Over the last few months, I've started to buy goods on the internet, examples: skywatcher telescope bought from UK, (Cheaper from Germany I believe), $600 delivered. In Australia, $1800. Filter for camera, bought from Hong Kong $60 delivered, from camerahouse Australia, $127 plus postage, Safari snorkel, bought from the U.K. but made in Australia, $370 delivered in 7 days, from ARB Gympie, $670 with a 4 week wait. coil for the rideon, bought from USA, $65 delivered, Australia, $170.
Australian businesses are complaining about sales and yet they seem to be ripping us off for hundreds of hard earned dollars. I've had no problems buying on the internet and will continue to do so. In the last couple of months I've saved $1672.
I would love to support businesses here at home but I can't afford to when I can make these savings. When will they wake up.
milo said
11:30 AM May 19, 2011
agree , we do get ripped off.
I have a sony ps3 (playstation3) and I buy games, would love to buy online from o/s but i hate using my cc online games are expensive here and i dont buy them very often or wait til lthere in the sales bin..
biggles said
01:38 PM May 19, 2011
I know this statement will get most people offside, BUT, You will need to teach your Childrens,Children how to stand in a dole que for long periods of time, as there will be no jobs in Australia.... Everybody needs to eat. I do agree with Stan747, very hard not to when he's saved that amount of cash, but I worry about where we are heading as a country, when our natural resources run out what then, Are we puting money aside from those transactions to sustain us when we have nothing else to sell???? We sell all our minerals to the biggest polluting countries while we pay a carbon tax, China is buying our coal for next to nothing, then flooding us with cheap junk. Ask your nearest polly how much land, companies overseas countries have been allowed to buy, very soon we wont own the land our kids walk on. sorry to carry on like a pork chop, I've settled down now.. Breathe in , now out. All better.
BobnBev said
01:58 PM May 19, 2011
Biggles to true ,But when some thing is made off shore it is not as bad as buying some thing that is made here...unless its half priced.plus... I run air springs" air bags" on the Disco.. Here $500 each @ a S.A. firm.. From the states posted $185.each.. and a better item.... Alantic samon in Tassy 47 a kg from the grower..woolies at home 27.... so it happens all over.. 20 small flat batt. for the tyre monitor.. $4.47 posted... here 5.00 each ...Its the world we live in now... with flea-bay .... Food items I pay more for and will do so for ever.... And its our Dollar just now making things worse........
biggles said
02:40 PM May 19, 2011
To Stan747 & BobnBev - I know both sides of the story & I'm as guilty as anybody else at trying to buy as cheap as possible, we are our own worst enemy sometimes.I do try to buy Australian but even thats confusing...
Benwerrin said
03:44 PM May 19, 2011
The thing is, all internet sites run on a shoestring in comparison to a shopfront, a business carrying 10 staff and paying a big rent and overheads could be run by 2 people from a storeroom via the internet, and don't forget these overseas companies don't pay or charge GST which robs our system of taxes.
For what it's worth, it pays to search hard on the net to find Aussie companies, I recently got a top deal from Big W from their online store and it was little difference to the overseas prices, but was a lot cheaper than their shop price (that is an anomally), the problem with this is (as Jack says), soon the shops will fade from the scene and become full internet services (that's a worry).
After bucking his brands off several months ago over the 'internet traders', Gerry Harvey has finally seen the light and gone "online" with his business (surprisingly out iof touch for a man of his intellect), that could see a dramatic change in the way he does business, as I can't see his franchisee's copping this cheap competition in the medium term and beyond.
Yes worrying and interesting times ahead...but at least we should try to target the Aussie internet traders to keep some jobs and the taxes at home.
-- Edited by Benwerrin on Thursday 19th of May 2011 03:46:05 PM
bill12 said
04:02 PM May 19, 2011
I hate to say it, but this is the future of commerce. If someone can deliver it cheaper, then it is only commonsense to buy it, even if it overseas.I live on and island, and buying through online sources is more convienient, and , usually , a lot cheaper. Besides, they deliver to your door.The internet is world wide, and this is how commerce will be in years to come. Players shouldn,t winge, they should try to compete.The comsumer is the winner.
jimbo said
04:36 PM May 19, 2011
I damn wish we coulg get Auto Electricians and Machanics on line..They can charge what they want....No protection from Govenments..it's bloody disgusting.....In this country we do not need anything from overseas.maybe a Migrant or two....How so you Popoeye??
Happywanderer said
04:44 PM May 19, 2011
If you can buy an Australian made item for half price online from the UK, what on earth are the Aussie Manufacturers up to that we have to pay so much back here. Somethings wrong there!
jimbo said
05:08 PM May 19, 2011
Marj I think it boils down too Govt GST..Remember the more goods are charged the more the Corrupt crook Govt get....Thanks too howard and Meg lee's......Is she still around I wonder?
DeBe said
05:33 PM May 19, 2011
Theres a biger VAT (GST) i n the UK but i suspect its not paid if shiped over seas & no GST colected here. That certainly makes a difference.
jimricho said
05:56 PM May 19, 2011
GST represents 9.1% of the purchase price so this can't be blamed for the entire price discrepancy. Pre GST, many goods were subject to sales tax that often was significantly greater than the GST. I'm not taking a pro or anti GST position here just stating facts. We've had GST for 11 years, I think it's time to over it, it aint gunna change.
I guess this thread's got something to do with caravanning/RVing, can't work out what it is though?
Di-n-Gary said
06:16 PM May 19, 2011
I think Jimricho is right in that it's not GST but the tax rates vary greatly on some items. Anything marine is hit enormously and probably also anything to do with any RV also is slugged, an apparent luxury, but for some it's their only way of life.
jimricho said
06:30 PM May 19, 2011
Di-n-Gary wrote:
I think Jimricho is right in that it's not GST but the tax rates vary greatly on some items. Anything marine is hit enormously and probably also anything to do with any RV also is slugged, an apparent luxury, but for some it's their only way of life.
All those luxury taxes were part of the old sales tax system and were removed when GST was intoduced. GST is charged at the rate of 10% of the pre-GST price for all items other than those that are exempt.
Popeye said
07:51 PM May 19, 2011
Jimbo guilty. I buy O/S. Much cheaper.
capt cream bun said
09:14 PM May 19, 2011
Soon Woolworth's will be opening the Master stores all around the country to compete with the Bunnings stores of Cole's. From what i have heard the stores will be bigger, brighter and more comfortable to shop in than Bunnings, So huge is the outlay Woolworth's have sought financial and managerial assistance from the American retailers Lowe's.
They have stated where necessary the Masters stores will buy much of their produce directly from overseas though Lowes own wharehouses. It looks to me a bit like what we are talking about right now except now we have absolutely huges retailers purchasing as combined comglomerants bypassing tradition local wholesalers and producers altogether.
Who knows where this will end? Personally i see the tradition high standard of Aussie life dropping and the raising of standards in lesser advanced countries, and quickly now too.
stan747 said
09:41 PM May 19, 2011
The Australian made snorkel I bought from the U.K. cost $230 ex U.K. The rest of the cost was postage. This item was made in Victoria, then shipped to the U.K. and yet can be sold there for $230 but still costs us more than double bought here in Australia. The mind boggles
-- Edited by stan747 on Thursday 19th of May 2011 09:44:07 PM
Wombat 280 said
10:25 PM May 19, 2011
I'm surprised that someone actually found an item made here You can usually only find items assembled here under licence . I have recently moved 25 km into a country area and tried to shop locally but found that our cost of living (Food ) rose by about $50 pw and our fuel rose by 8 cents a liter not to mention the cost of tyres $35 more than Port Macquarie which is a merely 25 k away . I'm waiting for the truth to come out about the increases resulting from carbon tax. Now that Fuel and Agriculture are exempt the other products will need to increase to make up the dramatically reduced revenue base once the base rates of income tax are reduced . Prices go up GST revenue increases , Catch 22
Sheba said
11:43 PM May 19, 2011
milo wrote:
agree , we do get ripped off.
I have a sony ps3 (playstation3) and I buy games, would love to buy online from o/s but i hate using my cc online games are expensive here and i dont buy them very often or wait til lthere in the sales bin..
Milo, friends of mine have a special CC with only af few hundred Dollars in it, specifically for that purpose. That way, even if some-one who shouldn't accesses it, their main account is safe.
Cheers,
Sheba.
tonyd said
11:54 PM May 19, 2011
Ah, yes. I'm planning on buying a Kindle e-book reader. The Australian site offers them at $540. The US site offers the same thing at $US390 (About $360), including an Aussie adaptor. Guess where I'll be buying? And the shipping will probably be quicker. Cheers, Tony
Sheba said
12:55 AM May 20, 2011
tonyd wrote:
Ah, yes. I'm planning on buying a Kindle e-book reader. The Australian site offers them at $540. The US site offers the same thing at $US390 (About $360), including an Aussie adaptor. Guess where I'll be buying? And the shipping will probably be quicker. Cheers, Tony
What is wrong with the E-readers from Big W for $118.00 ? They seem to have everything you need.
Cheers,
Sheba.
colsa said
04:36 PM May 20, 2011
Hi milo, i've been buying on line for over a year now, i'm not very computer savy but a friend told me to set up a paypal account and every thing i buy goes through them, if i can work out how to do it trust me anyone can. Good luck.
Anvid said
06:48 PM May 20, 2011
Recently I was sent the following email which I thought was very interesting about the food we eat:
PLEASE NOTE - if you love Australia and the thought of keeping jobs here (instead of building other nations like China), plus you like to eat healthy foods and buy quality products then please read on. Please also note the Australian barcode prefix is 93.
DANGEROUS IMPORTED FOODS The whole world is scared of China making 'black hearted goods'.Can you differentiate which one is made in the USA , Philippines , Taiwan or China ? For your Information ... the first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.Sample:all barcodes that start with 690.691.692 until 695 are all MADE IN CHINA.
4 71 is Made in Taiwan.
This is our human right to know, but the government and related department never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUEourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products 'made in china', so they don't show from which country it is made. However, you may now refer to the barcode, remember if the first 3 digits is 690 to 695, then it is Made in China.
00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA 30 ~ 37 FRANCE 40 ~ 44 GERMANY 49 ~ JAPAN 50 ~ UK 57 ~ Denmark 64 ~ Finland 76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein 628 ~ Saudi-Arabian 629 ~ United Arab Emirates 740 ~ 745 - Central America All 480 Codes are Made in the Philippines.
DO NOT BUY FOOD PROCESSED IN CHINA , HONG KONG , VIETNAM AND THAILAND !!! there are no food inspection regulations!!! Have a taste for chicken tenders? READ THIS
WATCH WHAT YOU BUY. ESPECIALLY HIGHLINER FISH PRODUCTS; all come from China , even though the box says ' product of Canada ', it is from China and 'processed' in Canada , that is, the coating is added and packaged in Canada only! The fish are raised in pens using chemicals that are banned in Canada as cancer causing but legal in China. This was exposed on CBC TV's Marketplace.
This one will make you think before buying anything from China Well, are you enjoying seeing Chinese food popping up in your supermarket left and right? Have you noticed you can't buy a single package of fish that isn't made in China (or Vietnam )? Do you think your food from China is processed in a sanitary manner, and thus safe to eat?
PLEASE NOTE - if you love Australia and the thought of keeping jobs here (instead of building other nations like China), plus you like to eat healthy foods and buy quality products then please read on. Please also note the Australian barcode prefix is 93.
gubby said
07:17 PM May 20, 2011
Thanks for that info Anvid, very handy to know..
MikeMin said
12:40 AM May 23, 2011
Interesting topic. I view the internet as my personal shopping mall as we are on the road fulltime. I buy books (both new and secondhand) from the internet at a fraction of the cost of books here. I must admit that the first stop we make when getting to a new destination is to seek out a secondhand bookstore but even they are more expensive than buying online. We would dearly love to support local shops but we also watch our pennies and if I can get the same product over the internet for half price or more, I have no hesitation in sending my hard earned overseas. Sad but a fact of life.
Over the last few months, I've started to buy goods on the internet, examples: skywatcher telescope bought from UK, (Cheaper from Germany I believe), $600 delivered. In Australia, $1800. Filter for camera, bought from Hong Kong $60 delivered, from camerahouse Australia, $127 plus postage, Safari snorkel, bought from the U.K. but made in Australia, $370 delivered in 7 days, from ARB Gympie, $670 with a 4 week wait. coil for the rideon, bought from USA, $65 delivered, Australia, $170.
Australian businesses are complaining about sales and yet they seem to be ripping us off for hundreds of hard earned dollars. I've had no problems buying on the internet and will continue to do so. In the last couple of months I've saved $1672.
I would love to support businesses here at home but I can't afford to when I can make these savings. When will they wake up.
I have a sony ps3 (playstation3) and I buy games, would love to buy online from o/s but i hate using my cc online
games are expensive here and i dont buy them very often or wait til lthere in the sales bin..
I run air springs" air bags" on the Disco.. Here $500 each @ a S.A. firm.. From the states posted $185.each.. and a better item....
Alantic samon in Tassy 47 a kg from the grower..woolies at home 27.... so it happens all over..
20 small flat batt. for the tyre monitor.. $4.47 posted... here 5.00 each ...Its the world we live in now... with flea-bay ....
Food items I pay more for and will do so for ever....
And its our Dollar just now making things worse........
The thing is, all internet sites run on a shoestring in comparison to a shopfront, a business carrying 10 staff and paying a big rent and overheads could be run by 2 people from a storeroom via the internet, and don't forget these overseas companies don't pay or charge GST which robs our system of taxes.
For what it's worth, it pays to search hard on the net to find Aussie companies, I recently got a top deal from Big W from their online store and it was little difference to the overseas prices, but was a lot cheaper than their shop price (that is an anomally), the problem with this is (as Jack says), soon the shops will fade from the scene and become full internet services (that's a worry).
After bucking his brands off several months ago over the 'internet traders', Gerry Harvey has finally seen the light and gone "online" with his business (surprisingly out iof touch for a man of his intellect), that could see a dramatic change in the way he does business, as I can't see his franchisee's copping this cheap competition in the medium term and beyond.
Yes worrying and interesting times ahead...but at least we should try to target the Aussie internet traders to keep some jobs and the taxes at home.
-- Edited by Benwerrin on Thursday 19th of May 2011 03:46:05 PM
I damn wish we coulg get Auto Electricians and Machanics on line..They can charge what they want....No protection from Govenments..it's bloody disgusting.....In this country we do not need anything from overseas.maybe a Migrant or two....How so you Popoeye??
Marj I think it boils down too Govt GST..Remember the more goods are charged the more the Corrupt crook Govt get....Thanks too howard and Meg lee's......Is she still around I wonder?
Theres a biger VAT (GST) i n the UK but i suspect its not paid if shiped over seas & no GST colected here. That certainly makes a difference.
I guess this thread's got something to do with caravanning/RVing, can't work out what it is though?
All those luxury taxes were part of the old sales tax system and were removed when GST was intoduced. GST is charged at the rate of 10% of the pre-GST price for all items other than those that are exempt.
Jimbo guilty. I buy O/S. Much cheaper.
Soon Woolworth's will be opening the Master stores all around the country to compete with the Bunnings stores of Cole's. From what i have heard the stores will be bigger, brighter and more comfortable to shop in than Bunnings, So huge is the outlay Woolworth's have sought financial and managerial assistance from the American retailers Lowe's.
They have stated where necessary the Masters stores will buy much of their produce directly from overseas though Lowes own wharehouses. It looks to me a bit like what we are talking about right now except now we have absolutely huges retailers purchasing as combined comglomerants bypassing tradition local wholesalers and producers altogether.
Who knows where this will end? Personally i see the tradition high standard of Aussie life dropping and the raising of standards in lesser advanced countries, and quickly now too.
The Australian made snorkel I bought from the U.K. cost $230 ex U.K. The rest of the cost was postage. This item was made in Victoria, then shipped to the U.K. and yet can be sold there for $230 but still costs us more than double bought here in Australia. The mind boggles
-- Edited by stan747 on Thursday 19th of May 2011 09:44:07 PM
Prices go up GST revenue increases , Catch 22
Cheers, Tony
What is wrong with the E-readers from Big W for $118.00 ? They seem to have everything you need.
Cheers,
Sheba.
Hi milo, i've been buying on line for over a year now, i'm not very computer savy but a friend told me to set up a paypal account and every thing i buy goes through them, if i can work out how to do it trust me anyone can. Good luck.
Recently I was sent the following email which I thought was very interesting about the food we eat:
PLEASE NOTE - if you love Australia and the thought of keeping jobs here (instead of building other nations like China), plus you like to eat healthy foods and buy quality products then please read on. Please also note the Australian barcode prefix is 93.
DANGEROUS IMPORTED FOODS
The whole world is scared of China making 'black hearted goods'.Can you differentiate which one is made in the USA , Philippines , Taiwan or China ? For your Information ... the first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.Sample:all barcodes that start with 690.691.692 until 695 are all MADE IN CHINA.
4 71 is Made in Taiwan.
This is our human right to know, but the government and related department never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUEourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products 'made in china', so they don't show from which country it is made.
However, you may now refer to the barcode, remember if the first 3 digits is 690 to 695, then it is Made in China.
00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 ~ JAPAN
50 ~ UK
57 ~ Denmark
64 ~ Finland
76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein
628 ~ Saudi-Arabian
629 ~ United Arab Emirates
740 ~ 745 - Central America
All 480 Codes are Made in the Philippines.
DO NOT BUY FOOD PROCESSED IN CHINA , HONG KONG , VIETNAM AND THAILAND !!! there are no food inspection regulations!!!
Have a taste for chicken tenders? READ THIS
WATCH WHAT YOU BUY. ESPECIALLY HIGHLINER FISH PRODUCTS; all come from China , even though the box says ' product of Canada ', it is from China and 'processed' in Canada , that is, the coating is added and packaged in Canada only! The fish are raised in pens using chemicals that are banned in Canada as cancer causing but legal in China. This was exposed on CBC TV's Marketplace.
This one will make you think before buying anything from China
Well, are you enjoying seeing Chinese food popping up in your supermarket left and right? Have you noticed you can't buy a single package of fish that isn't made in China (or Vietnam )? Do you think your food from China is processed in a sanitary manner, and thus safe to eat?
PLEASE NOTE - if you love Australia and the thought of keeping jobs here (instead of building other nations like China), plus you like to eat healthy foods and buy quality products then please read on. Please also note the Australian barcode prefix is 93.
Thanks for that info Anvid, very handy to know..