Difference in prices between the US and New Zealand

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#1658706 27-Oct-2016 08:20

Comparing Amazon, which finds the cheapest possible price and JB Hifi is not really that realistic either, you are not comparing retail price to retails price.

MikeAqua

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#1658710 27-Oct-2016 08:37

Outboards, fish-finders, any major item for a boat ...

Mike

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#1658968 27-Oct-2016 12:55

sbiddle:

You can't compare TV's because they're completely different models and insides with different tuners and drivers. The vast majority of TV's sold in the US will NOT accept 50Hz inputs as they're only designed to work in a 60Hz environment.

What you list above is not the reason for the price differences. But you are correct about sales tax etc. Plus the convenience, risk, compatibility issues etc make the lower US prices not so attractive.

networkn

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#1658980 27-Oct-2016 12:59

Man, these threads that get started without people giving a seconds thought to the possible reasons, are something not so small that really irritate me.

SepticSceptic

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#1659087 27-Oct-2016 15:09

sbiddle:

surfisup1000:

sbiddle:

You can't compare TV's because they're completely different models and insides with different tuners and drivers. The vast majority of TV's sold in the US will NOT accept 50Hz inputs as they're only designed to work in a 60Hz environment.

I don't think that is the point -- the prices should be similar.

*Why* should they be similar? I don't think they should be.

Yes we pay a lot more for many things here in NZ. Some of that comes down to freight costs and the cost of importing product for a small country. Some of it is the fact we don't pay staff minimum wage. Some of it comes down to retail chains having to make margin off much smaller volumes of goods because we're a lot smaller country. Some of it comes down to GST and retailer obligations under the CGA that can is effectively a margin that needs to be added by the retailer simply as cost of doing business. Some of it comes down to the fact a manufacturer often makes a specific product for the NZ market because of the customisation required which is the case with many TV's.

Do we pay too much for many things in NZ? Yes we do. But thinking we should be paying a similar price to the US simply isn't logical.

Even the cost of leasing retail floor space comes into effect, and anecdotally, NZ Malls are very expensive for retail space.

Petrol / diesel costs more, H&S Compliance, all these little things, "nickel and dime", add up eventually to be passed to the consumer.

I don't think that JB make any significant profit overall.

Consumers have to wear the cost of business, whilst allowing the retailer, and everyone else clipping the ticket, to stay in business.

dickytim

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#1659422 28-Oct-2016 06:31

I do like the sentiment of " I found it on Amazon at it's cheapest possible price so it should be that price from a bricks and mortar shop"

kingdragonfly

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#1659429 28-Oct-2016 07:34

Please don't put words in my mouth.

I didn't say it should be the same price. $653 dollars mark up is excessive.

Amazon is not even the cheapest.

Fry Electronics in the financial district in San Francisco has exactly the same price: $548

Before you say, "what about mom-and-pop stores?"; they literally don't exist in most US cities. I've looked.

My friend had a theory.

Because a 55" TV can't be bought and shipped outside NZ, like a phone or watch, there's no overseas pressure to reduce prices.

Over $600 per TV covers a lot of wages / guarantees / shopping power.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

sbiddle

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#1659437 28-Oct-2016 08:15

kingdragonfly:

Because a 55" TV can't be bought and shipped outside NZ, like a phone or watch, there's no overseas pressure to reduce prices.

Shipping a TV outside the US can be done relatively easily. You can easily import a large panels for for a few hundred $ each.

The fact that TV (like the vast majority of TV's in the US) is pretty useless in NZ unless because it won't accept 50Hz content is a more important issue.

numfarr

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#1661014 30-Oct-2016 17:34

kingdragonfly: It's really painful how much more we pay for consumer devices in New Zealand, when compared to the same item in the US.

I'll use US dollars amounts in this post to highlight the difference. Both are non-sales prices.

I used a Sony Kdl55w650d 55" TV for comparison.

And I used Amazon USA versus JBHi-Fi NZ

$1,201 in USD from JBHiFi NZ (NZD 1,677)

$548 in USD from Amazon USA

Yeah but look at the price history on Pricespy. $US1201 is just the price the NZ retailers "pulse" it up to briefly so they can then legally put it on "sale". The more usual price is between $USD860 and $USD1000. Compare it to the Amazon price history, which started at $US800 and has now been discounted to $US548. Once you add in 15% GST (taking the US discounted price to $US630) it's still cheaper, but not that much cheaper.

driller2000

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#1661018 30-Oct-2016 17:53

SepticSceptic:

sbiddle:

surfisup1000:

sbiddle:

You can't compare TV's because they're completely different models and insides with different tuners and drivers. The vast majority of TV's sold in the US will NOT accept 50Hz inputs as they're only designed to work in a 60Hz environment.

I don't think that is the point -- the prices should be similar.

*Why* should they be similar? I don't think they should be.

Yes we pay a lot more for many things here in NZ. Some of that comes down to freight costs and the cost of importing product for a small country. Some of it is the fact we don't pay staff minimum wage. Some of it comes down to retail chains having to make margin off much smaller volumes of goods because we're a lot smaller country. Some of it comes down to GST and retailer obligations under the CGA that can is effectively a margin that needs to be added by the retailer simply as cost of doing business. Some of it comes down to the fact a manufacturer often makes a specific product for the NZ market because of the customisation required which is the case with many TV's.

Do we pay too much for many things in NZ? Yes we do. But thinking we should be paying a similar price to the US simply isn't logical.

Even the cost of leasing retail floor space comes into effect, and anecdotally, NZ Malls are very expensive for retail space.

Petrol / diesel costs more, H&S Compliance, all these little things, "nickel and dime", add up eventually to be passed to the consumer.

I don't think that JB make any significant profit overall.

Consumers have to wear the cost of business, whilst allowing the retailer, and everyone else clipping the ticket, to stay in business.

Correct:$221M EBIT from $3.95 BN Sales = 5.5%.

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/General/Corporate/Shareholder-Matters/Financial-Annual-Reports/

So their profit and margins are clearly not huge as electronics retail is not a business that you make massive margins in.

So clearly they CAN'T sell for much less than they currently are or they would be out of business....

JimmyH

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#1661042 30-Oct-2016 18:46

Small bit of electronics I wanted a year or so ago. Admittedley a fairly specialist type of kit (to strip HDCP and convert video to a different analog format). Quite small, would easily fit in a cigarette packet.

Local stockist: $NZ599 with a six week wait, so I suspect they were not even holding stock (and it was unclear whether GST was on top of that).

Price from US: $NZ128, including shipping, with a four day wait.

A 367% markup.

DaveB

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#1661048 30-Oct-2016 19:08

I would still rather live in NZ though!

Rikkitic

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#1661064 30-Oct-2016 20:01

sbiddle:

kingdragonfly:

Because a 55" TV can't be bought and shipped outside NZ, like a phone or watch, there's no overseas pressure to reduce prices.

Shipping a TV outside the US can be done relatively easily. You can easily import a large panels for for a few hundred $ each.

The fact that TV (like the vast majority of TV's in the US) is pretty useless in NZ unless because it won't accept 50Hz content is a more important issue.

@sbiddle: I have a question about that. I notice our Sony has an external AC adapter, like a laptop. So the power to the TV must be DC. Is the Sony unique in this regard, or is it more widespread?

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

richms

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#1661073 30-Oct-2016 20:24

Rikkitic:

@sbiddle: I have a question about that. I notice our Sony has an external AC adapter, like a laptop. So the power to the TV must be DC. Is the Sony unique in this regard, or is it more widespread?

Happening more and more now that they are obsessing about slimness again. But that wont help you play 50Hz content on a panel made for 60Hz only. Need a systems converter for that, and ones that do a good job in real time on HD stuff will cost many times more than a giant 4k UHD TV does.

Richard rich.ms

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#1661082 30-Oct-2016 21:00

Rikkitic:

sbiddle:

kingdragonfly:

Because a 55" TV can't be bought and shipped outside NZ, like a phone or watch, there's no overseas pressure to reduce prices.

Shipping a TV outside the US can be done relatively easily. You can easily import a large panels for for a few hundred $ each.

The fact that TV (like the vast majority of TV's in the US) is pretty useless in NZ unless because it won't accept 50Hz content is a more important issue.

@sbiddle: I have a question about that. I notice our Sony has an external AC adapter, like a laptop. So the power to the TV must be DC. Is the Sony unique in this regard, or is it more widespread?

Voltage/power isn't the problem. It's the fact the panels are designed for a 60Hz/NTSC country so only accept 60Hz signals. All video broadcast in NZ and on DVD and BluRay is 576i 720p50, 1080i25, 1080p25 or 1080p50 so won't display at all (or won't display correctly depending on the panel) on a panel that will only handle 60Hz content which is the vast majority of TV's sold in the US.

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