This is mostly a rant about australian shoe prices after I just ordered a bunch of things from a site in the US last night.
My wife is going over in a few weeks so she has 4 pairs of shoes waiting for her to bring home, I didn't ask about international shipping.

2 X Asics 2140 - $83US each - $104AUD each (at .8031 exch rate) $199 at rebel
1 X Brooks Racer ST4 - $72US - $89AUD - $180RRP
1 X Asics Hyper LD spikes - $30US - $37AUD (OK, these were a close out special) $90RRP

Not to mention Sportshield at $9 US ($11.30 AUD).

These were their normal web prices with no additional dscount or coupons. Also, there is no shipping charge because it's being delivered in the US. BUT STILL. ARRRGGHHH :-)

Not sure if they ship internationally (within manufacturer guidelines) but PM me if you would like to try them out.

Now I just have to wait. waiting waiting waiting. Maybe I should train a bit as well so I don't have fancy shoes whilst running around doing X+2min/km (i.e. slow, regardless of current speed, this way I don't offend anyone OR sound like a ........ Which I can assure you I'm not. just ask me. I'll tell you)

Yes I'm always amazed at how much cheaper clothing/shoes are over in the states! Some places have really reasonable shipping rates to Aus too. It can be a bit risky sometimes (not knowing exactly what you're getting) but I've been quite successful overall. I don't just limit it to running stuff either.

Maybe the running shoe market is 20 times bigger in USA so they get better bulk discounts etc ?
Maybe costs to ship to AUS are higher given we are at the arse end of the world ?
Maybe costs to run a company in AUS are higher ?
Maybe rebel pays more than minimum USA-wages ?

I am not speaking in defence of any shoe company, but it may not be as simple as "those bastards are ripping us off".

I fully support buying from overseas though - it should lead retailers here to look closely at what they are charging. however maybe they CAN'T compete with USA-shippers and smaller places could go bust ?

Greg

A timely post for me - I am heading over to the USA/Canada for work for two weeks in August/September. Now that I am getting back into running a bit, I am going to use these trips as my chance to buy stuff I might not always lash out on here in Oz - the mark ups are outrageous and very frustrating. For example, a pair of Brooks Beast can cost you up to 260 AUD here but in the USA I purchased my last pair for around 160 AUD - makes it affordable and I just could not justify that if I purchased them here in Oz.

I am looking at purchasing a pair of the Brooks Racer ST4 so I am now definitely going to wait until my trip. I will then have three or four weeks to wear them in before the Sydney Marathon.

Given your experience, I think I will just order them online before I leave and have them delivered to a work colleague in the USA where I can pick them up. You can really save some cash doing it this way. Who do you go through to purchase?

Kev, they mark up hugely here. Lucky for me, my last pair of shoes were purchased through a friend who worked for a sports store. That is, I got her employee discount off the ticket price. Went from 259 bucks down to 170 bucks ..... and they are STILL making money on that. They are a rip off here in Oz.

Kind regards

Basil

Don't forget Kev, it's not like the shoes are being shipped here from the US. WORSE, they're being shipped from (figurativley) just up the road. China, Taiwan, etc.

I don't know what the answer is, but then again whilst I (and many before me) have ranted about the price difference, no-one (that I can recall, I am old, and my memory is failing) has ever specifically explained the justification for the difference.

Now with the number of shoe company reps lurking on this site, I would imagine (and again, I could be wrong) that these threads provide an excellent opportunity to educate the masses on the real reasons for the price differential between US and AU.

Greg/Basil (you both refered to me by name),

I understand that some shops mark up a lot. I sell Loco running shoes and sometimes we get our stock from the USA and sometimes direct from the factory so am aware of what they cost to buy & freight. Some shop owners told us they made $100 per pair of major brand shoes and wanted the same from Loco and they didn't like us selling at $140 from our website. (hence we pretty much do mail order only - we keep our costs lower, and can charge runners a fair price).

I was going to post similar on this thread:
http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/index...showtopic=24215

However the question is, and the point I was trying to make (maybe unsuccessfully), was if a shop marks up that much are they growing fat by gouging runners OR is that a fair mark up to cover their expenses. Most specialist running shops that I see (and I check them all out for professional reasons) look pretty sparse to me and I don't think they are growing fat off anyone.

Rebel/Foot locker are different beasts as they are bigger chains (admittedly their expense model may be different too and they may be gouging). But I think its too easy to just assume that runners here are being gouged by comparing to what happens in USA.

I can comment on this one.

The seller isn't paying freight to the far side of the earth, they don't pay product liability insurance, and they are not expected to allow retailers to purchase from them and still sell and make a profit, at this price. They aren't paying Australian GST.

You are currently experiencing a good exchange rate. Try going for an overseas trip when the AUD is somewhere nearer 0.62 of a USD and come back crowing about your purchases. As a retailer, you have to set your prices so you cover your costs, not so your prices look good in comparison to the street price in the USA.

I couldn't bring it in to this country for AUD 13.00 so I stopped selling it. Going without public liability insurance is like going to a whorehouse and not using a condom - I wouldn't do it for any product at all, let alone a topical or an ingested one. It's no use scrimping on freight if you're an importer, because if stock is ruined, lost, or delayed (all of which have happened with SportShield) it costs you and no-one else.

The costs all add up. By all means, shop around and buy where you see the best deal. But don't complain about "gouging" unless you have the facts to back it up.

If you are not in a hurry and wait till this site has a 20% or 30% of sale you will get a bargain at Xxxxxx.com. Check out the sale section in track and field. If you get 20% or more of during a sale it means the freight is basically free. You can get a brand new pair of Asics kayano for under $150 etc.
A great website and at least you don’t have to worry about ending up with "fake shoes"
also yyyyyyyy in the USA ship to Australia, same deal wait till they have a sale % off and get free freight you may have to wait for up to 3 weeks ( usually 2) but its worth buying shoes this way
My dad has bought dozens of shoes for our squad from these sites and saves hundreds of dollars.

Edit by Wombatoutofhell: please leave names out of public threads. If you want to know what company someone is talking about then PM them. One online company had big problems with Asics a while ago for sending shoes to Australia with the result we can't get Asics from that company cheap anymore

How many times do we have to say this??...

Please DO NOT mention the names of online retailers in this forum or the shoe manufacturers will take notice and shut down their availability to ship overseas and none of us will be saving any money in future. It’s happened before and will happen again.

Please note that import duty kicks in on bringing back items >A$1,000.
I went a little crazy spending on a recent trip and almost got caught out. (You have to make a declaration on the customs form when you land back in Aus).

Chappo

Thanks Chappo

Yeah, I am up on all the rules with customs and what's reasonable and what's not. When I said 'lash out', I meant just buy myself some stuff I wouldn't normally pay full price for here in Oz.

Kind regards

Basil