Try and support them as much as possible, but frequently, shops can't buy things from Aussie distributors for the price you can get it overseas.
we had this discussion in another forum recently. Apparrantly Aussie distributors can't buy some things for the price you can get it overseas so it's toughie...
Australia is a relatively small market, and I'd imagine many products like DT you would have to buy a whole bunch of stuff, including spares to be the distributor for them, then warehouse them etc... the overhead locally to bring in stuff is probably relatively high compared to other parts of the world, so the price is higher. I know mavic won't even sell you spares if you didn't buy the wheel set locally. I used to think that was pretty harsh, but it's probably fair enough. Why should they go to all the expense of providing local service and local spares just so you can go get your wheels cheaper overseas then reap off it.
Annoyingly, both some local distributors and vendors seem to shoot eachother in the foot, like offering cheap international delivery direct from the "cellar door" so to speak, or having a local distributor locked in, only for the distributor to not bring in the whole range.
Admittedly on the fringe, I've had to go mail order to get many a crosser part after being told "we won't be bringing any of that in". But more recently, a certain manufacturor referred me to the local distributor only for them to tell me they were only bringing in lower end models and weren't really prepared to deviate from that.
For larger ticket items where I'm likely to want local support, warranty or what not, then I try to buy locally because I don't mind paying a little extra for the value added support. If that proves to be bogus then I simply just vote with my feet. So far, especially from neezy & dirt works, I have not been disappointed.
Cheers
Gonz
