Online shopping

Faith

I have family in Australia and sending them gifts from this side of the world costs an absolute fortune. Is there any Australian websites like Amazon that I can order from? I've googled, but it's impossible to know what's good and what's not.

Mellor

It depends exactly what you are looking for. But in general online shopping is a bit crap here.

Ebay tends to be good for a lot of things.
And a lot of the UK online stores have reasonable shipping to australia.

hussey

Yeah can you narrow it down, Amazon doesn't launch here till 2013 (I think)

There are a good few online retailers, but more by category than all in one like amazon

Batgurl

Mellor wrote: »

But in general online shopping is a bit crap here.

Are you fricking kidding me???

Sorry, don't mean to be rude but online shopping here is AMAZING!!! Most retailers have free shipping and because of the $1000 tax limit thing; pretty much everything is fair game.

For example, the following offer free shipping to Australia:

asos.com
strawberrynet.com
theiconic.com.au
styletread.com.au
http://www.westfield.com.au

So much of my shopping is done online now. What are you after and I'm sure I can recommend someone?

Mellor

Batgurl wrote: »

Are you fricking kidding me???

Sorry, don't mean to be rude but online shopping here is AMAZING!!! Most retailers have free shipping and because of the $1000 tax limit thing; pretty much everything is fair game.

For example, the following offer free shipping to Australia:

asos.com
strawberrynet.com
theiconic.com.au
styletread.com.au
http://www.westfield.com.au

So much of my shopping is done online now. What are you after and I'm sure I can recommend someone?

Sigh. "Free shipping" is a meaningless offer really. Like commision free exchange, it means nothing as they inflate the price for profit.

I wasn't talking specifically about clothes, but as you gave those examples;
My GF uses Strawberrynet. That its very is cheap compared to Myer (im told ) but I don't know if it would suit presents for guy.

Syletread is expensive. Not really a saving compared to retail
Westfield is essentially normal retail prices.
I don't know the other two.

We obviously have different expectations of online shopping. I wouldn't call normal retail prices, even with a great selection, "AMAZING".
I consider that pretty poor. With less overheads I expect considerable savings online. It's definitely getting way better, but its still lagging behind ireland or elsewhere.

It's cheaper to buy books, dvds, electronics, random stuff from amazon or ebay in the states or the UK than from Australian online stores. That says it all really. Hopefully Amazon coming to oz next year will fix that.

This is what I called AMAZING online shopping. AFAIK, nothing even close to this exists in australia.
www.sportsdirect.com

Xavi6

Mellor wrote: »

My GF uses Strawberrynet. That its very is cheap compared to Myer (im told ) but I don't know if it would suit presents for guy.

I buy all my aftershave from there :cool:

Maybe I shouldn't admit that...

Peregrinus

Mellor wrote: »

Sigh. "Free shipping" is a meaningless offer really. Like commision free exchange, it means nothing as they inflate the price for profit.

This is what I called AMAZING online shopping. AFAIK, nothing even close to this exists in australia.
www.sportsdirect.com

Surely the whole point of the web is that it doesn’t matter where the retailer is located?

I had a quick look at sportsdirect.com, and checked out the Nike Miler men’s singlet (chosen because I happened to buy one recently). They have it for GBP 17.99, which (xe.com tells me) is currently AUD 27.65. If I order just that, UK delivery would be GPB 3.99, making a total of GPB 21.98, or AUD 33.79. So that’s what a UK customer would pay to get that shirt as a single item. If he aggregates it with other items to a total value of GBP 75 (AUD 115 or thereabouts) he avoids the delivery charge.

Wiggle.com.au is quoting AUD 23.55 for the same shirt. If I buy just the shirt, including delivery to Australia it will be AUD 36.34. If I aggregate it into an order worth AUD 80 or more, then delivery is free.

So, if I buy just the one shirt, the fact that I’m in Australia means that I have to pay AUD 2.55 more to get it from wiggle than I would pay if buying the same shirt from sportsdirect for delivery in the UK. And if I buy enough to get free delivery then I get my shirt for $4.10 less than I would pay in the UK, assuming free delivery from sportsdirect. (And note that to get free delivery in the UK from sportsdirect I’ll need to buy the equivalent of AUD 115 worth of stuff.)

And - I won’t take you through the tedious calculations - I can get the same shirt as a single-delivery item to Australia from runningwarehouse.com for AUD 31.01 inc. delivery - a saving of AUD 3.48 over the single-item-delivered-in-the-UK price from sportsdirect.

In other words, whether I buy this shirt as a single item, or as part of a larger order, I can get it for less than a UK customer would pay to get it from sportsdirect. This could be an anomaly, a function of the particular item that I happened to pick, and I can’t be arsed to repeat the exercise for a variety of other items. But, so far, I’m seeing nothing to suggest that what sportsdirect offers to UK purchasers is all that AMAZING compared to what’s available to me.

Batgurl

Mellor wrote: »

Sigh. "Free shipping" is a meaningless offer really. Like commision free exchange, it means nothing as they inflate the price for profit.

Sigh ... I used to think like that and then I realised that all of those websites have sections labelled "SALE" and you get as much if not better value than you would do in the likes of Dunnes or Pennys back home.

For example I bought two summer dresses, a skirt and two tops from ASOS sale section and it cost me less than $100 INCLUDING DELIVERY, so we'll say E80. I was home recently and I spent that much on the same stuff in Dunnes.

And the thing is the brands I bought from ASOS were River Island, Awear and Rare which are all UK based.

Plus you can return anything that you don't like or that doesn't fit and they will automatically refund you.

Mellor

Xavi6 wrote: »

I buy all my aftershave from there :cool:

Maybe I shouldn't admit that...

About half the aftershave I have came from my GF, so probably came from there.
You saved face this time

Mellor

Peregrinus wrote: »

In other words, whether I buy this shirt as a single item, or as part of a larger order, I can get it for less than a UK customer would pay to get it from sportsdirect. This could be an anomaly, a function of the particular item that I happened to pick, and I can’t be arsed to repeat the exercise for a variety of other items. But, so far, I’m seeing nothing to suggest that what sportsdirect offers to UK purchasers is all that AMAZING compared to what’s available to me.

They have t-shirts and stuff in the 3-6 pound range, which i thought was ridiculous, the price of a pint .
And These shin pads are 47.99 on SD.com, which is $73.80 on xe.com. They are $109.99 here

But of course, maybe its just a function of the items I wanted.

I would consider running warehouse to be great value too btw. Not very useful for me, but Faith or somebody might use it. So keep sites coming imo, ideally an MMA/martial arts shop if you know one

hussey

http://www.ozbargain.com.au/ - is great for online sales and the like. People can be hardcore there with if it's good value.

I've used themensshop.com.au for shirts and they were cheap (again compared to myer/DJ) and delivered within 24hrs
also if you are after wine
http://www.winemarket.com.au/ are pretty good and you can get $30 off your first order with code : FF30

jank

Mellor wrote: »

Sigh. "Free shipping" is a meaningless offer really. Like commision free exchange, it means nothing as they inflate the price for profit.

I wasn't talking specifically about clothes, but as you gave those examples;
My GF uses Strawberrynet. That its very is cheap compared to Myer (im told ) but I don't know if it would suit presents for guy.

Syletread is expensive. Not really a saving compared to retail
Westfield is essentially normal retail prices.
I don't know the other two.

We obviously have different expectations of online shopping. I wouldn't call normal retail prices, even with a great selection, "AMAZING".
I consider that pretty poor. With less overheads I expect considerable savings online. It's definitely getting way better, but its still lagging behind ireland or elsewhere.

It's cheaper to buy books, dvds, electronics, random stuff from amazon or ebay in the states or the UK than from Australian online stores. That says it all really. Hopefully Amazon coming to oz next year will fix that.

This is what I called AMAZING online shopping. AFAIK, nothing even close to this exists in australia.
www.sportsdirect.com

Wiggle.co.uk has free shipping to Australia. Works out great if you want running gear, gym or cycling stuff. A brand new pair of Nikes will cost about $80-$110 shipped in about 3-5 days. The price you see on the site is the total price you pay. The RRP for the same pair here would be close to double. That is what I call good value! Have used them a few times. Never a problem.

Eastbay.com is also good, they have a HUGE range or sports goods but shipping can be expensive. What I have learned to do is buy in bulk. Dont buy one thing, but a few things at the same time as the shipping usually doesnt increase as much.

I usually buy from Amazon US or UK about once every 3-4 months. When I get something I usually pack in a few books, blu rays, sports gear etc. in with it. Works out a hell of a lot cheaper then buying single items and paying for shipping.

Peregrinus

But you're overlooking the obvious point - sportsdirect charges you the same for the shinguards no matter where you live. The only thing that varies is the delivery cost. If - as I'm sure is the case - the sportsdirect delivery charge is less than about AUD 45, buying from sportsdirect will be your best option. I can't be bothered to register an account to see what the sportsdirect delivery charge to Australia would be but, as the SD site says "International deliveries from only £4.99!" I'd be reasonably optimistic of a good outcome here.

The point of online retail is that it doesn't matter where the retailer is located. In general it makes little difference to me whether I buy from a retailer in Australia, in Europe or in the US. Sure, delivery costs can vary, but they are usually a modest part of the overall cost, and are more than eclipsed by differences in the basic price of the produce.

Online retailing doesn't deliver these advantages (a) where you want something that needs to be delivered quickly (e.g something perishable) or (b) where you want something tailored to your market - e.g with Australian electrical fittings, and rated for the Australian power supply. Those kind of factors will prevent you from simply buying from the cheapest (reliable) supplier in the US or Europe, and they will enable retailers who cater for the Australian market to charge a higher margin. And there still some very annoying US-based retailers who won't ship outside the US for any delivery cost. (Get with the programme, guys!)

But in general there's a vast range of merchandise that can be bought online from Australia for prices - including delivery - which compare favourably with the prices paid by consumers in the US or Europe.

Mellor

Peregrinus wrote: »

But you're overlooking the obvious point - sportsdirect charges you the same for the shinguards no matter where you live. The only thing that varies is the delivery cost. If - as I'm sure is the case - the sportsdirect delivery charge is less than about AUD 45, buying from sportsdirect will be your best option. I can't be bothered to register an account to see what the sportsdirect delivery charge to Australia would be but, as the SD site says "International deliveries from only £4.99!" I'd be reasonably optimistic of a good outcome here.

The point of online retail is that it doesn't matter where the retailer is located. In general it makes little difference to me whether I buy from a retailer in Australia, in Europe or in the US.

The source doesn't bother me at all, being ripped by the Aussie site does.
Its cheaper to buy from sports direct and get them sent to oz. Shipping is listed as 17.99.
I find it annoying that buying them in the UK and sending them halfway around the world is still cheaper than the oz site's mark up. Both are probably buying from the same source in Asia or wherever. Getting stock to oz is prob cheaper than UK. no reason for the massive difference in price. Other than the fact they decide to charge full retail.

Do you see what I mean now? I don't care where the site is based at all. I find it annoying that there's no sportsdirect.com.au or what ever to save even more.

Anyway, apologies Faith for the side tracking rant. Unless I find a site, in that case it's worth it

Peregrinus

I can see why a site charging $120 pisses you off, but there's always going to be a cheaper website and a more expensive website. The same shinguards seem to be priced at around USD 90 on several US-based online retailers; that's a tad more than SD, but I suspect SD are clearing out an end of line, or are running a loss-leader. The SD delivery charge is unreasonably hefty, to my mind, and represents poor value; I haven't priced delivery from the US sites but I think there's an excellent chance that one of them will offer a better price+delivery package than SD does.

My point is that the quality of online shopping available in Australia does not depend to any extent on the quality of the online shopping sites which happen to be based in Australia. A good number of them, I agree, offer quite poor value, I suspect because they are still using prices which they set when the AUD was worth considerably less than it is now. And some of them are online adjuncts to bricks-and-mortar stores, and have uniform pricing for online and conventional sales; it hasn't occurred to them that they can't expect their online customers to pay any of the bricks-and-mortar overheads.

But the joy of online shopping is that I can take myself and my dollars elsewhere.

Faith

Thanks for all the replies! It seems to have sparked quite a debate :pac:. Apologies for being vague; they're the kind of people who have everything they want, generally, so I don't have a very specific idea of what to get them. Any suggestions at all are useful, thank you .