Enmitygauged Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Why the hell in the current market is there such a price difference on Musical equipment between the USA and Australia. Our dollars are about the same, ours is actually about 3-7c higher. Yet if I want a guitar from here I pay roughly Double. I am looking at a Mesa Transaltlantic 30 From the USA http://store.mesahol....com/2-t30.html $1499 rrp In Australia http://www.allansbil...Valve_Head.aspx $3395 rrp How, why (*&(*&^^%^%$%&$(*&!!!!!! im speechless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Shipping, to "Oz," and "Middleman" distributors, would be my guess. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 It's more the middle man than the shipping........I'm PMing an OZ friend.....I know a great loophole !!!!!!! .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 two grand price difference on an item that doesnt even cost two grand surely Even Mesa have to be pissed that they make less than the importer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 i thought this was going to be about my discuss threads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 i thought this was going to be about my discuss threads... <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 And I thought we got soaked up here in Canada on some stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 I got a reply from Mesa which basically said bad luck. That the warranty is only on valid in America and the voltage is different (which is easy enough to work around) and that they cant sell to anyone outside the USA and they don't set international prices. So I is el screwedo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 https://www.priceusa.com.au/ Check this out Colin............... [thumbup] ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thanks Damo, I can see a few interesting things on that site. My main concern is buying something untested and how a warranty would be enforced. I have plenty of family in the states that can send things across but I lose my warranty. I bought a Taylor about 4 years ago that was played by my step brother in Boston and he confirmed it was the best out of many fine guitars it was 600 there and 1700 here. So he sent it. it left Boston in snow and arrived to Australia's 117degrees I think I heard it buckle when I picked it up. I sold it six months later and 600 later in repair work. But now I have it back as the friend I sold it to couldn't cope with its issues. Biatch as she is known sits in the garage now with other guitars some home made jobs I dont play anymore. Ive tried to trade it in many times but the guitar stores just laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 It's the Australian governments fault not the guitar and gear makers. For years Australia had ridiculous tariffs and taxes on any import goods they have reduced them over the years and don't require a license to trade anymore but both Australia and New Zealand still add tariffs and taxes and make it pretty tough to sell in that country. So middlemen willing to mess with the hassles also adds greatly to the cost. You should complain about the high import costs just not in the direction your complaining right now it sure isn't Gibson's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 It's the Australian governments fault not the guitar and gear makers. For years Australia had ridiculous tariffs and taxes on any import goods they have reduced them over the years and don't require a license to trade anymore but both Australia and New Zealand still add tariffs and taxes and make it pretty tough to sell in that country. So middlemen willing to mess with the hassles also adds greatly to the cost. You should complain about the high import costs just not in the direction your complaining right now it sure isn't Gibson's fault. You are correct but currently on any item over a $1000 Australian there is about 15% worth of Goods and services and import tax. that doesn't explain why an item that costs under $2000 has a $2000 difference in price. If my calculations work then the unit being the TA-30 would be sold at under $1000 to the distributor here so they would miss the GST component and only have an import duty. Even if they didnt get 1cent discount and it was sold at 1499 to them. the price would be around 1800. there is still nearly a 100 percent markup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I'm really cynical on this one. There'll be horrid hops in price tag if the government in the importing nation wants and/or allows it. That's the bottom line. It's not just Oz and not just guitar stuff. I won't mention the nation, but in spite of a "free trade" treaty with the US, the local "farmers" had enough juice so any beef imports would quite often sit on the docks for inspection until, gee, they weren't fit for human consumption. Where there's a will, there's a way, and if a government doesn't stop such gouging one way or another, it's certainly complicit. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsburger Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 You are correct but currently on any item over a $1000 Australian there is about 15% worth of Goods and services and import tax. that doesn't explain why an item that costs under $2000 has a $2000 difference in price. If my calculations work then the unit being the TA-30 would be sold at under $1000 to the distributor here so they would miss the GST component and only have an import duty. Even if they didnt get 1cent discount and it was sold at 1499 to them. the price would be around 1800. there is still nearly a 100 percent markup. A 100% mark up is pretty standard standard in any retail market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Farns is right... I don't know wholesale or wholesale after import duties, etc., but by the time a retailer gets an item he has a lot of figuring to do. The reason the wholesale is typically doubled has to do with other costs of doing business. When that's roughly factored in, the smaller retailer generally looks at his daily/weekly/monthly cost of operation and figures what it costs him to keep the doors open. Then he's gotta have a bit of a pad so a bad week/month/year won't put him out of business. Other costs enter somewhere in there, but he's gotta figure what it will take at X types of markup in order to pay the bills, pay himself and/or creditors and to do what he can to build a bit of protection against bad times. Since the attack of the big box stores I've known more than a few "little guys" who've closed their doors because you could buy retail at the big box for less than the little guy could buy wholesale! Customers figured they were cheating them even though the service level was far superior. The Ma and Pa stores had no value to sell to another entrepreneur at that point because what would somebody buy? Inventory? Good will? So they dumped the inventory and ma and pa hadda get jobs with a big company. It's an old story... and too often ma and pa were broke when their life's dream went down the tubes 'cuz they held on until the bitter end. OTOH, perhaps they should have moved to a different neighborhood, or... But if everybody in Oz is selling with prices in the same ballpark... it sounds like government or illegal price fixing collusion. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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