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Originally Posted by TrevorW
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Yes Trevor, most things in the US are cheaper than here.
I think we need some perspective though.
It isn't 'necessarily' the distributor ripping people off, although I do agree that some distributors do appear to have extremely high pricing in some instances.
The fact is that Australia is an expensive place to do business. Rents and Government (federal, state and local) compliance issues are a high cost outgoing. Particularly rents (plus rates), as they are horrendous here in comparison to those of the US, particularly taking into account population and business turnover. Australia has a small population that has an even smaller astronomy market. Not to forget that wages here are higher than the US. For instance, the minimum hourly rate in Australia is $15.96 as compared to the US which is $7.25, and the average weekly income is 34% higher in Australia. There are many more lower paid workers in the US than here.
Warranty issues are another factor, as the cost of providing warranty is often borne by the distributor. For instance, the freight for items that have to be returned to manufacturer and the subsequent clearance costs on its return to Australia have to borne by the distributor, not necessarily by the manufacturer. Also, on the subject of warranty, in a small market like Australia, the cost of providing warranty is much higher.
When you consider factors such as Equal Order Quantities and Break Even Analysis, we are simply not a large enough market to be able to compete with the US market or prices. The fact is, there are 315 million people in the US compared to 23 million in Australia. We are a small population and rank 52 in the world populations. We are not that important.
The fact is, if you want to continue to be able to walk into a store and look at this all this gear, the price for that is obvious.
Furthermore, as most things in the US are much cheaper there, what do you think would happen to businesses in Australia if we bought EVERYTHING from the US.
As more money flows off shore, the weaker we become. This is why I accept that I will have to pay more here, if I still want to be able to get things like warranty and service.
Although I do buy some things from overseas, and that is mostly because it isn't available here, I mostly support the Australian businesses. I certainly do not want to see them disappear, otherwise, I will have to jump on an aeroplane if I want to see anything before I buy it. Besides, small business is the major employer in Australia and without them, most of us wouldn't have a job, directly or indirectly.
And no, I am not in business, nor would I want to be, as it is tough in small business in Australia. We simply cannot, nor will we ever, be able to compete.