[cruvon]

Noticed these guys have steped up their efforts, what's the chance that this GST lobbys efforts to force us to be their customers using non competitive pressure techniques that are aimed at adding in a GST on imports costing <$1000 will see the light of day?

http://www.smh.com.au/business/big-r...105-19g9b.html

I for one give it very little chances that the government would risk upsetting their electorate. I like how a enquiry committee planned to look into this will take nearly a year to complete their findings, how difficult can deciding this really be? I think it's just a diplomatic way out of saying "No" to these lobbys though the money spent on them could have been made better use of..like for educating these lobbys about competing using smart internet commerce in a globalised economy to their advantage maybe?
I don't think they can really turn the clock back on the power of internet commerce where a good deal is just a mouse click away, so the wise thing to do is to change with the times.

A good example of harnesssing the power of the internet that I recently came across in the news after one of the retailers got in a spat with him because of the price wars is this guy from Melbourne who runs this company
http://www.kogan.com.au/blog/

also see
http://www.kogan.com.au/blog/2011/ja...ck-further-sl/


just ended up ordering this from him today

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/hd-digi...ide+Price+Drop


Also check how the Canon EOS 5D Mk2 with lens kit is almost the same price online here in Australia as on Amazon that goes to show local businesses can still be competitive(offcourse you can buy a 5 year international warranty from topbuy for $150-200 since are imported), wouldn't want to know what it would cost at a brick and mortar retailer here but I suspect would be 5.5-6k+ additional warranty, you could almost buy two of them

http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/C...Lens-p6944.htm
compared to
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-5D-M...4295225&sr=1-2

[chappy]

Even if they added GST on everything it would still way cheaper buying from overseas our beloved bmw and other car makers love charging as rip off prices compared to USA and UK
Just ordered something small like 6 spark plugs and a socket for the n54 engine
BMW in USA charges $17.85each
BMW AUS charges $45 plus each
You now where I'm buying the spark plugs from BMW USA.
More than double the price for just Bosch spark plugs
Its right through the car parts rip off.

[purifyer]

I think inately labour hates the thought of citizens dodging the tax system and would be all for adding tax (even if the cost of recuperating the tax exceeded the tax itself) but there's been quite a bit of backlash and if labour are anything, they're spineless.

So they'll waste a few million with some enquires trying to push the issue past the next election is my guess

Internet filter anyone?

[MFKN3]

I am fed up with the cost of living here compared to other countries. Sure, it's a great country, but boy we pay for it. Then, frustratingly, we have to sit back and watch these labor f-wits run our country and piss our tax dollars down the drain.

I am sad to say, all gadgets of mine come from overseas. I have ordered some items this week from the US. Frustratingly, even after exorbitant postage fees, the items are still cheaper than here.

Item 1. $199 + $45ph but to buy here $550-600
Item 2. $215 + $130p/h(ouch) but to buy here $455

[GT1977]

Also depends on your view of tax. If you buy something online from the US, you are still paying tax -just to a different country. The Australian Government wants to collect more tax, the solution is to encourage businesses to offer more incentives for us to buy from Australia, not the US. The problem is with the retailers, not the consumer.

Also, what makes like particularly difficult for retailers at the moment is the FX rates - they are at unbelievable advantageous rates for consumers based in Australia. It wont always be that way. Several years ago, the USD went down to 58c from memory (to the AUD) to things were nearly twice the price they are now. The retailers are reaping the benefits of the USD now too because their stock costs them less in many cases - but they don't pass on the savings.

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by purifyer

I think inately labour hates the thought of citizens dodging the tax system and would be all for adding tax (even if the cost of recuperating the tax exceeded the tax itself) but there's been quite a bit of backlash and if labour are anything, they're spineless.

+1 on that.

The irony here is that with big retailers whining so much, it's free advertising for online retailers targeted right at people who have not bought much online before. "Really, you can save that much? Bye bye rip-off retailers"

[John_01]

I don't think the Government will act on this one. 1) It would be very difficult and costly to impose the tax on imports valued less than $1000. 2) With the precarious balance of power in our parliament, the government already has enough unpopular policies and probably wouldn't want to get their hands dirty on this one.

Sometimes I think we have too many retailers. If some of them have to downsize, it might help take the heat out of this debate in the long term.

[bcoz]

Poor billionaires! They only support globalisation when it fattens their bottom line.
They had no qualms about helping destroy the Australian manufacturing industry and moving its jobs overseas.
They have no qualms about outsourcing.
They have no qualms about expanding, operating and making profits overseas.
They had no qualms about the government's cash stimulus from which they benefitted during the global financial crisis.

When they're rolling in it, it's the free market economy.
When their fat profits no longer grow exponentially, they suddenly become concerned with tax loopholes, Australian jobs and the economy.

And now this...
Harvey hurt by buyer backlash
http://www.smh.com.au/business/harve...106-19hjx.html

THE Harvey Norman founder, Gerry Harvey, will step back from the retailers' campaign for GST to be imposed on overseas online purchases, saying he is hurt by the avalanche of criticism directed at him and feels that getting involved was ''suicidal''.

Which begs the question, why did he start it back in November 2010 when he first started whinging?

[kaishang]

From that article:
''Because of my profile, I then get all these threats and people hone in on me. It becomes me, Gerry Harvey and Solomon Lew - billionaires, greedy, ugly, old, out-of-date c---s, and the people writing this seem to think we have been ripping them off for years and that we deserve this.''

OK, the fact that you can buy exactly the same product in other countries for 50% of the Australian price even in times when the AUD is not as high as it is now, that's not a rip-off?


I like cameras. Sometimes if Oz friends ask about buying camera gear and it is a reasonable amount, I suggest they take a weekend break in Hong Kong. Because for the price difference, you can get the same camera plus a couple of lenses in HK, plus pay for the airfare to fly from Australia to HK and back and a couple of nights in a five star hotel and still come out ahead.

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by bcoz

Which begs the question, why did he start it back in November 2010 when he first started whinging?

Well Harvey is complaining about getting a bollocking on internet sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Like his retail business model, he probably hadn't woken up to the fact that the internet has been invented.

If only it was as easy to order BMWs from overseas over the internet.

[GT1977]

I dont' support their proposal one bit, but the only thing I agree them on is that the cost of labour and shop rent in Australia is massive compared to the US. But that this the environment they choose to operate in. Same reason that products in the UK are also expensive. Plus the volumes over here are much smaller than in the US so they have fewer products to apportion their rent and labour costs across.

But this is just a storm in a tea cup because the percentage of people who actually buy from overseas compared to those who shop locally is pretty small I would think. As the Labor govt suggested yesterday, it is likely that the cost to collect the additional tax and duties would be higher than the revenue it would generate (which is why they brought in the $1,000 threshold to begin with). I don't vote Labor, but on this ocassion, at least they said something sensible.

[VGR00]

We also need to look beyond the retailers when we talk about prices. Take the manufacturers and importers / wholesalers who supply product to the retail shops. The industry I work in is ever so competitive and as a distributor, we compete and loose a lot of business to USA based internet operations. The problem is while I am the official Australian distributor for "brand X", my cost from the manufacture is higher than the USA distributor for the same part. Even if I do a sub 10% GPM deal, my selling price is higher than the USA distributor and they are able to make higher profit margin from the same deal. Volume has a lot to do with it but also a lot of manufactures selling into USA offer rebates to their distributors which we don't get.

I do have a bit of symphathy for the retailer because it's not entially a matter of reducing their sell prices to compete.

[nosmash]

case in point why i buy from the internet:

an e90 base support system (for roof racks) cost $300 incl p&h ($90 - expedited) from getbmwparts. the cheapest i can get here is is AU$425.00. still works out cheaper even with the huge postage cost.

i would have bought it locally if the margin was around the AU50 mark.

[purifyer]

Gillard reluctant to slam online shoppers with tax
http://www.theage.com.au/business/gi...110-19kog.html

So basically, it's dead in the water, but lets keep wasting money on an enquiry

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by cruvon

A good example of harnesssing the power of the internet that I recently came across in the news after one of the retailers got in a spat with him because of the price wars is this guy from Melbourne who runs this company
http://www.kogan.com.au/blog/

also see
http://www.kogan.com.au/blog/2011/ja...ck-further-sl/


just ended up ordering this from him today

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/hd-digi...ide+Price+Drop

Oky guys, an update on this unit got from them, after 2 days of stress testing this out to make sure it works right decided to return it since didn't work as expected, didn't use the dual tuners for simultaneous recording properly and crashed a few times. HAven't used PVR"s before so could have been doing something wrong, so sent their helpdesk an email and I got an automated response saying that they were experiencing peaks and could take nearly 2 days to respond so I don't think thats very effective customer service either. It does have a 7 day return policy so instead of spending more time on this I decided to return it. Looking at one of these now
http://www.icetv.com.au/cgi-bin/webp...duct_cat_id=17, offcourse will check for better deals on other sites for the same model though

[_Rubicon_]

I have been using a Beyonwiz (and IceTV) for about three years - both very good products. The PVR works very well and the IceTV service gives no-hassle control of the whole recording process. Takes watching TV to a whole new level, watch what you want when you want, without ads.

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by _Rubicon_

I have been using a Beyonwiz (and IceTV) for about three years - both very good products. The PVR works very well and the IceTV service gives no-hassle control of the whole recording process. Takes watching TV to a whole new level, watch what you want when you want, without ads.

Thanks, leaning towards doing what you suggested or building a media PC solution with TV tuner/recording capabilities that's something like these guys are talking about
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/974491

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/21/h...or-under-1-00/

[orey]

so its like having foxtel iq2+?

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by orey

so its like having foxtel iq2+?

yupz, but on free to air HD tv

[orey]

iq2+ has HD tv aswell, just not all the channels

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by orey

iq2+ has HD tv aswell, just not all the channels

yupz, if you already have a Foxtel IQ2 then that would do just that. The new breed of PVR"s for free to air tv are high capacity (500GB-2TB), have ad skipping, ICE TV support(though can also use the EPG if don't want to subscribe to that) plus no ongoing monthly fees if have no need for Foxtel.
See
http://www.cnet.com.au/top-5-pvrs-339299453.htm , mentions the iq2+ too