Genuine Ford parts - stupid pricing discrepancy

[BlueOvalPrint]

Heya all, just thought I'd post my experience from today.

I decided to get hold of a new serpentine drive (fan) belt for my 09 G6ET. It only has 55,000km on it but the belt on my 03 BA XR6T failed at 65,000km - not long after the last Dealer service - and damaged the front crank seal ($300 for parts and labour to fix), so as preventative maintenance I'll be replacing it myself.

I wanted a genuine Ford/Motorcraft belt but I thought I'd check out eBay to get an idea of prices for the belts in general. Among the listings I noticed there were a few sellers offering the genuine belt, including official Melbourne and Adelaide Ford dealerships. Around $28 for the belt from these dealers, plus $9 Registered post for a total of $37. Pretty good, I thought, and decided to call the local Ford dealer here in Canberra to find out if I could pick one up locally before the weekend for about the same price. Their price: just under $63!!! Yes, more than double the price for the exact same part (number SX862A), and even with postage the interstate dealers were still so much cheaper. I told the local dealer of the price difference; after he said it wouldn't be a genuine part (it is) and double-checking the part numbers, he wouldn't move on his price and said "I reckon you should buy two of those at that price"!

So - are the interstate dealers selling at/near cost and about to go out of business, or is my local dealer being greedy, or both?