To save money, you need to travel.

[Freiherr]

Can someone please explain to me the economies of scale in the following example.
My father in law suffers sleep apnea and my wife was looking at buying some parts for his machine and mask. She looked at prices on line and found that in the US, all parts were more than half price of the local product. Same part, same manufacturer and the only difference that the local had GST.
We got the parcel this afternoon after one week of placing order and the postage was $34. She saved several hundred dollars even with postage as she ordered a number of parts.
One part which made her laugh and shake her head was a "Mirage FX Mask Cushion". The price in US is $34 and the price here is $79. Big difference but get this, the part is MADE IN AUSTRALIA. So it travels to the US and back to Australia and is still cheaper than the product sold locally.
We Aussies are sure taken for a ride when it comes to the cost of living.

[swinks]

that is crazy but maybe for some stupid reason the finished part is made and shipped to the main US warehouse and then shipped back again with markup ???? stabbing in the dark on that one. At least you saved some dollars and going direct.

[Retropin]

Aye.. and until the internet Australians had no idea just how much they were being ripped off.. thank god the WWW. made the world that little bit smaller and Aussies can finally wake up to what the rest of the world has enjoyed for decades.

No excuses about shipping from etc.. its a blatant rip off. I bought Dirty Dog sunglasess from UK as it was cheaper than buying here.. sunglasses are advertised as " Australian".
I got them for $50 inc shipping.. they are approx $120 here.
Mum and Dad visit here every 2 years from UK.. they always laugh that bananas are cheaper there than here as are so many other everyday products.
Gerry Harvey hates the internet.. wonder why?

[Pintoxicated]

That is simply disgusting, they wonder why there are Aussie retailers going down the gurgler.

[Crashramp]

I brought a skateboard for my son at Christmas and saved more than $100 by buying direct from the US. That included postage as well. There's not much you can't buy OS cheaper online than here in oz.

[MPE]

Liverpool FC were having a sale on their playing shirts... now its always cheaper getting them sent over than going to Rebel Sport etc anyway...

But this time, I got 2 shirts with full badges and name and number on the back, delivered to my door for $104

1 shirt, no badges, no name etc in Aus is in the $140 range...

[rads]

Only problem with buying OS is people in retail losing their jobs. Do people in retail here get paid too much? Are overheads here higher, or are we just getting bent over?

[Homepin]

My comments here may not sit well with some but the truth hurts.

Australias minimum wage is the problem. You simply cannot have someone who sweeps the street earning the same as a bus driver etc.

If you have a lower end job - you should be paid accordingly NOT a minimum wage.

It's our own stupid fault for protecting those who don't want to better themselves - they have little or no reason to.

IF you are a garderen and want more mooney - learn to drive a truck and move up the skills and pay scale. Still not enough, then go to TAFE and learn extra skills and get a better job with higher pay.

As it is now we reward bogans for having babies for Gods sake - that is sheer lunacy!!!

[Cow Corner]

My comments here may not sit well with some but the truth hurts.

Australias minimum wage is the problem. You simply cannot have someone who sweeps the street earning the same as a bus driver etc.

If you have a lower end job - you should be paid accordingly NOT a minimum wage.

It's our own stupid fault for protecting those who don't want to better themselves - they have little or no reason to.

IF you are a garderen and want more mooney - learn to drive a truck and move up the skills and pay scale. Still not enough, then go to TAFE and learn extra skills and get a better job with higher pay.

As it is now we reward bogans for having babies for Gods sake - that is sheer lunacy!!!

If you are going to drop the min wage make sure the cost of living falls in line with it otherwise it is a complete waste of time and will only send familys to the wall.

[Homepin]

If people can't support themselves then they have no right to be having babies - this is the problem in Australia - we encourage and Molly coddle the lowest common denominator instead of rewarding for bettering yourself.

Nothing to do with the cost of living - everything to do with attitude and the want to improve and succeed and simply by reading the paper it's obvious that Australia has lost the plot in so many ways.

My comments here may not sit well with some but the truth hurts.

Australias minimum wage is the problem. You simply cannot have someone who sweeps the street earning the same as a bus driver etc.

If you have a lower end job - you should be paid accordingly NOT a minimum wage.

It's our own stupid fault for protecting those who don't want to better themselves - they have little or no reason to.

IF you are a garderen and want more mooney - learn to drive a truck and move up the skills and pay scale. Still not enough, then go to TAFE and learn extra skills and get a better job with higher pay.

As it is now we reward bogans for having babies for Gods sake - that is sheer lunacy!!!

If you are going to drop the min wage make sure the cost of living falls in line with it otherwise it is a complete waste of time and will only send familys to the wall.

[rads]

My comments here may not sit well with some but the truth hurts.

Australias minimum wage is the problem. You simply cannot have someone who sweeps the street earning the same as a bus driver etc.

If you have a lower end job - you should be paid accordingly NOT a minimum wage.

It's our own stupid fault for protecting those who don't want to better themselves - they have little or no reason to.

IF you are a garderen and want more mooney - learn to drive a truck and move up the skills and pay scale. Still not enough, then go to TAFE and learn extra skills and get a better job with higher pay.

As it is now we reward bogans for having babies for Gods sake - that is sheer lunacy!!!


You said what I wanted to say. I just didnt have the balls to say it.  Our welfare system kills us.  I know of tradies earning 6 figures who get benefits.  I have a problem with supporting people who do things beyond their means such as have babies they can't afford.  A work aquaintance who earns very good money has a 17yo daughter who is pregnant.  The allowances she gets living under his roof are incredibly generous.  

Someone has to pay.

[Cow Corner]

If people can't support themselves then they have no right to be having babies - this is the problem in Australia - we encourage and Molly coddle the lowest common denominator instead of rewarding for bettering yourself.

Nothing to do with the cost of living - everything to do with attitude and the want to improve and succeed and simply by reading the paper it's obvious that Australia has lost the plot in so many ways.

My comments here may not sit well with some but the truth hurts.

Australias minimum wage is the problem. You simply cannot have someone who sweeps the street earning the same as a bus driver etc.

If you have a lower end job - you should be paid accordingly NOT a minimum wage.

It's our own stupid fault for protecting those who don't want to better themselves - they have little or no reason to.

IF you are a garderen and want more mooney - learn to drive a truck and move up the skills and pay scale. Still not enough, then go to TAFE and learn extra skills and get a better job with higher pay.

As it is now we reward bogans for having babies for Gods sake - that is sheer lunacy!!!

If you are going to drop the min wage make sure the cost of living falls in line with it otherwise it is a complete waste of time and will only send familys to the wall.

Baby bonus is one thing, min wages and cost of living is an entirely differrenct matter entirely. One will impact on the other.
Agree that the baby bonus should be scrapped though.

[Homepin]

I have no problem at all helping those that geniunely need help. The problem is the help given is usually just cash and that has to stop.

Give them food stamps - pay their rent - even tickets to the movies is fine by me but NO CASH.........that gets spent on beer, fags and drugs and the actual needy (the suffering wife and kids) seem to get bugger all.

We have to stop the handouts to EVERYONE - black, white and all others.

[Cow Corner]

I have no problem at all helping those that geniunely need help. The problem is the help given is usually just cash and that has to stop.

Give them food stamps - pay their rent - even tickets to the movies is fine by me but NO CASH.........that gets spent on beer, fags and drugs and the actual needy (the suffering wife and kids) seem to get bugger all.

We have to stop the handouts to EVERYONE - black, white and all others.

Spot on!

 

[Caveoftreasures]

The problem in Australia is firstly our dole bludger social security system. My biggest pet hate in life.

A dole bludging family ,husband n wife with 2 or more kids get around $1050 to $1100 per week every Fri night into their bank. No incentive to work here at all.  Mr and Mrs Hard working Family, both working, with same kids take home apx $1300 a week between them minus fuel n car expenses each, and all of a sudden, you are no better off than the bludgers at $1050 to $1100 a week.

Then the hard workers pay 35 to 40 percent tax to support the longterm freeloaders. Then the cost of living rises, because tax rates of 40 percent mean people are barely getting by, then its a viscious circle, because you have to pay people $20 a hour plus, at 40 hrs a week so they can pay the tax to support the bludgers.

Our social security system should be dumped. Food stamps via a coles or woollies card, people made to work for the dole or get a job.
And sickness payments only shld be made to people with legit medical issues backed up by catscans/MRI and government specialists so only the truly needy get helped. Dont get me started.

A guy n his wife, on the dole, bludging away, for the last 10 years, just went out, bought new furniture, new 60 inch TV's, spent 15 grand on a overseas trip, and proudly told me they can easily save money on the dole. No car expenses, no fuel expenses, no work clothes, $1100 a week, subsidized rent with rent assistance, free medical, a few extra goverment grant payments a year, free food vouchers up to $200 a time, several times a year for coles n woolies, electricity bills paid twice a year by the government, free daycare, and it goes on and on and on and on.

Everytime I see these people, I just want to run them over in my car.lol (only joking  ) But u get the picture.
This family, came here 10 yrs ago from overseas, been on govt payments ever since, got a $20,000 payment to set up house/furniture etc etc, and similar payments on top of the weekly figure, for the first 3 yrs, decreasing slightly each time. Why ?    god knows, I cant work out why. No one ever gave me a cent. But bludgers get set for life. Its so painful to see.

The system here is sooo wrong. The worker gets no assistance, the bludger scum get everything.