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@maranock wrote:I love the way Harvey Norman keeps lobbying for this as if his chain will benefit. I and many others would gladly pay more to buy elsewhere and not have to deal with their horrendous customer service and high prices.
This is something I've never understood about Gerry. How many people do you know who buy TVs and washing machines (or even, toasters) from online overseas retailers?
I don't know a single person who does that, and I personally wouldn't, because of the high risk of damage in transit, voltage/regional compatibility issues, high freight (imagine having a TV or washing machine sent from overseas), and the hassle if there is anything wrong with the item and it needs to be returned.
@digital*ghost wrote:
@everard6920 wrote:Even eBay thinks it's a bad idea:
To be honest, the articles I've been reading about eBay's position on this come across as a tantrum that's intended to incite panic, to me - not too removed from Australia Post's oft-used "it's not us, it's you and all your importing....and the UPU", when they respond to consumer complaints about postage increases, which defers responsibility away from themselves, attention away from their overall profits, and gets people angry about something else instead, the ultimate result is that people divert attention away from AP, push for a change that benefits Australia Post, but ones that are very unlikely to be passed on.
Don't get me wrong, I think the proposed vendor-collects scenario is fundamentally flawed, and can think of simpler methods, but at the same time the appeal of GST being paid at the point of purchase (if it must be paid) is higher than the appeal of the alternatives (in that if it's done that way, there is nothing that should halt the flow of incoming mail).
I do think overseas businesses should have an incentive to adopt this method, if this is how it must be done, as doing the work of another country's government at increased admin costs is highly unlikely to be appealing to any business, no matter how big or small they are.
Maybe, but I, for one, am glad for the media attention this is getting, and I'm also glad that eBay isn't just going along with the government on this. As I said - I don't have a problem with paying the GST on imports; it's all about the implementation, and the "vendor"-model is flawed. There's no perfect implementation, but this needs more thought.
As many are pointing out, the time between the finalisation of this policy, and the implementation, is only going to be about a month. You can't expect major sites to be able to implement this in that timeframe. Anyone who expects that knows nothing about e-commerce systems. It's baffling that the government still aiming for a July 1, 2017 implementation when many companies (including eBay) are saying that they can't possibly be ready by then.
Anyway, if this does go ahead, and sites do block Australians, it isn't going to make me spend more in Australia - primarily because the items I buy from overseas vendors can't be bought here anyway. I'll just save my money, go on a nice overseas holiday, and buy everything I want whilst there. 
@everard6920 wrote:
As many are pointing out, the time between the finalisation of this policy, and the implementation, is only going to be about a month. You can't expect major sites to be able to implement this in that timeframe. Anyone who expects that knows nothing about e-commerce systems. It's baffling that the government still aiming for a July 1, 2017 implementation when many companies (including eBay) are saying that they can't possibly be ready by then.
The interesting thing about this backlash is its sudden onset.
Mutterings of this being a reality started in 2014. In 2015, with this scheme in mind, they sent tax officials around the world in order to speak with representives of larger OS businesses (I don't recall if eBay was mentioned by name in any of the articles I read, but I'm about 75% sure they were, and Am**on definitely was - slight difference between the two, as unlike eBay, they do hold / ship stock themselves, but they've come out now as saying they have some problems with the proposal as well). Now, they (the tax officials) did actually report back then that these companies were receptive to the proposal, which could be on point, or could be complete fabrications to further the scheme at the time, but the main point is that these companies have been aware of the Aus Gov's intentions for at least two years, and in all that time, not a peep*....
So, I wonder why the sudden chook with its head cut off reaction from them.
Why the sudden stirring articles, containing such provocative and (methinks) hyperbolic lines as "the end of eBay in Australia"? Yeah, cos Aussies only buy from OS retailers, and if something they want costs 10% more, from an OS seller, they won't buy it at all. (I've seen a lot of 'the sky is falling' type stuff when it comes to eBay, but rarely does it come from eBay).
Initially, the governement was talking about blocking sites that did not comply, now it's eBay talking about blocking Australians from buying (this may come across as me suggesting eBay are scapegoating themselves for some reason, I'm not actually suggesting that, just highlighting a couple of things that make me go hmmmm, but then again, anything's possible - mebbe they want Aussies to feel relieved and grateful when they eventually stick around and only raise costs by 15% 
................. ).
*that I know of, obviously if they have spoken out against this previously, by which I mean at least a year or more ago, then my entire point (what little of it there is) is less....pointy.
That it is - reading the article, I wonder if the aforementioned tax officials gave any useful information with regards to how they wanted this to work back when they were galavanting around the world. Plus, as I mentioned in a thread over on the buying board, if the platform is deemed the seller, then wouldn't that actually mean they'd have to apply GST to all sales to Aus buyers, regardless of actual seller location? (A whole 'nother can of worms ).
