Pricing Policy

Our aim is to provide you with the best quality products at the best possible price. Although some of our products are not cheap (ATX & Ironmaster Gym Equipment), they are priced competitively making them excellent value. Some of our products are cheap, but they are great quality and even better value.

We achieve this by keeping our overheads low – our warehouse is old and rundown but cheap. We don’t have fancy offices. We use generic or recycled packaging. I ride my push bike to work. Anything to keep a lid on costs in an environment of ever increasing prices.

The C Word

Covid has flipped the World on it’s head, especially for the gym equipment market. It spiked demand which has led to an average cost increase of 30 to 40% on most items. Sea freight went through the roof, up to a 300% increase on some costs. Shipping within Australia also went bananas. We used to be able to ship hex trap bars to Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra for $50-$60. Now it is more like $160.

I don’t need to tell you that these cost increases have not been confined to gym equipment. Whether it is a trip to the supermarket or a feed at your favourite restaurant, you would have noticed that prices have been steadily increasing. To further rub salt in the wound, interest rates are on the rise. This not only affects homeowners with mortgages, but renters whose landlord also has a mortgage.

As a result we have streamlined everything to make it simple and efficient. We always have been, but now we are just taking it to the next level. A lot of the things we are doing are different to our competitors. There is a good reason for this. Covid introduced a lot of new competitors to the market. In my opinion too many for the post covid demand. My belief is that if we don’t do something different we may not survive.

For years we used to put together package deals. We would either offer a pay upfront discount or finance. During covid we stopped nearly all packages as it was a nightmare as we had bugger all stock. We would have the power rack and weights, but no barbells as an example.

During this time ATX has continued to expand their range. If we were to do power rack packages there would be a lot of work managing them. There are so many racks, barbells, benches and weight plates to choose from. Whatever package we put up, nearly all customers would like to modify some part. This takes time, sending emails back and forth. It is just easier for everyone if we offer a lower price and get the customer to add whatever they want.

Our time is better spent on advising customers who are new to training what equipment will best suit their training needs.

 The other issue at the moment is that prices are constantly changing. Every container that arrives requires some adjustment to prices. This would also create a lot of unnecessary work at the moment.

No business is offering these buy now pay later options for “free”. This percentage is built into their retail price. The reason I don’t like this is because all prices are inflated to compensate. Therefore people that pay upfront are subsidising those that use these options.

Instead of cutting a finance company into a deal, I would much prefer that value gets passed onto the customer. Plus I am a bit old fashioned in my thinking that if you can’t afford something then don’t buy it.

Training and a healthy lifestyle make you a better person. But it involves discipline and sacrifice. Your financial well being is equally as important. Learning to budget and save is as important as lifting weights in my opinion. Especially at the moment when there is so much uncertainty surrounding the economy.

For our range of ATX and Ironmaster gym equipment price matching is not an issue. We are the exclusive distributors for Australia.

We do however offer generic items like weight plates, rubber hex dumbbells, barbells, cable attachments etc. Although these items may look the same as a competitors on a flash website, the quality does vary. Sadly, many people found out the hard way when they purchased some real junk off new entrants during covid.

When buying these items, you have the option to get different levels of quality at corresponding prices. We always opt for the better quality. No use buying a schmick ATX power rack with Ironmaster Bench and rounding it out with cheap barbell that rotates on PVC bushes.

Our Power Maxx barbells look generic, but they are very well built for the money. They have become popular with gyms who are looking for a real no frills work horse.

I guess sales are handy if you are over stocked on certain products and you need cash in a hurry. As a conservative businessman I have not needed to do this. Plus when the market for gym equipment is cold you are lucky to give the stuff away.

Black Friday sales is just another trashy piece of American culture we have inherited. Some places specifically get in cheap junk to lure those who get caught up in the hype.

The post covid environment makes these type of sales even more unappealing from a business owner’s perspective. Staff shortages are rampant. The transport system has improved but still it is not back to pre-covid efficiency.

Having a sale creates a spike in your workload. Then the transport system gets overloaded. Instead of offering a cheaper price for a few days it makes more sense to me to offer solid price consistently.