Australian Prices Suck!
 

Anyone notice the Australian retail price is listed at $6875?

What a ripoff!

Videoguys.au have it for $6399 on their website but still an enormous difference to the USA.

Globalmediapro.com (NZ)have it listed for $4050 (Australian dollars) with $55 insured delivery.

Add $411 GST and that $1883 difference will buy an awful amount of "warranty service".

We alway get whacked for our equipment here, which is why so many of us use the grey importers.

Cheers,

Vaughan

Yeah, converting US$ 3495 to Austrailian$, the price is $4507.

Who is taking all the money?

If it's any consolation, prices in Canada are just as bad. Same camera is $4899CAD (on sale at one retailer for $4699 now) which works out to $5600AUD. Then add in 13% GST & provincial sales tax, and you're looking at $5535 CAD. That's not including shipping.

If you bought the camera from a US retailer, (B&H has it for $3495US), even with exchange, tax (GST/PST is charged at the border) and shipping your final cost will still be about $5200CAD.

That's a lot of money to pay for such a little camera, even considering what great footage it produces.

I think what it all boils down to is a combination of factors. Exchange rates plus shipping costs, plus greedy retailers jacking up the price because: a) they don't sell many prosumer cams, b) the product is in demand, and the price is what the market will bear.

In the US, you have huge competition and economies of scale that drive the price down. On the flip side, average wages tend to be lower than in Australia or Canada, so what looks dirt-cheap to us may not necessarily be so Stateside.

if the US and AU versions of the camera are exactly the same... it certainly makes sense to buy from overseas and save all the extra cash... that extra cash will pay for the extra accessories.... mic, tripod, pelican case...

How are JVC with warranty.. do they only provide local warranty or do they have an international warranty program???

I'm sure Hagemeyer Aust. will say they will only service their own products.

But you can buy a Mackie International Warranty from Globalmediapro with the camera for $111 or as the delivery charge to Aust. is $54 you could organise their carrier to get it back to them I would suggest.

I see their current price delivered to Australia is $3875.....(GST Payable on entry) a huge difference to local pricing.

In 15 years though with Panasonic and Sony cameras I have only ever used warranty service to upgrade firmware (on EX 1).

If only I had some extra cash (sigh).!

Cheers,

Vaughan