First up this isn’t an attack on GW’s prices as such. At the moment GW’s New Zealand prices are actually on par with GW US prices if you factor in our local 12.5% sales tax, the US/NZ$ exchange rate and add a little for shipping.
However in my opinion this still makes them too expensive to be good value locally. For example I priced up the 1500pt Eldar army that appeared in White Dwarf 323 (Asia Pacific, page 28 sidebar) last year. It works out to $924nz locally, while costing $477USD in the States. In my particular industry salaries are on par in both countries. I used to work in Silicon Valley in 2001 and was paid a similar figure to my current NZ salary. The USD simply has more buying power due to economies of scale.
So I think it’s worth noting that there are several Aussie online retailers that sell Games Workshop box kits below retail. Scrap Dragon for example seem to sell with 20% discount, with the Eldar boxed set costing $120AU instead of the $150AU GW Aussie sell it for. Their shipping fees airmail to NZ equate to about 16% too.
New Zealand citizens ordering from an Australian company are not required to pay Australian sales tax either, which equates to another 10% discount, although it’s hard to say if Scrap Dragon will give you that additional discount or not, or state their prices already exclude Australian GST. The later is more likely since they’re a web store, but I couldn’t find that particular detail on their site.
It is also worth noting that Customs New Zealand generally won’t bother trying to collect GST (NZ sales tax) when the value of that GST is $50nz or less (see Advice for Importing Goods from the NZ Govt site) which effectively means items worth $399nz or less can be imported without incurring GST on arrival.
So assuming we buy from Scrap Dragon and ship airmail to NZ we save…
-20% discount
-12.5% GST
+16% shipping
For a discount of 16.5% all up which is not bad at all, considering delivery times between Aussie and New Zealand are fairly prompt, usually around 5 working days in my experience.
Addendum: I’ve just received an email from Scrap Dragon that states their prices DO include Australian GST which means if you set up an account on their web site and inform them you’re a New Zealand citizen shipping to New Zealand you’ll get an extra 10% off. That pretty much means I’m never purchasing GW figures locally again.
An extra 10% discount eh this sounds like an interesting plan to get my GW cheaper, not that I haven’t purchased anything from GW in a while.
Yes, it seems almost too good to be true. They ship by weight though, so shipping costs could be higher than 16% I guess.
That pretty much means I’m never purchasing GW figures locally again.
Its problematic when GW pricing ends up disrupting local resellers like this.
We have the same problem in Canada and I am always surprised that the local stores don’t complain to GW more often
Some of the discount comes from avoiding Australian and New Zealand sales tax at each end, which naturally limits the size of your order. Even so $350NZ of GW figures is a fair amount.
I don’t quite understand how Scrap Dragon can offer a 20% discount on the normal Australian retail price though. Certainly resellers get a discount from GW and normal reseller discount is around 25-30% I believe? Even so I’m surprised they can afford to offer 20% off and still make it worth their while.
NZ GW prices are simply too rich for me. If I can get a discount like this from ‘across the ditch’ then I’ll definitely do so.
We have been reading your comments with interest and we can assure you that Gamers in Australia have the same issues with GW retailing prices. However, to address several issues raised in this thread:
- We are currently looking into the services our website/shopping cart provider provides, so GST is automatically deducted for foreign sales. We have had issues in the past where non-residents have purchased products and wanted them delivered to an Australian address and they thought they did not have to pay GST.
- As Stu states we charge shipping costs via weight. Please keep in mind there can be some differences when comparing for example battlion boxes where there can be a difference in weight.
- We have been selling online (mainly ebay) for 5 years and have over 12,000 positive feedback comments. Our ebay user name is scrapdragonau.
- As for our pricing policy. We are able to offer a 20% discount as we are a home based business (no rent and no staff) and we keep a very close tight control on our stock levels. Our discount from GW Aust is a little more than stated above (not much though)
If you are after something which is not on our website please email us with the list and I can give you a price.
Also if anyone is interested I work less than 10 minutes away from the Gold Coast International Airport and pick ups are more than welcome if you are visiting Australia.
Regards
Mick
Hi Mick, thanks for that comprehensive reply!
Would you object if I reposted your comment in the main blog? Hopefully we can generate you some hits and corresponding sales.
Yes that’s fine with me.
Regards
Mick