Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelopardalis
I, for one, can't fathom those who look at a price overseas, can't master basic currency conversion or international shipping costs, and then expect local stores to match it.
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I think you'll find a lot of the internet/overseas shoppers are more savvy than you give them credit for. You have the odd one slip through like the one described in the original post but with the internet and online shopping as accessible as it is today, it's quite easy for people to find out and know what is and is not a good deal. There are websites specifically designed to help shoppers get great deals locally and international, namely
https://www.ozbargain.com.au which has saved me a small fortune.
The flashlight I mentioned in my previous post which was 50% cheaper from Amazon US than the local authorised dealer INCLUDED international shipping and currency conversion fees from my bank. That just goes to show how cheap the actual product was given how much more international shipping costs. Those kinds of savings can't be ignored.
Back when our dollar was at parity with the USD, I had bought tyres from the US which were pretty bloody expensive to get shipped over here, but in the end they saved me $150 PER TYRE than if I had bought them locally, even with the expensive shipping.
Yes, this thread is about Astronomy gear but the same principle applies everywhere.