Thread: The prices we pay

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

I still don't understand how I can buy a made in China product from the U.K or the U.S for 1/3 of the Aussie local price and the o'seas mob can also offer free postage?????

Did Simonl answer that question earlier....greed

Originally Posted by eskimo

Did Simonl answer that question earlier....greed

It's definitely a point because the U.S and U.K sellers must be making money, or they wouldn't be selling. And the oft used excuse of that they have a bigger market, doesn't fly either, because there's nothing stopping an Aussie eBay seller selling to the rest of the world like a U.S or U.K seller does.

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

It's definitely a point because the U.S and U.K sellers must be making money, or they wouldn't be selling. And the oft used excuse of that they have a bigger market, doesn't fly either, because there's nothing stopping an Aussie eBay seller selling to the rest of the world like a U.S or U.K seller does.

You guys don't get it.

The Aussie sellers wait for an order from a sucker, then *buy* the thing off of Ebay, then ship it to you, adding a fat margin for their difficult job in extracting value on the way.

OK some carry local stock - and some of their price increases are due to the cost of doing business in Australia. However, IMO generally they do not offer value for money WRT Chinese tools etc.

Bearings, OTOH, I buy from a bearing dealer if it's at all critical. But then I'm one of those people on the 80% discount.....

PDW

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

It's definitely a point because the U.S and U.K sellers must be making money, or they wouldn't be selling. And the oft used excuse of that they have a bigger market, doesn't fly either, because there's nothing stopping an Aussie eBay seller selling to the rest of the world like a U.S or U.K seller does.

or is it?

just went inside and made a coffee and saw an ad on TV

well known barbeque outlet..."buy this outdoor patio table setting for 1/2 price $499.00"....now no one can sell a product and make a loss. So profit margins at full tote odds must be high ...but why?
(Gerry Harvey and the like are always having 30% or more off sales.)

It has been said that there are too many sellers and not enough buyers..maybe this is a good point, but!

The latest is a call from experts for a lower minimum wage???..maybe they are right?

Lets look at the auto industry who are in the headlines of late...those workers get an average wage of $54k/yr for a normal working week plus shift and overtime allowances....now consider this so called non skilled workers wage against some one who has done an apprenticeship and who is supposedly skilled in his/her profession. He/she worked for many years on low wages???..

or should the auto workers keep those entitlements and we put tarriffs on car imports to prop that industry up and in return the workers current lifestyles?..is this the greed?

or IS IT ALL OF US....are our wages are too high...do we expect to keep up with Jones's and then have our unions fight for better wages and conditions ...at the expense of our jobs?..the auto workers seem to be or have/are working themselves out of a job...it will happen to all of us?

lots of questions to sort out...mmm

Originally Posted by PDW

But then I'm one of those people on the 80% discount.....

WHAT!!! you had better have a talk with your suppliers customer business manager...

Originally Posted by PDW

You guys don't get it.

The Aussie sellers wait for an order from a sucker, then *buy* the thing off of Ebay, then ship it to you, adding a fat margin for their difficult job in extracting value on the way.

You could be on to something.

Have a look at these for sale on ebay for $38.95 + $12.95 postage and they have sold 48 of them.

20 Drawer Storage Plastic Boxes Fischer Organiser Cards 2000 CT Capacity | eBay

Bunnings sell the exact same item, same manufacturer, same brand, identical product for $27.13 (on special at my Bunnings for $25.00 last two weeks).

Handy Storage 20 Drawer Compartment Organiser I/N 2580808 | Bunnings Warehouse


So you could be selling these on ebay, every time someone buys one.....go to Bunnies, take it to post office and make a profit of $11.82

Originally Posted by eskimo

well known barbeque outlet..."buy this outdoor patio table setting for 1/2 price $499.00"....now no one can sell a product and make a loss

Actually they do.....its called a lead loss. How many people buy the table and get suckered in to getting a shade umbrella to go with it?

I bet most of us see a lead loss every day. Our 2 biggest supermarket chains do it all the time. All those flowers out the front....yep 0% markup. Its a very cleaver marketing ploy that drives people to shop at the big outlets and ignore the little specialty shops.

WRT the whole discussion i agree, but......does anyone know the cost of retail or even wholesale space in Aus? i bet its a lot more than you think. We have 2 stores, one is in a small shopping center (15 odd shops with a major supermarket), and is 56 square m. Anyone want to take a guess what we pay in rent? I often wonder what space costs in other countries. We are very lucky in that you cannot really de-localise a florist. Even if you buy online the flowers have to come from a local source.....

Cheers,
Ew

Originally Posted by Ueee

Actually they do.....

I challenge that...sell a normal priced item of $1000.00 item for $499.00 and at a loss with the hope of selling anything else to make up the profit..bollicks!
small cost items yes...but not a $1000 unit....not even a normal priced unit for say $500...

to clear our redundant stock from say one store, maybe ....but not all stores nation/state wide

Originally Posted by Ueee

Anyone want to take a guess what we pay in rent? I often wonder what space costs in other countries.Cheers,
Ew

Totally understand overheads Ew such as rent, electricity, shop insurance, public liability, wages, telephone, advertising, shop fit out etc etc these all add to the real cost of running a business......but I would hazard a guess that a lot of eBay sellers work out of a spare bedroom or their garage and have no overheads and use the local post office as their office, their overheads would be none existent.

I'm not sure if a lot of retailers actually truly understand what online selling is going to do to them in the near future. An example would be today I was in looking at shoes at the Athletes Foot in a town an hours drive from my place. A pair of Asics took my eye, very nice and exactly what I wanted. The price was $178.99, just before I purchased them, had a look online on my phone and the exact same pair of shoes with free postage and bonus pair of socks and Adidas peak hat was $64.99........a saving of $114.00 on a pair of shoes made in China.

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

the exact same pair of shoes with free postage and bonus pair of socks and Adidas peak hat was $64.99........a saving of $114.00 on a pair of shoes made in China.

exact?

to be fair on that scenario FAKE might be a better word I think Jim
China is renowned for copying joggers etc

Well shipping a $100 pair of shoes around the world costs less than 1 % of that price.

From Westfield's submission to the Productivity Comission Enquiry into Retailing in 2011

(Boiling it all down, if it's cheaper to buy from the UK then there is no "wahhh wahhh it's cuz our rents are sooo high" excuse):


"In its submission Westfield provides a table comparing average rent costs per square metre in its Australian, US and UK shopping centres, which shows that the rise in value of the Australian dollar in the last six months means Australian retailers ($1,428 per square metre) are paying significantly higher rents per square metre than retailers in the UK ($1,270) and US ($586).




However, Westfield says such comparisons are misleading given the current high value of the Australian dollar and says using the 10-year long-term average Australian dollar exchange rate ($A1 = US$0.75) shows that rents per square metre in Australia are higher than the US ($830) but lower than the United Kingdom ($1,857).


Using the long-term average to draw comparisons, Westfield says rents are a function of the availability of retail floor space in each market.
“The United States has lower rents but approximately double the floor space per capita of Australia. The United Kingdom has higher rents than Australia but about 40% less floor space per capita than Australia.
Australia, it says, “has taken the middle ground between the US and the UK in providing neither too much nor too little floor space”.

Westfield are using the old "charging what the market will cop" idea, the US is about 60% less than us which is a fair bit. The background costs for business are certainly less than in Oz by a fair bit, just ask to see someone's workers comp bill sometime and tell me it is insignificant, I used to absolutely detest signing the cheque for that. The more you tried to reward the employee with a fair return for his work the higher the bill became therefore the customers copped it to cover the premium. I don't suppose this has any impact according to those who think all retailers in this country are ripping them off. Maybe they should be lobbying Westfield to lower the rent costs. I would think labour costs in Oz are near enough to 100% greater than the US or maybe even more? Does anyone want a drop in wages? i didn't think so.

Eskimo, i meant that the 499 would be cost, maybe with a tiny markup. I bet the RRP of $1000 is just a gimmick, maybe a 100% markup, and is only there to make the consumer feel that they are getting a good deal. There is a golden rule in retail.....you don't have to be the cheapest, you may even rip someone off. What matters is that the customer THINKS they are getting a good deal.

Anyway, for the main reason of this post. Its SWMBO's birthday in a few weeks, she wants some fancy knitting needles. None on ebay.....google lead me to a mob in the UK, 78+post pounds for a set of 8 pairs all the OS prices were about the same. So i look specifically for Aussie seller....$125 with free delivery for the same set. These are Euro made needles. Mind you, amongst the Aussie sellers there is huge differences too, up to $180 for the set

Ew