Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (
More info?)
Sounds like you guys need consumer protection laws. Or the politicians
should stay out of the retail business.
Colin D wrote:
>Lady Margeret Thatcher wrote:
>
>
>>On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:57:31 -0800, DaveC <me@privacy.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>And, imported "gray market" models probably will not be supported or serviced
>>>under warranty by Canon USA.
>>>
>>>
>>Understood. Well, heck, 30 years ago, I was doing gray market import
>>from Hong Kong into the USA of Nikon cameras and lenses. In those
>>days, we had something called "Fair Trade Laws, " which meant that the
>>manufacturer, Nikon in this case, could set a price and stores were
>>not allowed to discount. Fortunately, those days are long gone.
>>
>>
>>>Here's the NZ model:
>>>
>>>http://tinyurl.com/6zb3l
>>>
>>>
>>Nice, but what kinds of discounts can you get from NZ stores?
>>
>>At RRP, the iP3000 is US $306, plus the costs of shipping, etc. At
>>the very highly regarded newegg.com, this printer costs US $64 plus $7
>>shipping, for $71. There is a $20 rebate in effect now, so the total
>>cost is only $51.
>>
>>Do NZ'ers enjoy similar discounts at the right stores?
>>
>>
>
>No chance. For many years, NZ had a policy of import control by
>licence, and the amount of licence was determined by imports in previous
>years, which meant that no newcomers could get licence, only those
>importers who had a history with the particular item.
>
>This was a situation tailor-made for ripping off the kiwis, and it was
>rife, with sole importers able to charge what they liked. In the
>eighties, a change of government freed up licence control in stages, but
>the long-term importers set up sole distributorships with overseas
>suppliers, and effectively maintained their monopoly status. Hence,
>most - but not all - importers still charge plenty for some goods, in
>particular photographic goods. Conversely, computers and electronic
>items are reasonably priced but still dearer than goods in Australia or
>the States.
>
>When I was in Australia last year, I bought a 17-85 USM IS lens for my
>300D for $NZ 980. The same lens in NZ has a RRP of $NZ1399, and is
>available on discount for $NZ1199. I'm thinking of buying a Canon i9950
>(i9900 in the States), and the price in NZ is $1199, Australia about
>$850. As far as I can tell, NZ prices are a bit like UK prices - too
>bloody high. One reason I suppose is scale economy - with a total
>population of only four million, firms in NZ just don't have the
>turnover, and so the price is higher.
>
>But, we envy the American prices.
>
>Colin
>
>