Tom1983

Well according to rumours in the press

Looks like Maurice Williamson is looking to requesting GST gets set on any purchase online since online shopping has grown over here

Obviously what Mr Williamson hasn't realised is people tend to shop more online because the quality is better, and also the price is cheaper

Unless I go to K-Mart, The Warehouse or Farmers providing they have a sale(clothes shopping wise), I'll shop on line and purchase offers from Next, M&S etc where the price is far cheaper including delivery. Also the quality of products far outweigh the crap quality produced in this country

I don't give too hoots about this excuse of a small island. People do not pay rip off prices for rip off goods. Even the bloke at Riccarton Market sells Bisto Gravy (the proper gravy, not the rubbish that's sold in supermarkets) cheaper than the international prices.

Perhaps Mr Williamson if you request your ministers of commerce, retail etc to dig deep into the reasons why we're going online and find a suitable solution (small island is not one), then people will continue looking abroad or go online for better deals

Mark Smith

A good example of uncompetitive pricing would be my new medical examination table. Do I buy the product from the only NZ supplier in Auckland for $8000 + GST or do I buy the same table from the UK (where it is made) for $2100 plus $600 shipping. I'll get hit with GST at this end (and claim it back). Also the NZ supplier will be getting the product from the UK cheaper than me.
My overall point is how can I support local businesses when they are making obscene profits? Hopefully the age of widespread internet will expose some of the pxxx takers over here.

Jan n Neil

We had the same thing saw a bathroom sink we liked in the UK for 500 quid but it was too heavy to ship so we found the exact same model in Auckland

$4,600

We didnt buy it

We where looking at a new posh car and would still have saved nearly $60,000 buying it from the UK even after paying the tax.

Our lawnmower $1400 USD put it in a container and sell in in Mitre 10 for $4,800 NZ

It gets right on my tits

Bo-Jangles

If retailers can sell direct to customers and send the stuff half way around the world for free and it still be cheaper than buying it in this country then something has to be seriously wrong.

I don't get the supply and demand thing either, we're often talking global retailers with major distribution also in Aussie; with wages also cheaper here someone is clearly taking all the swings and not giving it back on the roundabouts.

Local places, such as New World, Farmers and Bunnings deserve to go out of business if they can't get with the program and invest a few bucks in a website where you might want to spend some time or can actually buy things.

It's a no brainer, should I rock up at crappy old Farmers and have a look at the same stuff they've been selling for the past eight years or more, or do I let my fingers do the walking and get M&S to deliver nice stuff to my home for free.

Charismatic

Instead of the silly duty taxes currently charged? Deal. Retailing here will be slaughtered.

After all I can buy a $1000 laptop from Amazon for half the price of a New Zealand distributor even after paying the $330+ duty levy. If they want to reduce that $330+ Levy to a 15% GST rate I welcome their forward thinking and embrace of international competitiveness.

simonmarkellis

Surely in most cases, even with the GST you're still making a saving from buying in NZ!

Guy on Breakfast show this morning was talking about it be added electronically when you make the purchase. But what if you buy with a British Credit card?

TommyLuck

All very interesting.

But like it or not suppliers here are selling to a tiny market. Suppliers in the UK are selling to an EU wide market of 300+ million people.

Even if we're throwing Australia in to the mix thats still a a combined population of less than 10% of both the EU and North America, with a similar land mass. And not too forgetting the vast distances that products have to travel to get to our corner of the world (the cost of time) BEFORE the products have to then travel vast distances across Australasia.

The scales of what we are talking about are huge when you're is isolated as Australia and NZ are from the rest of the world.

To use the example of the medical examination table, how many people are actually buying these in NZ? It's hardly a main line, run of the mill product. It's specialist and I dare say they last a good while before a new one is required.

The reason it's sold with such a high margin is because not many of them are sold. That business would fold pretty sharpish if it stacked 'em high and sold 'em cheap, because there little repeat business in such specialist materials.

A similar principle applies to clothing and wine, although the profit margin isnt quite so keen. This country is a smaller market for everything, therefore the purchase cost, generally speaking, is more.

I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

I think it's fair enough that the government want some form of tax if people are going to buy from abroad in their droves.

Less people buying on the high street means less people working on the high street, which means less income tax and whatever the NZ equivalent of corporation tax is.

All told to government need to find that money from somewhere.

No business is going to purposefully drive customer away by having high prices, it's nonsensical, in some instances greed will be involved, but on the whole this is unlikely.

There is something to be said for businesses in NZ investing in decent websites, or indeed a website at all, however.

Like I said, it sucks, but there is rhyme and reason for it and if anything the government should probably be seeking out better ways to lessen the price of products at home, but this would be the long term game that might not pay off.

No government truly thinks about and certainly won't gamble on the long term these days, unfortunately.

kiwigeordie

I agree with many of TommyLuck's sentiments but with reservations.

As an importer of goods myself (specialised products not made in NZ) I know what the landed cost of products is after freight and Customs GST is added. I also know what is a reasonable margin to be applied to cover overheads and make a fair profit.

When it comes to personal items though, why should I pay double the cost for a book from a store when I can get that same book delivered to my door from the UK for half the price? (e.g. the latest Le Carre paperback for $46.00 locally as opposed to $25.00 from the Book Depository).

My wife is a keen patchworker and quilter. She buys material from the same overseas sources as the local fabric shops buy them, They no doubt get a better deal for bulk buying plus a retailer's discount. She has made price comparisons with the same materials sold locally and what she pays over the 'net. The local retail mark up is generally in the 100% plus area.

When local retailers stop demanding we keep them in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed, we'll support our local shops.

(BTW I hate the advertising drive urging us to "Shop Local". Shouldn't that be "locally").

Pete

Charismatic

I know, isn’t it fantastic New Zealand retailers now have access to EU markets via the internet and international shipping.

…oh, wait…

Look there are already heavy import duties in place to protect businesses. Further measures that protect oligopolies will only serve to reduce New Zealanders purchasing power to protect the profits of a few high street retailers. It’s an online global market now, embrace the movement or face the consequences.

Mark Smith

I slightly disagree on my case Tommy. The NZ supplier doesn't actually hold the stock. The order from the manufacturer in Ipswich and have it send in a container. They have no risk, no outlay, just a very dated website that says ring for the best price etc.
There are no import levies on this product. There will be customs clearance, MAF, Biosecurity, GST etc. Greedy bxxxxxs charging top whack to an uneducated audience (uneducated in what things actually cost).

TommyLuck

You assume they're savvy enough to purchase their goods and materials through this channel ...

I totally agree with your final sentence.

Robbie2010

I have purchased several (expensive) items from overseas via the internet and even with GST and duty added they have been close to 50% cheaper than buying in NZ.

This move may increase the tax take but I doubt very much if it will help NZ's rip off retailers!

TommyLuck

Indeed, exceptions to every rule and all that.

That said, in your scenario it's not difficult to negotiate if you're clear that you know what a product costs and you won't be taken a mug of. Which can't really be done walking in to a high street store.

Having said that, if they sense your need or desperation, a sales person might not just slash the price to your satisfaction per se.

Mark Smith

I had called them and queried the price and got the usual guff - small market, end of the world etc. They were astonished I know the UK price and totally unwilling to budge. I wished them luck with their business and said I'd be saving $5000 buying direct. Money I can spend elsewhere in the economy.

To all the NZ retailers out there selling medium to high end imported goods at unrealistic prices, wise up or face the prospect that is currently the UK high street. Profit has to be made to pay the bills and wages, I'm not stupid.

As previous posters have said, for personal goods - I'll happily pay GST as most of the time I'll probably be paying half the NZ price.

Tom1983

Another thing to note is that John Key, Bill English and the National Government keep going on and on about the free market

Right so you want a free market, this is what you get!!!

I've recently ordered a putter from American Golf online. Despite the 50 quid delivery charge, it's still $100 cheaper to import from the UK than it is to buy a putter over here

It seems that the retailers and co here fail to understand what demand and supply means

Seriously, I see a lot of it in retailers - particularly shops in Northlands and Westfield for example. We have something there that's priced at $149 that's not selling. The best one for me is All Blacks jerseys. Now when it came to purchasing an All Blacks jersey, I went to Stirling Sports, Adidas and Rebel, all the prices at $199.99. For a rugby shirt - utter waste of money

So I log online to Sports Direct (sorry Newcastle fans) and there it is, the NZ rugby shirt priced at 39.99 with delivery charge set at 18.99 for NZ. When I went into Stirling a few weeks later with the top on, I actually informed their staff about it. Low and behold, they copied and bought the new All Black shirt with AIG on at a cheaper price than in store with their discount!!!

Even with a 15% charge, it'll still be cheaper than the rip off $199.99 price

The All Blacks are supposed to be a huge merchandise seller, yet they wonder why people rarely purchase All Blacks stuff from sports retailers and look abroad???

You see an awful lot of All Blacks stuff in the sports shop, they've got far too much and are not selling a lot. But they never think it might be because of the price. You've got too much in supply, it's basic 5 year old economics, sell at a cheaper price to get the demand for them.

It's even more silly that you can technically buy an Aussie rugby league shirt from lovell-rugby at a cheaper price and that includes the merchandise being sent from Australia to here via England. I don't know if the shop continues to do that

Infact, i'll say it for all of them - sports equipment and merchandise in this country is an utter rip off and it really doesn't surprise me to see shops like Sterling Sports, Rebel Sports and others not really that busy when you can take advantage of a free market

Oh and lastly, another thing that the government will not even bother considering - looking at why people aren't buying. When cost of living is very expensive, people won't buy. But no government will try and get the wages to match the cost of living, well perhaps other than the Australian government but that's set to cause a few issues soon