Are Australians getting ripped off?

[Continuity]

Yes, Australians are stupid and will eat whatever shit is served up to them.

No we're not stupid and wont eat shit, its a matter of theres no store that sells games for a better price. And no online isn't an option for everyone as not everyone has credit cards/debit cards, the net or are willing to wait to get the game they paid for. Fact is the stores should be forced to sell at a decent price, but theres no regulations in reguards to IT and gaming.

I generally just wait for the price to drop or a sale to come on.

There must be more to it than meets the eye, in a free market, if the price difference was all markup, then you would very quickly see a new chain of game stores open offering new games at much lower prices and then there would be a correction across all the stores...

Logically there must either be an illegal price fixing syndicate among the store chains or the publishers are selling the games to the stores at inflated prices, which then wouldn't be the stores fault at all.

 

[u4527646]

Shops devoted to games are complete rip-offs in Australia. I imagine that the reason is largely a lack of competition, for a long time the only source of games within walking distance for myself was an EB Games or a Myer/David Jones. Myer and David Jones don't give a shit about their games and so they keep the prices low, EB had no competition so it wasn't unusual to see 6 month old games going for $110 (rage!!!).

I was in EB the other day (like 2 days ago), and they were still selling a PREOWNED Mass Effect 2 collectors edition for $119!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

1. how much do you pay for your games on average? and 2. how can the biggest video game retailer in Australia(they're not the only ones who do this but as a specialty store shouldn't they be looking after the self imposed limited market. Also they're main competition GAME do this as well)do this and continue to get away with it?

EDIT: sorry for the lack of paragraphs

CPI ... CPI ...

Games are more expensive because Australians can afford it.

Average Australian minimum wage: 543.71AUD / Week (Full time labour) + Holiday loading, sick pay, worker's compensatory insurance ( and public healthcare) and let's not forget ... over time.

Average American menial wage in the US: <320USD / Week (Dependant on state and number of working hours, assuming 40 hour week at the federal means minimum wage of 7.75USD) w/ no holiday loading, sick pay, insurance or over time

Naturally given the large discrepancy between living standards and pay, the CPI is going to be higher in Australia than the US.

Barring federal incentives programs and federal funded projects (such as medicine) the cost of consumer goods is going to be higher than the US because people can afford to pay higher.

It's not rocket science, it's logic.

If a customer can pay more, they will. Do you really think the American games market coulsd survive a 80-90% increase to their price of games? Of course not.

So publishers and retailers don't charge that much.

Other countries milk Australian CPI for what it's worth, and to be fair as a person who makes a living from said milking of the Australian cash cow market, I for one am I quite happy that there is such a high CPI in Australia.

If you lower CPI, you lower wages ... if you lower wages, you lower individual purchasing power.... if you lower individual purchasing power you reduce the average Australians ability to capitalise on foreign markets and better themselves fiscally.

Too many Australians squirrel their money away into mortgages and investment properties without raping the open market with their capital .. it's saddening ;.;

 

[therandombear]

You're actually a bit more expensive then here, by 1 dollar or so, costs about 119$ for a new version of AC:Brotherhood....but PC games are a bit cheaper, 59$ for Black Ops on PC

 

[Jewrean]

If you'd prefer not to be sodomised every time you buy a game you should look at importing

Or piracy which I'm sure most Australians resort to.

OT: Yes Australia is getting ripped off. But I would also like to point out that many other countries get ripped off as well. Australians (like myself) often compare game prices to America and forget about everyone else in the world.

 

[Delusibeta]

Shops devoted to games are complete rip-offs in Australia. I imagine that the reason is largely a lack of competition, for a long time the only source of games within walking distance for myself was an EB Games or a Myer/David Jones. Myer and David Jones don't give a shit about their games and so they keep the prices low, EB had no competition so it wasn't unusual to see 6 month old games going for $110 (rage!!!).

I was in EB the other day, and they were still selling a PREOWNED Mass Effect 2 collectors edition for $119!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then again, a mint condition preowned Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition might fetch $119 in the US. Hmmmm... tin...

 

[Azmael Silverlance]

If you'd prefer not to be sodomised every time you buy a game you should look at importing

Or piracy which I'm sure most Australians resort to.

OT: Yes Australia is getting ripped off. But I would also like to point out that many other countries get ripped off as well. Australians (like myself) often compare game prices to America and forget about everyone else in the world.

Yeah but here is the thing...poor countries dont get the CPI rule that was explained by @PaulH
In my country the games have their prices simply converted from US% to BGLv n thats it! which means ppl got to work half month to buy 1 game -__-
Atm i live in Australia so i agree...we can afford it...but wait...so if we got a bit of extra cash why not just allow us to buy more games instead of charging us extra for 1
Thats the Fucked UP part!

 

[Andronicus]

Well, not too long ago, the $AUD bought I think approx. 150 US cents, so it was logical that Australians would pay approx the same amount in Aussie dollars. It would be difficult too adjust all prices accordingly whenever the Aussie dollar fluctuates, and very confusing to the general public. Besides, people in Australia are already used to paying the amount we currently pay, so why would they lower prices when they can already get Australians to pay astronomical amounts and hope they don't pay too much attention to the exchange rate?

For the record, I buy most of my games from Steam or Zavvi (England) nowadays.

snip

I don't know exactly how much Americans pay, but I'd be willing to bet Australians get taxed more though.

 

[Jolly Madness]

I live in Norway, which means that a new game for consoles will cost 120 USD, for PC games it's 100 USD, probably the main reason why I order my games from Play.com and Steam.

 

[York_Beckett]

The full price for a new game where I live is 599 NOK, which equals about 103 USD. Sometimes, the price goes to 699 (around 120 USD.)
Retail prices for new games tend to be somewhere around 499 (85,7 USD), and usually on sale and/or after some time has gone by, the price drops to around 349 (59,93 USD.)

 

[thenumberthirteen]

My parents have always wanted to move out to Australia, and I always said no. Now I see I made the right choice. Over $100 for a game? Bull. I know the UK taxes can be a bit steep (20% now), but that takes the cake.

 

[Vrach]

Yes you are. If it makes you feel any better, you're not at all alone in it and at the very least you guys have a decent enough standard to support such a price :\

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Well, not too long ago, the $AUD bought I think approx. 150 US cents, so it was logical that Australians would pay approx the same amount in Aussie dollars. It would be difficult too adjust all prices accordingly whenever the Aussie dollar fluctuates, and very confusing to the general public. Besides, people in Australia are already used to paying the amount we currently pay, so why would they lower prices when they can already get Australians to pay astronomical amounts and hope they don't pay too much attention to the exchange rate?

For the record, I buy most of my games from Steam or Zavvi (England) nowadays.

snip

I don't know exactly how much Americans pay, but I'd be willing to bet Australians get taxed more though.

Tax is pretty good in Australia given the number of federally funded public initiatives. Australians piss and moan about everything that we are officially the biggest whingers on the planet. Go to Japan, pay a female worker in your store 1000 En an hour with only a guarantee of 8 hours labour a day, 6 days a week ... no holiday pay or work (despite the massive number of public holidays they have) ... then complain that consumer pricings in Australia are harsh.

That being said I don't get taxed like most Australians ... I'm a freelance contractor ;P

Better for me as long as I don't get sick <.<

Whilst I agree that our civil servants (particularly professionals such as teachers) do not get the salaries they deserve, they are more often than not better than the rest of the planet.

And despite the fact we piss and moan about land prices NOBODY FORCES YOU AS AN AUSTRALIAN to live in the inner-cities because you don't like long commutes NOR FORCES YOU to buy outrageously overpriced dirt and cement.

My fellow Australians ... I'll say this now ... we are the most self-entitled gits on the planet.

That being said I suppose there is nothing inherently bad about wanting more, or better living standards. I suppose if nobody demands it, nobody would get it.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Yep. That's pretty bad...

On the other hand, in Australia you have the legal right to import products if you feel it's cheaper in another country.

In fact, attempts to outright block what is known as a 'parallel' import is Illegal in Australia.

Which means if you can get the same product for less money in another country, you are well within your rights to do so.

(And, for instance, Any DVD player or drive sold in Australia can have region encoding turned off. Not allowing this, or the film companies complaining about it goes against the law.
Ironic really, when you consider some other things...)

So, you are well within your rights to get cheap imports...
But then are faced with the risk of content that isn't allowed within the Australian ratings system...
(Hint: Be very careful getting anything from Japan).

Egh.

Still, $110? What are they thinking? And right when the Aussie dollar is at it's strongest since it was introduced too.

 

[Nazulu]

Yes, we are getting ripped off but it's because they're not as many buyers in Australia. Somehow it works out better for the company's.

That's what I heard anyway, I have no proof of this.

 

[Khada]

EB will eventually be out of business. Digital Distribution will ensure this. It is much cheaper than having to manufacture hard copies and physically distribute them which means that online prices will always be cheaper. Combine this with weaker over seas currency and you can understand why I have spent whatever money I could for games on Steam and have stopped buying from EB all together. I believe that even consoles will eventually only be sold online or at outlets that stock more than game products (Kmart, Target, Big W, Computer Stores etc).

The bigger part of me supports this. Its the future and its no ones fault that the EB model is becoming out dated. On the other hand, EB have always had great return policies and (usually) friendly staff. I have however noticed that the stores in my area have gradually started to only hire attractive females who know nothing about games (not totally, and I blame the managers not the company).

I actually went into a store once to browse and a lady came in looking for a game for her boyfriend. She told the girl working there that it was an Xbox game but she didn't know the name and that it was about cowboys. The girl had no clue and said she would search for "cowboy" in the system which of course returned no results. I had to intervene and suggested that she may referring to Call of Juarez. I was correct and proceeded to inquire as to whether she was after the original or the second one that was due out soon (at the time).

Having a good knowledge of games, being very PC savvy and studying programming for games at uni along with presenting in a clean, friendly, thought out and confident manner AND having worked at an EB when I was younger has not earned me so much as a phone call in past attempts to apply for a job there at Christmas from 5 of my local stores on two occasion. All managed by an older male, with a majority staff of young female sales people. So I probably wont be too upset when they go out of business

 

[Sakash]

Yep. That's pretty bad...

On the other hand, in Australia you have the legal right to import products if you feel it's cheaper in another country.

In fact, attempts to outright block what is known as a 'parallel' import is Illegal in Australia.

Which means if you can get the same product for less money in another country, you are well within your rights to do so.

(And, for instance, Any DVD player or drive sold in Australia can have region encoding turned off. Not allowing this, or the film companies complaining about it goes against the law.
Ironic really, when you consider some other things...)

So, you are well within your rights to get cheap imports...
But then are faced with the risk of content that isn't allowed within the Australian ratings system...
(Hint: Be very careful getting anything from Japan).

Egh.

Still, $110? What are they thinking? And right when the Aussie dollar is at it's strongest since it was introduced too.

The funny thing is, not too long ago it was being reported on the news that retailers were complaining that too many of us were buying our stuff online and that the retail market was missing out. But if you want proof that everyone is being ripped off, just look at the sales that happen after chistmas. How can something cost one amount pre-xmas and then magically have 60% off for boxing day?

Also i do not agree with the statement that we pay more because we can. Just because i CAN doesnt mean i SHOULD

 

[RicoADF]

Yes, Australians are stupid and will eat whatever shit is served up to them.

No we're not stupid and wont eat shit, its a matter of theres no store that sells games for a better price. And no online isn't an option for everyone as not everyone has credit cards/debit cards, the net or are willing to wait to get the game they paid for. Fact is the stores should be forced to sell at a decent price, but theres no regulations in reguards to IT and gaming.

I generally just wait for the price to drop or a sale to come on.

There must be more to it than meets the eye, in a free market, if the price difference was all markup, then you would very quickly see a new chain of game stores open offering new games at much lower prices and then there would be a correction across all the stores...

Logically there must either be an illegal price fixing syndicate among the store chains or the publishers are selling the games to the stores at inflated prices, which then wouldn't be the stores fault at all.

Either of the latter would make sense, tho tbh since Steam is around I'd say stores would want to drop the prices to compete, but if they can't due to import costs then theres nothing they can do, tho jb does have it cheaper.

Welcome to capitalism...
I just hope you are kidding with the "but theres no regulations in reguards to IT and gaming.
", You honestly want government to regulate the prices of game? You honestly want to kill capitalism just because you aren't happy? Next you say the price of milk is too high, let regulate that and what you know Soviet union is born again but in much warmer climate.

Typical reaction, first off its not black and white, theres more than just capitalism & communism. Secondary, there are industries in Australia that are regulated to keep the prices fair, its not stoping trade but it does stop essential services from price fixing and gouging the customer when its an essential (games obviously don't qualify). And yes I do think prices need to be kept in check, not set in stone but neither allowing the customer to be ripped off by price fixing by the industry. Its one thing for it to be a competitive market, its another for them to corner it and price at will.
You see in Australia, we're not so in love with capitalism, we believe in a fair go. Theres more then just USA and USSR's ways.

Yep. That's pretty bad...

On the other hand, in Australia you have the legal right to import products if you feel it's cheaper in another country.

In fact, attempts to outright block what is known as a 'parallel' import is Illegal in Australia.

Which means if you can get the same product for less money in another country, you are well within your rights to do so.

Well thats what alot of us are doing, as well as steam and other online sites. Its just silly that the stores keep charging so much, I want to support the local economy when possible, but I wont pay such high prices (thus either steam or when sales are on). I haven't paid $100 for a game in years (except Starcraft II, that was worth it).

 

[Zipa]

Yes you are, Yahtzee mentions it quite a bit as well in his vids.

 

[Chibz]

Well it depends what the value of their dollar is with ours and if their currency uses the exact same format. I know Canadians usually pay more (or did) at one point for things than us, but they also had a slightly different format for their currency and dollar value; not to mention their economy. Personally? We should all use rocks.
"I'll trade you 15 rocks for this PS3 game"
"Make it 17."
"Deal."

I'm far from an expert, but what might be 20 dollars to us might be 30 to them, so I wouldn't know if they are or not. Gotta weigh all of it at once.

Canadians get ripped off in many ways. From EB Games not running any of the promotions "Gamestop" does (THEY'RE THE SAME BUSINESS!) to getting 200 fewer microsoft points per $20 purchase.