Changes to Amazon US/UK Shipping Due to GST Changes in Australia

[BIGRED1977]

Yeah I hadnt even thought of that..... I do the exact same thing!

[Iago119]

It would be fair to say this news has made me feel very flat.
I presume there will be a change.org petition doing the rounds very soon?

[TrentW1982]

What a terrible announcement.

While I don't agree with the government's legislation at all, it is mostly Amazon here who have delivered the worst possible "solution" to it.

Firstly it shouldn't be too hard to just collect tax through the UK & US websites.
a) They already have the ability to add other countries' tax for overseas customers;
b) They already provide the option of paying in AUD which resolves the issue about calculating whether or not the order comes to >$20 after shipping

How hard could it be just to make it force an AUD payment and add 10% to the tax field if the total comes to >$20?

To me, Amazon's approach stinks of a protest move. Don't get me wrong, the legislation deserves protest, but not at the expense of their customers.

Secondly, even if they did want to force customers to Amazon Australia, why not just ensure the entire overseas 'Movies & TV' catalogue is available on Amazon Global? Based on the numbers (only 4 million products added) it doesn't sound like it will be.

I really hope Amazon reconsider. I honestly don't think there is much our major can or will do, the legislation has been passed already. It's up to Amazon to make sure the impact on its customers is as negligible as possible.

I don't think anybody would object to paying 10% tax, we already do on most things anyway; we buy from overseas because the titles either aren't available in Australia or they are only available in inferior versions. Blocking Australians from buying titles on Arrow, 88 Films, Kino, Severin and other similar labels has absolutely no impact on local retail because the titles don't exist to buy locally!!

[Adster81]

so with ebay.... a 2nd hand good.. yes something that is NOT brand new I am assuming we have to pay a 10% GST on that as well?? making buying something that is 2nd hand useless now as it will almost be the same price as retail

[Adster81]

lets just use ebay for example right now

Black Panther out now on Ebay buy brand new for $30.. plus 10% tax (overseas purcurse)

Now I see a 2nd hand black panther for $25 also overseas... ohh it's $5 cheaper except it really isn't becasue once again we add another 10% GST on top of that for a 2nd hand good. and we hardly save a dollar at all. so I might as well buy the brand new copy

Ebay is gonna get screwed with the used goods with this bullshit tax it is completely unfair, isn't there some law about tax on 2nd hand goods?

Can someone explain this to me?? it really means there is no point buying 2nd hand goods on ebay anymore you might as well buy them brand new because the added tax just about makes it to retail price

[Caustic]

I hate to defend the Liberals but the other mob would have taxed us more too

You can/should be able to get around the geo-blocking with a VPN and using a mail forwarding service (which again increases the cost typically) - you'll still have to pay the impost and GST but atleast you will still have freedom of choice

That's what shits me the most. The perverted, unintended consequence of this is that local retailers get another reference point to value against leading to higher local prices and further lack of choice.

I've boycotted Gerry Harvey for a decade now and it is safe to say that I will never, ever step foot in one of his establishments again. Just like governments with their handout for more tax, local large retailers have taken the easy route to drag everyone down instead of having a good, hard look at themselves and how they can differentiate and be more cost competitive.

[Lavochkn]

Originally Posted by Adster81

Can someone explain this to me?? it really means there is no point buying 2nd hand goods on ebay anymore you might as well buy them brand new because the added tax just about makes it to retail price

Well yeah, but I think for most people it's more about the availability of the items.

Of course if buying new is cheaper then it's the best option, but if that title isn't even available new, second hand is the only option.

No scenario is ideal, but i'd take a 10% tax increase over not being able to even purchase the items at all.

[Adster81]

Originally Posted by Lavochkn

Well yeah, but I think for most people it's more about the availability of the items.

Of course if buying new is cheaper then it's the best option, but if that title isn't even available new, second hand is the only option.

No scenario is ideal, but i'd take a 10% tax increase over not being able to even purchase the items at all.

well so would I.. in my case though if there is something I want my first choice would be to buy for my local retailer I get the item on the day, or in worst case online in 2 to 5 days.. within Australia.

if it is a item that I can't get then I have to look at it for overseas. the whole stupid point of the argument is that this is suppose to make local retailers fair and even the playing field. me buying someone from overseas, makes no god damm difference to my local retailers because they don't have the god damm item!! so all it does is charge me 10% which the greedy government get because I had no choice to buy it from overseas.

There is about over 100 film noirs I need for my collection to start on, ZERO of them you can get in Australia. they are about $25 overpriced from overseas as it is. add another 10% there and we are getting ridiculous prices to pay for movies that are over 60 years old!! we are being punished for being collectors and owning physical media.

No wonder people download movies on in 1 night and use torrents. and have blu ray burners no wonder Aust is ranked 1 in piracy. and it's only gonna get worse with less release here and jacking up the prices to get rare things. people are just gonna resort to pirating more.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by Futurhythm

The Global Store is already active on local Amazon, but there's hardly anything (I would buy) on it. It's a relief to see US imports on the UK version, but don't we have some bullshit laws prohibiting local retailers from selling imported movies here? I can only assume the Amazon Global Store will be treated as an Australian retailer and won't be able to sell imported movies.

There was a law here years ago prohibiting the sale of foreign discs but it was down away with over 10 years or so ago.

[Lavochkn]

Originally Posted by Adster81

well so would I.. in my case though if there is something I want my first choice would be to buy for my local retailer I get the item on the day, or in worst case online in 2 to 5 days.. within Australia.

if it is a item that I can't get then I have to look at it for overseas. the whole stupid point of the argument is that this is suppose to make local retailers fair and even the playing field. me buying someone from overseas, makes no god damm difference to my local retailers because they don't have the god damm item!! so all it does is charge me 10% which the greedy government get because I had no choice to buy it from overseas.

There is about over 100 film noirs I need for my collection to start on, ZERO of them you can get in Australia. they are about $25 overpriced from overseas as it is. add another 10% there and we are getting ridiculous prices to pay for movies that are over 60 years old!! we are being punished for being collectors and owning physical media.

No wonder people download movies on in 1 night and use torrents. and have blu ray burners no wonder Aust is ranked 1 in piracy. and it's only gonna get worse with less release here and jacking up the prices to get rare things. people are just gonna resort to pirating more.

Yep 100% agree with you. Cornering the market and then denying consumers of what you just prohibited makes zero sense.

Retail giants have been pushing for this for years, but have made no effort in doing anything on their end to help themselves. It is insane that this is even happening.

[lateralspin]

Originally Posted by BIGRED1977

Whats the go then? who else ships to Australia ? Or will mail forwarding services still work?

There is no solution if the German/French/Italian Amazon sites block shipping.

I have access to a UK mail forwarder, so I can use that for any UK parcels.

[Adster81]

won't those UK and US sites for parcel forwarding me subject to the GST though ?

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by SGB

*Bangs head on desk repeatedly in anger and frustration*

What a freakin' mess. There needs to be huge backlash against the government and Labor over this.

*Bangs head on desk again*

Doesn't look like eBay will be following suit though:

https://www.news.com.au/finance/busi...cee7046f63b894

Of split over eBay's decision.

1) Its great because it means I can keep purchasing hard to get items that I happen to find on eBay;

2) Its bad because if they had cut Australia off altogether, including not allowing Australian eBay sellers to sell outside of Australia it would be a major news story. It would affect so many people that it may have forced the LNP/ALP Coalition Government to change the legislation.

[Futurhythm]

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

There was a law here years ago prohibiting the sale of foreign discs but it was down away with over 10 years or so ago.

That's very good to hear. The main issue is whether or not the Global Store will have the entire catalogue of the overseas Amazons. I'm sure many peoples' fears will be alleviated if Amazon come out and say, "Yeah, you'll be able to buy all the movies on Amazon US and Amazon UK through the Amazon Global Store in Australia."

[lateralspin]

Originally Posted by Adster81

won't those UK and US sites for parcel forwarding me subject to the GST though ?

VAT + GST

double taxation

nice

plus the hassle

[Aunt Peg]

If the LNP/ALP Coalition think they are going to generate any significant tax income they are mistaken.

People purchase things on the internet for two reasons:

1) It's cheaper;

2) They can't buy it in Australia.

The the case of 1) 'it's cheaper', well a lot of stuff will still be cheaper just not as 'cheap'. The Government will collect some GST and on this and on some items (purchased from smaller overseas retailers of which there are many) they won't.

In the case of 2) 'can't but it in Australia' which is why virtually everyone on this forum buys from Amazon (and other sellers of which there are many) we are not suddenly going to say, 'well, I can't get that now, I'll just buy something local that I don't actually want'). We will find other sellers and pay more. These sellers may or may not pay GST to the LNP/ALP. Most won't though because you can guarantee that most of the smaller sellers do not sell many items to Australian buyers in the first place.

Now, other sellers tend to be more expensive than Amazon. That means making savings and to find these savings people will tighten their belt on items they purchase in Australia that they can do without. Junk food at the movies is a good example, clothes, movie tickets, eat at home more, walk to work if you can, kick or cut down on bad habits, don't give to any charities, go to the movies on cheap days. It's not much but it adds up but the thing is people will cut back on these and other things that the LNP/ALP do collect GST on and they won't be getting as much when people do that.

It really is a matter getting what you want the most and f..k the stuff that you don't. And if you are buying from a small international seller who does not have to pay the GST it kicking the LNP/ALP where it hurts.

As for Amazon. I can only conclude that they didn't generate enough sales from Australia for them to consider paying for the cost to upgrade their sites to collect the 10%. So the loss of our business, because I can't see many people using the Australian site, clearly doesn't mean much to them. I am not going to use the Australian site because I know that the 'Global' option will not what I want and I will continue to purchase Blu Rays from JB or EZYDVD.

[Alister_M]

The main thing is, keep buying those overseas releases wherever we can get them. Show those protectionist pricks that we're not going to be bullied by this crap.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by Futurhythm

That's very good to hear. The main issue is whether or not the Global Store will have the entire catalogue of the overseas Amazons. I'm sure many peoples' fears will be alleviated if Amazon come out and say, "Yeah, you'll be able to buy all the movies on Amazon US and Amazon UK through the Amazon Global Store in Australia."

If that was the case I wouldn't be upset about these changes but their Global Store will be crap.

[Adster81]

One MAJOR issue that is going to happen is people are going to try and find smaller dodgy business online now, and going to be ripped off from Fraud, this is only going to encourage those problems.

[au_Spider]

This is F***ED!! I want to rant but I just don’t have the words, I am so angry ...