Bivouac Sales / Exped Sleeping bags

the exchange rate is crap at the moment, i can save hundreds on a single item buying from america when the exchange rate is good. meh arteryx is over priced full stop. westcomb is made to the same standard and a lot cheaper.

You have no control over the exchange rate waynowski, so the prices are what they are which means it would be quite unusual to save hundreds on a single item in todays economy. Even a brand as overpriced as MSR would not have that much savings, A MSR Hubba Hubba NX can be gotten for $800 in NZ, the same tent retails for $584.08 at REI, or $700 after GST and freight is included... A little side note, just found out that MSR is now only charging $20 for international shipping for orders over $150 :)

Yeah, there's no doubt that Kathmandu, Macpac, and Torpedo7 and the like bump up their prices in preparation for their regular sales. Bivouac less so and they do stock many of the well know brands too. That said if you're looking at slepping bags, these polish guys are well priced http://sleepingbags-cumulus.eu/uk/categories/sleeping-bags/down-sleeping-bags I bought a sleeping quilt off them last year and it's been excellent. Particularly if you're sleeping in huts I find even a light sleeping bag too warm in late spring through early autumn. With a quilt it's easier to regulate the temperature better, and more lightweight too. Just to edit their sleeping quilts are on this page http://sleepingbags-cumulus.eu/uk/categories/sleeping-systems The 375g one has proved ideal for me, simply twinned with sleeping bag liner.

I disagree that they bump up prices prior to sales, but they have high prices all of the time with the intention of having regular sale. The mere fact that they have a constant 10-15% off for their club members demonstrates that. But it is the reality of the market, Mountain Design inflated their prices less, and only offered 20-25% off during their sale, and despite often being cheaper then Macpac/Kathmandu we know how that worked out for them.

i've bought a lot of gear when the exchange rate is good. i've bought numerous times overseas and often i've saved hundreds on individual items... theres usually something going at a good discount.

Getting off the original topic but following on wrt retail pricing in the outdoor market in NZ from a former retailers point of view. Yes prices are generally high all the time and this is so better "deals" can be offered during sales. To me this isn't good but it is a problem caused by retailers and consumers and no one party is to blame. I feel retailers offer too many sales periods and consumers expect too many discounts and discounts that are too high. As a retailer it is next to impossible to sell anything at retail price and very difficult to sell at even 20% off. If you're not hitting 40% to 60% off then product is not moving. The inflated sales price to allow large discounts is a model that has been successfully used by some big brands which I will not mention by name since people here don't seem to like this, but, it is fairly obvious who they are. Unfortunately, your average consumer then expects these same levels of discounts from all other brands and will not purchase unless the large discount is applied. The only way for retailers to do this is to have a higher retail price to start with. From (limited) time in Europe I have generally seen retail prices to be lower but the levels of sales discount to be much lower (usually tops out at 20 to 25%) as well. There is also fewer items on sale and sales are less frequent. (In NZ it's not uncommon for most of a store to be on sale whereas from what I saw in Europe it was more like 5 to 10% of the items as a rough estimate). In most cases it appeared items on sale in NZ were generally no worse priced than they were in Europe. Well that's my experience anyway. Re the original question wrt the sleeping bag: I've always worked on the theory value is in the eye of the beholder. Is the bag what you want, is it the item that best suits your needs, do you need it now, are you happy with the price (be it on special or not)? If the answer to these is yes then buy it if an answer is no then don't!

Thanks for the info everyone. @Dodgydave: Interesting perspective from a retailer. I guess irrespective of which pricing / sales model is 'better', once someone goes down the 'inflate ordinary prices, discount heavily' route, you're stuck with it, and everyone has to go down the same route to keep up. Has it's advantages in making people feel they got a good deal at 40% off, disadvantage is if you need something immediately (which I don't), I'll probably wait a bit and possibly look at one of those bags from cumulus that lloydy mentioned. Now there's another topic, importing through overseas websites versus supporting local retailers...

what the retailers are selling for is to a large extent determined by the price distributors charge them to buy the product... NZ's a small market and there isnt much volume going on for distributors. so they charge a lot to make a living... tramping shops often have to have their shop in expensive locations to get enough shoppers with enough money to make a living, and the high rents throws the price even higher... independant shops are closing up all over the country. there is only one left in auckland, all the rest are chain stores look at all the aussie companies that have shut up shop here... the berghaus distributor got out of the game a while back. so did columbia..

Thing to watch if shopping overseas is that you might not be getting what you think esspecially if not shopping in a known authorized distributor for that product. Most but not all have a list of these on there websites. Go to a certain internet marketplace which I wont name but will say that Disney did a film about it 50 years before it existed containing 40 thieves and you can buy whatever brand you want. Often you select the product then specify to the seller what brand you want it to be. Some stuff is good but not all. A pair of ski pants I bought for the wife are good enough quality but the xxl size is a good fit on me and I normally wear M. Searching the site I deliberately avoided all those with Columbia or similar brand names and bought the unbranded one. It arrived branded Columbia but is missing several of the features to prove it genuine according to the Columbia website. I dont care but it shows how hard it is to avoid counterfeits.

The other major point to consider with buying in NZ vs online from overseas is after sales service. If you have a warranty claim it's a lot simpler and less costly to sort it out if you are dealing with a retailer in NZ who is dealing with an authorised distributor (wholesaler) in NZ. Also a lot easier to exchange if you find the item is the wrong size/shape/colour/whatever.