Thread: Encouraging Imports

Yeah, typical. Just yesterday I wanted to get a couple of good quality forester bits. 16mm, 18mm, 20mm and 22mm. I have a kit of the things but the cut quality is quite appalling really. I have a Bosch bit in a larger size and thought to buy the other required sizes in Bosch as well. The retailer who carries the range, think big box shop, doesn't have the sizes I want even though they are available from Bosch. Never mind, i'll go to another likely suspect and purchase the italian equivalent. Sup, they only had one of the sizes I wanted.

My next move is to get my local tool specialist to order the Bosch bits in for me. If that fails, I will import the Colt bits, since no one here seems to stock them.

Shocking really, but I'm not surprised.

Cheers

Looked at a Rockler jig. Their happy to sell it to me for $88.54AU plus $29.95AU shipping. Carbatec want $129 plus $18 shipping. Close enough to $28 cheaper to import

Originally Posted by Lappa

Looked at a Rockler jig. Their happy to sell it to me for $88.54AU plus $29.95AU shipping. Carbatec want $129 plus $18 shipping. Close enough to $28 cheaper to import

Honestly that's not bad compared to most Australia tax. They do have a business to run.

Originally Posted by bueller

Honestly that's not bad compared to most Australia tax. They do have a business to run.

Rockler has a business to run too so their obviously making a profit their happy with A 25% hike on import price is a little steep IMO

Originally Posted by Lappa

Rockler has a business to run too so their obviously making a profit their happy with A 25% hike on import price is a little steep IMO

$129 less GST and we're at around $117. So less than $30 difference in the retail prices. Hardly extortion.

Originally Posted by bueller

$129 less GST and we're at around $117. So less than $30 difference in the retail prices. Hardly extortion.

true - but still a 25% hike

So how much is too much markup guys?

I mean given the inordinately high cost of wages (including tax, super and comp levies on top thereof), warehousing, transport and logistics, regulatory compliance, insurance, and on and on and on... at what point do you choose to stop supporting local business?

Supporting domestic industry comes at a price, we all know it. The real question is at what point do the rest of us stop supporting you lot as well because it does not matter what industry you're in... someone somewhere in the world can replace the whole dammed lot of us, or replace enough of us that theres no money to go around to spend on the "irreplaceables" or enough tax base to fund the "funded by the public purse".

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Why are Australian businesses encouraging us to import?

Last Wednesday at 6.00 pm I split an order between an Australian and an overseas supplier.

The Au$150 order from Ireland arrived this morning.

Even though we paid a premium for express delivery the other $350+ order it has not yet left Melbourne. Slack supplier, no communication.

Suppose I shall byepass the middle man next time - obviously he does not want my order, even tough he took my money within seconds!


Cheers

Graeme

Maybe they are waiting on their internet order of your order to arrive before they can send it. Savy as Cap'n Jack Sparrow would say.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Rockler has a business to run too so their obviously making a profit their happy with A 25% hike on import price is a little steep IMO

you're being most unfair. I'll go further and say "grossly unfair".

Rockler's prices DO NOT include tax while local prices do.

AND Australia is an obscenely expensive place to live. some examples
coffee and cake for 2 in a coffee shop within Chatswood Chase cost the same as dinner for three in Tokyo 2 days before.
4 weeks accommodation at a Swiss ski resort costs less than a week's accommodation in Jindabyne.

The reason ?
a combination of very high land vales (which translates to very high rents) and very high wages translates to very high (dare I say noncompetitive?) Australian domestic costs.

and no Australian property owner wants to contemplate a reduction in land values.

Originally Posted by ian

you're being most unfair. I'll go further and say "grossly unfair".

Rockler's prices DO NOT include tax while local prices do.

AND Australia is an obscenely expensive place to live. some examples
coffee and cake for 2 in a coffee shop within Chatswood Chase cost the same as dinner for three in Tokyo 2 days before.
4 weeks accommodation at a Swiss ski resort costs less than a week's accommodation in Jindabyne.

The reason ?
a combination of very high land vales (which translates to very high rents) and very high wages translates to very high (dare I say noncompetitive?) Australian domestic costs.

and no Australian property owner wants to contemplate a reduction in land values.

Grossly unfair?
See above - even with sales tax taken off its still a 25% hike on Rockler's retail price.
My point is that Rockler has a list price which has a margin on manufacturer cost, they sell to Carbatec (importer) at a reduced price from their list price. Carbatec adds a margin plus tax. Why the extra 25%?

You can go on about cost of living, wages etc. etc. and guess what? That effects me as well as Carbatec so if they want to add 25% on top of their margin, fine, I'll import it in myself.
Cheers

Originally Posted by Lappa

Grossly unfair? See above - even with sales tax taken off its still a 25% hike on Rockler's retail price. My point is that Rockler has a list price which has a margin on manufacturer cost, they sell to Carbatec (importer) at a reduced price from their list price. Carbatec adds a margin plus tax. Why the extra 25%? You can go on about cost of living, wages etc. etc. and guess what? That effects me as well as Carbatec so if they want to add 25% on top of their margin, fine, I'll import it in myself. Cheers

Sadly that's the mentality of a lot of people in Australia, and no doubt, many in this group will be first to point the finger at someone else when they can't get a job. We don't manufacture much here because people saw better value in imports, I see a 25% markup as more than fair as there would also be duty on top of the 10% GST. I generally try not to buy direct from the manufacturer if the product is for sale at a similar price elsewhere, A- It can mean they make crazy profits and B- It helps keep other people in jobs if I buy from a retailer. Hopefully whoever is running the country next year brings in the promised lower personal import threshold, that would help small business immensly.

Originally Posted by Enfield Guy

Y...... If that fails, I will import the Colt bits, since no one here seems to stock them.....

Cheers

I imported a set of Famag Bormax forstner bits - brilliant, possibly even better than Colt.
Forstner Bits | FINE TOOLS

They do not seem to be available outside Europe.


Fair Winds

Graeme

Originally Posted by Lappa

Grossly unfair?
See above - even with sales tax taken off its still a 25% hike on Rockler's retail price.
My point is that Rockler has a list price which has a margin on manufacturer cost, they sell to Carbatec (importer) at a reduced price from their list price. Carbatec adds a margin plus tax. Why the extra 25%?

You can go on about cost of living, wages etc. etc. and guess what? That effects me as well as Carbatec so if they want to add 25% on top of their margin, fine, I'll import it in myself.
Cheers

my core point was that Australia is an obscenely expensive country and that obscenity in costs is reflected in our retail pricing.

From where I'm currently living 25% seems reasonable given what I know about relative rents, wages and pricing structures.
You're comparing Rockler's MAIL ORDER price with Carbatech's RETAIL price. Depending on the county where you do an over the counter transaction, the Rockler list price will increase an item's price by up to 12% to account for the local Sales tax.

So a 25% mark-up (over US mail order plus shipping) seems reasonable.
I'm not saying 25% is acceptable -- just that it's reasonable given the circumstances. what is.

If Aussies want to consistently pay US comparable prices for consumer type items, then
the current minimum wage needs to be halved, with flow-on effects for occupations where the wage rate is based on a multiple of the minimum wage.
YOUR annual leave entitlement is reduced to 1 week.
YOUR house needs to devalue by about 50% so the decreased land value is reflected in rents comparable to those in the US
superannuation payments from YOUR employer needs to decrease to around zero

I'm using capitals to make the point that to get Australian retail prices down to values comparable with the US will result in a major decrease in personal wealth for all Australians.

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

Hopefully whoever is running the country next year brings in the promised lower personal import threshold, that would help small business immensly.

Given the Canadian experience I would think this by itself is unlikely.

The low personal import threshold in Canada seems to translate to
1. Inordinate delays with Canada Post -- Fence Furniture sent me some drill bits that took around 5 weeks to clear Canadian Customs. (that's after allowing 2 weeks for the air mail package to fly across the Pacific from Katoomba)

2. outrageous "service fees" from the likes of UPS and FedEx. Using UPS Ground to ship Lappa's Rockler jig into Canada would cost him an additional CAD$26 plus the provincial GST of somewhere between 5 and 10%.


have a read of this to see what the additional costs might look like under a private market administered low value threshold of say $20 https://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/sh...clearance.html