wetsuits in oz

Interesting topic. Theoretically the overseas stores are not 'allowed' to sell to Australia but it seems to be happening more and more these days.

Forget loyalty greyhound, it's not as if your friendly neighbourhood retailer reciprocates. And being smart and choosing to pocket that $200 saving doesn't make you any less of a patriot.

Unfortunately I have to surf in wetties 11 months out of 12. 6 of those months I'm in 5mm rubber, boots and gloves. I get about 2 seasons on average out of a suit.

I have a preference for Billabong suits and I get mine online from England. I get a good discount and the bloke usually throws a couple of extra things in for free. My last suit bought was a 5mm SG5 Chest zip. The guy threw in a hood, a t-shirt and 25 pound gift voucher and I got it delivered to my door in a week for 28,000yen or about AUD$350. I'm not sure, but I believe the equivalent suit retails back home in oz for about $700?

The last wettie I bought in a shop was 7 years ago and I still remember the prick that sold it to me, smarmy little turd that thought he was doing me a favour.

I'm sticking with my online guy.

Greyhound, this is a very interesting topic. In fact,in the past on various other forums I have seen the same or similar topics deleted......

thermalben, I am going to throw this out there (with not many facts to back me up though...) my understanding is that some companies have contracted retailers and/or middle men in other contries, in such a way, that they are not supposed/ allowed to ship to Australia i.e. they will no longer supply a retailer who sends wetsuits to Aus.

Now, (and hopefully others with some more insight than I might care to comment) my understanding, after a mate contacted the ACCC re this, is acting in such a manner is against various clauses of some free trade agreements in place between Aus and other countries (US, UK etc.) This doesn't stop it happening though.

It was policed by brands via, in some cases, the shear number of extra suits ordered by some OS retailers due to their online sales to other countries.

Personally - I have been purchasing wetties from OS for several years. Even when the Aussie dollar wasn't as strong as it is now - bargins were there to be had.

The top of the line suits are awesome now - but they don't last me more than a season (and I look after them as well as possible). Too expensive at $600+ dollars a pop for one season.

The suits are generally made in the same regions and shipped to all corners of the globe.

Why, why have we been paying so much more? Is it due to the reatilers here having higher labour and retail space / rental overheads? Is it because they are just so used to the margins from years gone by, that when the Aussie dollar went up against other currencies they decided to make hay? Is it because the brands have different wholesale prices in various countries and the Aus store front retailers are paying much higher wholesale prices than OS reatilers?Do middlemen / reps take their $$ and it up's the retail price? Is Aus a small fish (in terms of units sold)and prices are higher to compensate? At a guess probably a mix of some of these and others...

It's got to be hurting local retailers though. One national store with a shop front locally, recently knocked 40% of the price of their new season winter wetsuits!! That was $300 for some Rippy Flash Bomb wetsuits - as you can imagine they walked out the door. Did they still make any profit on those sales? No idea.

Another local store is matching or beating some international prices for new season suits. Can they keep it up?

On the surface of it, in the current world of the strong Aus dollar and online shopping (even if we did have to pay GST on purchases - it would still be cheaper to import the wetsuits), the business model has to change. That or the brands will have to spend extra $$ policing reatilers who send stuff OS.

I know that some companies won't honour their warranty if the wetsuit was purchased OS, but at the prices i get my wetsuits for now - and given they generally last just past the warranty cut off, not honouring the warranty is of no concern to me.

Thanks for hosting this discussion Swellnet.

I mentioned a few months back that I purchased a 5mm steamer from the states online for $200au and it sprang up some interesting discussions.I'm of the opinion that for some unknown reason surf companies charge Australian surf shops a much higher wholesale price than stores in other countries.Then it's passed on to us the consumer.

Same reason we pay $1.69 for a song on i-Tunes and americans pay $0.99, even with dollar parity and no actual product to ship! Because we are a small market with a big expendable income per capita who have always willingly paid premium prices. Companies will keep charging it until we refuse to buy it!

I would suggest anyone who is looking for a high end suit look at some of the smaller high end brands in the states or elsewhere - most of them deal with customers direct and the pricing constant.

I parked out the front of Raised By Wolves at Queenscliff the other day and they had a rack of suits, many steamers, all on sale for $99. The brand was Tiki out of the UK who I hadn't heard of before. I spoke to the counter fella and he said the reason they were so cheap were they had 20% stretch as opposed to other suits with more stretch. Buggered if I know what percentage stretch my $500 Billabong suit is.

Anyway, I was more amazed that suits, steamers no less, could be manufactured, shipped and sold with everyone taking a cut and still remain under $100. Surely the difference in stretch wouldn't add that much to the bottom line cost?

I import wetsuits and sell them on ebay. I did try retail shops shops, but for various reasons that didnt work out.
I can sell steamers for under $100 also and still make money, because I have the exclusive import licence for that brand in Australia and very little overheads. I cannot sell my top of the line model for under $100, then I would lose money

Depending on the final sale price I make about 20 - 40% on my costs.

I happen to know that the owners of Raised By Wolves have the import licence for Tiki wetsuits, which means less middlemen. I am still surprised they can make money though as they have many overheads with a store. But given the competition I guess they don't have a choice.
I know it costs to import those suits I would say they are just trying to get back costs on an old line.

I also buy products online from o/s. Even if the site you go to won't ship to Oz, there are other websites that will provide you with a USA address and you can go through them.

As for wholesale prices on your big well known brands, then yes its all about volume. The population of greater Los Angeles is over 18million. Thats almost as much as OZ in an area not much bigger than Sydney.

Thanks LC. I'm still amazed at the huge disparity between what an online agent such as yourself can sell them for and what a large retail store does sell them for.

Guess the middlemen and rent make up the difference. Plus marketing, plus staff etc etc...

I will also add that you get what you pay for.
The westuit I sell at less than $100 is not ultra superstretch, it doesn't have liquid sealed seams, it doesn't have fleecy inner lining or specially designed seals at wrists and ankles. They all cost extra.

Good point. Thanks for all the info TLC.

Feel compelled to add...I posted something similar on previous topics and like aother posts before me, I now only buy exclusively from online sites. The sites I purchase from are Boardriders & MSW.

I only purchase Ripcurl or Xcel suits and generally pick them up for at least $200 less than retail here in Oz. You can score 2012 winter wetties from the 2012 northern winter range or vice versa. I'll check the wettie that I am interested in online and then go into a shop to make sure the size is spot on, then get on the net and get free delivery to Oz. Once, I had to send back a wettie and the refund/replace service was probably faster than sending it back to Torquay.

The wetties have always been top notch. Psychologically, I feel like I'm betraying my country (excel excluded). But when you can nearly get two for one...I don't really give a fuck! I would recommend buying a wettie overseas to anyone. I always have a dry steamer for my second daily surf all winter. Stoked!!!

gday all - long time reader , first time poster.....
Yeh i just purchased a s/s rip curl ebomb from o/s - less than half of what it retails here for - i also got 10 blocks of sex wax at 93 cents each as opposed to the $5 i get charged (gouged ??) here.....a part of me does feel a bit guilty doing the o/s purchasing thing but i probably saved well over $200....alot easier convincing wife to approve the funds when she hears my sales pitch....he he

bondi hq, what was the cost in $aud of your wettie, and which country did you buy it from.

I don't think anyone should feel guilty about purchasing overseas. The more it happens the more these companies will understand the balance of power. Rip Curl wetsuits for instance are all made in the same overseas factory, only a short flight to Australia so freight isn't really an issue in the massively increased prices we pay. There's no incentive to shop locally especially when we are forced to pay nearly double for a top of the range wetsuit.

I've been really happy with my suits from www.glidzwetsuits.com Custom made and the best suits i've ever worn. Their chest-zip model is insane and I don't have to dislocate my shoulders to get out of it as is the case with an O'Neill Psycho II I now keep as a spare. Being a custom fit it also eliminated common rash problems under the arms etc.

My 5mm quiksilver steamer came with $172.95USD retail stickers on the tags? Is there any reps out there that can explain to me how the rrp is only this amount in the US? I don't feel guilty at all by not spending 500 to 700 au here at home.I do remember somebody replying to my initial post about this saying the wholesale price in oz for the retailers is $250.....Something does not seem right.

I don't think anyone should feel guilty about purchasing overseas. The more it happens the more these companies will understand the balance of power. Rip Curl wetsuits for instance are all made in the same overseas factory, only a short flight to Australia so freight isn't really an issue in the massively increased prices we pay. There's no incentive to shop locally especially when we are forced to pay nearly double for a top of the range wetsuit.
.

By: "ryder"

totally agree the more people buy online from overseas the more companies will have to wake up and not be so greedy

I now generally buy my wetsuits online from OS last one bought online was about $200 Rip curl E bomb 5/3 all black, what i save allows me to get a quiver of wettys so i can find the best balance between flexibility and warmth, also means my wettys last longer.

All that said, if you keep your eyes and ears open you can find bargains in OZ, for instance only yesterday i bought a XCEL infiniti series short leg long arm for $79.99 all black brand new chest zip down from $399.95

My 5mm quiksilver steamer came with $172.95USD retail stickers on the tags? Is there any reps out there that can explain to me how the rrp is only this amount in the US? I don't feel guilty at all by not spending 500 to 700 au here at home.I do remember somebody replying to my initial post about this saying the wholesale price in oz for the retailers is $250.....Something does not seem right.

By: "redsands"

Yeah somethings not right......and if OZ retailers are paying higher prices then they need to put the pressure on the wholesalers or the surf companies, after all most of these big companies have there roots in Oz for the prices we pay in Australia you would think our wetsuits were still made locally.

All I know is I paddled the river to my favourite local the other day and didn't even notice the 12 degree water thanks to a 500 buck saving and now my $400 oz bought 3/2 suit won't be looked at for a while.When the day comes that I need a new 3/2,$129.95 US sounds good to me instead of a joke 400au.

All very interesting. I spent $600 for a 4/3 sealed wetty a couple of seasons ago and after only 1.5 years it started falling apart with the back shoulder seams totally splitting open rendering the wetty useless in colder water.

I looked at buying one from overseas as I think paying $600 for a wetty that last less than 2 years is a joke and found that I could get the same wetty for half price, and the online store were happy to sell it to me.

Before I committed though I headed down the road to Surfection (Billabong retail store) as I heard they had some sales on and guess what, they were selling their top of the line 4/3 SGX model from last year for $300, down from $675!

Done deal!

Apparently because Billabong is a publicly listed company they need to turn over and clear stock each year so they just slash the prices. This shows how much extra they put on top of the wholesale price as I reckon they'd still be making a small profit on the $300 I got it for.

bondihq mentioned $5 for a block of wax in oz now?

Is this true? 'eff me, I can't believe it!

I have a quiver of suits too and always have a dry steamer, all bought online. Fins as well, you can save at least 30-40% on those.

It's not just surf gear in Australia- everything. In about 5 years prices seemed to have doubled back home. People say Japan is expensive? Japan is like Bali compared to Australia. Breakfast for me and the missus here- $12. The equivalent back home- $40. Block of wax here $2. Can of coke- $1.20. Six pack of primo beer $11, $7 for 'haposhu' or your standard blue collar beer. The wife smokes (much to my chagrin), pack of ciggies- $4.40. Electronics are half the price of home and even less bought online, bought a 40' Sharp Aquos LCD and they threw in a new Wii and the Satellite dish for $360. The vaio I'm typing on is half of what you'd pay back home.

I snowboard too, I believe a lift ticket at Perisher now is $110? I go to mountains that would shame Perisher/Falls Creek. If I buy my lift tickets in November- $28 each, or on the mountain on the day $42 and they get progressively cheaper through the season. A good set meal lunch on the hill- $10. If I go to western Japan (Nagano/Niigata) I can get accom. for about $80 a night including dinner and breakfast and discounted lift pass. I have mates that come to Japan every year, just to ski. If you factor in the airfares, 2 weeks here is still cheaper than a week back home.

I think Coles/Woolies/Harvey Norman/the banks etc. have had Aussies by the balls for too long, something has to give. I'm not bashing oz too much. I love Australia deeply and first and foremost will always be an Aussie, I just don't know how normal Aussies are getting by these days?

Boards are cheap though in oz- go figure?

Never mind wax for five bucks a pop, what's all this about a 'quiver of wetsuits'? A few of you blokes have mentioned it.

I understand having a second one to keep dry (although I don't own a second one myself) but a quiver?!

Wetties for everything. 2 x 5mm, 2 x 4/3's, a couple of 3/2's, a long arm and short arm springy and 2mm long arm vest. Plus booties, gloves, hoods pretty much covers everything here (sup-tropical at the height of summer, snow on the sand in winter).

All of a sudden I feel very inadequate with a mere quiver of boards.

I know one part of you that would be feeling inadequate if you had to put on a wet steamer when the wind chill is -5 and it's snowing.

Gotta admit, I don't really need all of them. Maybe it's a fetish?

Geez I'm glad I'm not a surf shop owner reading this thread,it looks like the writing is on the wall,the glory days are over.I avoid most surf shops these days,they are full of 11year old chicks and the 16 year old blonde behind the counter looks you up and down and asks if your lost.I remember when a block of wax was 20c.

Have got my wetties from o/seas for awhile. I guess just I nolonger want to be treated like a chump paying twice as much as I need to.

old-dog is also on to the fact that the vast majority of surf shops are staffed by pea-brained pre-pubescent individuals who would be otherwise unemployed except for the fact that their parents or uncle or some distant relative or best mates dad owns the business.

surf retail in oz in general is a fucking rip off.

@old-dog: Geez I'm glad I'm not a surf shop owner reading this thread,it looks like the writing is on the wall, the glory days are over.

Me, I'm just glad I'm not one of those punters that bought a wettie for the full price of $675 when everyone else is getting them for $300 or less from o/s!

I know I'll get spanked for this as "being an 'industry' mole" blah blah blah.

but here goes...

Buy Rip Curl wetties. Privately owned Australian Co.

Cheaper O/S if need be. That's the same with everything, Rapala lures, shimano reels, Porsche 911s and beer.

Bondihq - just wondering where you got the wax from OS? I have tried a few avenues but apart from buying in bulk (and saving very little I might add) I have found little success with searches for cheap, and good quality, wax..

Hope you post again.

I have a rampant wax striping/changeover problem and at $4 to $5 a block - it's an expensive habit!

It appears I am not alone in holding a 'Wettie Quiver'. 2 x summer 3/2 wetsuits and 2 x winter 4/3 wetsuits for cold, cold Tassie. Nothing quite like a dry wet suit to make you 'leap over the side' and have a session - when your brain is telling you 'You fricken what?! You really wanna surf that junk...' and it's 3 degrees outside.

I got hold of one of O'Neill's 4/3 Area 52 FUZE Chest Zip wetties from OS.

Gold.

Best wetsuit I have ever, ever owned by about 40 lengths. No way did I think it would be warm enough for winter here as it is so light. The thing feels like a 3/2 once it's on ( and an extra flexible one at that) to wear. 'Technobutter' - dodgey marketing name for some serious wetsuit tech.

Got a mate who runs a surf shop. The prices are dictated by the brands. If they discount too much they get in trouble with the brands and may lose their accounts. Retail markup isn't as much as you think when you consider wages, electricity, rent and stuff like that. It's a sad situation for aussie retailers but it's impossible to compete against overseas imports.

By the way I buy stuff mainly from overseas these days. Much cheaper and sometimes faster than buying local. Not sure if I'd buy a wettie from OS though, as I prefer to try it on first. And I'd feel guilty going into a surf store to check the size. It's one thing not to buy from them but it's unfair to use them with no intention of handing over dollars.

For people who know what fits size wise in each brand - it's an easy thing to buy a suit from OS. Plus the size guides for each suit are pretty spot on. But - trying one on when you KNOW you are going to purchase OS - seems a little rich...

However, retailers have been dealing with that issue for a very long time. I'm sure many have tried on clothing, test driven a car etc. and then purchased from the store down the road as it was less expensive. In those scenario's maybe the money stayed in Aus and maybe it didn't, but the retailer still didn't do enough to keep that customer in the 'store' and purchasing their goods.

Been a loooonnnnnggg time since I worked in the industry, but markup was traditionally 60% (meagre compared to the 100% the suckers pay for t-shirts etc just to be branded), but regardless, the Aus market MUST be reeling from the OS sales, and it HAS to be the fault of the MANUFACTURERS.

How else can you possibly explain the fact that I can buy two top of the line wetsuits from any of the big boys delivered to my door for LESS than the cost of one said top of the line wetsuit from a local retailer? I did the sums, and realised that I am actually paying LESS than my local retailer is paying Rip Curl etc @ wholesale prices - and that, dear stunet, is why we can afford wettie quivers... and if you lived in a real cold water environment, you wouldn't be feeling inadequate, you'd just be really fuckin uncomfortable - thereby, getting your own wettie quiver.

If you are one of those people who try on in store, then order online, then I say shame on you. If you want to take advantage of the savings, take the plunge - surely you know your size, and if not, you don't deserve to get the discounts. As much as I hate my local retailer... the poor cunt still has to pay rent and staff, so if you utilise their resources, then pay up you dirty prick!

Now, who got the cheap wax, what was it, and where do I order it from?

@SidtheFish...and your ripcurl wetsuits are made where? I just had a look at my brand spanking new Rippie Vest...MADE IN THAILAND!! Strangely enough, this is the only wettie that I've bought locally since I discovered O/S wetties a few years back.

rails, yes made in THAI but in RC owned factory, not some generic sub contractor, then badged xyzsurf.

I said Aussie owned, not Aussie made.

mate, it's 2012, EVERYTHING is made in Asia .

It's not an RC owned factory, Sid many other brands are made in the same factory and even if it was Aussie owned, how is that better? Should we have more respect for the 2 Aussie blokes that own RC that are screwing the Thia worker and Australian consumer directly.
Sid I don't know if your old enough to have been around when RC started up, the company was started so that Claw could announce that he had to go to a meeting when Winki got above 4 ft.
Rip Curl took it's manufacturing overseas because it said it was no longer viable too make them here, now the Aussie consumer is buying overseas because it is no longer viable here.
I buy Aussie made when I can, but I do not fall for the line of Aussie owned.

Shaun I reckon your spot on as Q wetsuits are also made in Thailand.

RC own a very large wet suit manufacturing facility in Chiang Mai in Thailand. It's a fully owned RC subsidiary trading as Onsmooth.

The Neil Pryde factory not too far away, produce Quiksilver and other brands.

Yeah, Claw is a mal cruiser, he's still luvin' it. So what.? Well in his 60's. Hope I can be the same.

Shaun, save your bitterness for bad coffee. Next year Aust will have no operating oil refineries, all petrol will be manufactured OS & imported, so think of that as you cruise down the coast.

Rip Curl took it's manufacturing overseas because it said it was no longer viable too make them here, now the Aussie consumer is buying overseas because it is no longer viable here.

By: "shaun"

That pretty well sums it up....

Aussie surf industry in the past have taken there business offshore to save money at the expense of Aussie jobs.

Now

Consumer takes there business offshore to save money at expense of surf industry profits.

Now they don't like it....kinda karma in a way...they screw us we screw them i guess.

@Sid, don't know why I'm bothering, but there is no bitterness in Shauns comments.

But yep, you are correct. As always.

Regardless, myself and many others will be purchasing our wetties from O/S. And how bloody good are those Excel wetties? Mate, they are the BOMB!

can appreciate folkes seeking better deal online OS.

personally I have no probs buying locally through mum n dad shops, eg: if I buy a new pushie, I'll go local. For fishing tackle, the same, always go local before spending at the majors.

I'll pay full tick and walk out happy. Nuthin worse than a wog in a tackle shop trying to screw the price down. They don't haggle at Woolies, or the BP servo, or bottlo, but the poor guy behind the counter at the local indepenent retailer gets a hammering.

If you go local regularly, they'll probably look after you anyhow.

hey all - been away - gday victor , i got my wetsuit when the oz dollar was pretty much equal with the greenback - but one thing you have to keep in mind is the postage costs....for my purchase it was $41 so i figured i may as well make the most of the $41 and get some wax as well and at 93 cents for sexwax i got 10 blocks - in hindsight i should have got a leggie or deckgrip as well because all that gear is alot cheaper as well and i dont think the extra gear would have affected the postage cost to much....like thermalben says i dont think o/s are allowed to sell to us so i dont want to get anyone in trouble but its not hard to find what you need via a google search

wax at 93cents a block....and there still making a profit,i pay on average $4 a block, nice profit to be made - is being made on wax, hmm think ill bring in a container load. can any one guess what it might cost to make and wrap a single block of wax ?

wax at 93cents a block....and there still making a profit,i pay on average $4 a block, nice profit to be made - is being made on wax, hmm think ill bring in a container load. can any one guess what it might cost to make and wrap a single block of wax ?

By: "victor"

i used to work for one of the largest chemical trading companies in Australia. I was in Ag (fertilisers and feed) but looked up how much parriffin wax cost us coz I've thought abut this. It was just under $900/tonne and we were bringing in several thousand tonnes of all different grades so you can be sure that the small businesses would be paying well over $1200 and thats if they are not getting screwed.

just from what i've read on the net you'll also need calcium carbonate - super cheap can't remember exactly how much but not more than $300/tonne so thats $0.30/kg and an oil or petrolium jelly. can't be fuck looking that up. plus a scent so it doesn't smell like your riding a meth lab, again can't be fuck looking it up.

I reckon raw materials would be about $2/kg give or take. standard block of wax is what, 80g? so thats 12.5 blocks per kg = $0.16 per block. give or take.

+ plant and equipment (1 big arse stove and some poor cunt with a big wooden spoon)
+ moulds
+ packaging
+ actually driving around and getting the fuck heads that own surf shops to buy your wax

I've thought about it. Anyone from an OZ surf shop know what you pay per block? It would be interesting to know. If shops are putting a massive markup on it you would be fucked as they wouldn't want to change the status quo. If they are paying more than $2 per block you could undercut the current blokes dead easy.

or just start an online shop. 10 blocks for $20 bucks and I reckon you would still be making 100% profit. easy.

mmmm, bit concerned about some of this.

are we really getting that scungy that we are ordering blocks of wax online from foreigners ?

where does this end? kiwi apples ? chinese garlic ? filipino bananas ?

I get the saving coupla hundge on a wettie, but wax ?

Surely we can still put a few bucks through the till at the local surf shop for wax, leggies and so on.

Id never bother with wax by itself, but if your getting a wetty i guess it wouldn't hurt to put in a few block of wax or something like a leggy or deck grip.

I think its really important to send a wake up call to the Australian surf retail industry.

Being, if your not going to play fair and sell at realistic prices compared tp other western countries then we will buy what we can elsewhere, even if its not the retailers and is the wholesalers or whoever who is screwing us, then we still need to send a message to change things and the only way that will happen is if there sales here drop.

Its pretty simple do i want to pay $500 bucks for one wetty, or get two from overseas for $500?

That said if i do find a wetty here at a good price, i will buy it here like i did last week, it also sends a message, sell at a good price and we will buy here.