"Australia Tax" -- Buying local vs. Ordering stuff online from overseas - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 07:14:28 am
content: I know this is common as hell over here, but it still shits me. Why is it that I can buy an Intel NUC from B&H Photo Video in New York delivered to Austraila, after currency conversion and taxes for less than I can get it for locally? Even Kogan (a dirt cheap online retailer) can't match the price (and I'm dubious about whether the Kogan comes in a "barebones kit" (which includes the VESA mount and power supply) or just the NUC itself.)I'm not an Apple fan at all, but even the new iPhone 6 SE or whatever it's called is AUD$100 more expensive, "just 'cause".It's not the first time I've bought off B&H either. I bought a camera stabiliser years ago which after shipping (the thing came in huge boxes) still saved me about $500-$600 off the retail price here.Surely we're notthatfar away from the rest of you are we??

author: GEuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 07:45:06 am
content: It goes like thisAnd has been for so long as you know1 set of piston rings for 1 piston and 4 needed on a 1983 Yamaha at all Yamaha stores in aus = $100 = $400 total , the bike is not worth that!On the bay from all overseas not just the states = around $30+/- the whole set!Same goes if need pistons , $100 each! so all up 800+ total already just for a rebore not including the rebore price , we be Scr*wed , and they like it .

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 11:22:44 am
content: QuoteThanks to those "free" government niceties that you all liked so much. Some has got to pay for them, right?

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 02:51:31 pm
content: In a lot of cases we still have the historic "UK tax" that 1 usd equals 1 gbp for "just because we've always got away with it" reasons. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the prices you're getting are for a similar reason.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 03:56:12 pm
content: Quote from: Halcyon on March 23, 2016, 07:14:28 amLook at the bright side, it protect all those cameras manufacturing jobs on your island.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 04:54:44 pm
content: Same in South Africa, just take the price in US dollars, convert to ZAR and then add the same again for shipping, then double that amount. So, an item that costs $50 is here going to retail for $150. Buying online and taking the crap shoot that the item will not be klepto'd by somebody in SAPO, or will spend 5 months on delivery, or paying through the nose for courier delivery ( and then paying again here for the privilege of getting it delivered to door or counter) still seems to come out ahead, unless you need it now.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 10:11:49 pm
content: Quote from: zapta on March 23, 2016, 03:56:12 pmIts not usually import taxes or tariffs that cause the inflated prices but rather greedy importers/wholesalers with "exclusive" distribution. A retailer may be paying more than the US retail price for a product they stock, when you start seeing supply chains from end to end the wholesaler will happily apply a 100% mark up to their prices and it requires big volumes to try and negotiate that downward.

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2016, 11:07:11 pm
content: QuoteIt is greed when one tries to maximize returns on their investments in the inventory, and infrastructure to provide services to their customers.It is perfect reasonable when you tries to maximize returns on your hard-earned dollars.No hypocrisy here at all,

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 12:39:00 am
content: Quote from: dannyf on March 23, 2016, 11:07:11 pmWhen they are using exclusive contracts to prevent parallel imports to retailers? When they dropship the product but want you to pay double the manufacturers selling price? Its not sustainable when we vote with our money and buy from overseas or a different brand.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 02:30:24 am
content: Quote from: GEuser on March 23, 2016, 07:45:06 amYamaha don't give a stuff about 1983 bikes---they just want to sell new ones.I needed to buy a LH flasher lens for my 1999 Toyota Camry.None at the wreckers,went to Toyota.Gone are the days when car parts were kept in stock in WA----"$350 & ten days for it to come from the East."For a bit of plastic!Ended up buying a Chinese knockofflocallyfor $59,& picked it up two days later.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 03:03:25 am
content: On the camera theme:Way back in "The Dream Time',I bought a Minolta SRT101 SLR camera for $A185.It was a good deal,as they were selling at just over $200 elsewhere in Perth WA,slightly above average SLR prices,but not a lot.In the USA,the same model was around US$235-$250 at the time,& pushing the 200 pound mark in the UK.It was a really nice SLR,but I couldn't for the life of me see the reason why the SRT101 sold at a premium overother top brands.In 1971,I was in Curacao,& watched Americans crowding a store to buy "cheap SRT101s".They were still more costly than the current Perth price,& way more than I paid just over three years before.When I reached the UK,Customs had to record the serial number "In case I sold it in the UK",& indeed,I received offers.Why would a Brit want to buy a secondhand Minolta,when for just a bit more,they could have had any of the other good brands?Inspired marketing?

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 03:21:11 am
content: Man, and I thought here it was bad enough with currency conversion when buying from the states. That's ridiculous.

author: Orpheus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 03:21:44 am
content: I love a good rant as much as anyone -- and you're hitting some of my favorite buttons to poke in my own rants, BUTThere's another factor at work here that's probably roughly as important (but less fun to poke at)Australia has a relatively small population (slightly larger than the New York Metropolitan Statistical Area), and very likely the buying demographics aren't helping you. How many Intel NUC barebones kits do you suppose were sold in the entire country last month, compared to say metro NYC or LA and Chicago? Those NUCs lose value (esp. in competitive markets) with each passing month, as new hotnesses emerge on the market.If that weren't true, you could get rich buying 10-100 of such small tech items (pretty much the same shipping cost as one) and selling them at "cheaper than AUS" prices. But instead, you'd be tying up your capital on a gamble, hoping that you can sell them all before the price drops to half. There are a lot of import-export firms -- some of them get rich on niche markets, most struggle to get by, and each year a good chunk die/bankrupt/"reorganize" to avoid their own debts.Similarly, to address the second example: how many sets of piston rings for 1983 Yamaha [your model] are bought in AUS each year? Would you like to be the one to keep some in stock to sell to your fellow 1983 Yamaha  riders? Heck for all you know, there are lots of people with a set in their garage that they'd be happy to unload for $40, but you don't know about them because they don't advertise them nationally each week. Technology can help here: eBay, for example -- and clever shopping, such as researching past sales to identify potentially relevant sellers for direct inquiry. But technology also puts China "just offshore".Look, Yamaha (or Intel) cares as little for me as for you, but when I need pistons for my antique '78 motorcycle, I'm somewhat at an advantage in a nation of over 300 million: larger national enthusiast networks; more fan-owned shops that buy entire warehouse closeouts of parts -- but it can still be a painful expense here. If I want to buy a NUC device, my local computer big box store has dozens in stock, because they'll all sell fairly promptly, due to the local uni/sci/tech/eng crowd.AU is a harder market to make a living in, else you'd all be richer than you are. But at least you get to live in AU.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 04:03:10 am
content: As in my first posting above:-Western Australia is in the same position w.r.t the rest of Oz,that Australia is to the rest of the world."10 days Ex East".for instance---Is that one day to buy a Chinese knockoff in Sydney,3-4 days to find some Toyota stickers,another day to stick them on,leave it hanging around in Despatch for a couple of days,then send it to the trucking company,who finally delivers it?A lot of it is perception:-Back in my TV Studio days,getting parts from Sony was a breeze--next Airfreight!Parts from Europe?A month would be cause for celebration----3 to 6 was common.I often thought that a fast Windjammer would be able to beat those times!OK,Japaniscloser,but Europeans tended to have the attitude "not in Europe,so who cares"!

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2016, 10:58:39 am
content: "When they are using exclusive contracts to prevent parallel imports to retailers? "Next time, try to get those exclusive distribution rights yourself and you will appreciate those greedy distributors a lot more.Don't let envy blind you.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2016, 01:40:37 am
content: Quote from: dannyf on March 24, 2016, 10:58:39 amGreedy distributors? What about greedy, selfish consumers, who don't care about the poor proles working in an overseas sweatshop to save these consumers a few pennies? Any why care when you can simply export your air pollution to overseas countries? Let's not forget selling out our own jobs to save yourself money. Roll up, roll up, everyone's a winner!The distributor is simply a reflection of the public they serve. Just like the politicians are simply a reflection of the people they are supposed to serve.