Hi Dave and Alistair,
Despite my rant of last night, I agree with you both. I do suspect that the
“problem” in Australia stems from further up the line rather than just with
the retailer. A case in point, I bought an iPod just before Christmas from a
well-known consumer electronics retailer. I checked the prices that I could
buy it for on eBay beforehand and then went to the stores. One large
retailer advertised the price at about $50 more than I could buy it for (I’m
including the shipping in the price from eBay, by the way) – they declined
to negotiate the price. I tried the next store – their price was about $40
more than I could get it for from eBay, so I asked if the price was the best
they could do – they asked me what price I could get it for, so I told them
– they ended up beating it by $5. Clearly the imported or wholesale price
was reasonable since the retailer had enough margin to be able to negotiate.
Your point about Nikon prices is interesting, Alistair. This time last year
I bought a Nikon D200 body from a little retail shop in Hong Kong for about
$1700. The cheapest I had seen the body for in Australia was $2700. Now a
quick check of Australian prices shows that you can buy a Nikon D200 KIT
(including lens and other accessories) for around $1700. Hopefully this
trend will continue. Obviously if it’s possible to buy a Nikon kit for that
sort of price, the comparable Canon, Sony, Olympus and Pentax models will
have to sell for competitive prices.
Incidentally, I have no issue with paying a premium for good service at a
shop that carries stock. I’ve been in business for enough years to
understand about rent and the cost of employing staff and keeping stock. A
significant differentiator between an online shop and a retail shopfront is
(as Dave says) the ability to try before you buy. The premium should not be
exorbitant, though. Even a cursory check of prices on eBay shows that for
consumer electronics, the price that Australians can buy from at retail
shops is not much greater (if at all) than the price we can buy from online
stores.
The usual argument for higher prices in Australia is that we’re a small
market. This argument is used time and again for some products but not
others – motor vehicles springs to mind (where we tend to pay double the
amount that they pay in the US for similar vehicles). Whilst it is
undoubtedly true that the market for premium optics is a limited niche
market, and a small one at that in Australia, once people realise that they
can buy the same goods from overseas either from a shop front or online, for
half the price they pay for them here something will have to change. Whether
we like it or not globalisation is with us and it is easier than ever to
change our buying habits.
Oh – I know that 1/11 of the price of optics locally goes to the government
in the form of GST. That still doesn’t add up to the huge difference we are
being asked to pay.
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Melbourne
From: Alistair McKeough
Sent: Saturday, 16 February 2008 8:18 AM
To: Dave Torr
Cc: Paul Dodd; Birding-Aus; David Robertsdon
Subject: (no subject)
Alslo bear in mind that there is often a mark up by the importer.
For example, although Nikon is now running it's own Australian operations,
for years and years Maxwell was the "importer" and gouged outrageously.
Shop keepers couldn't buy anywhere else and had no chance of being priced
competitively, even at very tight margins. So, while I agree with the
sentiments and buy all my equipment from overseas, don't blame the shop
owners!
Alistair
On 16/02/2008, Dave Torr <HYPERLINK
""> wrote:
I don't seek to justify ALL the difference Paul, but running a shop that
lets people walk in and try equipment costs a lot more in overheads than
selling on eBay. If everyone bought on eBay the shop would close and then
where would you try out your bins? A fairer comparison is with shops in
Singapore which would have similar overheads.
On 15/02/2008, Paul Dodd <HYPERLINK
""> wrote:
>
> I went into a shop in Melbourne some months ago that sells cameras and
> binoculars and other optical goods - a large, very well-known
> establishment
> that has been around for a long time. I looked at a pair of Leica Ultravid
> 8x42 and was told by the salesperson, with a very straight face, that the
> price was $3200. I thanked the salesperson very much and went home and
> looked up the same binoculars on eBay - I found a number of companies in
> the
> US selling them - average price was around $1500 AUSTRALIAN. I actually
> ended up buying the older model (but still new) Trinovid 8x42 for about
> $1000 AUSTRALIAN from one of these companies. The binoculars duly arrived
> about a week later, well packaged, with the Leica worldwide warranty card.
>
> So far all of my camera gear, all of my wife's camera gear, every pair of
> binoculars I have, except one, has been bought offshore. Mostly through
> sellers on eBay. I've never had a single problem - even if I did, I pay
> with
> PayPal so I am covered against fraud. I am so annoyed by the fact that
> we're
> ripped-off in this country that I will NEVER buy cameras or optical gear
> here. It's funny, because as an Australian business owner, I'm usually
> fanatical about buying Australian or at least buying from an Australian,
> but
> I will not be deliberately ripped-off. I'm unsure if is the importers, the
> wholesalers or the retailers, or all along the chain, but someone is
> taking
> us for a ride.
>
> Curiously computer gear is available incredibly cheaply in Australia (as
> long as you stay away from the large department stores and electrical
> retailers).
>
> Anyway, my little rant for the evening.
>
> Paul Dodd
> Docklands, Melbourne
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: HYPERLINK
""
> [HYPERLINK
""
On Behalf Of David Robertsdon
> Sent: Friday, 15 February 2008 6:01 PM
> To: Birding-Aus
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] (no subject)
>
> I had a shock yesterday. On my way back from Sulawesi I bought a pair of
> Bushnell 4 x 42 binoculars at Changi for S$269 (approx A$211). In
> Adelaide
> the same binoculars are priced at A$449!!
> ==========HYPERLINK "http://www.birding-aus.org"www.birding-aus.org
> HYPERLINK "http://birding-aus.blogspot.com"birding-aus.blogspot.com
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