If you’re not still in holiday mode you’ve probably noticed in the papers lately that a few very rich blokes have been complaining that our modern ‘tech-savvy’ society is costing them dollars. More precisely these guys have been arguing that online shopping is hurting their bottom lines, their bottom lines that are of course worth millions. For those still lying on the beach with no idea what I am talking about the basic argument stands that products purchased from foreign websites worth less that $1000 should have to pay GST just like with things brought at a store locally. Now don’t get me wrong I like money as much as the next guy, so I can understand why the heads of these big companies are standing on their soap boxes. However I would never try to earn a dollar at the expense of someone else, which is basically what these guys are proposing with the idea of further taxation.
If you’ve never been shopping online you may be blind as to the potential bargains you can find if you know where to look. I’ll give you a perfect example of where as Australians we seem to be harshly done by when it comes to retail. In 2009 when I was in Berlin I bought a new pair of Prada sunglasses for around $200 Australian. For some that may seem a lot for a fashion accessory but let’s not forget all the functional benefits of a good pair of sunnies. Not only do they save your eyes but they come very much in handy when sitting out the front of your favourite café (ladies we know you do it too!). Anyway upon returning home I discovered that in fact the same pair of sunglasses was not available in Australia AND comparative pairs were priced to the tune of $350 plus! At the time I thought ‘wow what a buy by my’ and left it at that. It wasn’t until recently when I happened to leave the same pair of sunnies out the front of one of my many favourite cafés on Bridge Rd or Swan St that I discovered the perks to shopping online. I might add that if you found a pair of said sunglasses last month and decided to make them your own, I’m looking out for you!! Luckily I found the very same pair on www.sunglassesavenue.com for a mere $190 US which of course is about the same in Aus dollars at the moment. Add in $30 for postage and I still make a saving of at least $130.
I read an interesting comment in The Age this weekend by Michelle Griffen, who in her Provocateur piece said “Australians are third-class citizens in the worlds of books, DVD’s and film distribution.. But now we know it!” And this is where the problem lies for Australian retailers; we don’t need you anymore. In fact since my sunnies episode I’ve had my eyes opened to the world of online shopping. I’ve discovered that I can buy any sports apparel, Nike runners, basketball tops, basically anything American from www.eastbay.com at a fraction of the price I can here. Instead of heading to any local bookstore I managed on Amazon to get Mark Occhilupo’s autobiography for $10.85 instead of $25, and a management book call Leading Change for $18.07 rather than $49.99 as advertised at one of our major bookstores! Of course you need to account for the dollar which at this stage should remain favourable for a while and postage which in many cases is free.
I don’t want to get in the bad books of local producers and suppliers who may argue that buying foreign will cost our economy jobs, but I would certainly like to ask the question “why is there such a differential in prices between overseas and here?” Even when you account for the logistics of shipping, import tax and GST many products are still marked up excessively. My basic understanding of macroeconomics is that supply and demand i.e. competition drives prices, so if the heavy hitters of the Australian retail industry need to take a hit on their margins then so be it. Better that they make a smaller profit than all of us having to foot the bill.
If I’ve managed to tempt you into the realm of online bargain hunting then here are a few more websites that some of the good Twitter folk swear by:
www.bookdepository.com - UK based, bargain books, supposedly free shipping.
www.asos.com - UK again, apparently good and cheap clothing.
www.urbanoutfitters.com - Great range of good clothing and shoe labels.
Feel free to recommend your favourites!
