We are currently being hit by a number of financial factors that affect the prices of our products, For a while, we absorbed some of the increases but there comes a time when we need to cover costs. This enterprise was not set up to make us rich, but we cannot operate without covering our costs. Over the past 3 years, freight costs have increased between 30% and 300% depending on where we source our products. Clearly, we always choose the cheapest option but this sometimes had the affect of delaying the receipt of the goods by weeks or even months. On top of this, the maufacturers have all suffered from the same cost increases and have elected to increase prices as well. In some cases, they have not been able to source the basic materials to make certain products and have had to make decisions regarding the production of these products.
Then we have the Australian Dollar drop by almost 10%, thus increasing the cost of our imports by this margin. While the foriegn exchange is fluctuating, we will absorb the smaller rises and falls but may need to adjust prices for large fluctuations. When the dollar settles, we can go back to maintaining steady pricing, as we have done in the past.
To help our customers, we will only increase prices on those goods that are received from now on. If you see a product that is cheaper than something similar e.g. different coloured wire, it will be because the dearer product will be stock received recently. This does not make the cheaper product inferior, it was simply purchased while costs were lowert han they are now. Eventually, all the older stock will be gone, and we will be back to normal.
In the meantime, take advantage of the cheaper buys, if you can.
Regards,
Dan
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