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Every time you put a product into an Australian warehouse or retail front, expect it to cost at least 30-50% more, at least, mostly due to labour costs and rent. Most decent retailers base their prices on their supply price. If the supplier increases their cost, many are reluctant to raise the prices and absorb the cost where they can, until they go out of business, or bear the brunt of angry customers.
You could walk into a Dymocks retail front and get a book straight away, but not with the Amazon warehouse. You pay for that service. But with Amazon coming to Australia, it's likely they'll bring the Prime service with free 2 day shipping etc. Smaller retailers can't even compete with shipping rates--it's insane that it's cheaper to ship something from China than to ship something locally.
I see more and more retail being done out of a warehouse either locally or overseas as a response to Amazon to compete with price.
Borders closing down is a sure sign of the bookstores not being able to change with the market.
Cheap prices are not always a good thing--if one big retailer comes into any industry and slashes prices, it is predatory pricing and its sole purpose is to drive smaller guys out of the market, so that they become a monopoly, and where companies become big and faceless, the less personal customer service you get.
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