Australia is a rip off

[dik cheney]

I was looking at a pair of Rayban 3267's today, from a sunglass store at the mall. Nice glasses, retailing for $259. But why would I pay that when online from the USA there between $120-142 aud, and thats including the $30 usd postage.

To give another example I need a flight bag, the Jepps captian bag looks good. $252 from downunderpilotshop.com.au, but hang on, mypilotstore.com sells them for $120 aud plus shipping.

Thinking of buying a Garmin 495? Why would you get one from Australia when buying one online from the US will save you $800 aud. :ugh:

[Howard Hughes]

But if you need to claim on warranty it becomes a little difficult and expensive! :ooh:

[The Green Goblin]

Serrengetti sunnies are the ticket, and retailing over $400 in a mall (or less than $150 on ebay :))

[lk978]

you will also need to get yourself:

- 4 gold bars, wont be long before your capt
- Leather flying jacket, has to be one with the wool collar
- Full set of world wide jepps just in case
- The biggest leatherman yocan find
- Pilot bag tag to put on all your bags so people know your a pilot when your checkng in
- Don't forget the wings

:}

Sorry couldnt help myself, I buy all my stuff from the states there is even mail forward companies that will give you a US address to ship to as some companies won't accept an Aussie address

[Fliegenmong]

:uhoh:......I have a Leather flying jacket :8..with a wool collar :} removable :cool:...Tommy Hilfiger (?) was $900, picked up at an outlet store in Aurora, outside Chicago for $90 :ok:

I love it, will have at the very least 10 years worth out of it :ok: warmer than for what I need mostly around my home town.....Prolly more than 10 yrs...less than 10 bucks a year........It was a good buy

....I do look as though I am going to Bomb Nazi Germany though...:hmm::rolleyes::p

Remind me to post in 2018, it may need a clean by then :ok:

[Jazzy78910]

I buy a lot of gear from overseas because of the ridiculous price difference. Be a well-informed consumer and learn about the warranty on each product before purchase.

My US-purchased David Clark HS has an International Warranty, and was serviced last year in Australia.

Non electronic items like Flight Bags and Sunglasses rarely require warranty claims unless they're faulty out-of-the-box (covered by seller in most cases - check before purchase).

Larger items will incur huge International postage costs in most cases, so most of the savings are had with physically smaller products.

Do your homework and shop with the company offering the price and support that suits you. I think you'll be surprised at the standard of service offered by the US sellers.

[404 Titan]

One other item not mentioned is GST. Keep your purchase to less than AU$1000 and there is generally no import duty and/or GST.

[AVIATOR1982]

Just so you know the reason this stuff is expensive is because its all imported. Any business wishing to sell such goods gets robbed by the government for 5% duty PLUS 10% gst and then you add on expensive shipping from the USA and things get very costly. Non of these products are made here, they all HAVE to be imported from a distributor in the states. Now you would like to think that some of you would support AUSTRALIAN retailers otherwise when you need one they won't be there. Some of us are doing our best to be reasonable with prices but there is a limit.

[AVIATOR1982]

And maybe you'd like to pay the owners of the site to advertise?

Much Ado

[tmpffisch]

Green Goblin is correct, forget this Ray Ban crap and go Serrengetti's. Play the pilot card at the wholesaler and you'll get 50% off.

[dik cheney]

Can anyone recommend a model of the Serrengetti's, and where to find the best price? :ok:

[Capt Fathom]

Perhaps if we supported the local bloke more regularly, the price here in Australia may not be so high.

We are our own worst enemies!

Getting down from horse!

[27/09]

Things are no different on this side of the ditch. The only positive thing about that is it's comforting to know we're not the only ones being ripped off.

AVIATOR1982

I don't know about Oz ,but over here duty, if payable, is paid on any import no matter who the importer is and GST applies to all imports over $400.

I make the following points:

These cheaper overseas prices are retail prices, one would presume that a local agent for any of these items would be buying them at a Trade or wholesale price which would be below these retail prices.

Everyone pays for freight not just the agent.

The issue of warranty has been covered, but I would add that any warranty claims sustained by a local agent are more than likely to be recovered from the manufatcurer anyway. So no net loss to the agent.

So while I have sympathy for you if you are being undercut by an overseas retailer, I don't accept your argument as to why things are so much dearer in this part of the world.

Many retail prices in OZ/NZ do not stand up to scrutiny and are higher than they should be.

Oh, by the way Seregettis are over rated :)

[AVIATOR1982]

@ 27/09

I agree with your points, however here it is not that simple. Duty and GST is only charged on imports over $1000 therefore its very hard to match the prices of overseas traders as essentially they are selling tax free.

As a retailer it is not economical with shipping to bring in under $1000 of stock at a time it simply does not work. I agree there are some shops being greedy with pricing but it is not all of us.

Also traders importing are exposed to currency fluctuations, you might buy at say .85 AUD to the USD and then a week later it is .92 AUD to the USD This effectively wipes out any margin you had if you want to compete on price.

To be honest the whole buying from the USA being cheaper thing is a bit of an illusion anyway. Shipping tends to negate any savings on anything in excess of 1kg anyway.

For example most of the stores in the states will charge around USD$90 to ship a Jeppesen bag to Australia. So yes the prices look inviting there but in reality you will pay the same if not more by the time you have changed your money.

[tinpis]

Watch out for Malaysian Ray Bans, Serengetis etc
Its not hard to store front them from the States

[AVIATOR1982]

And to the MODS that altered my most, Fair enough although I did not exactly ADVERTISE, I deliberately refrained from mentioning any names or posting any links. I was simply offering a fellow aviator the option of supporting a business in his own country instead of sending his money overseas.

Like I said though fair enough!!!:ok:

[techsupport]

There are also other costs borne by Australian distributors, which US operators don’t have. Most electronic equipment from USA/China/EU comes with CE and FC certification. However that is not acceptable in Australia. To offer most types of electrical equipment for commercial sale in Australia, the distributor must submit the equipment to a designated testing laboratory for Australian C Tick and/or A Tick compliance approval. (Look for a symbol with black circle and white tick, or white circle and black tick with N number beside on your power adaptor / computer / almost everything)

This testing costs $x000 which is paid for not by the manufacture but the Australian distributor. N certification numbers are only provided to resident individuals/companies/businesses.

Do you break the law by importing equipment from USA without C Tick approval? For personal use probably not, but for commercial resale, definitely yes.

Don’t know if sunglasses have compliance certification requirements different to the rest of the world?????

[desmotronic]

Aviator1982/Much ado given the appreciation of the oz$ have you passed this windfall onto your customers? :hmm:

[Nick.]

tmpffisch,

Can you get the Serengetis discount at DFO YMMB or do you need to go to the Bolle outlet in Collingwood?

[Peter Fanelli]

It goes both ways, you wouldn't believe how much Vegemite costs here in the USA.
And meat pies!!!

:eek:

[fl610]

It goes both ways, you wouldn't believe how much Vegemite costs here in the USA.
And meat pies!!!

You want a cheaper alternative for vegemite Pete? Lie down on a wet road and lick the tar! :}

[Dragun]

Perhaps if we supported the local bloke more regularly, the price here in Australia may not be so high.

We are our own worst enemies!

Actually, I would suggest the reason the price of items is so high (aside from economies of scale and our ridiculous taxes and tariffs) is because people in this country are stupid enough to pay it! It's supply and demand - if people STOPPED paying for things here, the demand goes down and therefore the price would come down. The fact that people just keep paying ridiculous prices for things that can be bought for half price overseas just keeps the prices up because the retailers are getting away with it.

[another superlame]

Well said Dragun

You only have to look as far as Woolies and Coles to know the average Australian consumer is being raped and pillaged on pricing.

They charge it because most people pay it, and when they are allowed to increase their market share,drive their competitors out of business and take control of other sectors like fuel,banking,hardware and the like it just gets worse.

So at the end of the day it comes down to corporate greed and reduction in competition,the little bloke doesn't have a chance. If you can save a couple of hundred dollars over then net you would be mad not too

[Jethro Gibbs]

A retail store that i have good knowledge of mark up on there buy price is 280 to 300 % or more

[pilot2684]

Senegetti's are very very expensive. I went with a set of Maui Jims, as they are a lot nicer, and easier to wear. Polarised Glass too :)

[Super Cecil]

I went with a set of Maui Jims, as they are a lot nicer, and easier to wear. Polarised Glass too

Does make it a bit hard on some flat screens or GPS screens :8

[AVIATOR1982]

@desmotronic of course we have, we have a basic percentage margin that is fixed. Anything below this is not possible to operate the business and make a profit. To be honest the way it is at the moment its virtually not worth being in business, which in turn will lead to prices actually going up due to less competition. So Dragun's argument does not really stand up to scrutiny either, if people stop buying from here companies go bust, leading to less competition and in turn higher prices.

Im a bit baffled as to the hostility towards Australian retailers from some of you, the more you keep your money in Australia the better the Australian economy will be and in turn the more jobs there will be. If you keep sending your money overseas you will just make America richer and the USD stronger.

[Dragun]

Companies don't necessarily go bust if people stop buying their product, they first reduce the price to entice buyers. If people continue to stop buying the product at the cheaper price, then the company may go bust.

Kinda like airfares in the last year or so wouldn't you say? Airlines reduced the price of tickets to keep customers in the market once they started to drop off due to the high price when times were tough. It's pretty simple - supply and demand.

[Runaway Gun]

I dunno. If business was that simple, we'd all be doing it. And we'd all be rich.

Me thinks it's more complicated. And I also think that retailers don't make as much money as we might think, when you consider their massive expenses.

But hey, what do I know? I keep my life relatively simple and fly for a living.

[The_Pharoah]

someone mentioned shipping agents in the US who could provide US addresses which they'd pick up from and ship to us here in Aust - can you let me know which freight co? I spotted something for $99 USD on Amazon but they don't ship int'l :ugh:

[Rich-Fine-Green]

If you really want to see a rip-off;
Check out what the USA pays for cars and what we pay for cars....

[The_Pharoah]

look at it this way, everything is connected. We live in what has to be the best country on earth (no wars, relatively low unemployment, medicare - for what its worth, relatively high salaries, beautiful cities, nice roads, etc) but it comes at a price. Its all macro economics mate.

[b_sta]

Gotta agree with Dragun here! On the microeconomic level (company to company), increased sales (that is, spending by us) will result in an increased level of supply and higher prices. And similarly, on a macroeconomic scale, more spending in-country on consumer goods results in increased GDP, higher incomes and higher costs (commonly known as 'inflation'!) Stop paying ridiculous prices here, and prices will fall. That's why I bought my Serengetis from the US for all of 40% of the Australian price :ok:

[rotatejunkie]

Hi all,
I recently bought three pairs of AO Eyewear aviators. from a US online shop (web address can't be printed)

Their service is prompt and correspondence is prompt as well.

I bought the Flight-Gear II models. Size 52mm.
Purchase price: AU$100-130 per piece, including shipping.

They also carry the classic square frame Aviators made famous by the US Naval aviators.

They are NOT polarised, as it may affect distortion of colours on the steam-gauges or LCD display. Protection from strong sunlight is exceptional.

They fit well, and are similar to the RAYBAN aviator design, but these are more "wrap-around"....better peripheral coverage.

They have served me well during my VFR and IFR flights....

I hope this info helps. :cool:

[Playford]

Totally agree with the frustration over prices in Australia but it's never going to be resolved in our lifetimes.
The key drivers of our high prices in Oz are
1. Relatively low population,
2. Huge distances between population centres and
3. The exchange rate (we just about don't make anything in this country and manufactured goods from underpants to aeroplanes have to be imported).
4. Those elements of market protection that the government may wish to impose (taxes, tariffs, Oz specific rules and regulations).

Fortunately as we still have plenty of stuff in the ground to dig up and sell, we will probably have a high enough exchange rate to be able to afford manufactured goodies for the foreseeable future.:ok:

As for the two factors of low population and low population density, these dramatically drive up the costs of marketing and distribution per unit sold and only economies of scale will drive it down. That pair of socks you bought in Target for $2 only cost 10 cents to make in China and 20 cents to bring it to Australia. The rest is the cost of marketing and distribution in Australia (so if you think about it most of the "rip off" money goes to keep other Aussies in work).

This explains why we have relatively less consumer choice than other countries (of similar standard of living) and if we do have good consumer choices, we pay through the nose for what we buy in Australia. :ugh:

So considering that that we have a land mass the size of the USA and a population less than 1/10 this issue is not going to be resolved in the near future, if ever. :{

Though I must admit that the internet shopping option can make it just a little bit easier to bypass the challenges of economic reality, for those of us willing to get on the keyboard and take the risk of buying on trust sight unseen :D . That is until local businesses lobby the government and our pollies put a stop to this delicious loophole :{.