I saw that Bloomingdales have $9 flat rate shipping to Au so I decided to buy a bracelet I had seen.Usually when you first get to the site you click the pop up to say Au order I didn't click it & put the bracelet in the cart in $US when I did click $AU the price went up $25 for no reason it's definitely not the exchange rate.I have also seen this at another similar US shops.Anyone else notice this?.
Higher prices for Australians at US online shops
[Deactivated] on 11/12/2012 - 22:27
Last edited 12/12/2012 - 13:58
Last edited 12/12/2012 - 13:58
Comments
Australians are charged too much because Australian governments have been weak & done very little to get a fair deal on pricing for Australians, from a) multinationals (e.g. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, eBay & Apple) and b) oligopolistic Australian companies (eg Telstra & the airlines in the past, the Banks & Foxtel now). Australians generally have been apathetic about this & swallowed nonsense about higher wages etc. (yes they are, thankfully, higher but frequently a minor, sometimes non-existent factor in price differences …. especially with online purchases).
I have to laugh (or else I'd cry) when I see people on Ozbargain and elsewhere - over the years - defending big businesses who are ripping off Australians by a) charging high prices and b) not paying their taxes. Amazon's Australian turnover is $3,300,000,000 pa and how much tax did they pay last year: NIL. Google turnover $1,000,000,000, tax: $800,000 or $80,000 … and so on.
The Govt now needs to move decisively and quickly (do they ever?).
Expanding on ozpete's comments and this:
The Govt now needs to move decisively and quickly (do they ever?).
What exactly do you want the government to do?
Additionally, large and rapid changes at a legislative level are almost always bad. Changes must be done slowly, to address and adjust for unforseen consequences and avoid wasting too much time and money on useless endevours. The best work that governments do is the slow continuous improvements, not the grand standing political moves which tend to step on everything else.
This. The Govt shouldn't be getting involved in the free market as a general rule. They should only get into that space when there is a monopoly or when an industry needs regulating for reasons other than price control. Under the C&C Act we have laws about anti-cartel behaviour and the Govt shouldn't be essentially forcing business to act in the same manner.
Secondly the Govt cannot regulate businesses outside of Australia. If business X wants to charge $100 for their widget in the US and $200 for their widget outside of Australia then it's the damn right to do so.
What the OP is complaining about is a little different as it's market segmentation. It's not one business deciding on a price and another business deciding on another price. It's the same business deciding 2 customers will pay different prices for the same product.
You really have 2 choices - use a reshipper or suck it up. I'm a paid subscriber to Shipito and no longer give a crap what they charge Australians.
Bruce and mxyzptik.
READ it again - Its Bloomingdales. They are NOT an Australian Retailer they are an US retailer. What can the Australian Govt do here, short of invading the US.
The rest is your personal rave which has nothing to do with what Sarah has said. But I guess you will feel better. And this is not to say I disagree with some of your points.
Back to the Sarah's point.
I have no idea why they would have two prices, did you try it with another product? It could be a error.
BTW the best way to buy from overseas sites is to use the local currency AND the 28 degrees mastercard, or Citibank plus account (Debit card) as they offer the best exchange rate.
The rate they offer is better than paypal or most other providers, and using any vendors price conversion results in paying a less favourable exchange rate (though not normally as bad as you indicated)
I know this does not directly answer why, but it does provide you with a way around the issue and will also save you more in the future with other OS purchases. Oh and its free - no annual fee, etc etc
There is plenty of discussion here on Ozbargain do a search. One thread is http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/61621
READ it again - Its Bloomingdales. They are NOT an Australian Retailer they are an US retailer. What can the Australian Govt do here, short of invading the US.
I agree completely. I said there was an enquiry, never said it would do any good. The best the government can hope for is to raise consumer awareness which may lead to increased preasure.
Alternatively it may be possible to come to certain international trade agreements to restrict this. For example, it has been argued that within the EU steam locking French citizens out of the UK store (and so forth) is a violation of the EU regulations. This has not yet been tested legally.
Hi Ozpete
Just got a question is paying with Citibank Plus account negate the overseas fees that normal banks charge?
I was reading their T&Cs and kept getting confused whether fee free global transactions included online shopping and not international money transfers.So far all my online purchases have been with 28 degrees card, that way I get more time (= interest) to pay, but I believe its the same for purchases
Ah okay, might apply and give it a go, can't apply for a 28 degrees that's why I was asking.
It's not an error. A few dozen (in some cases larger) US retailers use a company called Fiftyone for e-commerce facilities. It also seems to mostly be companies that use Fiftyone who also seem to have this Australia tax. I suspect somehow it's Fiftyone doing it but no how.
Thanks for the link & advice.It's not an error I tried the same thing with 5 random items the price in $AU is always higher.
The are only a couple of options unfortunately.
1: Buy as a 'US' customer. Depending on their store this may involve any/all of the following:
a. Using a mail forwarder.
b. Using a US proxy.
c. Using a US credit card (this one is HARD).
2: Notify the store that you are unhappy with their behaviour and hope for a positive response.
Option A is probably the only feasible solution. Even if sarah4444 were to use a proxy, she still would not be able to ship directly to Australia. It would not be listed as an option for shipping destination on the checkout page.
J crew has a similar structure where if you want to shop to Australia, you must use the Australian site where prices are elevated. They advertise flat shipping rates, but any savings you make there are inevitably lost. A shirt that is $60 on the US site is $90 on the Australian site.
Edit: wasn't sure if you meant a proxy as in IP addresses or a person in the US who purchases and the forwards it here?
Perhaps ozbargain can also offer a shopping proxy (with a reasonable fee of course) to its members?
Not really the role, and there are a number of options out there. It could be split off as a sister company, but I don't think it makes sense to have the two services combined.
We have already tried to compile a list of mail forwarder here (it's a wiki by the way, so all members are allowed to add / update the listing). However I don't think it's a good idea to run a service and a community at the same time. Conflict of interest?
One example of questionable pricing is the purchase of Google's Nexus 10 Tablet.
A 16GB Nexus 10 is AUD469 via the Google Play website (you can only purchase it via Google Play - at the moment, which in itself is a bit of a sore point, but moving on) via Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. in Singapore . In the process of ordering, and not until you reach checkout, is GST of $44.46 applied to the order, making the grand total AUD513.46!… compare this price and the price you can purchase the new iPad for at AUD498.
Now, remembering that, in the US, this is a tablet that is purported to be USD100 cheaper than the equivalent new 16GB iPad with Retina Display (4th Gen.. .whatever we call the new iPad today!).
Moving on… you may note there is an issue, did you pick it up?… yes, GST applied to an item purchased and shipped via an overseas company. Issue 1) GST is not applicable to orders purchased overseas, 2) there is a tax free threshold of AUD1,000 for imports, therefore there are no other duties or taxes applied.
I currently have an order of a Nexus 10 with Google and taking this questionable pricing to their head office in CA, USA.
Mike
Google being dilgent about paying taxes, except that it's only when you pay not them.
But I suppose they think its evil for them to pay taxes
@ozpete — I think the difference is,
- Nexus 10 16GB is USD$399 on Google Play US
- Nexus 10 16GB is AUD$469 on Google Play AU
Most people would think that $469 already includes GST, as it's more than 10% above the US price.
But no. You pay GST on top of that :( Besides GST is really consumer tax so it's not Google paying them, but they collect them on behalf of the government. By not including the GST up front in the price they might actually break the law here.
Exactly. it was a tongue in cheek comment about them (Google) willing to extort taxes when its not them that has to pay…
Sorry meant to say total price is $488.99. Broken down as follows: $469 (Nexus 10), $19.99 (Shipping) and $44.46 GST!
It is illegal to charge GST on an item of value of $1,000 or less, purchased via an overseas company and imported into Australia. The transaction is tax exempt.
Have given the runaround of the century with Google. never have I experienced such lack of ownership or service and knowledge of taxation law. That said, have made some headway today- still going!So $469 is GST inclusive? That's not to bad then?
As of collecting the tax, no it's NOT illegal for government to collect the tax for you through an online business entity, especially when the said company has an Australian presence. If the imported item is under $1,000 when it crosses the custom it's exempted from having GST added, if it hasn't already.
They do the same at Bannana Republic (Womens Fashion, US brand) and Boohoo (Womens Fashion, UK) - practically double the prices when you choose to use Australian currency or ship to an Australian address. It has nothing to do with taxes or exchange rates, they just want to make more money. I take my business elsewhere because it means their prices are not that great anymore.
Google 'Australia Tax'. There is even a government enquiry, this is nothing new.
Edit: OK, to be fair googling that doesn't help too much, but this is a known thing.