Originally posted by Nipple
If a company bring in rice and distribute to shops.
If they distribute them at $5 for 5kg pack and ask the shops to sell at $7.
But this distributor are selling $6 or less to anyone who walk into their shop or office.
DO you think anyone would still go other shops to buy thet rice?
Another example.
If you ride bike you will have heard of Mah Motors and cycle link.
And you will say their bikes are expensive.
But do you know most of honda bikes in Singapore are imported by them and they distribute to smaller bike shop.
If they sell cheap, would any one still go other shops to buy?
NO OFFENCE HERE
My humble opinon:
Your above is Not entirely true...It all depends on who you are and whom you bought from. Tom Dick and Harry dun enjoy much discount, if any. Buying from Tony / Andrew / Julia also yeild different discount rates depending on how friend friend you are with them!
"DO you think anyone would still go other shops to buy thet rice?"
YES!
Because different shop also have different discount / retailer rates from TS. Some even got the Tamiya stuff at consignment!!!! And another YES is because there are parallel importer (like bikes / cars). Auntie Winnie is one of them and who can blame her/them, they can get older or newer stuff faster than TaiSing. Good price too! Remember 415TRF, TLTs?
So it is naturally TS will discount to draw back local buyer from parallel importer. In fact IMHO they are doing it rather OK / low key, they can easily leylong and kill off all parallel importer (and such incident did happen last year to model kits between a parallel importer and a TS supporter. TS support their kaki with huge discounts and resulting in kits selling at $9.90! where they usually go for $25-32)
Also anyone wanting to blame TS for giving discount, wake up, like you I am also a consumer (unless the person writing is a retailer) where got cheap go where. Money hard to earn, I dun earn five figures! THINK: If the new Tamiya distributer play by the book and offer no discount to walk in customer, who can u turn to for getting cheaper stuff? Parallel importer right?. Parallel importer also not stupid, why reduce price (more discount) since you cannot get cheaper?!? SILLYPORE's market small la, all competing for that small piece of pie.
Market is all about demand and supply. Dun talk about business moral, if there is one TS would/should not have sold to walk-in customer and Hong Kong and Japan distributer would / should not have sell to local parallel importer (Which btw, rumours has it, Tamiya Japan might interven in such cases)
Remember, these price wars benefit us consumers! Would you pay $200 for a car when you can gt it for $150?!?! The saving can bring your wife / gf for dinner to make up for the neglect while you were having fun RCings.
