Subject:
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Re: Lego Australia Phone conversation
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Wed, 29 Mar 2000 14:00:47 GMT
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Viewed:
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1324 times
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In lugnet.loc.au, Kerry Raymond writes:
>
> Importing them will enable you to buy things that you can't get in
> Australia but it may not significantly reduce the cost of items compared
> with those available here in Australia.
From watching Lugnet it seems that there is a much more lively sale and
clearance climate in the U.S due to the size and competitiveness of that
market. This is probably where savings could be made.
> The import of a single item is often allowed to enter Australia sales
> tax free because the cost of Customs collecting the sales tax far exceeds
> the tax that would be collected. As a rule, they don't think it is worth
> pursuing $50 or less tax (meaning an item value of about $180). However,
> a large shipment of Lego would definitely attract sales tax.
does sales tax = customs duty , are they the same thing or do they apply to
different things. I saw a post in another group on Lugnet where construction
toys were exempt from duty when entering the US, they pointed to the
appropriate US Govt. site , any chance getting a loophole like that here ?
> Importing directly has the advantage of using volunteer labour to manage
> a distribution chain normally done by paid staff of Lego Australia,
> the various retailers, etc. So that's where you save. Lego Australia
> presumably can buy the goods cheaper than retail purchases in the
> USA, and probably do so in volumes that optimise shipping (e.g. a
> containerload). So that's where it will cost you more.
I'm sure AFOL's here wouldn't mind volunteering for this end if the size of it
was limited, ideally each capital city in Australia could have a Lego
club/group that could order their own independently but still share
information with other clubs/groups otherwise it would be too much work for
one person. You would need a network of contacts in the US to take advantage
of different sale offers in different regions and these people would need to
be compensated/given commission/given kickbacks for their trouble.
> A practical problem that I encountered recently is how to ship a large
> box of toys (not Lego, as it happens) from the USA to Australia. Air
> freight is very expensive. And once the box gets over a certain size
> *or* weight, USPS won't take it, even for surface freight. Instead you
> have to find a shipping company or someone filling a container. A lot of
> hassle or a lot of expense, take your pick. Incidentally, despite what
> USPS says on its WWW site about size/weight limits, it doesn't mean you
> can persuade an actual US Post Office to accept an item of that size --
> we were refused despite being within the published guidelines.
>
> So, the items would need to be shipped in relatively small lots or you
> will have trouble shipping them at all.
small lots at different times would be suitable with what I mentioned above.
> If all the goods come to one address in Australia, then there is
> additional expense in repacking and reposting them to their final
> destination. So shipping in smaller parcels might be good as you could
> sent each one to a different city to simplify distribution within
> Australia, but this involves more people in the organisation.
with my idea each capital city gets it's own.
> Another logistical hurdle is payment. The person in the USA will be
> spending a lot of money so probably would expect to have that money
> upfront. This means collecting the money here in Australia upfront
> before the costs of purchase, tax, shipping, insurance and forwarding
> are known. So, this probably means overestimating the cost and then
> giving a refund later. Also, how do you divide up the costs of shipping
> and insurance? By dollar value of each person's purchases? By volume? By
> weight? What about the cost of forwarding the goods within Australia? Each
> person pays the actual cost, or the costs are split between everyone,
> so people in other cities aren't disadvantaged?
they would need the money upfront, maybe in the form of a float, to be ready
to roll or at least be guaranteed of getting paid verrryyy quickly. Ideally
each shipment's costs would be proportioned out to those who shipped in that
particular lot, otherwise it gets too confusing.
> The other side of this is that a lot of people aren't flush with funds,
> and can't afford to buy their year's Lego needs in one hit. I suspect
> some people will express a lot of interest but will never quite get the
> money together.
a lot of interest,some money but what happens on the other end is the critical
bit since we are the ones that would be benefitting mainly.
> All of this will take a lot of work to collect orders and payments,
> arrange for the purchase and shipment from the USA, divide and forward the
> shipment, calculate refunds (or horrors, demands for additional payment),
> and handle any complaints about people not getting what they ordered,
> or finding the goods damaged etc.
>
> I'm not saying "don't do it", but I guess I'm saying "go into this with
> your eyes wide open".
>
> If you are serious about it, I suggest trying to do it on a smaller
> scale first. Just buy a big order for yourself and a few friends who
> live closeby. If it works out OK, next time do it on a larger scale,
> e.g. other people who live in your city and are happy to come and pick up
> the goods at your place. Finally, move into Australia-wide distribution.
>
> It might also be worth checking if doing this on a large scale might
> create any tax or licensing implications for you.
>
> Kerry
>
> =============================================================================
> Dr Kerry Raymond, Distinguished Research Fellow E-mail: kerry@dstc.edu.au
> CRC for Enterprise Distributed Systems Technology Phone: +61 7 3365 4310
> University of Queensland 4072 Australia Fax: +61 7 3365 4311
> =========================================== WWW: http://www.dstc.edu.au/kerry
I heard on the radio recently about someone who wanted to import used cars
with low km.s of a certain type/make from Japan. Apparently the car maker in
Australia wasn't particularly/or someone thought they would not be
particularly impressed, I wasn't listening that closely.
-pete.w.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Lego Australia Phone conversation
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| (...) Importing them will enable you to buy things that you can't get in Australia but it may not significantly reduce the cost of items compared with those available here in Australia. The import of a single item is often allowed to enter Australia (...) (25 years ago, 29-Mar-00, to lugnet.loc.au)
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