Are Australians being ripped off?

[alicia1506]

yes, australia is a hugely taxed country. not so much in terms of personal income tax, but in terms of GST, value added tax, luxury goods tax, alcohol and tobacco tax, import duties etc etc etc.

items sold for $18 in the usa (dh's vans shoes) are on SALE here for $85. that's a heck of a lot more than a 40% markup.

i have found next to nothing cheaper here than in the states. the thing that gets me is amazon. an ebook for one of my authors is $7.99 for a brand new, pre-order EBOOK if your kindle is registered to a usa address. if it's registered to an australian address, that same EBOOK is priced at $15.99. double the price for the exact same digital content. manufacturing and labour costs are not relevant here as it's a digital format that costs no more to distribute via the internet in one location than another... so the response i got when i queried the pricing...it is determined by the publisher and the taxes and duties they feel are appropriate to the region. when i queried that, i was told that they can charge a higher price and label it as being 'influenced by additional taxes under taxation rulings' and therefore they do ... ugh. gets me so freaking mad. even paperback or hardcover books are $8.99 - $14.99 via amazon + shipping, which is still cheaper than the $42.50 one aussie bookstore chain wanted for the same product.

yes, we are hugely ripped off in almost every area of our economy. and it's due to the government's ridiculous import taxes on what it considers to be 'luxury' and other imported goods it feels are deserving of being taxed up the wazooo

i am a huge supporter of local businesses and trying to help support local producers and growers etc. but i also have a responsibility to my family to try and get the best value for our $$ in a ridiculously overpriced economy, especially when cost of living increases far exceed wage increases. cost of living is rising each and every year, however my wage has stayed the same for the last 3 years with no subsequent increase. this means that i have to find wiggle room in my household budget somewhere to absorb those cost of living increases without a commensurate increase in income, and unfortunately, that usually means buying from overseas on our trips, or via online distributors of overseas products without the ridiculous taxes and import duties added.

australia post and aussie customs put out a statement at christmas time that stated that they were processing such a huge backlog of shipments that some deliveries would be well outside the normal timeframes... the reason... people are increasingly buying products online and from overseas rather than paying the overinflated retail prices in the standard bricks and mortar shops i have siblings who work in retail, so i can appreciate the struggle from both sides of the fence, but honestly, taxing goods until they become prohibitive isn't the answer.

 

[miss.potatohead]

Oh and the SDA is campaigning to abolish junior rates, after all, they do the same work - so wage costs for retailers are going to be even higher.

Sorry a bit OT but...

http://100percentpay.com.au/

I'm not part of the union, but I was shocked when my 15 year old co-worker told me she gets $9 (or so) per hour compared to my $18/hr for the exact same position! For us, 20 year olds get full adult wages. At 19 I earned $15/hr and it jumped to $18 at 20yrs. It makes me so thankful of my wage compared to that in the States where $6 an hour is quite common!

 

[Marlea98]

Unfortunatly that's not always the case DHs Cpap machine was Australian made and it was still $1200 cheaper to buy from the USA

Yes, that's right. It's mind boggling to think of why these things happen this way.

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[Marlea98]

My 15 year old son just started working in retail - his wage is $8.41 per hour, and that is 45% of the award as he is under 16. On top of that he is paid 20% casual loading and 50% for working on Sunday.

While that seems a pretty poor wage to most, i am sure it compares to the minimum adult wage in the US. The retailers have to mark their prices up to cover our relatively high wages.

I was earning about $9 an hour as a temp in my early 20s around '94, I'm amazed that youth wages are that low still. We do have good wages and conditions although we still lag way behind compared to other countries.

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[Marlea98]

It's going to be impossible to get your first job if they do that. Why hire untrained teenagers if you can get mature adults for the same cost?

I just bought an Roomba 780 for less then half the price harvey norman has them for. I looked into it a fair bit before purchasing, and 2 months ago I could have bought it for the same price (around $600) from Harvey Norman but the Australian importer has changed, and the new importers have jacked up the price to the stockists.

There's no reason I can see why this new company is charging so much more for them, they just got greedy I guess...

Those little vacuum robots are all the rage now so maybe they're marking up to take advantage?

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[Marlea98]

I think they are campaigning to have full pay at 18 - which is reasonable, although DD says,then I just won't get any hours!

My sister worked at a food works or IGA as a teen and lost her hours to almost nil the day after she turned 18.

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[Sugarglider]

i have found next to nothing cheaper here than in the states. the thing that gets me is amazon. an ebook for one of my authors is $7.99 for a brand new, pre-order EBOOK if your kindle is registered to a usa address. if it's registered to an australian address, that same EBOOK is priced at $15.99. double the price for the exact same digital content. manufacturing and labour costs are not relevant here as it's a digital format that costs no more to distribute via the internet in one location than another... so the response i got when i queried the pricing...it is determined by the publisher and the taxes and duties they feel are appropriate to the region. when i queried that, i was told that they can charge a higher price and label it as being 'influenced by additional taxes under taxation rulings' and therefore they do ... ugh. gets me so freaking mad. even paperback or hardcover books are $8.99 - $14.99 via amazon + shipping, which is still cheaper than the $42.50 one aussie bookstore chain wanted for the same product.

yep - book prices are affected by two dynamics:

1. Australia has "parallel import restrictions" to protect Australian writers copyright levies within the Copyright Act. this has the effect of barring publishers from selling books published more cheaply overseas. (or something like that) And it seems to stop publishers from allowing the international sale of some books they just don't release here in Australia anyway. (e.g. I can't buy a copy of a Stephen Colbert book (print or electronic))

2. Apple and Amazon are having a war over book sales and locking in deals with publishers.

Australians are getting the rough end of pineapple on books for sure

 

[aussie shaz]

I lost all of my hours in my part time job when I tuned 18.

Also, I used to work for a wholesale travel company. They had different prices for Western Australia than any other state, because 'consumers in WA just won't pay that much for their travel' but people in other states will.

 

[BecBennett]

Those little vacuum robots are all the rage now so maybe they're marking up to take advantage?

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Maybe, but it doesn't make sense that at the beginning of February you could buy a Roomba 780 from Harvey Norman for $550, but today the exact same model costs $1200, just because the importer has changed.

 

[battymum]

I lost all of my hours in my part time job when I tuned 18.

Also, I used to work for a wholesale travel company. They had different prices for Western Australia than any other state, because 'consumers in WA just won't pay that much for their travel' but people in other states will.

My dd works in a supermarket and is turning 18 this year - they don't have a history of cutting hours, mostly they move on of their own accord or do the shifts that the young ones cant such as late nights - but the manager has said he doesn't hire anyone over 15!

 

[aussie shaz]

My dd works in a supermarket and is turning 18 this year - they don't have a history of cutting hours, mostly they move on of their own accord or do the shifts that the young ones cant such as late nights - but the manager has said he doesn't hire anyone over 15!

What's the legal minimum age to work these days. It was something like 14 and 9 months when I started work. Doesn't give him many options!

 

[Minnie Sue Oz]

What's the legal minimum age to work these days. It was something like 14 and 9 months when I started work. Doesn't give him many options!

In NSW you can start at some places at the age of 14 but you must have parents permission. Most places however it is 15. My DD works at KFC, is 15 and she earns $6.52 an hour. The supermarkets here seem to pay more and she has been applying for other places. We really struggled with letting her work for so little, but we wanted her to have some independence and responsibility and to start her off on the right path. The wage does go up by $2.00 an hour when she turns 16 next month. She has saved all the money she has earned and will be spending it on our trip in September......... in the USA where she will get better value for her dollar.

 

[battymum]

My other son started at red rooster when he was 14 and 3months - his wage was comparable to the supermarket and better than the other food places.
We are slave drivers, but a $900 phone bill made him get a job.

 

[battymum]

We feel even at that low rate, 10hours a week gives the, pretty good pocket money. I am also a fan of keeping teenagers occupied, too many have too much spare time. We noticed a big change in DD when she started working at 15 - she sudden,y grew up and was able to talk to adults - even she will say getting that job was the best thing for me, "I have met so many cool people"

 

[Disney_Princess83]

We buy so much overseas, either when we are there or we get it shipped here. The price increase is absolutely disgraceful and not necessary. I'm all for businesses making a profit but it's pure greed. I purchase a face wash here for $80, that I get for $20 in the USA.

 

[becpee]

Definitely ripped off!
I'm currently looking at Overstock.com to help furnish my house, even with postage included a lot of it is cheaper (and don't get me started on the range we don't even have).

At the Macy's sale last year I bought 4 dresses, one Calvin Klein, one Ralph Lauren, one Jessica Simpson and one other for less than $100, I'd struggle to get one here for $100!

DH and I struggle with spending money after being on holidays overseas, I just can't justify the markup, and I'd rather go without...(now there's a way to save money), DH bought 7 chapsticks at Walmart in 2010, and stocked up again last year LOL

 

[darren123]

Here is another vote for YES we are.

 

[aussietravellers]

We are totally ripped off!

Prime example.... My son wanted a death star box of lego. At that stage, it was not available in stores in Australia except through a couple of online stores. He went to the lego store, added it to his cart, it was $399 (US$). When he went to check out, he put in his address and when he selected Australia, the price changed to $699 , yes... $699 How does this convert. This was July last year, so not years ago when the $ wasn't good. Plus $50 shipping. We were expecting the $50 shipping, but not the price change! The order was still shipping from the USA, regardless of where we lived, the order was shipping from the one warehouse! So why did the price change simply due to where we reside

WE ARE RIPPED OFF!

 

[dabecs]

We are totally ripped off!

Prime example.... My son wanted a death star box of lego. At that stage, it was not available in stores in Australia except through a couple of online stores. He went to the lego store, added it to his cart, it was $399 (US$). When he went to check out, he put in his address and when he selected Australia, the price changed to $699 , yes... $699 How does this convert. This was July last year, so not years ago when the $ wasn't good. Plus $50 shipping. We were expecting the $50 shipping, but not the price change! The order was still shipping from the USA, regardless of where we lived, the order was shipping from the one warehouse! So why did the price change simply due to where we reside

WE ARE RIPPED OFF!

My hubby has the Death Star - we bought it here in Oz years ago and it cost a fortune! Last year we stocked up on Friends Lego for my daughter, I couldn't believe how cheap it was in the US!

 

[Marlea98]

In NSW you can start at some places at the age of 14 but you must have parents permission. Most places however it is 15. My DD works at KFC, is 15 and she earns $6.52 an hour. The supermarkets here seem to pay more and she has been applying for other places. We really struggled with letting her work for so little, but we wanted her to have some independence and responsibility and to start her off on the right path. The wage does go up by $2.00 an hour when she turns 16 next month. She has saved all the money she has earned and will be spending it on our trip in September......... in the USA where she will get better value for her dollar.

Wow, $6.52 an hour is pretty shoddy. I thought there was a minimum wage limit?