Here in the UK they charge VAT (currently 17.5% rising to 20% next year) on anything coming in from outside the EU above 18gbp in value.
Above 120gbp they also charge Excise Duty!!
You are always liable to pay GST an anything you bring in. The so-called $1000 baseline is only because the Customs Department sensibly decided the amount of GST collected on less than that cost them more in wages etc than they recovered.
$1000- limit seems a sensible customs response.
You don't want to turn Customs into a 6-8 week fiasco like some
European countries...Usually the ones that Ebay seller won't ship to!
I had a shipment for just under $1,000 spend a long time getting to me. When it did arrive, it was apparently untouched/unopened. I suspect it sat on the shelf while customs waited to see if another shipment from the same supplier to the same address arrived. Fair enough, too.
Ignoring the fact that it would be uneconomic to collect GST on small purchases, I think their entire argument is flawed completely.
There are a variety of very identifiable reasons why people shop and why in some cases they go overseas or internet shopping to be satisfied.
1. Price
2. Product availaibility
3. Deliverability
4. Service
5. Information
6. Accessibility
7. Freight cost
No doubt there are more
In my own OS shopping experiences - my caveat.
I can often buy better overseas even if I added 10% to the price so that isnt going to stop me - so their main argument is flawed.
But I also have bought when it costs more too.
But on the other issues which are even more important - price is simply not the biggest issue - I may want something in three days or I may want to reward the person that gave me the best service !
By Issue
2. & 3. The Products I want to buy often don't have an Australian distributor or even if they do I cant find them, they dont have any stock whatsoever and their ordering processes take months not days.
So there is no Australian purchase option anyway - nobody can actually deliver in a reasonable timeframe.
4. Service from overseas has mostly been substantially better than local - I can order something domestically and they dont even get around to packing it for days - yet overseas its out of the door on whatever day you order it including weekends, I wont get into the personals of some local resellers - but in quite a few cases I will say that service, customer attitude, response times, product knowledge have been very poor to downright terrible and non existent - this is not only specific to the Astro industry and of course is not true of all I have dealt with.
5. Information is much more readily available from most of the overseas companies I buy from - I can get the information that I need to make a purchase decision either on the web, PDF or by email or in just one phone call. In Australia this has often become a long drawn out process that is convoluted, full of frustration and doesnt easily allow for direct comparisons - on the flip side I have used overseas supplied info to buy locally too !
6. I think that many Australian retailers don't yet fully understand retailing in the 21st century. Many overseas retailers do - a product needs to be readily found and sourced, easily researched with all required info available, and able to be purchased simply and easily and freighted quickly and cost effectively - we mostly live busy lives and dont have a lot of extra time to go shopping - online shopping allows us to do these things when it suits us - there is nothing stopping Aussie retailers to get off their lazy behinds and catch up with the rest of the world - those that have done so are reaping the rewards, those that dont are grizzling about reduced margins and cheap imports ruining their businesses !
7. I can in some cases get things sent to me quicker and cheaper from OS than locally ! But usually it costs a bit more, but usually quicker - so its obvious that I am not buying solely on price.
If and when Australian retailers are competitive on all these counts and can provide the sorts of services that enable people to buy from them in the same manner, they may see the trend reverse - its a supply and demand world - business just doesnt walk in their door just because they open it - they need to be proactive about it and make sure their customers know about and receive the services that will enable a buying decision - as more doors close because of it, new doors will open that realise how to do business.
That is the way its always been - how many shops do you walk into these days where the money is transferred by cannister up spring loaded lines or vacuum operated ducts to a central cashier !
So maybe the Australian Retailers Association should spend their time and efforts training their retailers and bring them up to speed with the 21st century and providing them with the sorts of modern hi tech resources they need to cater for modern customers in a modern world. eg Web based shopping engines at low cost, Australian cooperative buy/sell Portals, decent freight costing systems etc etc,
I do buy local where I can but not just because its local.
My 2c worth from my own experiences.
So charging GST on all purchases will create another mega bureacracy that will inevitabley cost the tax payer more and I doubt will not change the buying habits of more than maybe 10% of shoppers and potentially make the retailers even lazier in terms of redeveloping their businesses.
Retailers who become proactive would have a much greater effect on changing the habits of shoppers !
Cheers
Rally
PS Forgot to cover Warranty (there are pros and cons to this) and forgot about Secondhand goods - (things otherwise unavailable here - but not identified by Customs as 2nd hand goods just lumped in to consumable goods via their tariff code or by value only)
