Retailers Trying to End Overseas GST Free Purchases

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Snowflake

#785268 21-Mar-2013 23:33

kyhwana2: Hah, try buying Vibram Fivefingers here, unless they're on special/getting rid of stock, it's always cheaper to buy overseas and get shipped via youship. I havn't been charged GST/customs fee's for them yet, but even so they're still cheaper from overseas.

Shoes still attract import duty. A shop here has to add 25% (10% import duty plus 15% gst). If you can dodge the tax at the border, you're definitely going to get them cheaper!

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#785287 22-Mar-2013 06:22

Regs:
kyhwana2: Hah, try buying Vibram Fivefingers here, unless they're on special/getting rid of stock, it's always cheaper to buy overseas and get shipped via youship. I havn't been charged GST/customs fee's for them yet, but even so they're still cheaper from overseas.

Shoes still attract import duty. A shop here has to add 25% (10% import duty plus 15% gst). If you can dodge the tax at the border, you're definitely going to get them cheaper!

Shoes are one of the few things it's worthless ever trying to import. You'll always get stung with duty, GST and then the customs fee. This typically makes them most more than buying them locally.

itxtme

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#785299 22-Mar-2013 08:36

sbiddle:
Regs:
kyhwana2: Hah, try buying Vibram Fivefingers here, unless they're on special/getting rid of stock, it's always cheaper to buy overseas and get shipped via youship. I havn't been charged GST/customs fee's for them yet, but even so they're still cheaper from overseas.

Shoes still attract import duty. A shop here has to add 25% (10% import duty plus 15% gst). If you can dodge the tax at the border, you're definitely going to get them cheaper!

Shoes are one of the few things it's worthless ever trying to import. You'll always get stung with duty, GST and then the customs fee. This typically makes them most more than buying them locally.

Import Nike frees all the time with no import costs..

Behodar

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#785300 22-Mar-2013 08:45

itxtme: Import Nike frees all the time with no import costs..

I've also imported shoes without any costs, but they're not horrendously expensive ones (usually around US$60) so they don't hit the $400 limit even with duty applied.

old3eyes

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#785308 22-Mar-2013 08:57

Behodar:
itxtme: Import Nike frees all the time with no import costs..

I've also imported shoes without any costs, but they're not horrendously expensive ones (usually around US$60) so they don't hit the $400 limit even with duty applied.

Regarding shoes and clothing i would rather buy here as I like to know that they will fit..

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#785347 22-Mar-2013 10:23

sbiddle: Shoes are one of the few things it's worthless ever trying to import. You'll always get stung with duty, GST and then the customs fee. This typically makes them most more than buying them locally.

I bought some Ecco black leather work shoes from amazon for NZ$130 that cost NZ$300 here. I wasn't charged import duty or GST. I've imported four pairs of shoes and I've never had to pay GST or duty.

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#785350 22-Mar-2013 10:37

timmmay:
sbiddle: Shoes are one of the few things it's worthless ever trying to import. You'll always get stung with duty, GST and then the customs fee. This typically makes them most more than buying them locally.

I bought some Ecco black leather work shoes from amazon for NZ$130 that cost NZ$300 here. I wasn't charged import duty or GST. I've imported four pairs of shoes and I've never had to pay GST or duty.

I probably wasn't clear on this - you'll still only pay these if they exceed the standard $50 limit. It's just on a $450 order having to pay 15% GST, 10% duty and then the $38 Customs fee it can often cancel out any gains.

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timmmay

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#785352 22-Mar-2013 10:41

Ah yeah, so buy shoes one pair at a time.

Also, packages coming into the country at the same time can be combined and charged for if they go over the limit. It happened to me once, I split shipping into two packages to avoid GST, but got it anyway, and paid for shipping twice. Silly thing is it was a business expense so I get the GST back, I was just trying to make it faster and avoid the customs fee.

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#785353 22-Mar-2013 10:50

sbiddle: Shoes are one of the few things it's worthless ever trying to import. You'll always get stung with duty, GST and then the customs fee. This typically makes them most more than buying them locally.

Bella's turning seven this year. We never bought a pair of shoes from a NZ retailer (except for a pair of Havaianas). Amazon was always the destination for her shoes and books.

rayonline

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#785358 22-Mar-2013 11:09

So this duty thing only apply when it is $50 more than the $400NZ limit?

I generally get the books from the public library as they are free and all books incl imports/eBooks are just too expensive for me for a week or two of reading. I have seen that novels by big authors that their eBooks might be more expensive than their paperbacks and that was including postal for the paperbacks - Book Depository. By a few dollars.

NZ is just too expensive. I can buy at anytime and it's generally at least half price to NZ. I shoot some film as well, slide film in NZ cost $40 a roll or $32 for parallel import that one shop does themselves, they cost me $10NZ each if I import them and even if I buy one roll at a time and pay for postal each time, postal is just $12NZ so $22NZ all up, of course I can purchase 10 or 20 rolls and combine the postal. Photo paper is also double price here, they are generally never on special, other than a annual sale at 25% maybe. But the stores probably sell them more than double b/c even online stores sell them approx double to what it is overseas. Same with printer ink. And with the shoes if one has tried them on you could ge the product code and order that exact one if that is available overeas. Glasses too. If I wasn't going for the cheapies or the store sponsored ones, they might cost $500+ for ordindary single vision plastic lenses.

Those who have families overseas and they go back often to see them. The girls, they buy underwear there b/c it is expensive here. Even for the guys I might add, ignore the Warehouse stuff, they generally cost $20 a pair at Farmers, I actually need to get 3 pairs this weekend too ... I was in Malasysia and bought a Ralph Lauren polo shirt, was about $40NZ, NZ probably wanted $180. It so cheap that I asked a friend if it was a fake. We here are grown up to expect high prices. Even worst some yrs ago, film cameras that was $900US they were selling for $3,000 here, even a used one here was $2,000. If I process my slide film they are $9US overseas, here they were $40 but now reduced to $30 I think. Mind you before the 15% GST came effect, they sent all their notices out beforehand. What NZ does, they find ways to split things up and charge you for every single niggly bit. Overseas they process the slide film, cutting and mounting is free, labelling is free. Here they charge you $20 for processing and if you don't want just a long spiral roll you have to pay another $10 for them to cut them and then maybe another $14 for them to mount them into slides that is standard cardboard (normal) and again they charge you $5 or $10 each roll just to stamp the date on them. And it's other stores too, buy a suit, they charge you for every adjustment, a few might just charge you 1.5 instead of 2 or more jobs. Eye test, there is the fee for that, if you wanted just new lenses keep the glasses there is a surcharge b/c you didn't buy new frames.

Re: the eBooks I think that is the future even for public libraries from a management perspective and meeting the customer. Less late fines, able to request without delays or put a hold on the book and wait, no wear and tear, less in terms of organising books and preparing them before loaning begins. Great for old and rare books and allows people to access them too, they can be converted to electronic. Maybe one could borrow books thru the wire (online) at home and it may have a 3 week loan expiry electronically and by law in NZ I think it is that you can print 10% of the book - great for guide and reference books and textbooks.

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#785369 22-Mar-2013 11:19

rayonline: So this duty thing only apply when it is $50 more than the $400NZ limit?

There won't be collection of GST if the GST amount to be collected is $60. This means purchases from overseas (including shipping) have to be at least $400 for the $60 GST to be collected ($400 x 15%).

Duty is a different thing. Some products attract duty regardless of declared value, some don't.

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#785376 22-Mar-2013 11:41

Personally I think that reducing the threshold is effectivelly putting a 15% tarrif on small purchases. As far as I am concerned, tarrifs are there to block things from occuring, in this case purchasing things from overseas in order to "protect" an industry. I think it will stifle a lot of innovation and creativity which in itself can generate revenue in unexpected ways. People buy new and interesting things from overseas because they have a genuine reason to want them.

In my mind if an industry needs 'protecting' it either needs to adapt and change, or shouldnt exist; from a darwinian natural selection point of view, the market is saying, that model is no longer effective - it does not have the desired fitness traits.

I suspect a better option would be to help educate the industry with better business practices and to show them how they can still provide the same service but with multiple different implementations. Perhaps if a physical retail store is competing against people ordering goods electronically, there is nothing to stop that retail store offering the same electronic service - sending goods directly from the suplier to the consumer. The point of presence store can still act as a try-before-you-buy outlet, but I would think they need to add some kind of additional value proposition to that experience to make it worth while for the consumer, otherwise I think the consumer would simply substitute for the next best thing.

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Lias

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#785377 22-Mar-2013 11:42

Scrap GST. Problem solved.

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#785378 22-Mar-2013 11:44

Lias: Scrap GST. Problem solved.

Scrapping GST means general tax levels need to be raised. That could disadvantage the poor if it was done fairly, or disproportionately tax the high earners. High earners already pay a lot of tax by way of higher tax rates and GST on all the things they buy.

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#785381 22-Mar-2013 11:48

Quite amazing when you add all of the extra costs like duty, GST and a customs fee to something like a mobile phone, that appears at least $200-300 cheaper from overseas, then becomes effectively the same price as the locally sourced unit with these added.

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