Post by Dan @ 04:02pm 24/05/12 | 25 Comments
The Chair of the Committee, Nick Champion, said “Australians are often forced to pay more for IT hardware and software than consumers in overseas markets. The Committee’s inquiry aims to determine the extent of these IT price differences and examine the possibility of limiting their impact on Australian consumers, businesses and governments. The Committee will look into the cost of computer hardware and software, including games, downloaded music, e-books, and professional software, to name a few. The Committee is looking forward to hearing from the companies who set these prices and the consumers and businesses that purchase their products.”More details can be found in this statement from Federal MP Ed Husic and the official documentation over on the House of Representatives website.
The terms of reference for the inquiry, which will take public submissions until 6 July, state that it will examine:
- Whether a difference in prices exists between IT hardware and software products, including computer games and consoles, e-books and music and videos sold in Australia over the internet of in retail outlets as compared to markets in the US, UK and economics in the Asia-Pacific;
- What those differences are;
- Why those differences exist;
- What the impacts of these differences might be on Australian businesses, governments and households; and
- What actions might be taken to help address any differences that operate to the disadvantage to Australian consumers.
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Posted 04:04pm 24/5/12
Posted 04:24pm 24/5/12
Posted 05:20pm 24/5/12
I haven't noticed anything beyond the usual "everything is dearer in Australia" pricing, at least not the huge margins there can be found on software and digital products.
Posted 05:24pm 24/5/12
Posted 05:41pm 24/5/12
But if you look at any major console, home or handheld, there's still a significant markup on all of them.
Posted 06:02pm 24/5/12
issue is the local arms of these businesses
Posted 06:39pm 24/5/12
Posted 07:03pm 24/5/12
Posted 07:07pm 24/5/12
Posted 07:21pm 24/5/12
Posted 07:34pm 24/5/12
Shut up Gerry Harvey!
Posted 07:49pm 24/5/12
Posted 07:57pm 24/5/12
#firstworldproblems
Posted 08:04pm 24/5/12
Posted 08:12pm 24/5/12
However there is only ONE reason why things are 2x, 3x, 4x the price and that is because they can sell it for that much!
Posted 12:50am 25/5/12
at least for the most part, the versions of cars we get here are well spec'd. so it isn't 100% the same product, and there is a large shipping fee attached to that (german cars, on a big ro-ro ship, it is not likely that your would be able to land the same car here cheaper than buying it from a dealer here, (freight, taxes, compliance work etc)
for a digital copy of a game, where is the extra cost?? tele communication companies pay for the "freight", add taxes and we are still getting a bum deal
fact is you could go to the bank, pay for an exchange to US dollars, buy a game at full retail in a store, post it back to here, declare it, pay tax on it, (and excluding the cost of magically appearing in the states) cheaper than you can buy it here on sale
so even paying to change money, paying the tax of another country, cost of retail postage, it is still cheaper, and it simply shouldn't be that much of a gap, these are big businesses, they can ship bulk items vastly cheaper per item than we can, something is wrong, or more likely some is making a profit far in excess of fair
Posted 01:04am 25/5/12
It does, duh.
What those differences are;
Anywhere from a few dollars to double the price or even more!
Why those differences exist;
Because people like money... That's it. No other reason. Plenty of people can happily price games at the same value as US on steam, yet other publishers decide to make us spend $30 or more. Hardware is also rather expensive, even in the compeditive area's of hardware (few hundred dollars extra for the 600 series nvidia cards for example)
What the impacts of these differences might be on Australian businesses, governments and households;
Well gee, what do you think? Obviously, we're spending more money than we should be which means less to spend locally.
What actions might be taken to help address any differences that operate to the disadvantage to Australian consumers.
Fairly simple there. Enforce the free trade agreements and stop them from arbitrarily gypping us because they can and we're used to it.
I'm sure slaves were used to being bound, beaten and worked to death, but doesn't make it right.
There we go, saved them a giant inquiry and millions of dollars.
Posted 10:48am 26/6/12
Posted 10:52am 26/6/12
Posted 11:23am 26/6/12
Of course I understand why hardware costs more in Oz then elsewhere. Software obtained digitally however, not a f*****g chance.
Posted 12:40pm 26/6/12
Go away Gerry.
Posted 03:04pm 26/6/12
Physical items I understand the markup tho:
-You have 'service providers' that need to be payed (I'll ignore the tax element as to some extent the govt is quite 'well advertised' about the way it goes about ti.) Shipping and delivery people and the sales people to ultimately peddle the product locally.
-THEN, in AU there's all the (additional, specifically extra and 'unique') expenses that the Australian market must wear.
e.g. Consumer law in AU protects the consumer for 12 months against 'manufacturer defect' etc (sure some makers provide warranty and RMA services, but essentially EVERY piece of consumer electronics in Australia is covered by this) There is a cost associated with that (or perhaps I am making an allowance or exception to 'cover' that invisible expense)
Then there's the other 'trickier' angles to consider, like the the 'pay and conditions for employee's in AU. Workers comp coverage and higher average wages that the Brick and Mortar stores have to wear, then the taxes and ridiculous expenses that company's brunt to provide said 'services' (I've only ever caught a glimpse of the rent and running expenses that 'Westfield' charge locally... it blows my mind that this running cost needs to be balanced each and every reportable quarter (at least where I worked, I might add I wasn't exposed to profit margins per-item etc, I have no idea how a number that size was 'absorbed' by our sales.).
What I AM looking forward to from this is the enquiry on digital distribution expenses.
Yep, sure, it's a fair statement [for EA, not valve] to say "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is $99 on Steam because it needs to be 'on par' with B & M stores in your area", but I, personally, don't think that its fair that they charge that much for it, as it serves to misguide punters, and screw over 'local markets'; whilst ultimately delaying the inevitabel transition to digital distribution (glaringly, so they can continue to profiteer digitally without needing to meet/cover the obligations of those B & M stores)
The part that usualy chaps-my-ass in this cycle is where bigger retailers expect to claim huge markup for essentially providing (at least to me, as a customer) mediocre service esp with consumer electronics; however their markup is largely explained in the paragraph(s) above.
I can't imagine your business is particularly successful if you can't read between the lines Bandy...
The Lexus statement is soooo far disconnected that it hurts to read those words from someone identifying themselves as a 'business' owner... (tho I guess you employ accountants and/or lawyers to do that kind of analytical work for you...)
Cars are a seperate matter, and whilst comparison can be drawn, ultimately the Aus. Govt. willingly, and in full view of its citizens, apply taxes to imported motor vehicles to (amongst other things) protect the few manufacturer's[and by extension the jobs they provide] that we have left in this country. (like it or not, that's essentially why there's RIDICULOUS taxes on EU cars that otherwise would represent a much better purchase 'dollar for quality' than AU vehicles. That's BEFORE you get to 'luxury car taxes' etc...)
Posted 03:34pm 26/6/12
It will be interesting if these enquiries actually help price hikes in Australia, and with the obvious push to digital that the likes of Steam and the next-gen consoles are rumoured to be doing, we can only hope they will be more in-line with other countries.
Posted 03:49pm 26/6/12
Posted 03:51pm 26/6/12