The Australian Federal Government is being pressured to apply a GST to purchases of goods over the internet. Big Australian retailers are saying that they have to levy a 10% GST for the government on all goods sold and yet purchases made overseas via the internet do not attract a GST if they are valued less than $1,000.00.
We have bought quite a bit of stuff over the net and have been very satisfied with quality, delivery and especially price. Many people are saying that the big retailers are price gouging.
We will continue to buy stuff on line where it is obviously a fraction of the price in retail stores here, however, I understand why Australian retailers are a bit cranky.
I am pretty confident that the rent on a warehouse in China is just a (very small) fraction of the rent a big retailer is paying for rent in a shopping centre. Many retailers have spent millions building large shops, employing staff at award rates and paying superannuation, overtime rates, sick leave, holiday leave loading and now maternity leave. Can you imagine the daily running costs of running a Myer store with a couple of hundred staff, power bills etc?
From what I have read about factory workers in China it would seem that a lot of those costs and benefits don’t seem to apply.
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I agree regarding overseas rents, staff wages, etc. but when Dymocks sell a book at $39.99 and you can buy the exact same book from Big W for $19.88 you start to wonder. One would think that Dymocks would have much the same buying power as Big W - so why the huge difference in price.
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