Happens everywhere. This sort of thing is exactly what is hurting (some would even say killing) the Australian retail sector. You can buy things on eBay from Hong Kong for far less than what you can buy it in shops here - because the shops have to go through several layers of distributors.
Even buying from the US can be drastically cheaper - I bought a professional condenser microphone, and even with $80 shipping, it was literally half the price of buying it in stores.
The retail industry is up in arms about it, and keep lobbying politicians to reduce the tax-free import threshold from $1000 (which will hardly make a difference), and saying it's the internet's fault - but all the Internet is doing is showing what BS the whole supply chain is.
If the shops could buy directly from the supplier, instead of buying from a distributor buying from a wholesaler buying from an importer buying from a US distributor, we wouldn't have this problem.
Even buying from the US can be drastically cheaper - I bought a professional condenser microphone, and even with $80 shipping, it was literally half the price of buying it in stores.
The retail industry is up in arms about it, and keep lobbying politicians to reduce the tax-free import threshold from $1000 (which will hardly make a difference), and saying it's the internet's fault - but all the Internet is doing is showing what BS the whole supply chain is.
If the shops could buy directly from the supplier, instead of buying from a distributor buying from a wholesaler buying from an importer buying from a US distributor, we wouldn't have this problem.