The Great Aussie Rip Off

**Mallee Boy** · 06-11-2009, 04:48 PM

Believe me, I take no pleasure in re-hashing this ground again, but gee whiz....new buyers need to be very aware because this has got way out of hand.

DA* Pentax 60-250 f4.
(All prices converted to Australian dollars.)
Australian on line pricing: $2699 - $2849 plus freight.
US on line pricing: $1584 plus freight.

Sigma 100-300 f4
Australian on line pricing: $2099 - $2379 plus freight.
US on line pricing: $1681 plus freight.

DA* Pentax 300mm f4
Australian on line pricing: $2459 plus freight.
US on line pricing: $1341 plus freight.

Needless to say I am not buying locally. I would like to, but be damned if I am going to be ripped off by what is nothing less than crass profiteering.

It has been a great credit to the people from B&H Photo & Adorama that they have contributed to this forum from time to time......the invitation is now extended to the Australian importers and online retailers to defend the indefensible.

Cheers
Grant

Last edited by Mallee Boy; 06-11-2009 at 05:56 PM. Reason: typos

bdery · 06-11-2009, 05:03 PM

Same happens in Canada. The key is probably sales volumes, sadly.

Are your prices comparisons done in the same currency?

**Ash** · 06-11-2009, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by bdery

Same happens in Canada. The key is probably sales volumes, sadly.

Are your prices comparisons done in the same currency?

Yes, he mentioned all figures were in AUD.
What this means to me is sales will continue to dwindle for Aussie vendors, keeping the prices high here while most Aussie consumers will just opt for B&H, KEH or Adorama for their gear.

Catch 22? I'm not so sure - the figures in Aus are highly inflated above cost price for these vendors.
Becomes harder to buy in Aus and support local businesses, but then if they want more sales, they know what to do...

Wheatfield · 06-11-2009, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by Ash

Yes, he mentioned all figures were in AUD.
What this means to me is sales will continue to dwindle for Aussie vendors, keeping the prices high here while most Aussie consumers will just opt for B&H, KEH or Adorama for their gear.

Catch 22? I'm not so sure - the figures in Aus are highly inflated above cost price for these vendors.
Becomes harder to buy in Aus and support local businesses, but then if they want more sales, they know what to do...

This is a crappy situation. The vendor pretty much is saying the brand isn't worth selling, so they are pricing it high.
What will happen is that they will stop selling equipment, which will reinforce their thinking that there isn't a market for the brand.
At some point, they'll just stop supporting the brand altogether, which is going to be a bitch when equipment needs servicing.
This is a situation best addressed by Pentax itself.

Arpe · 06-11-2009, 06:17 PM

Same here for lenses, but the K-7 so far is turning out to be competitive with importing it.

**Ash** · 06-11-2009, 06:18 PM

Good point.
Although Pentax will refer to CRKennedy, their official distributor, who aren't as sympathetic or understanding on this issue...

**Mallee Boy** · 06-11-2009, 06:51 PM

For some reason Australia has always been competitive on bodies with kit lens packages.

It is only when you want to specifically buy Pentax top shelf lenses that you feel a hand rummaging around in your pocket. It may well be a thought process by the importer that this is a quality product therefore if you want it...you will pay for it.
Given that a monopoly exists with a single importer I'll take a "wild" guess that that is the thinking.

Conversely for awhile Samsung lenses were being sold very cheaply, I bought the 50-200 for $169 from a store. Thats stopped now, Samsung have hardly made a ripple in the DSLR market here, despite their optimistic comments at a trade function last year.

I agree with the comment that its bad for Pentax and yes, would love to see Pentax (Japan) take some interest in how its product is marketed in Australia.

My motivation for posting this is to make new comers to Pentax in Australia aware of their options. As for me, I'm in Hong Kong often enough to take care of myself when the exchange rate makes it good business to do so.

Cheers
Grant

pop4 · 06-11-2009, 07:38 PM

If you see something that you want, try and send the guys at CRK an email to see if they'll price match it.

Quote:

We will match, through our authorised Sigma dealer network, any legitimate advertised internet price on Sigma lenses by these grey importers.

bessa66 · 06-11-2009, 08:55 PM

Don't forget the customs duty on anything over $1,000AU.

creampuff · 06-11-2009, 10:11 PM

Isn't prices for items purchased in Australia subject to 10% goods and services tax? So that Aussie on-line pricing probably has the GST already priced in.

robjmitchell · 06-12-2009, 12:05 AM

There seems to be a couple of things going on with AUS prices.
First there is the new and shiny tax. New lenses definately have a price premium on them.
However at the same time the fluctuating dollar is causing havoc with the prices. CRK must have bought a heap of DA70 when the aussie was strong against the yen as they are dirt cheap. comparatively the DA35 is almost twice as much as it must have been bought in when the A$ was low. At the moment the US$ has crashed vs the A$ which remains stable against the yen. I think the US prices are likely to go up if anything. BUY NOW FOLKS!!!

xjjohnno · 06-12-2009, 01:06 AM

Now I know why I've been going nuts on buying M42 mount lenses.

Maxington · 06-12-2009, 02:23 AM

From a friend who deals with a lot of sales reps for the Canon/Nikon/Sony DSLRs, they really don't care about the prices in Australia.

He has had discussions with them about the difference in prices from buying overseas, even with adding customs duty and so forth, and the answer is always a shrug and don't-care attitude. They charge that rate because they can.

I think a lot of brick'n'mortar shops haven't figured out that it's a global marketplace nowdays. I don't give a crap about "shopping local", local for me is the same coming from one town away or half the world.

I'm not expecting American prices for stuff, that's plainly not going to happen, but price gouging is laughable. A hundred or so dollars more is ok for local support, but no more.

emr · 06-12-2009, 02:44 AM

Originally posted by Maxington

I think a lot of brick'n'mortar shops haven't figured out that it's a global marketplace nowdays. I don't give a crap about "shopping local", local for me is the same coming from one town away or half the world.

In principle I'd like to support the local shops. At the best they could provide real person to person info and contact, make it possible to test the equipment and so on.

Unfortunately that's not how it works. Usually (not just photography related) the sales person knows less of the product than what I can learn having spent 15 minutes on the net. Most stuff isn't available for testing either, so they'd have to order it after I have made the deal and often that takes a longer time than making my own order from an online store. Actually the only positive side of buying locally is that if there isn't a local repair site, the shop will do the shipping while under warranty. That's really not enough added value for the added price, sometimes up to +50%. I've actually bought most of my electronics online for years, usually from Germany as I'm within EU myself.

nulla · 06-12-2009, 02:57 AM

I would not have the great lenses I have if I supported the local industry.

I am getting my K-7 locally as the price is not bad... lenses however are a different story.

Time that they woke up in Aust.

I see no reason why the huge price difference occurs when we can get Japanese made HD TV's etc at the same or better prices than the USA.

Neil

06-11-2009, 04:48 PM	#1
Mallee Boy Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,904	The Great Aussie Rip Off Believe me, I take no pleasure in re-hashing this ground again, but gee whiz....new buyers need to be very aware because this has got way out of hand. *DA Pentax 60-250 f4. (All prices converted to Australian dollars.) Australian on line pricing: $2699 - $2849 plus freight. US on line pricing: $1584 plus freight. Sigma 100-300 f4 Australian on line pricing: $2099 - $2379 plus freight. US on line pricing: $1681 plus freight. DA* Pentax 300mm f4** Australian on line pricing: $2459 plus freight. US on line pricing: $1341 plus freight. Needless to say I am not buying locally. I would like to, but be damned if I am going to be ripped off by what is nothing less than crass profiteering. It has been a great credit to the people from B&H Photo & Adorama that they have contributed to this forum from time to time......the invitation is now extended to the Australian importers and online retailers to defend the indefensible. Cheers Grant Last edited by Mallee Boy; 06-11-2009 at 05:56 PM. Reason: typos

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06-11-2009, 05:03 PM	#2
bdery Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Quebec city, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,362	Same happens in Canada. The key is probably sales volumes, sadly. Are your prices comparisons done in the same currency?

06-11-2009, 05:29 PM	#3
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Originally posted by bdery Same happens in Canada. The key is probably sales volumes, sadly. Are your prices comparisons done in the same currency? Yes, he mentioned all figures were in AUD. What this means to me is sales will continue to dwindle for Aussie vendors, keeping the prices high here while most Aussie consumers will just opt for B&H, KEH or Adorama for their gear. Catch 22? I'm not so sure - the figures in Aus are highly inflated above cost price for these vendors. Becomes harder to buy in Aus and support local businesses, but then if they want more sales, they know what to do...

06-11-2009, 05:44 PM	#4
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,986	Originally posted by Ash Yes, he mentioned all figures were in AUD. What this means to me is sales will continue to dwindle for Aussie vendors, keeping the prices high here while most Aussie consumers will just opt for B&H, KEH or Adorama for their gear. Catch 22? I'm not so sure - the figures in Aus are highly inflated above cost price for these vendors. Becomes harder to buy in Aus and support local businesses, but then if they want more sales, they know what to do... This is a crappy situation. The vendor pretty much is saying the brand isn't worth selling, so they are pricing it high. What will happen is that they will stop selling equipment, which will reinforce their thinking that there isn't a market for the brand. At some point, they'll just stop supporting the brand altogether, which is going to be a bitch when equipment needs servicing. This is a situation best addressed by Pentax itself.

06-11-2009, 06:17 PM	#5
Arpe Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,452	Same here for lenses, but the K-7 so far is turning out to be competitive with importing it.

06-11-2009, 06:18 PM	#6
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Good point. Although Pentax will refer to CRKennedy, their official distributor, who aren't as sympathetic or understanding on this issue...

06-11-2009, 06:51 PM	#7
Mallee Boy Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,904 Original Poster	For some reason Australia has always been competitive on bodies with kit lens packages. It is only when you want to specifically buy Pentax top shelf lenses that you feel a hand rummaging around in your pocket. It may well be a thought process by the importer that this is a quality product therefore if you want it...you will pay for it. Given that a monopoly exists with a single importer I'll take a "wild" guess that that is the thinking. Conversely for awhile Samsung lenses were being sold very cheaply, I bought the 50-200 for $169 from a store. Thats stopped now, Samsung have hardly made a ripple in the DSLR market here, despite their optimistic comments at a trade function last year. I agree with the comment that its bad for Pentax and yes, would love to see Pentax (Japan) take some interest in how its product is marketed in Australia. My motivation for posting this is to make new comers to Pentax in Australia aware of their options. As for me, I'm in Hong Kong often enough to take care of myself when the exchange rate makes it good business to do so. Cheers Grant

06-11-2009, 07:38 PM	#8
pop4 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: YMML Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,879	If you see something that you want, try and send the guys at CRK an email to see if they'll price match it. Quote: We will match, through our authorised Sigma dealer network, any legitimate advertised internet price on Sigma lenses by these grey importers.

06-11-2009, 08:55 PM	#9
bessa66 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 53	Don't forget the customs duty on anything over $1,000AU.

06-11-2009, 10:11 PM	#10
creampuff Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,953	Isn't prices for items purchased in Australia subject to 10% goods and services tax? So that Aussie on-line pricing probably has the GST already priced in.

06-12-2009, 12:05 AM	#11
robjmitchell Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Melbourne Aus Posts: 1,776	There seems to be a couple of things going on with AUS prices. First there is the new and shiny tax. New lenses definately have a price premium on them. However at the same time the fluctuating dollar is causing havoc with the prices. CRK must have bought a heap of DA70 when the aussie was strong against the yen as they are dirt cheap. comparatively the DA35 is almost twice as much as it must have been bought in when the A$ was low. At the moment the US$ has crashed vs the A$ which remains stable against the yen. I think the US prices are likely to go up if anything. BUY NOW FOLKS!!!

06-12-2009, 01:06 AM	#12
xjjohnno Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Melbourne Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,115	Now I know why I've been going nuts on buying M42 mount lenses.

06-12-2009, 02:23 AM	#13
Maxington Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 255	From a friend who deals with a lot of sales reps for the Canon/Nikon/Sony DSLRs, they really don't care about the prices in Australia. He has had discussions with them about the difference in prices from buying overseas, even with adding customs duty and so forth, and the answer is always a shrug and don't-care attitude. They charge that rate because they can. I think a lot of brick'n'mortar shops haven't figured out that it's a global marketplace nowdays. I don't give a crap about "shopping local", local for me is the same coming from one town away or half the world. I'm not expecting American prices for stuff, that's plainly not going to happen, but price gouging is laughable. A hundred or so dollars more is ok for local support, but no more.

06-12-2009, 02:44 AM	#14
emr Guest	Originally posted by Maxington I think a lot of brick'n'mortar shops haven't figured out that it's a global marketplace nowdays. I don't give a crap about "shopping local", local for me is the same coming from one town away or half the world. In principle I'd like to support the local shops. At the best they could provide real person to person info and contact, make it possible to test the equipment and so on. Unfortunately that's not how it works. Usually (not just photography related) the sales person knows less of the product than what I can learn having spent 15 minutes on the net. Most stuff isn't available for testing either, so they'd have to order it after I have made the deal and often that takes a longer time than making my own order from an online store. Actually the only positive side of buying locally is that if there isn't a local repair site, the shop will do the shipping while under warranty. That's really not enough added value for the added price, sometimes up to +50%. I've actually bought most of my electronics online for years, usually from Germany as I'm within EU myself.

06-12-2009, 02:57 AM	#15
nulla Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 1,560	I would not have the great lenses I have if I supported the local industry. I am getting my K-7 locally as the price is not bad... lenses however are a different story. Time that they woke up in Aust. I see no reason why the huge price difference occurs when we can get Japanese made HD TV's etc at the same or better prices than the USA. Neil