Calling all Kiwis

Gidday!

I've recently been quoted NZ$113 (that's nearly 60 quid, for the UK audience) for a Recoil thread repair kit, M3 size. The best NZ price I've found is about $85. Still twice the UK price for something originating in the nearby primitive island to our west. What's going on here? We are being ripped off! The best(?) example was $600 in the big, orange DIY chain, for a Henry vacuum cleaner that could be had in UK for less than 100 quid. What???!!!

So, the question to my fellow Kiwis is: where do you get your stuff at sensible prices (including freight)?

Question to the Brits. It used to be called 'Rip-off Britain': have things changed?

Still is rip off Britain.

Have you looked on ebay for M3 helicoils? Not a known brand but NZ about 30 bucks I'd think.

Do a search for M3 Helicoil on ebay Australia (the primitive Island to your west ) and they should come up on top of the list.  This is the item number at the moment :  301530201668

Edited By D Hanna on 19/08/2018 14:12:23

The recoil repair kit is £26.98 from recoil on there web site if you cannot order from them I could possibly help and post one to you after buying one from recoil here.

David

I recently purchased a kit - 1/4 unc from bunnings , they also do metric sets but i don't know about bunnings in NZ . The sets are around $50 . You could also try a bearing supplier as well sometimes they have a little rack of these in the corner of the shop .

I just had a look at thr recoil kits that Blackwoods NZ  sell and you are looking at around the $100 mark for them , the sets bunnings here sell are sutton and you only get the tap, the tool to screw the insert in and a few inserts where as the recoil kit has the drill and a few other bit in it . Hare and forbes also do a kit but i think it starts at 6 mm and does up to 12mm .

Jaycar in NZ  do a kit  for 3mm and a few other sizes

Edited By XD 351 on 19/08/2018 18:41:45

Edited By XD 351 on 19/08/2018 18:46:23

https://www.carbidenz.co.nz/v-coil-thread-repair-set-m3-x-.5.html

he also has spare coils in 1.5D and 2.5D

https://www.carbidenz.co.nz/v-coil-thread-repair-insert-m3-x-.5-x-2.5d-10-pack.html

Very good to deal with. If the order is in by 4pm, it will arrive by courier the next morning.

I could not find spare coils on Jcar website. The V-Coil is German made kit and a very good quality product.

Neil

The v coill kit looks the biz ! I doubt the jaycar unit would be even remotely close to the same quality , i might have a look aroung for an Australian distributor of v coil !

Depends on how fast you need it.

Have you tried Aliexpress?

**LINK**

or

**LINK**

Bruce (Wgtn)

I bought a Proxon saw including delivery direct from a retailer in Germany for less than the UK importer pays for it. No hassle at all, just pay by paypal or credit card. Had to change the plug, but that's no big deal. Always worth checking price in other countries.

I've bought thread coils from Aliexpress (not M3) which seemed fine.

I still can't understand how I can buy stuff with free shipping from China (to NZ) for less than the cost of postage from supplier in the same city as me. Someone told me China is classed as a 3rd world country so they get free postage, but that doesn't sound right.

Postage can be a little slow, but often I receive stuff within 7-10 days

Bought a BlueTooth dongle from China for $2, including shipping. Not here yet, shipping is 4 weeks. Lowest price in the stores is $22+tax. Will see how well it works when it arrives.

David. Many thanks for your kind offer of practical help. I think the Helicoil/Recoil problem is solved - I've found a UK supplier willing to post overseas. This, of course, avoids the VAT, and the odd tax rules here mean that the local VAT-equivalent isn't charged for packages of less value than about 200 quid. (The tax-hungry new NZ government may change this in the near future. Amazon, now with a base in Oz, have threatened to stop supplying NZ if this happens, not willing to be unpaid tax collectors. I couldn't blame them.) So, ironically, I may be able to get them here cheaper than you can in UK, even after the things have needlessly circumnavigated the globe. The lunatics are running the asylum.

Thanks also to everyone else. Can I modify my original question? Where do Kiwis get engineering equipment (not just Helicoils) at sensible prices, other than China?

And what is wrong with China???

Most of the tooling etc I have purchased via Aliexpress has been excellent quality

Edited By Bruce Edney on 24/08/2018 06:21:42

Carbiidenz I think is the best there is. Particularly because he will sell inserts one at a time, and there is next day delivery as well. Has a lot of things and runs specials every now and then.

Neil

I have used ctc in china for lathe / mill tooling - they make good stuff at reasonable cost although shipping was a little expensive but it was insured and shipped by tolls and hit my doorstep inside 48hrs so the $50 delivery seemed reasonable - trick is to fill up with as much product you can fit into the weight window so you get the best bang for your buck . There seems to be a proliferation of Aussie youtubers doing reviews on the gear from bangood , i haven't used them yet but so far from what i have seen these youtubers have been pretty happy with the gear they bought .

Engineering supplies is a pretty broad subject and covers a lot of different catagories , i buy a fair bit of stuff from blackwoods but things like taps and dies , cutting tools and measuring tools came from ebay but you need to know what something is worth new so you can see if it is a bargain or a rip off .

Hare and forbes love me ! Although i am now at the point where i have already made my major purchases from them and usually only buy bits and pieces from them now .

And as usual the standard disclaimer applies for the companies i have mentioned !

As Bruce suggests the first place to look always is Alibaba or Aliexpress

US$3.24 for a pack of 100 here **LINK**

with the tooling and 50 inserts

US$10.69 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50pcs-Stainless-Steel-Coiled-Wire-Insert-Thread-Repair-Insert-Helical-Screw-Threaded-Inserts-Kit-M3-x/32908210666.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10065_10151_10344_10068_10342_10547_10343_10340_10059_10341_10548_10696_100031_10084_10083_10103_10618_10307_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_56,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=1ccad54c-51c0-4bb9-80f0-32e41b5412f5-2&algo_pvid=1ccad54c-51c0-4bb9-80f0-32e41b5412f5&priceBeautifyAB=0

(no idea what happened with the link there but it works)

Pete (NZ)

Edited By Doubletop on 24/08/2018 08:17:43

.

This should work equally well, Pete: **LINK**

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50pcs-Stainless-Steel-Coiled-Wire-Insert-Thread-Repair-Insert-Helical-Screw-Threaded-Inserts-Kit-M3-x/32908210666.html

Everything from the ? onward in your link is just tracking how you reached the page.

MichaelG.

Ah, chink, sounds of penny dropping.
Thanks MichaelG

DaveD