Yep, stuff costs more than the US. Of course, this is due to our much higher incomes, especially for lower income earners.
Are we Australians paying way too much?
- Thread starter Gentle_Chief
- Start date
I'm amazed by the tiny margins many in the US operate on. We sell a number of products sourced out of the US and I know what the US distributors are paying. We simply could not operate on their 10-20% margin.
We are getting royally ripped off down here. Tax here, tax there. The simple fact is labour in Australia is just so high. This feeds down into manufactured goods which is why houses are so expensive if they are locally built. Which is why for my development I am getting as much as I can from overseas - as everyone else does. I pay overseas (China) prices, I charge Australian rates. Win-win for me.
I travel to Germany regularly and find groceries are around 1/2 the price they are here.
I was surprised at how low quality do was in the us compared to oz.
Its not just quantity that counts
Its not just quantity that counts
Depends where you drink. If you go to them toffy ****-a-rama joints, then sure. I just go to my local and get a pint (a proper pint) of Coopers for around 6 bucks.
Actually we are a high cost nation because we are a high wage nation.
I have been buying clothes from US for around a year, and the quality of the US product is far above Australia, and price is much lower.
How much of this is down to shifting exchange rates, and the importers not reacting?
The Australian dollar was worth around $1.30 (US), £2,50 and €1.70 for much of the noughties. It's now $0.90 (US), £1.50, €1.20, so gained over a third of its value against other countries' currencies.
Up until 2006 or 2007 it was possible for a UK expat to sell their home over here, transfer the money to Oz, and buy a larger house outright.
JoeExpat, my experience was that food is expensive in Australia, though some fresh vegetables were reasonably priced if bought from one of the markets. I've not spent a lot of time in Germany, but don't recall it being too pricey. The Netherlands, where I lived for a few years, can be a bit expensive, but no worse than the UK.
I'd agree about Zurich though. I've just had my CV put forward for a role out there, but fortunately the rate is very good. It's going to need to be.
Devo76, take a look at the price of a BMW HP2 Sport in Australia and the UK. In the UK it's around £15K (about $22K), and over there it's $35K.
When I was last Down Under I found that Japanese machinery tended to be a similar prices to here, whereas German and Italian bikes were significantly more expensive. I didn't compare Harleys.
The Australian dollar was worth around $1.30 (US), £2,50 and €1.70 for much of the noughties. It's now $0.90 (US), £1.50, €1.20, so gained over a third of its value against other countries' currencies.
Up until 2006 or 2007 it was possible for a UK expat to sell their home over here, transfer the money to Oz, and buy a larger house outright.
JoeExpat, my experience was that food is expensive in Australia, though some fresh vegetables were reasonably priced if bought from one of the markets. I've not spent a lot of time in Germany, but don't recall it being too pricey. The Netherlands, where I lived for a few years, can be a bit expensive, but no worse than the UK.
I'd agree about Zurich though. I've just had my CV put forward for a role out there, but fortunately the rate is very good. It's going to need to be.
Devo76, take a look at the price of a BMW HP2 Sport in Australia and the UK. In the UK it's around £15K (about $22K), and over there it's $35K.
When I was last Down Under I found that Japanese machinery tended to be a similar prices to here, whereas German and Italian bikes were significantly more expensive. I didn't compare Harleys.
How about looking at it from the otherside and being fortunate everything is comparatively so cheap when overseas. Because whilst domestically everything is relative, we really are in a VERY lucky position when spending abroad.
If you're still not convinced, then use this as an excuse to go on holiday overseas and then revisit your decision.
If you're still not convinced, then use this as an excuse to go on holiday overseas and then revisit your decision.
exactly and its also why we wont be at the current exchange rates forever.
USA has Mexico to supply the unskilled labor. Real committed workforce - 100% the back-bone of their services & hospitality industry. For a USD 60 (aud 56) a day they will work their butts off. So the Americans leave the laundry, snow-shoveling, lawn care & house cleaning to them and they concentrate on starting companies. Yeah, from the very small ones to the really Big ones.
GE, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Ford, Boeing, Intel, Levi's, McDonalds, Walt Disney, Fedex, Krogers, Citigroup, Lockheed Martin, Dell, Coke, Target, AT&T etc etc..... and the list goes on and on. All of them American.
Entrepreneurism is in their soul. Talk to a Real estate agent ('Realtor' in their talk) and he/she will find a 100 ways to make the deal happen. Vendor Financing, Lease options, land contracting, partnering, cranking, shifting & even Purchase Options like a Call option to the buyer. This is not your tie wearing REA getting off the BMW and showing you through a few doors type. They ARE willing & Keen to do the Hard yakkas. Absabloodylutely!
And this is a country talking about 'being more competitive' on every channel on TV or Radio talk shows. The numbers are clear. This is a ranking of the top 11 countries, with the most Global 500 companies:
1 United States 133
2 Japan 68
3 China 61
4 France 35
5 Germany 34
6 United Kingdom 30
7 Switzerland 15
8 South Korea 14
9 Netherlands 12
10 Canada 11
11 Italy 10
Outside this island nation of ours, the world has more Skills & the Will to do it. Yes the "Will". That is where manufacturing will go to. That is where investment dollars will flow to.
We said we dodged the bullet when the GFC did not touch us. It would have been better if it had atleast grazed us. The Australians are a hard working bunch of people but we are getting a little out of tune with the rest of the world.
GE, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Ford, Boeing, Intel, Levi's, McDonalds, Walt Disney, Fedex, Krogers, Citigroup, Lockheed Martin, Dell, Coke, Target, AT&T etc etc..... and the list goes on and on. All of them American.
Entrepreneurism is in their soul. Talk to a Real estate agent ('Realtor' in their talk) and he/she will find a 100 ways to make the deal happen. Vendor Financing, Lease options, land contracting, partnering, cranking, shifting & even Purchase Options like a Call option to the buyer. This is not your tie wearing REA getting off the BMW and showing you through a few doors type. They ARE willing & Keen to do the Hard yakkas. Absabloodylutely!
And this is a country talking about 'being more competitive' on every channel on TV or Radio talk shows. The numbers are clear. This is a ranking of the top 11 countries, with the most Global 500 companies:
1 United States 133
2 Japan 68
3 China 61
4 France 35
5 Germany 34
6 United Kingdom 30
7 Switzerland 15
8 South Korea 14
9 Netherlands 12
10 Canada 11
11 Italy 10
Outside this island nation of ours, the world has more Skills & the Will to do it. Yes the "Will". That is where manufacturing will go to. That is where investment dollars will flow to.
We said we dodged the bullet when the GFC did not touch us. It would have been better if it had atleast grazed us. The Australians are a hard working bunch of people but we are getting a little out of tune with the rest of the world.
I reckon these "shifts" are more permanent, the US and UK in particular are hell bent on destroying their currencies and have given up on their inflation mandates. Parity with the USD is behind us now, the pound is just a matter of time.
It's the other way round now. I know a brit going to Australia to "make some cash" before returning to the UK. Only 10 years ago it was the reverse.
Ivanhoe may have an Aussie subsidiary but it is Canadian.
AAP
Mongolia's lower-tax coal sector could rob global market share from Australia, Canadian billionaire mining executive Robert Friedland says.
Mr Friedland, who chairs the Toronto stock exchange-listed miner Ivanhoe Mines Ltd and its 90 per cent owned Ivanhoe Australia Ltd, said "Mongolia could kill Australian coal" because its mining tax was lower than in Australia.
Ivanhoe Mines' 79 per cent-owned coal company South Gobi Energy Resources Ltd is the largest coal producer in Mongolia in terms of export sales.
I reckon these "shifts" are more permanent, the US and UK in particular are hell bent on destroying their currencies and have given up on their inflation mandates. Parity with the USD is behind us now, the pound is just a matter of time.
It's the other way round now. I know a brit going to Australia to "make some cash" before returning to the UK. Only 10 years ago it was the reverse.
And Germany is playing this game too. It is priced in Euro which is conveniently low because of the PIIGS.
Got any names? I'm interested in buying.
Ivanhoe dwarfs everything else, but money goes where it is treated best so why wouldn't Oz miners flee our shores with NEW exploration? They are not immune to the high costs this thread is about.
