I'm headed back to the Good 'Ole USA to visit family, trying to get my shopping list finalized.
With the strong Aussie dollar, I've noticed that prices are getting more inline with the USA... however... Trolling through the many pieces of equipment and astronomical "bling" I would like to bring back, I noticed a significant difference in price on one particular item:
Australia: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 AUD $229.00
Amazon.com: USD $49.00 with free shipping in the USA.
Makes me think either its old stock or they just have not updated their website... or Sheldon and Hammond are making a killing... (probably why MagLite's are also so expensive here, and ScanPan's according to the missus).
I think I'm going to have to take an empty suitcase with me...
... its always been like that mate and why alot of people squirrel celestron gear out though mail fowarders because the often 300% price increase doesn't warrent the "local service cost".
MPCC's for newts here in aust 300 dollars from singapour exact same item... 150 dollars.? go figure!
Believe me, the problem isn't unique to Oz.
Here in the UK/ Europe it's just as bad if not worse...the exchange rate and GST (21%) plus duties and freight.......
I think the issue is more with Celestron trying to protect their profit margin. I personally don't know the profit margins scope sellers make in Oz, but it don't think they are that much more than sellers in other countries.
Supply v demand is another factor, we are a small country, population wise.
Bo
Believe me, the problem isn't unique to Oz.
Here in the UK/ Europe it's just as bad if not worse...the exchange rate and GST (21%) plus duties and freight.......
I think one of the reasons countries other than the US pay much more for Celestron items is that there is little or no competition. There is a lot of competition in the US which keeps prices down, however, in Australia there is only one distributor who has an exclusive which means that they can charge what they like, or at least Celestron can dictate whatever price they like, particularly given that we cannot buy it from overseas retailers.
I find this particularly annoying given that the Australian distributor doesn't appear to stock everything in Australia anyway. I wanted to buy a Celestron Astrometric eyepiece, for which they had no stock, and I couldn't even get an answer to when it was going to be available. The price difference was staggering also. Instead, I purchased the Baader equivalent from Extravision, which turned out to be a much better eyepiece anyway and was a bit cheaper anyway.
Also, one of my primary suppliers is OPT, for those items I cannot get in Australia, and it is very annoying that I cannot get Celestron products from them. I should be able to buy my products from whom ever I like and not be dictated to as to where I HAVE to buy them, particularly given my choice of retailer is often dictated by who has stock.
I have previously taken issue with Celestron over their Australian pricing and was advised the higher prices in Australia is due to freight. I find this hard to believe, as most products come out of China anyway, so freight would be on a par, although I can accept that there may be some difference due to economies of scale, but not that much difference, compared to US pricing.
Although I think Celestron products are great products, I now refuse to buy their products in Australia. To this end I have made other arrangements, if I ever need Celestron products in the future, and it won't be supporting Celestron Australia. At least, not until they get a little more reasonable with their prices.
Also, one of my primary suppliers is OPT, for those items I cannot get in Australia, and it is very annoying that I cannot get Celestron products from them.
Yep, I agree. I've purchased Celestron items from them in the past whenever I go home, particularly when I was living in Indonesia (I don't trust shipping into Indonesia at all, things disappear on a regular basis).
OPT is a great company, but since they are one of the bigger Celestron sellers, I imagine that they don't want to ruin the relationship.
Yep, I agree. I've purchased Celestron items from them in the past whenever I go home, particularly when I was living in Indonesia (I don't trust shipping into Indonesia at all, things disappear on a regular basis).
OPT is a great company, but since they are one of the bigger Celestron sellers, I imagine that they don't want to ruin the relationship.
OIC!
No, they don't, but I understand that. But they are not exactly happy about it either. Why would they be since they are losing business. After all, we truly live in a global market now days.
Please don't get me wrong, I do support Australian companies, a lot, but only when the prices are reasonable and if they have stock.
Who's making a killing then at the man in the street expense
Your not wrong!
It isn't just Astro gear that has ridiculously ENOURMOUS mark-ups in this country!
I went to price the new 2012 Harley models and accidentally went to the USA site instead of the Australian site and got a BIG shock!
Compare the prices for the same bike on these 2 websites.
The 1st one is USA, the 2nd is Oz.
Can it really cost $12,000 per bike to bring to Oz? NO! I used to be a Harley Dealer and I know exactly how much they cost wholesale in Oz. The real price!
The number of registered HD dealers has been reduced to almost half, and those few have inflated prices (set by Harley Australia) to approximately 40% over US prices.
In the real world, each bike costs about $1200 to freight to Oz, one at a time. Shipping in bulk (as they do) is a lot cheaper. But as Meade, Celestron, etc have done, you can't ship Brand New Bikes to Oz from USA. Only used.
There are ways around it
Another example is those Australian companies who have gone offshore to reduce labour and material costs (at the expense of jobs in this country) yet the retail price of items has not gone down but increased
It isn't just Astro gear that has ridiculously ENOURMOUS mark-ups in this country!
I went to price the new 2012 Harley models and accidentally went to the USA site instead of the Australian site and got a BIG shock!
Compare the prices for the same bike on these 2 websites.
The 1st one is USA, the 2nd is Oz.
Can it really cost $12,000 per bike to bring to Oz? NO! I used to be a Harley Dealer and I know exactly how much they cost wholesale in Oz. The real price!
The number of registered HD dealers has been reduced to almost half, and those few have inflated prices (set by Harley Australia) to approximately 40% over US prices.
In the real world, each bike costs about $1200 to freight to Oz, one at a time. Shipping in bulk (as they do) is a lot cheaper. But as Meade, Celestron, etc have done, you can't ship Brand New Bikes to Oz from USA. Only used.
There are ways around it
The price comparison pics, USA v's Oz:
That's really interesting that you say that Ken.
You cannot buy an item from overseas, because they have agreements that prevent retailers from shipping outside of their respective countries. They are in the enviable position of being able to pretty much charge whatever they like; and get away with it. This may be why they have adopted such a model.
Because most foreign companies are now seeing this as as way of being able to increase their prices, and not to protect their distributors, they are also considering these same restrictions, particularly Chinese companies. The Chinese have many years of dictating terms to the world, so we won't see any changes to these practices any time soon, I would imagine.
I have no problem supporting Australian businesses, but one of the real causes of these cost problems is the extremely high cost of doing business in Australia, i.e, rents, taxes and red tape, etc. The Australian government does absolutely nothing, as far as I can see, to increase productivity and innovation.
I still firmly believe that, because it is my money, I should be able to buy whatever product I want from where I want, without being dictated to as to where I HAVE to buy it. After all, Governments are always bleating on about it being a world market.
I wanted to purchase the book "Treasures of the Southern Sky" from my normal book store, only to find that the price is $85.00. That's fine, but having a look at the book, I had decided that I didn't think it was worth the price. However, when I checked Amazon, I ended up purchasing it for less than $40.00, including freight. Frankly, books in Australia have become ridiculously expensive. Incidentally, it was worth buying for $40.00!
How are Australian companies ever going to be able to compete with these sort of prices? These days, I have very limited funds and have absolutely no choice but to chase the cheapest possible price. It disturbs me that I have to go offshore for my goods, as I well realise that this probably means the loss of jobs. Australia simply cannot ever compete.
We will end up like Greece, I feel. Not enough productivity and way way too much debt. It can't end well. I weep for the future of this country.
I weep for the future of this country.
