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Officeworks Price Beat Guarantee: Now Includes Parallel/Grey Imports From Stores Without Local Warranty

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Officeworks Price Beat Guarantee: Now Includes Parallel/Grey Imports From Stores Without Local Warranty
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EmployeeL1112223334 on 29/08/2018 - 09:54 officeworks.com.au (13099 clicks)
Last edited 01/03/2023 - 11:16 by 3 other users

Hey guys!

Officeworks has decided that it will now be accepting Price-beats from stores with greystock, while previously it was only stores with Australian manufacturing warranty. It seems the store still needs to have a .com.au URL but we can now Price-beat with Dwi Kogan Becextech ect.

The change went through yesterday.

Mod Notes:

(1) The info above "It seems the store still needs to have a .com.au URL" is TBA, the policy does not specificially mention this. We'll update as information comes to hand, your experience may vary depending on store/understanding. Australian stores with imported stock like Kogan or Catch are more likely to succeed than overseas stores, although in some cases overseas stores have .com.au domains and local stores with imports stock have .com domains. Currently Officeworks policy does not mention store eligibility anyway, experiences likely to vary.

(2) Further info on the exact change below, from discussions.

Old Policy:

Our guarantee applies to all identical products and services with identical warranties that are:

stocked at Officeworks
in stock at our competitor; and
not excluded from the PBG (see below).

New Policy:

Our guarantee applies to all identical products and services that are:

Stocked at Officeworks
In stock at our competitors and
Not excluded from the PBG (see below)

'with identical warranties' is now removed from the policy.

(3) Why is this a deal? Purchase an item locally with manufacturer warranty and consumer law protection for the price of a grey import without manufacturer warranty and not protected by Australian consumer law. Not identical items in value (our guidelines refer to 'same product') and a general deal rather than for a specific item. Marked as long running deal.

Other

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closed Comments

    • giventofly on 29/08/2018 - 10:18
      +69

      JV, is that you?

    • IVI on 04/09/2018 - 09:48
      -1

      +1

      The "killer" may well be:"must have Matching Warranty"

      Still of an overseas vendor wants to sell,money may well offer a 1 year warranty, hoping that the high return shipping fee will dissuade Aussies from using their warranty.

  • someguycalledpaul on 29/08/2018 - 09:59
    +1

    pretty good news none the less! perhaps a few examples would be great though.

    • ChickenAdobo on 29/08/2018 - 10:02

      Umart Samsung GALAXY s9 deal for $999.

      • stridingcloud12 on 29/08/2018 - 10:05

        For $949.05? bargain!

        • ChickenAdobo on 29/08/2018 - 10:06
          +5

          950 AUD from office work is a bargain.

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/399047

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:08
          +2

          @ChickenAdobo:

          The item says its out of Stock so you might have trouble doing a Price-beat on that, might vary store by store on that one

        • kwokstar on 29/08/2018 - 16:04

          @1112223334: Tried it over the phone, didnt have any luck, representative said it needed to be in stock. However it did seem promising up until then….

        • Budju on 29/08/2018 - 17:43
          +18

          @ChickenAdobo: No Bro, $950 for a phone is not a bargain.

        • Rigby on 29/08/2018 - 17:44
          -2

          @Budju: Thanks for your input!

        • Budju on 29/08/2018 - 18:04
          +3

          @Rigby: Yea no worries. Turns out you can get good phones like these for ≤ $500 on the regular.

      • easternculture on 29/08/2018 - 10:38
        +30

        Would have to be an identical model number.

        Most overseas stock have different model numbers for same products.

        So most price match requests won't get approved

        They are just following buntings price match model where they have same stock with different product codes/model numbers

        • fourofjacks on 29/08/2018 - 14:11
          +14

          I want to highlight this as well, the number of up votes this "deal" is getting seems to indicate people don't understand that they can reject you if model numbers are different - and they most likely will be.

          Case in point, I went to try get officeworks to price match a lenovo yoga 310 from The good guys. They refused as they said the model number is different. What hope is there that a grey import will have the same model number?

          I called around some stores, TGG and Harvey Norman, all the sales guys I talked to said the chains sold different model yoga 310 to each other and would not price match.

        • ATangk on 29/08/2018 - 18:10
          +1

          @fourofjacks:
          Im preeeeeetty sure its the same laptop with different model number - made to identify stock from different stores. This happens all the time with laptops…

        • Borg on 29/08/2018 - 18:28
          +4

          Yeap I believe so as well and also makes it difficult for consumers from being able to compare between stores. It's a deliberate ploy by Manufacturers & Vendors to keep prices higher. Classic other example is with Mattresses i.e. just labelled differently for each store to give the vendor more Sales power without affecting it's competitors.

        • fourofjacks on 29/08/2018 - 19:10

          @ATangk: In the case of the lenovo yoga 310, they were slightly different specs between the stores.

      • patrioticpickle on 29/08/2018 - 11:11

        Someone needs to try this :D

        It would depend on the store whether they will be picky because of the colour. I'd be happy with a blue one though for $949!

    • fan8956 on 29/08/2018 - 22:51

      will they accept ebay.com.au?

      • abadacus on 30/08/2018 - 08:02
        -1

        Let us know how it goes :)

        • fan8956 on 30/08/2018 - 08:52
          +1

          I think as least Amazon AU should be acceptable, how is that different from greystock

    • felipe1982 on 30/08/2018 - 10:59
      +1

      nonetheless is one word.

      • someguycalledpaul on 30/08/2018 - 12:27

        thanks for your value add (yes this was intentional.)

  • Car-la-la on 29/08/2018 - 09:59
    +55

    This is a game changer. Thanks for sharing

    • Kangal on 29/08/2018 - 10:14
      +7

      Once GST + Tax kicks in, it will make Online Purchases less competitive. I guess that's how these big chain stores can survive.

      *Oh forgot shipping + handling too!

        • Wally on 29/08/2018 - 11:44
          +16

          The employees enjoy 1st world employment conditions and pay tax on their wages tho!

        • T Man on 29/08/2018 - 18:13
          +5

          Firstly, no one voted to have GST applied to ebay etc.

          Secondly, officeworks etc all pay their GST obligations as they can't avoid them, it's tax on profits that a lot of them get out of. They still have to pay 10% on any sale (and get refunded 10% of COGs).

          Thirdly, it's not just the big boys that get helped by this, it's every aussie small business that has to compete with online sites that don't charge GST. As small business pays the bulk of the tax in the country, helping them will increase the amount of tax revenue by a lot, rather than profit going overseas and avoided.

          I'm not a liberal supporter in general but this policy actually makes complete sense and if you think otherwise you've probably read the propaganda put out by the multinationals (ebay etc) that opposed it.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/08/2018 - 06:41

          @T Man: The reason the threshold was originally increased is because the enforcement cost is higher than the the revenue.

          Agreed that it’s good for very large foreign companies to stop avoiding GST but the smaller ones still do, and it really pisses me off that Amazon put it in the too hard basket as the only reason I would order from them is because no one else anywhere sold a particular product. :(

        • Rocket6 on 30/08/2018 - 16:08

          @T Man:

          T Man, your logic is not wanted here…. but seriously, props on your comment. Not many people understand the positive implications on small business, with particular reference to your line of discussion.

        • thewinchester on 31/08/2018 - 00:54
          +1

          Are you deliberately ignorant?

          In FY2016/17, Wesfarmers (owners of Officeworks) collected and paid in excess of $6.6b in Australian taxes (source: Pg. 7, http://www.wesfarmers.com.au/docs/default-source/asx-announc…, and of course their audited annual reports).

          Whilst the change to import taxation for <$1000 goods for regular Joe’s and Jill’s was a daft idea, to say Officeworks pays no tax is a complete load of bollocks.

        • Baysew on 08/09/2018 - 19:39

          @thewinchester: Diji1 just likes to lie make stuff up. Can't let facts get in the way of a good neo-liberal whinge.

        • PJC on 08/09/2018 - 21:01

          @thewinchester: What's wrong with being deliberately ignorant?

      • WhyPayRetail on 29/08/2018 - 11:12
        +5

        "GST +tax"?? GST IS tax ;-)

    • alexGoodwin on 29/08/2018 - 10:22
      +26

      Kudos to Officeworks

      Adapt or die. Hope some other retail ostriches would stop burying head in sand

  • Kramo on 29/08/2018 - 09:59
    +1

    That seems like a really odd choice from their perspective. Do you think they'll do anything like "GST inclusive price" (i.e. they'll beat grey stock only on their GST exclusive price)?

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:02
      +3

      I'm guessing the recent GST changes must have influenced this decision, but I'm not sure if that has changed at all, in the past we always perform the Price-beat from just he listed price plus shipping if applicable (if that helps).

      • jaygee on 02/09/2018 - 14:47

        What gst change?

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 03/09/2018 - 09:15
          +1

          The gov started charging 10% GST on international goods online

    • spaceflight on 29/08/2018 - 10:37
      +5

      Of course it will be GST inclusive because you need to pay the GST so that's part of the price.

  • azndraon on 29/08/2018 - 10:00
    +37

    Props to officeworks for being competitive

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:04
      +57

      It's good for consumers short term, but Price-beating is actually an uncompetitive strategy in the long term, since it makes the prices stagnate across multiple stores. So in the long run it can actually make prices less competitive

      • Diji1 on 29/08/2018 - 10:59

        Explain that? Are you saying direct price competition keeps prices up?

        • Seedy seed on 29/08/2018 - 11:17
          +7

          He said it makes them lazy with having good prices unless you match.

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 11:19
          +33

          Yeah it can, if Harvey Norman for example is selling the same product, they might not lower their price now because the know Officeworks will just lower theirs too, so it becomes a stalemate where the price freezes up higher.

        • ATangk on 29/08/2018 - 11:52
          +2

          @1112223334:
          We need more Aldi's in the tech market so the Bunnings of the tech market will match

        • Darkscythe on 29/08/2018 - 15:33
          +1

          @Seedy seed: That's exactly what EB Games does. They're prices are usually RRP and many staff will price match with just an ask as they're aware how much of a rip-off their prices are.

        • HungryRussian on 30/08/2018 - 18:21
          +3

          @1112223334: this is the smartest thing I've learned today

      • Janko on 29/08/2018 - 13:16
        +2

        The average time it takes to pricebeat makes it purely beneficial who value money over time.

        I prefer the exact opposite - paying more for quicker service.

        • GregFiona on 29/08/2018 - 15:03
          +2

          It depends how much money! Last time HN pricematched a $2599($2999 sticker price) DSLR in 2 minutes and the price went down to $2160(Digidirect’s price). I guess wasting 2 minutes for saving $439 was worth it

        • Boodek on 29/08/2018 - 15:11
          +16

          @GregFiona: Not if you earn more than $13,170 per hour.

        • Janko on 29/08/2018 - 15:34

          @GregFiona: If you happened to be conveninent to Harvey Norman, needed it urgently and quickly found a price online that they matched on the spot without the typical mucking around they do, sure, you saved a few dollars postage and delivery time.

          But if not, wouldn't it have been quicker just to get it from Digidirect at the same price?

        • GregFiona on 31/08/2018 - 21:05
          +1

          @Janko: nope, because I got another $200 off by using my 2 AMEX cards(AMEX HN deal).
          Also it happens that HN is 2.6 km from home and Digidirect 3.6km

        • GregFiona on 01/09/2018 - 07:27

          @Boodek: I think I got ripped off then!

        • ClaudeVL on 08/09/2018 - 08:59

          @GregFiona: Is this a recent offer? Which one?

        • GregFiona on 08/09/2018 - 14:52

          @hvlam: Unfortunately no, it was last year in November

      • YoungFriendly on 29/08/2018 - 14:29
        +1

        Announcing a price-beat is also a warning to others that if you cut costs and prices, we're still going to take some of that business

      • mun4 on 29/08/2018 - 15:05

        But that's the case only if you assume a significant chunk of consumers would bother price matching. Even if half of the consumers price match, lowering own pricing would still be more beneficial.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/08/2018 - 06:50
          +3

          If you cut 75% of the profit margin out of something you’ve got to sell 4x as many just to be back where you started. A certain number of consumers don’t even bother shopping around much less price matching so it’s all about branding.

          It’s like Bunnings who advertise lowest prices guaranteed but make it impossible to price match due to stocking subtly different models of things. The make 100x as much profit with high prices and a marketing message that convinces you they are low than the would get actually lowering them, especially since almost no one comparison shops most of their products.

        • mun4 on 31/08/2018 - 19:36

          @Bargs: Bunnings and Officeworks are somewhat different in that most items at Bunnings are OEM which you aren't expected to find or match elsewhere. Much less so for Officeworks.

  • miarn on 29/08/2018 - 10:02
    +4

    Are you sure? It still says "identical products" which means with identical warranty. Seems to me their policy would justify not price-matching grey imports.

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:06
      +2

      Yeah, it's always said that which was why we previously didn't Price-beat with greystock, honestly i'm not sure why it stills says that, might be so they can go back on the decision later when they lose so much money, I hope someone else who works at Officeworks can come in and confirm what i'm saying, (Or I can provide proof to the mods)

      • miarn on 29/08/2018 - 10:07

        I hope you're right, because it would be awesome! Maybe the change just hasn't hit the website yet :)

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:12

          Yeah i'll keep an eye out, the changes might not be for the whole country yet, so they might only change it once its everywhere

    • Kramo on 29/08/2018 - 10:17

      That does sound pretty feasible. Maybe they come back and say this only applies to products with true global warranties (since otherwise non-identical)

    • Associated[Deactivated] @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:28
      +23

      This is part of what we got sent today

      As of the today, “Identical Warranties” will no longer be a condition of our Price Beat Guarantee (PBG) Policy.
      This change ensures that regardless of the warranty type provided by a competitor, if the product is identical (for example, same model number and specifications) we will honour the price match and apply the PBG.

        • Rakddon on 29/08/2018 - 11:58
          +5

          Not sure why I was neg.

          I was only thinking if OW refused to price match with this new policy we can show them the memo saying otherwise.

        • Kramo on 29/08/2018 - 12:00

          @Rakddon: Yeah, friend just had them refuse a price match on the Nokia 8 because warranty

        • Kramo on 29/08/2018 - 12:51
          +1

          @Kramo: as per obit41 advice, friend managed to price match DWI through the 1300 OFFICE number and click & collect

        • hamza23 on 29/08/2018 - 18:05
          +1

          If it helps:

          Old Policy

          Our guarantee applies to all identical products and services with identical warranties that are:

          New Policy

          Our guarantee applies to all identical products and services that are:

          Basically 'with identical warranties' was removed and everything else remains the same.

        • Rakddon on 30/08/2018 - 10:37

          @hamza23:
          Thanks

  • Damoj4 on 29/08/2018 - 10:04

    This will be great if you need something in a pinch. Although Dwi shipping is rapid anyway

  • superforever on 29/08/2018 - 10:05

    Are they sure about that? A lot of people will go there to ask for price beat on Samsung phone.

  • Rakddon on 29/08/2018 - 10:06

    Very good news!!!, Thanks OP!

  • payton on 29/08/2018 - 10:06
    +5

    This post must hold the record for one of the fastest 0 to 100 vote count!

  • ChillBro on 29/08/2018 - 10:09

    Holy crap that is insane. Any news when it'll come to Sydney?

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:11
      +1

      Might already be there, but I only know for Victoria, sometimes they do changes state by state or just individual stores, sometimes its the whole company, would be great if someone else could confirm

      • Rakddon on 29/08/2018 - 10:12

        As I understand from the OW website it's nationwide now.

      • Associated[Deactivated] @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:32
        +9

        Is nation wide can confirm

  • Aarent on 29/08/2018 - 10:12

    Is this on the official website anywhere? (about grey imports) just curious.

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:15

      I couldn't see anything about it there, first thing I checked, the website never actually specified about imports, it just said identical stocked product which would include warranty, but that is still there

      • Rakddon on 29/08/2018 - 10:19

        No mention it had to be an Australian Store though:

        What is excluded from the Price Beat Guarantee?
        Cashback and coupon offers (i.e. supplier cashback or reduced price available via paper coupon or electronic codeword)
        Commercial quantities and pricing (i.e. a reduced price not available to the public)
        Stock liquidations (i.e. competitor clearance products or goods sold by a business placed into receivership)

        • fleetfeather on 29/08/2018 - 11:34

          If you've ever tried to price beat in-store, the employees always want to look up the store to see if the website ends in .com.au, and they want to see a ABN somewhere on the website

          Attempting to price beat grey import items in the past led me down the rabbit hole of just how many things they can knock you back on, including aspects that aren't listed in your post above unfortunately

        • macrocephalic on 29/08/2018 - 11:53

          @fleetfeather: I tried to price match a good photo scanner a couple of years back, because they advertised it for $999, and umart had it for $750. They wouldn't honour it because it was a 'special order item' for Officeworks.

        • Rakddon on 29/08/2018 - 11:56

          @macrocephalic:

          That's true, OW wouldn't price match/beat as it was a 'special order item' for Officeworks.
          I also experience this before.

        • fleetfeather on 29/08/2018 - 17:23
          +6

          @macrocephalic: The OW down the road from me acknowledged I found a better deal on a locally stocked mobile that met all their requirements for price beat, then didn't even price match it let alone beat it. They said the 'best they could do was [some dollar value more expensive than it should of been according to their guarantee]'

          I couldn't help but laugh. I walked out, called the OW phone number, did the price beat in the car over the phone for pickup at the store I was just in, and finally got the phone at the price their guarantee should've said it would be…

        • PJC on 29/08/2018 - 17:28

          @fleetfeather: Well done.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/08/2018 - 06:55

          @Rakddon: Special order item = if you want to pay the sticker price, they’ll order from Umart and mark it up for you because they can’t buy it any cheaper..

          Probably.

  • mouski on 29/08/2018 - 10:15

    Not sure how it would work with say an S9 grey market that has dual sim. Since technically its not identical to the AU stocked S9.
    e.g https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/samsung-galaxy-s9-dual-sim-64gb…

    • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 10:17
      +7

      Yeah it would have to be the same item still, so that wouldn't work. This will still be annoying with items that change the device per region I imagine, but items with no variants (like the new iPhone XS i've heard) should be fine

      • jazoom on 29/08/2018 - 16:11

        Also, as you can see there, Kogan doesn't use a .com.au domain, which doesn't count according to your post?

        • Sydney11 on 29/08/2018 - 21:17

          @jazoom
          Have you tried using Dicksmith.com.au
          Kogan owns Dicksmith. Both sells grey imports.

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 21:49

          Looks like the .com.au isn't really a rule as posted in the edit by a mod, I was just told that as a guide so I guess it's not a hard rule.

        • jazoom on 29/08/2018 - 21:51

          @1112223334: Fair enough. I can totally understand that rule though if they did make it.

        • Employee1112223334 @ Officeworks on 29/08/2018 - 21:52

          @jazoom:
          Yeah they might be leaving it vague on purpose atm to see the reaction from consumers first, who knows!

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