I recently purchased an item from Hong Kong online which cost $A11.99 and the postage was free. When the item arrived I noticed that the postage was the equivalent of $A2.95 which means that the item itself was about $9. The item and the service were fantastic. Below please find the note that accompanied the goods. *To read the transcript see below With this kind of hunger and passion, who would shop anyw
here else? But let’s have a quick look at the numbers.
A local online retailer is asking $26.95 plus postage of $6.75 = $33.70 for the same item. The Hong Kong online retailer is asking $11.99 all up. The Australian retailer is therefore asking 180 per cent more than the Hong Kong retailer.
But let’s look at the postage.
The slowest, cheapest in Australia is $6.75
The slowest, cheapest from Hong Kong is $2.95
The distance from Brisbane to Sydney by air is 728 kms
The distance from Hong Kong to Sydney by air is 7368 kms
The cost per kilometre from Brisbane to Sydney is .009 cents
The cost per kilometre from Hong Kong to Sydney is .0004 cents
The Australian retailer is asking 2150 per cent more than the Hong Kong retailer for postage (Australia Post – no comment I guess).
I don’t claim to be a statistician so the comparisons may not be perfect. But here comes the real rub – the Australian online retailer is out of stock!
In summary:
Hong Kong online retailer
About a third of the price all up
Of this, postage less than five per cent compared to Australia
In stock
Great service and conditions.
Australian online retailer
Three times the price all up
Of this, postage 95 per cent higher
Out of stock
Ordinary service and conditions.
This example suggests a sad future for some Australian online retailers.
*Dear Customer, Please do not leave us 1 Star, 2 Star, 3 Star rating AT ITEM AS DESCRIBED. If the Item cannot work or broke in the mail or The quality is not your expected Please contact to us ……………………..Please do not leave us Neutral or Negative Feedback We are willing to make a FULL REFUND or Re ship a REPLACEMENT POSITIVE FEEDBACK with 5 Star is important to us.
Stuart Bennie is a retail consultant at Impact Retailing www.impactretailing.com.au and can be contacted at stuart@impactretailing.com.au or 0414 631 702
