Thread: Tired of being robbed.

Originally Posted by Mychael

US site and it costs you about $80, try the same thing in Australia (which it forces you to do) and the same upgrade jumps to $200

Yeah but shipping costs... Ok, that one's a blatant rip-off.

More grumbling here: Why is Windows 7 so expensive in Australia? | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au.

The 'sell it cheap locally for market share and slug the foreigners' theory might have some merit.

We do fare well for the iPad2 though, see Price List and Comparison of iPad 2 in Various Country in The World | iPad 2 comparison price | myPCgadget. We're cheapest in the world bar the US, although you'd think China would be the cheapest.

It's actually worse then that. If say you have windows 7 home premium and you want to upgrade to 7 professional, all you need to purchase is an unlock key as what you installed from the original disk already has put all the data on your computer.
So that $80 Us $200Aus I quoted is all online, NO data download, no extra disk to buy. Just buying the unlock key.

Originally Posted by Dropcat

Yeah but shipping costs... Ok, that one's a blatant rip-off.

More grumbling here: Why is Windows 7 so expensive in Australia? | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au.

The 'sell it cheap locally for market share and slug the foreigners' theory might have some merit.

We do fare well for the iPad2 though, see Price List and Comparison of iPad 2 in Various Country in The World | iPad 2 comparison price | myPCgadget. We're cheapest in the world bar the US, although you'd think China would be the cheapest.

Originally Posted by Mychael

all you need to purchase is an unlock key

That's what I meant, usually the justification is shipping costs. A bit rude claiming that for just a code.

I did look for a country price comparison, but didn't find one. There are web proxies that let you select what country you are 'from', someone with a bit of time could work thru them & check. I was a bit surprised there isn't one (but I didn't look too hard).

Chatting with Friends on computer forums it seems it varies a lot from country to country. China being one of the cheapest.
I found it wont allow you to order from a country other then the one your operating system is registered in, so when I clicked on the link it automatically took me to the Aus site.
No doubt there would be ways to do it but I've not bothered.

Originally Posted by Dropcat

That's what I meant, usually the justification is shipping costs. A bit rude claiming that for just a code.

I did look for a country price comparison, but didn't find one. There are web proxies that let you select what country you are 'from', someone with a bit of time could work thru them & check. I was a bit surprised there isn't one (but I didn't look too hard).

Originally Posted by John Saxton

Was in Canada and the US recently and they are astonished to hear of the salaries we have here long service etc.

I guess the government(taxes) and the manufacturing importers are also going to take advantage of that (minimum wage salaries) in comparison too

cheers

Too true, however US citizens also have lower income tax rates/cost of living/housing market. Not saying I would ever move or want to live there, but there are definite pros to being in the US.

I'm entirely sick of the whole thing to be honest. My first port of call is always Australian retailers, however they just can't compare on price for so many things, especially speciality items like woodworking equipment. I can't see this as anything other than price gouging, sorry, and it's annoying every time my expectations for Australian business are dashed. It was almost cheaper for me to hardware (bolts, drawer runners etc) from overseas and have it shipped here, but thankfully I found a good store in Australia with the help of this forum.

Case in point is buying a Veritas vise and bench accessories. At Carbatec 4 x WonderPups, 4 x Bench Pup and 1 x twin screw vise is $661.00 delivered. To get it from fine-tools.com it is less than $485.00 including bank fees. The product is not native to either country and it only costs $25 more to get the item from Germany as it does to get it from Adelaide. To get two sets of Veritas shims sent to me from Adelaide I was quoted $15 in postage for 90 grams of product. Needless to say I am looking overseas as I don't like getting ripped off regardless of the price!

I am happy to pay a premium to support Australian business, however that premium is not up to 80-100% above the price for me to buy it overseas and have it delivered to me at retail shipping rates. I think everyone protects Australian business and throws the 'Protect Australian jobs' card far too early. Once I see evidence Australian business owners aren't trying to rort me I will support them.

END RANT

Originally Posted by Mychael

seems it varies a lot from country to country. China being one of the cheapest.

Part of that is "well, they'll pirate it anyway, so why not make it cheap". There was a cheap version only meant for developing countries as well.

Originally Posted by critterjg

Once I see evidence Australian business owners aren't trying to rort me I will support them.

Whilst everybody likes to get a better price (myself included) I don't think that you can necessarily put the blame for the price difference at the foot of the business owner. I don't see any woodworking business owners living high on the hog and they are generally hard working with a passion for the industry. If the money was so easy why wouldn't everybody be into it?

The big difference in cost is somewhere in the system but it doesn't necessarily end up on the pocket of the guy selling you the goods.

Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

Whilst everybody likes to get a better price (myself included) I don't think that you can necessarily put the blame for the price difference at the foot of the business owner. I don't see any woodworking business owners living high on the hog and they are generally hard working with a passion for the industry. If the money was so easy why wouldn't everybody be into it?

The big difference in cost is somewhere in the system but it doesn't necessarily end up on the pocket of the guy selling you the goods.

That is a very fair point that I often gloss over when making the decision to buy overseas! It would be interesting to get a first hand look into the reasons for the differences from a retailer. To be honest I would be far more inclined to pay a higher premium for Australian retailers if it was explained. I don't buy overseas purely because I can't afford the Australian prices, I buy overseas because I feel the retailer has worked harder to capture my business (if that makes sense) and obviously because of price disparity. I would honestly appreciate the input from someone more in the know here because if it is the workings of something outside the retailers control I am more than happy to admit my mistake.

Submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into the retail sector - CHOICE

Just a quick snapshot outlining what we've been talking about. I look forward to the article next month!

it might be more expensive now........but if we all only buy from o/s eventually there will be no local suppliers, the economy will slip and the dollar will drop, and then the cost from o/s will be high again
buy local where you can , give your kids a job
amen

Where Aussie businesses could win is by providing good face to face customer service, I am happy to pay more if it means I can walk into a shop and be served by a motived and knowledable person.
Unfortunately as we all have experienced this is not always the case, even at Carba-Tek I've been served by people who did not seem very interested or knowlegable about my particular query.

Places like Bunnings,Mitre 10, Total Tools usually even worse though to be fair I've occasionaly found a gem at Bunnies when I lucked out and was served by a real tradie who knew his stuff.

In Mulgrave (victoria) there used to be a place called 'McPhersons's Industrial Supplies'.. No self service as such you went over to the very long counter and waited to be served by a man wearing a grey dustcoat.

I used to be able to go in there and not knowing what sort of tool I needed tell them the task I wanted to do and if the tool existed they'd know about it and usually have it.

That's the sort of places I'd be happy to pay more for if they still existed. It's the reason I believe our local places are losing business, they cannot compete on price and now fail to offer the service to compensate.

The bigger issue is the long-supported practice in this country of allowing exclusive import licenses - outlawed in most other jurisdictions as anti-competitive. These allow the importer to make a very high margin before selling to the retailer - often 500% or more. In the USA, for example, this would never happen as someone else would see the opportunity and parallel import, offering a lower wholesale price. prices tend to be pushed down to cover costs, then a bit.

This is exactly why the book industry is squealing - massive markups at the wholesale level. Same with clothing, pet supplies etc. My family is involved in some of these industries and we often see 1000% or more between the Chinese manufacturers and the local wholesale. The poor retailer is often struggling to meet costs with his margins.

Originally Posted by mrmoon

it might be more expensive now........but if we all only buy from o/s eventually there will be no local suppliers, the economy will slip and the dollar will drop, and then the cost from o/s will be high again
buy local where you can , give your kids a job
amen

Sorry, but that is a slippery slope argument I just don't buy.