[LINK] Kogan on Online Retail....

[Richard Chirgwin]

Without wanting to sound overly sympathetic to Gerry Harvey, there's 
also the issue of supplier pricing to consider.

It's quite clear that vendors - not just in the IT industry - impose 
what amounts to "penalty pricing" on markets like Australia. I'm 
assembling some price samples out of curiousity, and I can see vendors' 
"recommended retail" prices in Australia that are more than 60% higher 
than their US counterparts. It's easy to pretend that this is just 
retailer greed, but how do you account for it when you're talking about 
people who own their retail outlets (eg Apple)?

RC

On 9/01/11 9:50 AM, Michael Skeggs mike at bystander.net wrote:
> On 8 January 2011 15:53, David Boxall<david.boxall at hunterlink.net.au>wrote:
>
>> It seems to me that Gerry Harvey is, like many (perhaps all) free
>> marketeers, in favour of free markets until they find that they can't
>> compete.
>>
>>
> Clearly, the main disincentives for international e-commerce purchases are
> shipping costs, service/warranty issues and delays in delivery, so AU bricks
> and mortar has an in-built advantage for bulky items or things you want
> right now or may need to return/service.
> If these retailers with their hopeless websites really believe the GST is
> the issue, they can sell to the other 6 billion people on the planet for
> whom they are not obliged to collect GST. But I think we all know they will
> be out competed massively in the global marketplace.
> Myer and its ilk can keep the local bricks and mortar market, but shouldn't
> have the gall to complain they can't compete against global players facing
> the drawbacks of shipping costs, delays, difficult returns/warranties etc.
> I am tempted to ship them a cut price Chinese violin.
> Regards,
> Michael Skeggs
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