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Old 10-10-2018, 06:43 AM
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Amazon appears a rip off

just checking the price of More Mathematical Astronomy Morsels in bookshops was very surprised to see the cost a Bintel $69 Amazon $169.31.
So I went on to check a few more things Dictionary of Modern Star Names Bintel $25 Amazon $35.41
Pentax SP 12×50 WP Bintel $299 Amazon $852!!!
Excel Year 2 NAPLAN*-style Tests Angus & Robertson $21.21 Amazon $26.95
The Lost Man (a book) Angus & Robertson $23.95 Amazon $24.59
A computer Lenovo Yoga 730-2U 13.3-inch 2-in-1 Modern PC Laptop - Silver Harvey Norman $1698 Amazon $2071
Nikon D7200 DSLR 18-140mm Travel Kit Harvey Norman $1598 Amazon $2139 this is a strange one as you can get a refurbished from Amazon for $2861

All I can say after doing this very short price comparison is
caveat emptor
and don't fall for the hyp of Amazon!
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Old 10-10-2018, 07:04 AM
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Appears? More than appears

Wanted a specific book for our 12th anniversary that we had seen in the National Gallery of Australia. Went on to Amazon and eBay thinking it'd be cheaper...nope, both circa $75...so I drove back in to the NGA (all of 12 minutes) and paid their $49.95 asking price (which with fuel costs came to a whopping $51 probably) - I didn't even have to pay parking since it was a weekend.

Haven't shopped Amazon for 10 years, and that is not going to change with Amazon Australia. I also refuse to shop Harvey Norman.
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Old 10-10-2018, 08:13 AM
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Kal (Andrew)
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I've said this before and I'll keep saying it - Amazon is like ebay in that anyone can open up a shop there and sell stuff for whatever price they want. If you want to sell those items cheaper on amazon, you can open up a shop there for yourself and compete with them.
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Old 10-10-2018, 09:00 AM
alval (Alan)
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Yes with both amazon and ebay its a case of do your homework on prices. I’ve found prices on a certain tool store with an actual online store as well as an ebay store to have prices ten percent cheaper if you buy from them direct. They obviously factor in the ebay ten percent or so and paypal fees into the ebay store price so they get their asking price, if you want to pay extra through ebay its up to you. Goes the same for drop shippers if the item is ‘in stock’ and they quote a 2-4 week delivery in australia its probably drop shipped and you’re paying someone to order for you. Buyer beware, do your research
Al
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Old 10-10-2018, 11:03 AM
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http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...31#post1394731

"Half of everything sold on Amazon comes from small businesses" from a current Amazon ad regarding using Amazon Business Services: https://blog.aboutamazon.com/small-b...-big-on-amazon

https://www.amazon.com/b2b/info/amaz...layout=landing


Basically, it's the local vendor setting the high price, not Amazon
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Old 10-10-2018, 01:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OICURMT View Post
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...31#post1394731

"Half of everything sold on Amazon comes from small businesses" from a current Amazon ad regarding using Amazon Business Services: https://blog.aboutamazon.com/small-b...-big-on-amazon

https://www.amazon.com/b2b/info/amaz...layout=landing


Basically, it's the local vendor setting the high price, not Amazon
That's not a valid argument as it's still under the Amazon banner
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Old 10-10-2018, 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by speach View Post
That's not a valid argument as it's still under the Amazon banner

Your argument is akin to saying IceInSpace is a ripoff because you have one member trying to sell their ED80 for $4000, don't be so dismissive of the facts
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:35 AM
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Quote:
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Your argument is akin to saying IceInSpace is a ripoff because you have one member trying to sell their ED80 for $4000, don't be so dismissive of the facts
Work for Amazon do you?
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:54 AM
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Work for Amazon do you?
Really....
Can we keep this off the personal level please.

RB
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Old 11-10-2018, 08:56 AM
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That's not a valid argument as it's still under the Amazon banner

Amazon has never claimed to have the lowest prices. I think your idea of what Amazon is versus what it really is differs.


I'm trying to give insight as to the business model. It's a model that seems to work, but you still need to perform due diligence on anything you plan on purchasing.
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:44 AM
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I just wish Amazon didn't do a dummy spit and force us onto their australian site, I used to buy heaps of astro stuff from amazon before their dummy spit
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:52 AM
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I've never bought (or even looked seriously at) Amazon.au. I have however bought a few things when on Amazon.jp during semi-annual holidays there.

Things ARE cheap by AU standards, though I lack the personal language ability to seriously compare this to other JP internet stores. For what comparisons I can do , Amazon.jp seems to hold it's own quite well.

Amazon.jp has a "fulfillment centre" just over the hill in Osaka. It's a marvel of warehouse robotics and automation. We saw a mini doco on telly, after it's opening. Due to this capacity, and geography, any order I've made before 5pm has appeared on the doorstep by 10am the next day. Most of the time, postage is free (Amazon Prime, etc).

Stating the obvious, it is is unlikely Amazon.au will invest to a similar level here. That, coupled with lower population and greater distances make it incomparable to Amazon US, JP, or other "big ones".

As mentioned, our personal impression or expectations do not equal reality in most cases. Not encouraging people to lay down and accept anything however. One should do what they can, where they can, to improve their surroundings. In this situation sorry, I have little advice, other than writing to them. Indicate their poor performance compared to whatever alternatives are available to you.
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Old 11-10-2018, 09:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikolas View Post
I just wish Amazon didn't do a dummy spit and force us onto their australian site, I used to buy heaps of astro stuff from amazon before their dummy spit
This was a very poor move on their part, which probably represents most of people's dissatisfaction.

I guess there's no difference (results wise) between "letting us back into Amazon US", or "making Amazon AU as good (as possible) as US".

I suspect only a population wide boycott of Amazon.au with the above reasons stated would have the desired effect. Not an easy task. It's a pity we needed to muck about with an alt DNS provider to get access to AmazonPrime.jp.
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Old 11-10-2018, 10:43 AM
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I bougth from Amazon.au only once, because they had item I needed (it was ø22mm drill) and ebay (or BangGood) did not.

However, despite claiming local store, I noticed the part was actually sourced from elsewhere as waiting time was couple of weeks.. similar to lead times from ebay (from China).
And, (other) items that were available on both Amazon and ebay were significantly cheaper on ebay.

So.. take care....
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Old 11-10-2018, 10:48 AM
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Been buying DVDs/bluray from amazon for a long time .com and now .com.au. No problem. Just look at the price tag before you buy, see if it suits you and quit whinging. Just sayin...
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  #16  
Old 11-10-2018, 02:19 PM
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I was a big user of Amazon until they forced me to deal with the Australian site. I have noticed a lot of disparity in pricing. To give you an idea I bought a Tascam DR05 recorder from the US site, not long before they stopped me buying from that site. It cost me around $147 Aussie, after conversion and freight (no tax was added). The very same item from the Australian site is $666 which is a 453% markup, and that is before tax and freight. But, here is the kicker, it is sent from the very same place (US third party supplier) that I got my original unit. That is just one example.

I have compared prices of a lot of items that I had purchased from the US site to those from the Australian site and have found wildly disparate pricing, with the item often being sent from the US anyway. Some of the percentage differences are 600%, 223%, 300% etc. Only one price I found was actually cheaper in Australia.

Now, I do understand that, in a lot of cases, this is not Amazon's fault, as it is the third party supplier that sets the price. My opinion is that we are just getting ripped off as they see us as a rich nation. Gee, I don't feel rich

I certainly will not be buying much from Amazon Australia unless the situation with pricing changes. I have alternative US suppliers so it won't matter that much to me. If it turns out Amazon is the only place I can get an item, and if it is cheaper through the US, I can use a third party to get the item for me.

Cheers Peter

Last edited by Stardrifter_WA; 11-10-2018 at 02:38 PM.
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Old 11-10-2018, 05:00 PM
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Quote:
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Work for Amazon do you?

No, and I never have.



Do you work for Harvey Norman?
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Old 11-10-2018, 06:51 PM
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The local retailers can relax now: Amazon does not appear to be the competitor that they feared, which is disappointing for us consumers.
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  #19  
Old 11-10-2018, 08:48 PM
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Be fair Simon, there are frequently vendors listing new scopes on ebay for
3,4, even 5 times the normal price,[ I don't know if anybody is ever dumb
enough to buy one], but we don't blame ebay for that, do we.
raymo
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Old 12-10-2018, 03:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo View Post
Be fair Simon, there are frequently vendors listing new scopes on ebay for
3,4, even 5 times the normal price,[ I don't know if anybody is ever dumb
enough to buy one], but we don't blame ebay for that, do we.
raymo
Strange about Ebay and scopes, bid on a 10" meade The buy it nowprice was $10000 I bid $500 was winning it until 5 min before the time was up, as you can imagine I was very excited!! Then poof it just disappeared went into that great cyber black hole, vendor would not acknowledge my e mail etc etc!!!
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