CHOICE says retailers are ripping us off

Stating the long known obvious…

Consumer watchdog CHOICE says Australian shoppers are getting ripped off at retail in a submission to a productivity commission designed to evaluate the retail and import sectors.

They make mention of Australian gamers being able to save as much as 90 per cent on some recent games if they import the game online rather than buy locally. And with game prices of $119 or $109 it’s no wonder we’re turning to importing. Gamers are feeling ripped off that retailers are not passing on the savings from the strong Australian dollar, and CHOICE says as much in their report.

“Who can blame them when Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games, for instance, cost 91 per cent more from a major Australian online retailer than from an overseas online website based in Asia?” CHOICE said on its website.

CHOICE argues that removing the under-$1000 GST threshold from online shopping as campaigned by greedy retailers (*cough* Gerry Harvey) would not work as adding a 10 per cent cost on online sales is still not enough of a deterrent to stop people shopping online.

Until retailers wake up and start being competitive in the market place they will continue to see more and more shoppers flocking online.

I’m already buying nearly all my video games online. I’ve got LA Noire coming in the mail from the UK at less than half the price of buying locally. Who else has switched to importing? Sound off in the forums.

Source: CHOICE