Did a price check between Dick Smith and eBay

1 Powerboard DS $32 ebay $10
90 Watt Notebook power supply DS $99 ebay $10
3 USB Mains Supply DS $26 eBay $1.50
4 Double adapter DS $7 eBay $7
5 12vdc Regulated power supply DS $32 eBay$20
6 Surge board DS $54 eBay$30
7 Surge board DS $34 eBay $24
8 HDMI cable DS $39.98 eBay $5.44
9 USB cable DS 1.5m $19.98 eBay $1.50
10 usb thumb drive 16 gb DS $17 ebay $2
11 usb thumb drive 64gb DS $84 eBay $35.98
12 80cm TV DS $298 eBay $248

Total DS = $719
Total eBay = $388

Parliamentary report urges Australians to bypass online geo-blocks that can double prices for IT products
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-29/geo-blocking-mps-committee-price-report-apple-adobe-microsoft/4850484

A federal parliamentary committee has recommended that consumers find ways to lawfully evade technology that allows IT companies to charge up to twice as much for their products in Australia.

The Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications found that Australian prices for IT products were up to double those charged overseas.

Companies can use geo-blocking to stop Australian consumers from buying their products online in other countries.

The Committee found Australians paid 42 per cent more, on average, for Adobe software such as Photoshop.

Microsoft products were 66 per cent more on average, while specialised 3D animation software was more than 50 per cent more expensive.

In addition, hardware, music, games and e-books all cost more in Australia than they do in places such as the United States.

more….

I get people to buy things in the states and mail them to me.

Are those ebay prices including postage, or before postage?

Quite a lot of eBay items have free postage these days.

Had a customer in this morning who wanted me to replace a pump that he’s bought online under warranty… I lol’d

stumpy_seahorse said:

Had a customer in this morning who wanted me to replace a pump that he’s bought online under warranty… I lol’d

Heh. Hopefully in his face…

I get that with Blood Glucose Machines, buy overseas then wonder why I can’t get compatible test strips (it’s not like they are expensive anyway, think I have a fairly good one for about $15.)

poikilotherm said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

Had a customer in this morning who wanted me to replace a pump that he’s bought online under warranty… I lol’d

Heh. Hopefully in his face…

I get that with Blood Glucose Machines, buy overseas then wonder why I can’t get compatible test strips (it’s not like they are expensive anyway, think I have a fairly good one for about $15.)

yep, he was one of those who marched in, pump under arm, ebay reciept in outstretched arm, dropped it on the counter and demanded it be repaired.
I said “That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

stumpy_seahorse said:

poikilotherm said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

Had a customer in this morning who wanted me to replace a pump that he’s bought online under warranty… I lol’d

Heh. Hopefully in his face…

I get that with Blood Glucose Machines, buy overseas then wonder why I can’t get compatible test strips (it’s not like they are expensive anyway, think I have a fairly good one for about $15.)

yep, he was one of those who marched in, pump under arm, ebay reciept in outstretched arm, dropped it on the counter and demanded it be repaired.
I said “That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

What a douche.

If you buy from a retailer that has to pay rent on a high street store, it’s not a big surprise that their prices are going to be higher than someone with a mail order business working out of their garage.
It’s when the big companies like Adobe and Microsoft sell the same product online to different countries at different prices it gets unreasonable.

I buy most things like hard drives at Hardly Normal because they’re close ( 1km) and it’s easy to sort out warranty issues. I’m prepared to pay a bit more for the convenience of that.

poikilotherm said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

poikilotherm said:

Heh. Hopefully in his face…

I get that with Blood Glucose Machines, buy overseas then wonder why I can’t get compatible test strips (it’s not like they are expensive anyway, think I have a fairly good one for about $15.)

yep, he was one of those who marched in, pump under arm, ebay reciept in outstretched arm, dropped it on the counter and demanded it be repaired.
I said “That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

What a douche.

I would have thought that to be your realm

diddly-squat said:

poikilotherm said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

yep, he was one of those who marched in, pump under arm, ebay reciept in outstretched arm, dropped it on the counter and demanded it be repaired.
I said “That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

What a douche.

I would have thought that to be your realm

I know when to recognise them, and s_s definitely got one.

pommiejohn said:

If you buy from a retailer that has to pay rent on a high street store, it’s not a big surprise that their prices are going to be higher than someone with a mail order business working out of their garage.
It’s when the big companies like Adobe and Microsoft sell the same product online to different countries at different prices it gets unreasonable.

I buy most things like hard drives at Hardly Normal because they’re close ( 1km) and it’s easy to sort out warranty issues. I’m prepared to pay a bit more for the convenience of that.

like anything, it’s all about how much risk you are prepared to take

diddly-squat said:

pommiejohn said:

If you buy from a retailer that has to pay rent on a high street store, it’s not a big surprise that their prices are going to be higher than someone with a mail order business working out of their garage.
It’s when the big companies like Adobe and Microsoft sell the same product online to different countries at different prices it gets unreasonable.

I buy most things like hard drives at Hardly Normal because they’re close ( 1km) and it’s easy to sort out warranty issues. I’m prepared to pay a bit more for the convenience of that.

like anything, it’s all about how much risk you are prepared to take

And convenience. I had a hard drive issue and needed to back everything up ASAP. I was round to HN in 10 minutes and within half an hour it was backing up. Sorted. No waiting for postage etc.

poikilotherm said:

diddly-squat said:

poikilotherm said:

What a douche.

I would have thought that to be your realm

I know when to recognise them, and s_s definitely got one.

let me guess… rubber bulb with a long nozzle… probably about $15 as well

stumpy_seahorse said:

“That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

Sounds pretty cheap!

The Rev Dodgson said:

stumpy_seahorse said:

“That’ll be $66 for the service” it went downhill from there

Sounds pretty cheap!

I would have said ‘inexpensive’ or ‘good value’

;)

diddly-squat said:

poikilotherm said:

diddly-squat said:

I would have thought that to be your realm

I know when to recognise them, and s_s definitely got one.

let me guess… rubber bulb with a long nozzle… probably about $15 as well

among other things, yea

So what do you do if stuff bought online needs warranty repairs – go direct to the manufacturer?

party_pants said:

So what do you do if stuff bought online needs warranty repairs – go direct to the manufacturer?

yes, only if you have bought it from an ‘approved’ on-line distributer

party_pants said:

So what do you do if stuff bought online needs warranty repairs – go direct to the manufacturer?

manufacturer will only take warranties through the seller, the invoice number for the purchase by the reseller from the manufacturer needs to be produced.

One very cheap pump company have a honda motor on them, but got them very cheap and ground the serial number off of them before selling them in their large chain of retail stores. Honda will not cover them by warranty because there is a gap in the paper trail between wholesale and retail

The inability to adapt to a changing marketplace is one of the many many reasons that 90% of small businesses fail within the first few years – It’s a display of ignorance and folly to whine about it.

Australian business needs to grow the fuck up and develop mature methods of self-examination.

1. Did the ebay prices include “postage”? (This question was asked but still not answered)
2. Do the ebay items have any warranty?
3. Do the ebay items meet Australian Standards? (This is often not treated with the importance it deserves)
4. Are the ebay items similar quality to the locally sourced items?

stumpy_seahorse said:

manufacturer will only take warranties through the seller, the invoice number for the purchase by the reseller from the manufacturer needs to be produced.

In Australia, the contract of sale and requirements of fitness for purpose, reasonable access to parts and repair etc sit with the seller, not the manufacturer, wholesaler, importer or anyone else. In the situation you describe above, you are perfectly entitled to refuse to help, as is everyone else in the normal supply chain. Making up crap about needing invoice numbers etc is just smoke screen.

Carmen_Sandiego said:

1. Did the ebay prices include “postage”? (This question was asked but still not answered)
2. Do the ebay items have any warranty?
3. Do the ebay items meet Australian Standards? (This is often not treated with the importance it deserves)
4. Are the ebay items similar quality to the locally sourced items?

1 A lot of items have free postage, some have postage costs
2 yes
3 unknown
4 yes

>>Making up crap about needing invoice numbers etc is just smoke screen.<<

Except that the seller can require proof that you bought the thing at their shop. (I’m not entirely sure on this, but if the contract is between buyer and seller, I would not expect to be able to take something to a different shop for warranty matters and I would expect that I may have to have some way of showing I didn’t buy it elsewhere and am putting the warranty onto a person not responsible for it)

>>2. Do the ebay items have any warranty?<<

How do you actually access someone for a warranty matter via eBay.

buffy said:

Except that the seller can require proof that you bought the thing at their shop.

Yeah, kinda….

Consumer Affairs Vic said:

Receipts

If you purchased an item but do not have a receipt, you may be asked to show other proof of where the product was purchased. For example, you can do this by using a:

• lay-by agreement
• confirmation or receipt number provided for a telephone or internet transaction
• warranty card showing the supplier’s or manufacturer’s details and the date or amount of the purchase
• serial or production number linked with the purchase on the supplier’s or manufacturer’s database
• credit card statement
• copy or photograph of the receipt.
  

more expensive items should be bought locally if you are worried about warranty

its a shame they don’t sell cars on eba……. hang on

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Cars-/29690/i.html?_dmpt=AU_Cars&Manufacturer=Hyundai&Model=323%7CBarina%7CCerato%7CCoupe%7CGrandeur%7CLand%2520Cruiser%7CPulsar%7CScoupe%7CTiburon%7CTrajet%7C%21&_sadis=50&_fspt=1