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Yeah that's largely what I was getting at. My original point was that to start a company importing frame or wheels it's not a simple as buying £400 frames and selling them at £800 for 100% profit, there's a lot more costs and liability involved which pushes up the RRP and reduces profit.
Sumo-
Yes, exactly. There's a reason why we don't see people importing those wheels and selling them for £450 or £500 - it just doesn't work unless you put in a big mark-up.
It's the same for the big manufacturers: if we could see inside their cost struture, I'm sure we'd find most of it in the West, where they market and sell the wheels, not in China, where they make them.
frank9755
Sure, it costs a fair bit to go out to China to find good suppliers, to have a UK head office and marketing operation, and to make a profit. That's where the difference in price goes. Also Hunt will probably be able to buy those wheels in bulk for £300 or £250 each, not £400.
The main benefit of an operation like Hunt is that they largely prevent you buying a lemon - a really poor quality or dangerous wheel from a seller who doesn't know what they are doing, because they put in the time to find decent manufacturers. I can't believe they individually test every wheel they import and sell on. Their two main core competencies, and the backgrounds of the founders, are procurement and marketing.
It's a good business selling decent wheels at a price that its mostly very satisfied customers are very happy and willing to pay. The only minor flaw is that its success depends, to an extent, on people believing that it is something that it is not.
Not picking on Hunt in paticular, same with PX, Flo, and the guys who are re-painting the HongFu frame.