The R $ exchange rate



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Guest

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Hi Guys

Prior to the sharp rise in our exchange rate I looked at buying STI brake levers and other components. A set of 105 levers was priced at about R1350-00 at that stage. After the sharp rise the same lever at the same store was priced at R1850-00. I wonder if the new strenghtening Rand will bring these prices down. All the shops were very quick to increase their prices. Some were even loathe to supply a quote during the time when mr Fowler was closed. Cyclequipshop.co.za whose prices were the cheapest at that stage even stopped advertising prices. I can almost be sure that all the shops and suppliers will now plead innocense and claim to have pruchased when the exchangerate was at the highest!!!!!!

Keep those wheels spinning and always buy at the cheapest place!!!!!!!

Big H
 
BH, chances are almost zip that prices will fall, and that goes for everything. It's called the 'rachet effect', and businesses use it to their advantage. I bought a 2001 model Giant OCR3 last year October for R3800. Now, the bike retails for about R6000 (2002 model, only the paint job has changed). Yep, the Rand is gaining strength, and the financial guru's reckon it will see R9.50 to the US$ by the end of the year, but you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll be paying more for your goodies.
A LBS I frequent had a Flite Titanium saddle for about R600. I returned a week later, and the exact same dusty saddle was suddenly R800! The shop owner shrugged his shoulders and said: "It's the damn exchange rate, you know". Yeah right!
 
One thing that shocked me in SA is the price of bike stuff! I've only been away a year and the prices has rocketed - seemed only yesterday a Dura Ace or Record group was under R10K.....

Must be getting old!

I've promised myself an awesome bike before I head home - gonna take my last paycheck (or two or three!) and spend spend spend!
 
Geez, My first Flite Ti saddle was about R450 back in 91/92 I think. Since then I have had 3 and the most I paid was R500. Now it would be impossible to get it at that price. Will have to spend more time out the saddle.

I say get another bike shop if they want to charge you a new price for an old saddle. I beleive that they cannot charge a new price on old stock. In fact I was in a shop where they had an identical item except that the one was an older part than the other. The old part was still at the old price and the new one was quite a percentage more. I took the older item and after paying asked why the other item cost more. The shop owner said that he didn't mark up the price on older products as he had it in stock before the prices went up.

Unfortrunately he runs out of old stock too often and rarely has an old item on the shelf for very long.

On the subject there is also another shop that I used to buy all my equipment from who when I went the other day still had an Elite Titanium waterbottle cage that they got in when I bought my first Flite saddle. The price! Same as it was back then... R125. Nobody could justify spending so much back then and it just sat there. Since then other shops opened up and this shop stopped supplying highend equipment (They are not a specialist cycle shop) and carried on as normal. I think I will go back and try strike up a deal on getting that cage for less. It's been there for over 10 years I am sure they will be happy to get rid of it for a good price....