone own it? What are their thoughts?