Customs Page Update

[88fishframe]

I think we have lost the main point of this thread. Honestly, I can see the temptation of purchasing an item from overseas in order to save money out of our pockets. It's tough to make a quid. However, the Australian laws regarding tariffs and taxes are there to protect the best interests of Australians. We all work for an Australian or Australian based company - how would it effect your employment if the profit margins of your employer were greatly effected because the products or services they offer were being sourced by potential clients 'on the cheap' by non-legitimate means? If it were to effect you directly, as this situation does to businesses like Sundown Marine, then you would all look at it very differently.

[DR]

I think we have lost the main point of this thread. Honestly, I can see the temptation of purchasing an item from overseas in order to save money out of our pockets. It's tough to make a quid. However, the Australian laws regarding tariffs and taxes are there to protect the best interests of Australians. We all work for an Australian or Australian based company - how would it effect your employment if the profit margins of your employer were greatly effected because the products or services they offer were being sourced by potential clients 'on the cheap' by non-legitimate means? If it were to effect you directly, as this situation does to businesses like Sundown Marine, then you would all look at it very differently.

'on the cheap' by non-legitimate means? ???????????
there is nothing ' non-legitimate' about bringing in your own things from overseas.
i occasionally bring stuff in, i always price the local stuff first.
if you can believe the suppliers they are not making much out of these items, so it is the importer thats ripping us off.
eg i just received a garmin gps76 & mounting bracket. best Aus price i could find was $385 for gps $58 for bracket
total $443 got mine from US in a week $312 for both, to my door. of that AUD$37 was postage, makes actual cost of both items AUD$275. thats $131 i can spend on something else.
30% difference, both prices retail

[88fishframe]

DR, DR, DR : you are a worry. You obviously haven't been in business for yourself and tried to survive in a competitive environment. Truly, there is a bigger picture to all this and one that goes well beyond what is best for the individual and what is best for the Country. I bet you'd walk up to Dick Smith and shake his hand one day, and then purchase foreign vegemite at a 0.50c saving the next?

I am an ebayer with over 600 transactions and I stopped buying overseas items 18 months ago when I woke up to what was happening. As far as cost is concerned, until Australians work out that it is not viable to keep selling $1.00 worth of resources to China and then purchase the same amount back at $25.00 as processed product, then we will pay a premium for our goods. The answer is not to continue supporting these countries but to look after own own first.

As far as the savings you are making - the truth is that Customs hasn't been involved because too much comes in via Australia Post for Customs to deal with and if the item is falsely sent as 'GIFT', then ....???? In truth , you should have been paying additional fees in GST and Duties when the item hit the country and this goes for 2nd hand goods as well. If you don't believe me, then have your next item sent via FedEx. I have, and I paid. You wouldn't have saved anywhere near $131.00 and if you can't understand why we pay taxes then don't bother replying to my post.

[88fishframe]

DR, before you reply to my post, my Grandmother always told me not to talk politics or religion at social gatherings. I know you won't agree me but that is ok. After all, it's

[Heath]

I beleive the very link that started this post was to notify that couriers now work on the same limits as Auspost.

Is that not the case?

[88fishframe]

Heath you're right. Time for me to go fishing , better make sure the bungs are in this time.

[DR]

I don't buy on ebay, i buy from retail stores.
am in busines for myself & have been for close on 26 years...
my business has been made harder by the advent of computers so that anyone can buy a comp & a programme & set up as a signwriter, they turn out crap But know no different, they work for next to nothing & only survive for a year or two thereby making life difficult for everyone else, in the meantime you learn to be competitive to survive..it's just the way it is.
the world has become a very small place with the internet. all my stuff comes via usps, goes through customs, & comes in as a purchase all declared & above board.

i try & support the aust. bloke where i can, but why would i ( for instance) buy an upmarket rod blank for AUD$290 have to wait at least month for them to get their next shipment in when i can buy it for AUD$195 & have it in a week at my door(that was 18 months ago & could have changed)..every dollar adds up..

While everyone wants to earn as much as possible & do as little as possible to get it things will never change...
untill the law changes i will continue to shop where i get the best deal, whether here or overseas.

i am an athiest with little or no interest in politics, so at any social gathering i would probably just have a beer with you & talk about fishing..

adding my 2c worth on the vhf, i have also been in touch with the relevant authority & received basically the same answer as Heath. To me the way it reads is a grey area that is open to your own personal spin, mine is that as long as it complys with......If the unit was imported not for supply, but purely for your own personal use, this may circumvent the Radiocommunications Devices (Compliance Labelling) Notice 2003.

The "Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station - 27 MHz and VHF) Class Licence 2001" requires that devices operated under that class licence comply with any standard applicable to the device on it's compliance day. (Day it was imported) .... it is ok for personal use..

you can pick another section .....The problem however is that you could not legally operate the device in Australia. You would be in breach of sections 46 and 47 of the "Radiocommunications Act 1992"

so take your pick.except that the negative one is 1992 & the others are 2001 & 2003 which i would assume negate the earlier one ..but not being upon my legalese i don't really know, maybe someone can explain.

[bidkev]

I didn't buy into this thread 'cause I knew it would be fiercely debated and that although that can be good for the old grey matter, it can also be bad for the blood pressure.

The sum total of the argument is that there are bound to be those who will want to look after their hard-earned bucks and will shop cheaply (wherever) as they will see the main issue being their immediate betterment and that of their family. There will be those who have a more holistic view and will consider how their livelihood (and the livelihood of others) is likely to be affected in the long term.

I have heard this debate many times in the past and the concluding argument from one side has always been, (in so many words) "if you can't compete, then don't lay your shit on me 'cause you can't run your business efficiently". From the other side it has always been along the lines, "You are not seeing the overall picture, support your local business, keep the bucks inside the country and safeguard jobs.

Well, I suppose it's down to your priorities and where they lie........short term........long term......how and who does my decision affect and do I really care anyway, as long as *I* benefit? Any number of factors can be calculated into why and how one arrives at a decision but in the main, I would think most people don't put *that* much thought into how their "buying/selling attitude" and their "responsibility" to the economy affects others. This doesn't just relate to buying electronics cheaply but to life in general (I think?)

I'll just illustrate what was happening in the UK when I left. Mail Order had cornered the tackle market and the retailers were screaming. They threatened to remove their advertising from those mags that were also providing a service to mail order retailers, which in turn could only damage them further as they would have no "shop front" for their products. They were not "awake".

I knew one "ordinary" guy who simply hit on an idea. He would approach the major tackle suppliers/manufacturers and ask what kind of discounts they could offer on the sales of a certain (large) number of items. He would then negotiate a very short delivery time and then he would advertise these items in the fishing mags at minimum profit with 21 days delivery time and "be quick, limited stock". He worked from home and his garage was a goldmine.

His turnover became phenomenal as he was always careful to only advertise proven products such as ambassadeur 7 and 9000's and Abu Atlantic Rods. If he failed to obtain the required amount of orders on an item which entitled him to his huge discounts from the manufacturer, then he simply returned the buyer's money with the explanation that he couldn't' obtain the stocks at that time, but may in the future, and would they like to go on a waiting list for that item. As the discounted retail price was so great, many agreed, as they were only purchasing purely because it *was* so cheap and wouldn't otherwise have purchased. This then enabled him to wait till he had sufficient orders to obtain the discounts.

Now some may say this was entrepreneurial, others would say, dishonest. But he made a huge killing until such times as the tackle stores (which had always been one man businesses) got their act together, joined forces and used their combined purchasing power to obtain the same discounts as the mail order guys. They finally woke up but not before many had gone to the wall.

To me, despite whatever *you* may think of the situation, it only goes to prove that fierce competition inevitably benefits the consumer in the short term. The danger of this situation though is that the "major player" may eventually win through and become the "only* player who can then monopolise and charge exactly as he sees fit. The short term then pales into insignificance in comparison to how the long term can affect your life.

It's happening now and it's a creeping cancer that will eventually erode everything you thought was safe/precious. *Your* ability to choose how you spend your dollars and live your life. The world has become the world of monopolies and once they have total control then you just watch your cost of living and your "economic standing" erode.

Yes you can buy cheaply but do you know just who you are buying off? Are they part of a monopoly? Are they cheap because they are intent on strangling the opposition till eventually there won't be a small trader left in business? Will you still be alive when that day arrives and do you really care as long as your standard of living is "protected" now so bugger what that is doing to the future?

These and many other questions *may* be answered at your friendly, local fishing site

kev...............just thinking out loud and wondering, "Does it really matter? I may get hit by a truck tomorrow" but then again, what legacy does that leave for our kids if we *all* thought like that?

[FNQCairns]

I feel for the retailer today in Australia to some degree but understand every single retailer would double their profit on each unit tomorrow if upstream the price plummeted and they could get away with it.

The system was not designed for the consumer to save money it was designed for the businesses to make the most money it possibly can.

I have it on very good authority that the outrageous cost of most US goods in Australia is due to the non-refundable/nontransferable single usage charge imposed on the 24carat gold containers used excursively in shipping to Australia.

What you ask!? - Why are those identical US imported goods a few hundred percent cheaper to land in near Asia?.

Mate!.... because they don't use the 24 caret gold shipping containers!!!


There you go it's as clear as mud to me!


I understand....a person can buy an Australian made Commodore or Camry cheaper in the US than here......a person can buy NZ made electronics cheaper (much) if purchased from the US than over the counter here......a person can buy US made hydraulic boat steering for around the same price purchased here as from the US!!! MMmmm.... That begs the question how come gold shipping containers cannot be used to import boat hydraulic steering items?

cheers fnq

PS. Sundown Marine happy to see you on the boards and touting for the benefit of both our members and yourself, you will receive here free! of any advanced consultant charges etc an unbiased insight into the workings of the average Australian fishing/boating consumer.

Use this wisely when offering information on why members should best buy retail from you/Australia compared to purchases ANYWHERE else because as opposed to a shopfloor sale members here have a habit of sticking around long after the cash register has stopped ringing.

[Jimo]

Think I'll just go fisning........................................... ...

[imported_admin]

Interesting reading.

What would happen if you imported electronics and fitted them to your own boat for personal use, then a few months later you sell the boat.

Would that then mean that the items must be C Tick approved.

And if you did not get them C Tick approved and the person that bought your boat had it insured and made an insurance claim. Then the insurance company did not pay up as there were non C Tick Approved items fitted to the boat.

Would this person then be able to make you pay?

[nonibbles]

And who is collecting the 20 bucks worth and 2 bobs worth being touted here and there? I would like to put my hand up. There will be a transaction/handling fee as my safe is required to have a 24 carat gold lining which will be based on the current gold price at time of purchase. The safe will be made i a sweat shop somewhere in SE ASIA just so it is cheaper but as I will still have to pay all duties, taxes and fees your 20bucks worth and 2bobs worth will now cost you ###### (price removed in case some other global trader may be able to undercut me)
Gee, that business didn't last long

[Heath]

Interesting reading.

What would happen if you imported electronics and fitted them to your own boat for personal use, then a few months later you sell the boat.

Would that then mean that the items must be C Tick approved.

And if you did not get them C Tick approved and the person that bought your boat had it insured and made an insurance claim. Then the insurance company did not pay up as there were non C Tick Approved items fitted to the boat.

Would this person then be able to make you pay?

All depends on circumstance.
The cause of the accident must be attributed to the fact that the item was not C Ticked. Since the items comming into Australia are exactly the same as each other & are available locally then I reckon your chances of this happening is Nil.
I very much doubt that every single radio, GPS, Sounder etc is pulled out of the box & tested as it enter's the country.

[imported_admin]

Sounds simple Heath but insurance companies tend to check everything possible and if there is something that is not right it can give them reason not to pay. Even if it does not link to the cause of the accident. Might be interesting to have a chat to a few insurance companies about this one and get their written explanation on it just incase.