Just popped into my local HN for ink and spotted the new Gears of War 3 cheaper than anywhere else at $64…..
they had a massive games clearance table too with ps3 moove @ $50, Play TV @ $65 and Resistance 3 @ $68…..
looked like they were clearing everything out.
i checked JB Hi Fi catalouge and most of their stuff was even cheaper than JB was quite impressed…..
is the store on gardeners rd
it's pretty clear from the picture that it's Gears of War 3 Standard Edition.
Go Harvey Go Harvey NOMRAN go
Are you serious Resistance 3 @ $68…..no way ……. i think harveynorman doing good promotions…..on the other day they had buy one get one free and i heard that they are doing free ram upgrade for selected models this week end
Cheaper @ dungeoncrawl.com.au $59.90
I believe dungeon crawl sell non Australian copies. Not that it really matters (unless the disc dictates the multiplayer server?).
Most of their games are either region free or uk copies. I think the only problem you may get is dlcs
That's the thing though, when compared to the normal retail prices for top tier Games at release time the online prices, particularly for pre-orders from overseas, blow them out of the water.
More and more people are electing to buy them online as they are 30-50% cheaper when done that way.
These low prices for Gears 3 etc are a response to that, and not before time too. It's still marginally cheaper to get them online in most cases but the differences are a LOT more reasonable for the people who don't want to wait or don't want to pay the full exorbitant price and want to buy it locally.
These cheap prices aren't a counter to low online prices, these are just deals to get people into the store, nothing more. It costs Harvey Norman about 85$ to get the game in, they are selling under cost not to compete but to get you to buy from them with potential you will buy something else that they are actually making a profit on. That 50$ chair you bought from them only costs them 25-30$, the mark up is huge, and because of this mark up they can afford to sell the games cheaper.
Those online stores sell it cheaper because they can sell it for that price and still make a profit. If Australian retail stores wanted to compete with these prices, they would need to start demanding much lower prices for stock that they are bringing in. Even then, they still wouldn't be able to sell it as cheap due to many other factors (taxes and cost of running the store, ect).
That said, that is a great deal for the customer! Awesome find.
While maybe it's not wholly a response to cheaper online prices I am not sure I completely agree with the "nothing more" bit of your statement. If Cheaper prices, online or elsewhere, weren't becoming much more readily available and accessible there would be no need for them to offer these deals at such a reduced cost. If there were no significantly cheaper methods available to average consumers, they would be offering it at $1 cheaper than EB or other places if that was the case as it would have a similar effect of getting people into the store as they would still have the cheapest price and then perhaps on-selling them other stuff while still maintaining their margins on the game. People and I would say gamers in particular are becoming much more net savvy than is good for bricks and Mortar places like HN and are very willing to purchase online when there are bargains to be had. HN's price may very well be a "get bums in store" approach but they only have to do these large discounts in response to what is to them a very real threat from an online global market.
no one sells under cost price. lol thats just bullshit that youve been fed to believe them. haha value is perceived.
@Mark
Harvey Norman is making a loss, I've seen the supplier invoice.
Most retailers lose on new, advertised games because it gives the customer the perception that that particular store will have a good price on everything else.
Stick to phones man =P
oh its wan… :)
@heywes
how do you "It costs Harvey Norman about 85$ to get the game in"??????? it sounds like you have some "internal information"!!
Actually raydragon your right, they might be more open to lowering the price more frequently to deal with online threats, but again, this is more a method for attracting attention to make sales else where in the store then just the games. My apologise, I did make that sound further away from what i had intended. However, it really is a "draw people in" ploy, they can't beat the online stores of the UK which will always be cheaper. These large discounts LOSE the company money, they are losing money each sale.
It is not to compete directly with online, if it was it would be taking hypercompetition to the extreme! This is a case of a big company will to take the blow of a lose of money on a game to make it back else where. Its more or less: Lower price below online competition at a lose of $$ per sale making back lost money from other sources in the store. If it was a response to a "real threat", they still wouldn't be losing money, when you respond, you lower your profit margin, not remove it. Although losing money is a stratigic business stratergy, there is typically a reason behind it.
On a side note, the reason these places sell cheaper then EB as a base price is again due to the fact they make 10$ less per game sold at regular price then EB and Game because they are able to remake the money again selling items that are marked up much higher then they purchase it for (also, 10$ cheaper then EB still makes a profit). Its also why they can afford to sell it so cheap at the beginning of a sale.
The threat of the online market is real, no arguement there, but the sales of games online will always beat Brick and mortar (and australia in general) unless cheaper RRP for australia and lower importation costs can be negotiated.
anyway, i thank you for your discussion, i enjoy reading other peoples opiniones!
@Alwayseric I have ways to find stuff out.
Harvey Norman pay $85 for this? so when they add GST they only make a $4.50 profit on $98 items and use games as a way to get sales for their other products? come on man, you expect me to believe that Harvey Norman doesn't have the buying power to get it lower.
If they are retailing the game before this discount at $78 there is absolutely no way they are paying $85 dollars to get that game in.
I doubt they are losing money on $64 a copy. They just aren't making a huge profit on it.
Has anyone tried price matching this at other HNs?
Man this is cheap, do JB Hifi give price back within a week?
I just want to say, Bloody Harvey Norman!! Get with the times Gerry Harvey and stop screwing over the australian consumer!!
VIVA LA ONLINE RETAILING!!!!!
good, i will check it out tomorrow, close to my current company (in 3 weeks, it will become my "ex-employer", cant wait hahah). but i am thinking to sell my quite good-condition old-model xbox360.
That's a nice price for sure but I don't like HN in general..lol
I picked up a copy from JB for $69 and they threw in for free a couple of downloadable characters for the multiplayer part. People are selling these on ebay between $1 and $10, depending on the character.
for PC as well?
No such thing as a PC version of GOW :)
Just got it price matched at Harvey Norman North Ryde.
Just had this matched at HN Adelaide (city cross).
No downloadable content though :(
Cheers
Just price matched this at EB Games Sunshine in Melbourne. Thanks OP!
RESISTANCE 3 $58 @ GAMETRADERS!
Price matched at HN Sunshine. No issues. Cheers OP!
I wouldn't say this is a deal since ozgameshop has it for $60, and the steelbook edition for $65. Had good experiences with them and AFAIK they only sell PAL unless they specify that it's an NTSC/J copy (which they have in stock for $54). Free delivery. Frequently have promos and discounts. Sometimes run out of stock with new games but usually get more relatively promptly and with a lower price since it's not a brand new release by that time. [At time of posting they have four (4) different variants of GOW3 in stock.]
PS. I'm aware of DungeonCrawl's practice of selling games with an unspecified format and sending out NTSC/J copies. Pretty dodgy example of an online alternative.
I am a huge fan of Ozgameshop, Zavvi and other UK retailers when it comes to importing games. However, when you are talking about a difference of FOUR DOLLARS to get an Aussie copy without having to wait for it, it is definitely a bargain. Definitely should not have negged the deal.
The Ozgameshop copy is Australian. It's a difference of $10 if you settle for a non-Australian copy. The ability to walk in to a shop and buy it is arguably worth something, but this is Ozbargain — not Ozpseudoconvenience. To reiterate a second time as you didn't read my original post (or didn't understand that a PAL copy is Australian): it's not a difference of four dollars for a non-Australian copy. It's four (4) dollars less for the same exact copy, and ten (10) dollars less for a non-Australian copy.
Lol, this is probably a bit awkward for you after that rant, but:
The ozgameshop definetly is a UK copy, not Australian, NOT the exact same thing.
Also PAL != (does not equal) Australian copy. They are the same region but it doesn't mean it's Australian. You have just made yourself look INCREDIBLY foolish for bashing someone when you are wrong.
I hope you are really embarrassed about this one, Krizy. To "reiterate a second time" (sic) Ozgameshop sells UK PAL copies, not AUSTRALIAN PAL copies. I'm so unbelievably pleased at how unbelievably incorrect you were in your little rant at me.
This isn't Ozpseudoconvenience.
Woops typed the URL in wrong. You should check out that site, some great pseudo-deals and even more members exhibiting their pseudo-intelligence.
Might want to specify which GoW it is before some idiot comes along and negs you about it.