$A=$US - Are we getting ripped off?

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by Rodp

It's already been pointed out several times in this thread but looks like it's being ignored for the purpose of being able to moan about it more.. Compare the median wage in the US to here. Ours is significantly higher. Combined with economies of scale, it dictates that the prices for the same goods in the US compared to here would be cheaper. End of story.

I'm guessing people on here are happy to half there wage to buy all these things at half the price ...can't understand why anyone would even think that way .I'm 100 % with you and others , I'm happy to buy at the price that reflects my wages , and keep the bloke down the road in a job ...for those that want 5 bucks an hour so they can buy an f150 for 30 grand ...your on your own . And you keep supporting those low income nations as that's what we will become ....

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

I'm guessing people on here are happy to half there wage to buy all these things at half the price ...can't understand why anyone would even think that way .I'm 100 % with you and others , I'm happy to buy at the price that reflects my wages , and keep the bloke down the road in a job ...for those that want 5 bucks an hour so they can buy an f150 for 30 grand ...your on your own . And you keep supporting those low income nations as that's what we will become ....

At work they've shipped all our manufacturing of furniture to overseas, China.

The quality is crap, but because of how cheap they get it for they can't not buy it.

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by UberKnee

But that's just stupid, what the hells the point in being paid more if everyone just charges more because of it.

You get paid more only if your boss makes more from inflated prices , no you can't have your cake and eat it , there is always someone who has to pay .

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

At work they've shipped all our manufacturing of furniture to overseas, China.

The quality is crap, but because of how cheap they get it for they can't not buy it.

Sad days indeed , with people could understand that .its gotta stop , but its getting too late for many things .

[MAD]

This whole talk of prices to meet wages is BS.
The ONLY time this really becomes part of the equation is when something is manufactured here. (disregarding the relatively small increases in paying employees, insurance, etc)
Imported goods have no reason, other than gouging, to be as highly priced as they are.

As someone mentioned earlier, I don't mind paying a premium for Australian made goods. I do have a probelm with paying a premium to an importer that is nothing more than a box mover.

[MAD]

I'd happily take a pay cut, if the cost of living came down accordingly.
Think about how much money the banks would lose in interest payments!

[vanman_75]

Imported means made by other countries at lower wage lower product costs lower company responsibility.its cheap over there because the price reflects what they earn ...yes there is price gouging but that's life , jobs are being lost at a huge rate in Australia ( short term mining boom is not something to count as an industry ) if people don't understand that then there is not much more I can add .

[Franco Cozzo]

Eventually Chinese people are going to want a western lifestyle and wage, what happens then? We've lost all our skills and industry, China hikes up the prices and we'll be back to square one except without Australians in jobs.

[MAD]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

Imported means made by other countries at lower wage lower product costs lower company responsibility.its cheap over there because the price reflects what they earn ...yes there is price gouging but that's life , jobs are being lost at a huge rate in Australia ( short term mining boom is not something to count as an industry ) if people don't understand that then there is not much more I can add .

Exactly, the price has no reason to go up as high as it does when those goods are imported here. It's not like they specifically hire Australians, and pay Australian wages to make the stuff that gets exported to Australia.

RE price gouging, I can only think of the line "what goes around, comes around". It may have been "just life" for a while, but the 'glory days' are over.
They've gouged us for so long and now we've found ourselves more access to buy and import the things ourselves, and those companies are suffering, or already closed.

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by flappist

Next time all you jetseters are over in USA/Europe have a quick talk with a shop worker.

Ask them about their 4 weeks holiday with 17.5% loading, their 9% super, their sickies, their free hospital cover, their workers comp, their penalty rates and all the other the other things that Australian workers take for granted.

Then ask them what would happen if they lost their job, their dole, their government paid retraining, their squillions of other benefits etc.

The price of everything in Australia including importing would be a lot lower if we were all not so grossly overpaid and nannied compared to almost all the rest of the world.

Can understand this being an issue where the cost of the labour input varies between countries.

For example , even after their 17% VAT, eating out at an average Thai restaurant in Bangkok or Phuket is cheap compared to Australia, but that can be rationalised because service staff in Thailand are paid peanuts compared to those in Australia. The business owner in Australia needs to jack up their pricing accordingly to cover this cost and to make a reasonable profit. The Bangkok restauranter doesn't need to charge as much hence it is cheaper to eat out.

Goods that are made in juridisctions where labour is cheap, say China or India, should not see a price variation at the retail level between Australia or the US (except to cover differences in freight, exchange rates and local consumption taxes) as there is no local labour component.

If I can buy a car part direct from the US for the equivalent of AUD $500 to my door , why is it that I must pay $850 to buy that same part locally from an importer who has added no value (including any additional labour) to the finished product?

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by GT0132

If I can buy a car part direct from the US for the equivalent of AUD $500 to my door , why is it that I must pay $850 to buy that same part locally from an importer who has added no value (including any additional labour) to the finished product?

so you expect that importer to import the part, store the part, service the warrenty on the part, pay any import costs etc etc all for free?

people go into business to make money, not do things for free so some can get a better deal.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

so you expect that importer to import the part, store the part, service the warrenty on the part, pay any import costs etc etc all for free?

people go into business to make money, not do things for free so some can get a better deal.

I agree with GT0132 here, clipping the ticket and adding delays does not substantiate an argument for "support local business".

There are plenty of [most] things that I could buy O/S but choose to buy locally due to some degree of value the local operator is adding to my purchase. Be it warranty, advice, availability, support or even just comfort that I can see who I'm giving my money to.

But simply existing is not an excuse to be fed.

[MAD]

That same part would probably be sold to the company at a cheaper rate than the average Joe could get it.

Points to make profit..
1) wholesale pricing
2) reduced shipping costs due to larger order.
3) reasonable markup

Things to pay extra for:
1) Face-to-face service
2) warranty (cost of freight back to exporter? What's a reasonable expected failure rate? 1/100, 1/1000?. Or would it be better to price in covering it yourself without doing your own returns? Eg. $500 extractors, expected failure rate of 1/100, covering cost $505)
3) shop rent (Paid for by every item they carry, not just 10 sets of extractors)

[gtfpv]

LETS GET REAL HERE .
last night i ordered a model RC aeroplane. from hobbyking .com . they have warehouses around the world .
the plane i bought was $94 from the aussie warehouse +$14 delivery .
at the global warehouse the cost was $79 U.S + $48 delivery
the customs invoice declared the value of the plane - purchased from china @$23.99 U.S make of iut what you will but i bet the chinese company is not getting any more than 23.99 for it .
so its actually cheaper to buy it from the australian warehouse .
why did i purchase it from the global warehouse , simple , ( because i purchased other things as well at cheaper prices which made the whole lot -bundle cheeper , with the one delivery of $48 US . Why did i not spend a few more $$$$ and get quicker delivery via the aussie warehouse , ?? because the aussie warehouse simply didnt have all the parts i required in stock .
where did i get ripped off . in the U.S $$$ TO aussie$$$ conversion rate .
stole something in the order of 3% .
make of that what you will .

CAPITALISATION AT ITS BEST . why couldnt the chinese advertise this plane for say $30 .
the U.S is capitalising on the plane , so is australia , and so is whoever is stealing the conversion rate .
a plane like that 15 years ago , before china was making them would cost around $180-$200 today locally . we can see greedy capitalists sold us out , to make very qick and easy money 3 fold here , for nothing , however it has created employment for china , created shipping and transport global employment , which is a good thing , and allowed some fat people who only know how to get laborless money to get some more .

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

so you expect that importer to import the part, store the part, service the warrenty on the part, pay any import costs etc etc all for free?

people go into business to make money, not do things for free so some can get a better deal.

I said they are adding no extra value than if I were to buy it myself...The import costs would be the same whether i buy it or he/she buys it so that doesn't even come into the equation...warehouse and warranty costs to a point agreed .

I also agree that there should be a profit for the importer , but a 80% markup?

The only real value being added by the importer is that he's taking the trouble to put in the order rather than me. Something that can be done in 2 minutes.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by UberKnee

But that's just stupid, what the hells the point in being paid more if everyone just charges more because of it.

Prices are set at what the market will bear. What's stupid about it? If we charged less for goods and services in Australia, it'll be quickly reflected in your pay packet.

Would you expect someone in say, Afghanistan, pay $80 for a Geoffrey Beene business shirt? Their gross median annual wage is < $1000/year.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by GT0132

I said they are adding no extra value than if I were to buy it myself...The import costs would be the same whether i buy it or he/she buys it so that doesn't even come into the equation...warehouse and warranty costs to a point agreed .

I also agree that there should be a profit for the importer , but a 80% markup?

The only real value being added by the importer is that he's taking the trouble to put in the order rather than me. Something that can be done in 2 minutes.

In your profile you state you are a CFO and you ask these questions?

I suppose your company could lower its rates if you were paid the same as a CFO in China or Thailand after all you are all exactly the same.....

[gtfpv]

howabout a wealthy country like suadi arabia . what would they pay for the geaffrey beene business shirt ?
i dont know the answer , im just asking . and mind you they have immigrant workers over there working for peanuts also . + there own race, i dont think they get paid little .

[vanman_75]

This can go around and around , but I look at the rest of the world like this - my father lives in Fiji he can hire labour for 2 dollars a day - they have no industry or much to offer the world .most have no education , no jobs , no house , no cars , no holidays..
And my mum ex England ( most of her life ) no jobs , no industry , gov housing , low level living . Australia - land of opportunity .facts won't change the more you support low wage / low condition living countries the closer we come down to that level .
I agree with all the sentiments about us gettin ripped off - but i prefer my house on acreage , investment homes , several cars. The ability to splash out on holidays etc etc , all in this country - it all starts here .if it meant I couldn't buy a daewoo or any other cheap car / parts / tvs etc to keep our industry here then that's fine by me .anyways we all have different views and all entitled to them ( another birth right we got ) ..I know where I stand on the issue .

[bluovl]

I have a question that I hope somebody here can answer.
Why are some Australian made products cheaper to buy in the U.S than they are here in the country of manufacture? I wont list examples but it's disappointing that I can order Aussie products cheaper from the U.S. than I can order them locally.

[MAD]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

This can go around and around , but I look at the rest of the world like this - my father lives in Fiji he can hire labour for 2 dollars a day - they have no industry or much to offer the world .most have no education , no jobs , no house , no cars , no holidays..
And my mum ex England ( most of her life ) no jobs , no industry , gov housing , low level living . Australia - land of opportunity .facts won't change the more you support low wage / low condition living countries the closer we come down to that level .
I agree with all the sentiments about us gettin ripped off - but i prefer my house on acreage , investment homes , several cars. The ability to splash out on holidays etc etc , all in this country - it all starts here .if it meant I couldn't buy a daewoo or any other cheap car / parts / tvs etc to keep our industry here then that's fine by me .anyways we all have different views and all entitled to them ( another birth right we got ) ..I know where I stand on the issue .

If everyone was forced to buy Australian made goods only, (no daewoo, no LG tv) we would very quickly learn to do without, or become poorer than the most proverty stricken in the world. Not to mention the number of businesses that would close because we no longer have any spare money to do anything. But to counter that we would jack up our wages and then things would cost more due to wage increases, and we would move forward while going nowhere.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Spudz27

No one has mentioned sheer volume of sales. The u.s and other countries enjoy lower prices, because the goods cost less, because the huge populations demand it more. Something like an RC car for example, for every one sold in aus, the u.s is probably selling 30. Same with games, movies, clothes etc. It is supply and demand and the manufacturers charge the dealers/wholesalers accordingly.

The arguement in manyways doesn't hold water , if a supplier makes 20 if an iten in a cheap labour area and sends 5 to australia and the rest to the US our shouldn't cost 3 times , both import sites pat taxes and other fees like transport so omeone is way greedy

[atec77]

Originally Posted by greenfoam

The only reason things cost more in Australia is that the local distributor adds on his 50-100%. To make things the same price you would need an office of the company here rather than a somewhat independent reseller.

imho Ford Australia acts as a distributor on the imported Fords. Parts for our Fiesta have a price approximately 400% of the retail in Europe, we just buy all the parts straight from Europe, even with 100 pounds postage you end up at less than half the price on most things

There's that meyer factor
adding several hundred percent and knowing many will not bother for the conveninience of walk in a buy , I of late have been saying I can buy for this from here , want to match it and many stores get close and make a sale

[trippytaka]

Erg... this again.

Owning a small t-shirt business on the side has taught me a few things about scales of economy. Basically, as a wholesaler, or distributor - when you order a thousand of the one product, you can buy it at a certain rate. When you order a million of the same product you get it a hell of a lot cheaper. Thus you can pass on savings and you keep your prices down in order shift more stock, and the cycle continues.

The problem here VS America is simple. There are 21m people in Australia. There are over 310m in America. All sales markets are much bigger, so manufacturers of items are able to reduce their costs because they will be selling so many. Wholesalers then buy more, because they have a bigger maket to sell to, so they enjoy the reduced costs too.

Other MAJOR considerations are:
- Excessively high commercial property rents (not going to start a debate here about property prices, but look at America for a comparison to how much a shop will cost you to buy or lease, and then look at Australia).
- Comparitively high wages for unskilled workers (look at miniumum wage in USA vs here)

Both of the above add to the overheads of the Australian retailers.

Is it sustainable? No.

Interestingly, there was a brilliant piece the other day on the burn out of China. Basically, the USA manufacturers are starting to fire up again because China's wage growth is starting to level out the manufacturing costs and the USA is starting to draw level with the Chinese again on locally produced goods. Very interesting.

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by MAD

If everyone was forced to buy Australian made goods only, (no daewoo, no LG tv) we would very quickly learn to do without, or become poorer than the most proverty stricken in the world. Not to mention the number of businesses that would close because we no longer have any spare money to do anything. But to counter that we would jack up our wages and then things would cost more due to wage increases, and we would move forward while going nowhere.

I probably put it a little wrong , not blockage but more parity , not forcing our businesses to close through not bring able to compete .as it stands we are developing other countries and not our own . It may take some time but there is a real need to protect our future , end of story and if anyone believes that buying the cheaper product from OS is the answer , then we don't stand a chance .

[trippytaka]

I hear what you are saying about the buy Aussie only, but there is a more realistic way. Here's a really left wing crazy idea. How about we try to boost our locl manufacturers with the biggest thing in our economy at the moment - resources!

Basic protectionism is alive and well all over the world, so why don't we do it? Let's make it mandatory for mining companies to use 75% Australian products - arbitrary number, but you get the idea.

[Hulsty]

The whole cheaper overseas thing has come to me this week, had an eye test, turns out I need glasses. Found some frames that look decent and fit my big head at the local OPSM and various other outlets. Because they are a "designer" brand they are near on $400 for the frames plus $187 for lenses, near enough to $600 locally, out of my budget at the moment.

Got home, 2 minute google and I can get the SAME frames, WITH lens, DELIVERED from the UK or USA for about $220-$250, thats a massive difference that I cannot over look. I like to buy locally etc, but cost of living pressures are not easing.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

I probably put it a little wrong , not blockage but more parity , not forcing our businesses to close through not bring able to compete .as it stands we are developing other countries and not our own . It may take some time but there is a real need to protect our future , end of story and if anyone believes that buying the cheaper product from OS is the answer , then we don't stand a chance .

That's all well and good, but the mentality today doesn't revolve around the future but rather the savings NOW.

The 'Joe & Jane Savings' of today don't care about whats gonna happen in 20 years time, they want the savings now and will shop around anywhere to get it. At the back of their mind they may ponder about the future, and wonder what will happen, but unfortunately we live in a society of convenience and getting what I want, when I want for as cheap as possible, and let someone else take care of the consequences later.

Unselfishness needs to be at the forefront for all, not just some. Until that happens there will always be a large quantity of greed and 'me first' attitude that will eventually consume the economy or lead to a larger gap between the have's and have nots.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by Hulsty

The whole cheaper overseas thing has come to me this week, had an eye test, turns out I need glasses. Found some frames that look decent and fit my big head at the local OPSM and various other outlets. Because they are a "designer" brand they are near on $400 for the frames plus $187 for lenses, near enough to $600 locally, out of my budget at the moment.

Got home, 2 minute google and I can get the SAME frames, WITH lens, DELIVERED from the UK or USA for about $220-$250, thats a massive difference that I cannot over look. I like to buy locally etc, but cost of living pressures are not easing.

I just go to Spec Savers and they do frames and lenses for $200 total with a second pair free. Sure the frames arent big branded named but they look good and do the job well.
My sister in law used to be a Optical Dispenser and said the mark up on frames was sometimes 400%. Since Spec Savers came in I noticed all other companies having to drop prices dramatically to compete. Profits are still there to be made, just not the insane mark ups.

[Hulsty]

I'll check spec savers out, brands dont faze me, but I have a wide head haahah and nothing else fitted to well or suited.