Comment

Comment by Carl on January 24, 2016 at 12:33pm

NOTE: This may turn in to a rant and seemingly a basher of unions, it is not the latter but I'll apologise now to save the grief ;-)

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I get your drift John, but I can't see how it's a trick to be honest, the British bike industry (amongst many others, like steel and coal) was mismanaged, dictated to by unions and dare I say it, badly built - and that comes from a Welshman who has owned 7 Trumpys and 4 Beezers if you count the Bantam ;-) and 4 Harley's, so I've been around bikes.

To me, Japan just did things smart - build a missile on wheels that would leave British and American bikes in the weeds, use mass media marketing and iron out the bugs as the models progress, just don't ask it to go around corners - they've fixed that by the way ;-)

Don't get me wrong, both the British and American bike manufacturers (Triumphs stopped for me after they were forced in to switching the shift from right to left, HD's for me stopped at the Shovel head) had something going for them, but when it comes down to their union dominated worker mentality - "Me tea's cold, everyone out!" meant they were never going to be able to compete with the Japanese for sales on a global scale.

I couldn't afford to build pick-ups for example on a large scale and compete with the Chinese - I'd be broke in no time and I dare say there are some seriously major non-Chinese companies that make use of Chinese industry be it manufacturing for assembly in their home country or the whole product whilst letting the buying public think it's solely manufactured in their home country. There a millions out there who choose this route simply because it's good business sense,Triumph is one with its three factories in Thailand as is Harley with its Indian plants, and when the public got wind of this they weren't impressed BUT they stayed loyal.

If it wasn't for Chinese manufacturers, odds are small home based businesses would not exist, so where do you draw the line?

I'll shut up now :)

Comment by john mackay on January 24, 2016 at 3:33am

it seem to me that its the same trick that the japanese did to our bike industries.

sell cheap and when every one is gone hike the price up.this will happen sooner or later with cheap imports from china.steel industry is in decline..cheap import from ?? yes I'm sure the same will happen here.we got no coal mines ,so we import it it..you get my drift?

Comment by Cigar Box Nation on January 19, 2016 at 5:21am

I get my parts from Gitty and I get my underwear from KMart.  Definitely.

Comment by Peter Otto on January 18, 2016 at 12:06pm

I agree with Phrygian and Uncle. Why would you buy Chinese items locally? To support the local industry? That's not industry, it's someone buying Chinese stuff in bulk and making large profits on it... If you pay, let's say, 1 dollar for a piezo rod in China, I bet the large local chains get the same item for even less because they buy in bulk... = even more profit. In this case, spending more money does not make working conditions better for the people who produce it. I also buy from local shops, usually if I need parts urgently.

Comment by Uncle John on January 17, 2016 at 8:28am

I think Phrygian said it. 

Comment by Carl on January 14, 2016 at 10:46am

Scott,
We had four small independently owned repair shops near me at one stage, three would happily sell you something if they had any spare, the other was a grumpy old bastard :-) but with the expansion of places such as Tandy (now gone) and Dick Smith Electronics (in the midst of being liquidated) we are limited to availability. As for salvaging them, not really an option if you haven't got any to salvage them from and Craigslist - well if I was selling a busted amp there I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be interested in shipping it to someone on the other side of the planet.

There in lies one of the bigger problems that I've found. A lot of used item(s) (even new), sellers won't post/ship to Australia, fair enough it's their choice but a loss of a market though. Those that do ship charge like a wounded bull for it because they know if someone is desperate for it they'll pay the cost.
Then you have the local sellers who seem to think that just because they have something that is in short supply they can jack the price up for a quick buck.

Yes, everything is market driven, but there's a difference between market driven and greed. So to me, this is where China comes in with it's mass manufacture and ridiculously low prices. Some may say the quality is questionable but to them I say "have a good look at your TV or fridge or washer - odds are you'll see it's full of Chinese parts if not made there in full". Some may say X item is built in a "sweat shop" to that I say "I have no idea if it is or isn't and until you supply me with photos and letter from an employee saying where they work is actually a sweat shop then I'll take what is said with a grain of salt," Besides, who is to say they aren't happy to work there as it's the first step up the employment ladder?

'scuse the rant it was not intended, it just came out :-)

Comment by Scott aka Farmer Ted on January 14, 2016 at 1:25am

An alternative option for RCA jacks is to salvage them from non-working amp chassis. You can inquire at a local electronics repair shop. Even looking on Craigslist or Kijiji can reap rewards. I build tube amplifiers, and find many small parts like terminal strips, jacks, etc. and chassis on old unwanted or broken amps. I used to order capacitors via the land of the red sun (China). But I was able to find a source here in Canada called Justradios.com that carry every capacitor and resistor on the planet, and at great prices. They have a minimum order or $25 USD, which translates to a pile of caps & resistors.

Comment by Nathan Binns on January 13, 2016 at 3:31pm

I'm getting everything except wood from China via Amazon. I don't like the 4 week wait, but I can't justify spending 16-20 bucks on something I can get for 3. My local music shop is great, but if I got all my parts from them I'd be out about $100 or more each build. Even if I were to order from within my own country, Canada, I usually end up getting charged more in shipping than the item itself. And now with our dollar in the crapper, order from the States is not an option anymore (shipping was usually ridiculous there too). I don't get how it is free to get something from the other side of the planet, but $18 for an 8 hr trip from Calgary.

Comment by Carl on January 12, 2016 at 11:24pm

Sydney Phryg and yeh Paul maybe it should, then again maybe "I" should ;-)

Comment by The Phrygian Kid on January 12, 2016 at 11:16pm

If you're not buying from China...
You're buying from someone who is

What part of AU are you in fella?

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