And Amazon might not be the answer either.

Have you done any research since Amazon started....so far it is an overpriced fizzer of a site.

There are many online sites in Australia that offer better value than Amazon.

Mods seem to be moving old threads again.

 

I'll be surprised if Amazon survives in Aus. Australians aren't usually stupid and they know when they are being ripped off. A lot of Amazon is a rip off......if you can actually find what you want.

They'll survive. They want high prices now to cover their setup costs, they'll drop prices when they have to. What I don't like so much is not being able to purchase items from USA, UK or Eur. Prices much cheaper even including postage. Example Echo Dot $79 here=$US 58 on Amazon.au, go to Amazon USA site $US 19.95, that ladies and gentlemen is a RIPOFF.

Don't be too sure of that.

Amazon in Australia has to operate under the conditions that have applied to Australian businesses for years.....high shipping costs to get their stock here, import fees and duties, high rental cost of B & M stores, high wages.....the list goes on.

 

The cost of doing business in Australia has always been high and always will be, mainly because of our isolation from the rest of the world.

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Don't be too sure of that.

Amazon in Australia has to operate under the conditions that have applied to Australian businesses for years.....high shipping costs to get their stock here, import fees and duties, high rental cost of B & M stores, high wages.....the list goes on.

 

The cost of doing business in Australia has always been high and always will be, mainly because of our isolation from the rest of the world.

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Also high costs to deliver from the warehouse fulfilment center*. A country as large as the US with 6% of the population doesn't have quite the same economies of scale.

 

* I haven't checked but I can't imagine they would spell it properly.

Amazon has always been in the business of buying market share by running at a loss until established. Maybe they thought the free publicity they got in the leadup to opening here would be enough.

 

Third party sellers are charged significantly more there than here and have to wait to be paid by Amazon, so I suspect a lot of potential sellers have decided to give it a miss. I certainly did. Those who decided to join would not be prepared to run at a loss just to be a member.

I haven't bought from Amazon.com.au, although I continue to purchase from the US site as I can have items sent to my US address. I'm giving the French and UK sites a miss at present as the Australian dollar has been squashed against both the pound and the euro.