What are some particularly egregious examples 'kiwi tax' or companies creaming the NZ market vs international prices?

Forums › Off topic › What are some particularly egregious examples 'kiwi tax' or companies creaming the NZ market vs international prices?

tehgerbil

1110 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 884

ID Verified

Subscriber

#280938 20-Jan-2021 15:55

Was just searching for shoes, and found the Allbirds site. Their 'Tree dashers' design are 125USD (175NZD), or change from .com to .co.nz and you'll pay a whopping $245NZD!

Can anyone explain how this works? a 40% markup for buying from .co.nz seems quite excessive personally

Misery loves company, so any other good examples you've come across recently?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 9

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41029

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2638964 20-Jan-2021 15:58

And from a NZ company no less... But the same with Icebreaker (which is now practically all made in China, and Oregon-based so I don't consider that a New Zealand company anymore).

I bought LOTS of Icebreaker stuff from Amazon over the years - paying almost 1/3 to 1/2 of the NZ retail price depending on item. Sorry, I'd love to support local, but I also need to save money.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

GV27

5977 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4212

#2638966 20-Jan-2021 16:02

JB Hifi.com.au vs JB Hifi.co.nz

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1100
Inactive user

#2638967 20-Jan-2021 16:02

You made the classic mistake of ignoring sales tax. Included in the NZ price, added after specifying shipping destination destination in the US.

frankv

5705 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3666

Lifetime subscriber

#2638969 20-Jan-2021 16:07

In NZ, (I think 10%) duty still applies to shoes (except children's shoes below size 10). So, take the American price, convert to NZD, multiply by 1.1 * 1.15 and you get $221.375. There's also a $55 Customs fee, and freight and GST on freight.

Looks like the $245 price is a bargain.

If that's too steep for you, try the Warehouse for a $20 pair of shoes.

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1100
Inactive user

#2638970 20-Jan-2021 16:11

freitasm:

And from a NZ company no less... But the same with Icebreaker (which is now practically all made in China, and Oregon-based so I don't consider that a New Zealand company anymore).

I bought LOTS of Icebreaker stuff from Amazon over the years - paying almost 1/3 to 1/2 of the NZ retail price depending on item. Sorry, I'd love to support local, but I also need to save money.

For the identical product? Because I suggest you are buying sale/discontinued/outlet stuff if you are 1/3-1/2 off retail.

I think NZ pricing for the identical item from Icebreaker is similarly priced NZ or US.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41029

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2639012 20-Jan-2021 16:13

The same product. The same code. Available in retail here and Amazon. I checked in store.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

mrdrifter

589 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 294

ID Verified

Trusted

#2639013 20-Jan-2021 16:13

Floating Shelf brackets. I can get a pair in NZ for a single shelf for ~$60, or I can get a 8 pack for 4 shelves from Amazon for the same price delivered and that's including import fees etc...

dfnt

1553 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1036

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2639082 20-Jan-2021 16:31

Radar Dectectors are an example of insane markup..

Example, Uniden R7 is ~680 NZD including shipping via Amazon. Or $1,299 NZD from a local retailer. Granted the Amazon version is the US version, it can be converted to a NZ version with the NZ GPS databse via a member on rdforum.

Or the Valentine1 Gen2 is, at a guess as I've not bought one, around $950 NZD shipped via Youshop direct from Valentine1. Or $1,599 from a local retailer. There is no difference between one bought from Valentine1 or one from a local retailer, apart from easy warranty

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1100
Inactive user

#2639091 20-Jan-2021 16:48

freitasm: The same product. The same code. Available in retail here and Amazon. I checked in store.

Sorry to harp on, but I did some work consulting at Icebreaker about 6 years ago, and at the time their policy was similar pricing globally for the identical product.

It’s a bit pedantic, but are you saying you priced the identical product, sold by Icebreaker directly, and the US one was 1/3 cheaper all else taken into account? I’m only asking out of interest because Icebreaker was sold to VF a couple of years ago, and I’m wondering if the policy has changed.

If you didn’t source from Icebreaker itself, and checked retail at a non-Icebreaker store (like Bivouac or similar) then the equation is different. Actually, I wasn’t aware Icebreaker used Amazon as a sales channel - that might have changed as well with the VF acquisition.

And lastly - Icebreaker is still run out of NZ; in Auckland.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41029

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2639092 20-Jan-2021 16:53

Yes, I am saying that the same three jackets available in store here were bought from Amazon, including shipping and prices ranging from 1/3 to 1/2 of NZ retail. Heck, I even bought Icebreaker socks on Amazon cheaper than NZ retail.

I hope this is now clear.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41029

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2639108 20-Jan-2021 17:53

Had time to search previous purchases.

Bought the Icebreaker Men's Legacy Trench Top on 14 Aug 2014 (plus a pair of Icebreaker socks). With shipping that came to US$ 261.27. The coat alone was US$ 243 so applying that day's exchange rate over the coat + shipping the total was NZ$ 308.29. This coat is long out of stock in Icebreaker stores or online but an online store lists these at NZ$ 599 - which is the price I remember from back then. Good savings here - around NZ$ 291.

A month earlier I bought the Icebreaker Legacy Long Sleeve Hoodie. That was a single item order, total US$ 211 including shipping or NZ$ 240 on that day's exchange. Again, this is an old item and the Icebreaker online store lists as out of stock, but that other store still lists the original price, which was NZ$ 550. Another good saving of NZ$ 310.

So, yes, going for the topic on this thread, I think that at the time I did save a lot by buying overseas instead of paying New Zealand retail prices.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1100
Inactive user

#2639115 20-Jan-2021 18:12

Thanks for that, but neither of those were purchased from Icebreaker, and neither is Outside Sports an Icebreaker store. You absolutely saved $ on these very good products, but this is not an apples-for-apples comparison on egregious pricing discrepancies on the part of Icebreaker.

This may seem pedantic, but Icebreaker isn’t responsible for third-party retailer pricing and discounting.

The only reason I am interested in this is because of the pricing policy Icebreaker had a few years ago; I was just wondering if it had changed, and there’s no evidence that it has (so far anyway). Thanks for indulging me on this.

afe66

3181 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1678

Lifetime subscriber

#2639200 20-Jan-2021 20:14

If I worked in USA I would earn more than twice what I earn here and I would be taxes less. Not fair, I should be paid same amount in nz as USA.

gzt

18672 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7809

Lifetime subscriber

#2639206 20-Jan-2021 20:24

Energizer L-ion. Higher capacity in other markets and cheaper too last time I looked. Maybe not egregious. Definitely annoying.

SirHumphreyAppleby

2938 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1860

#2639209 20-Jan-2021 20:27

frankv:

In NZ, (I think 10%) duty still applies to shoes (except children's shoes below size 10). So, take the American price, convert to NZD, multiply by 1.1 * 1.15 and you get $221.375. There's also a $55 Customs fee, and freight and GST on freight.

Customers/Biosecurity fees should never be factored in when comparing local prices with international prices as the importer would be importing multiple examples (potentially container loads), and these fixed costs would be spread over all units.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ... | 9