Australis music/Ibanez Australia

dimefan90 · #1 10-10-2009, 02:11 AM

For the past few years i have wanted to buy a new RG but the prices here in australia are ridiculous. when i bought my RG370dx in 2005 it was $720 which took me a while to save and was a lot of money for a 15 year old. today the prices of RG370's and 350's is just a dollar shy of $900. This is far more than i would ever pay for a MII guitar (At least my 370DX was MIK)

looking at the price of RG's in USA ($399 for a RG350) i can buy one online and have it shipped to me and it would still be half the price of one in a store here.

I understand that the GFC caused prices to rise but in a time when the Aussie dollar is buying USD 0.92 i really think it is wrong of australis music to be charging so much for these guitars.

IbanezFreak777 · #2 10-10-2009, 02:24 AM

hehehehehe hahahahahahah

many of us aussys feel this way about the Ibanez RRP

PGM 100 LE RRP in AUS is $5999 I can buy one here in Hong kong (where I am typing this letter right now for $2K) Even with customs tax etc... I would still be way under the RRP

and if you buy in Thailand you get a 7% VAT return so. Yeah Australia guitar prices are just plain mental.

I for one wont be buying a guitar in AUS any time soon...

LonePhantom · #3 10-10-2009, 02:41 AM

It is really stupid how our prices are double the US.

There is a member here that works at Australis. I'd love for him to chime in and explain exactly why our prices are so much higher.

Lordiesel · #4 10-10-2009, 02:53 AM

I'd say its a mixture of taxes/lower level of competition/overvalued currency. I still don't think it should be that much more.... but thats life unfortunately. I haven't bought anything from an Au music store in a long time. Apart from strings. Everything else is from e bay.

wilch · #5 10-10-2009, 03:26 AM

Every Ibanez I've bought new here in Aus I've gotten at a significant discount, one came from Australis itself (my DNA was in a display case over there). I paid well below RRP. I guess it comes down to who you know.

But then, this makes me think that maybe the stores are demanding the high margins?

dimefan90 · #6 10-10-2009, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilch

Every Ibanez I've bought new here in Aus I've gotten at a significant discount, one came from Australis itself (my DNA was in a display case over there). I paid well below RRP. I guess it comes down to who you know.

But then, this makes me think that maybe the stores are demanding the high margins?

Every Store i have been to sells them at RRP. i bought my 370 from Pro Audio which is why i saved about $100, but i have no idea what they have these days because whenever i request a new catalog they send me the same one from 2005

IbanezFreak777 · #7 10-10-2009, 04:55 AM

Stores take the RRP from the Ibanez distributors and have to pass on the expense to the customers, stores pay alot to the distributors.

Blame the distributors, aussy import taxes etc...

The power of the aussy dollar, should see prices drop in imports when the aussy dollar is strong, but that never ever ever happens..

dom · #8 10-10-2009, 07:00 AM

This topic has been covered at Bmusic forum pretty convincingly...

http://www.guitarsatbmusic.com.au/fo...php?f=16&t=483

Goes a long way as to the state of things.

Im all for supporting the local store but you just save so much buying used off the internet, and it really sucks having to sell something you paid top dollar for from a store...

prydogga · #9 10-10-2009, 07:06 AM

I was just talking about this today.

I could buy 2, count them TWO EGENs from Japan with shipping (meestursparkle) from the same price of ONE here.... And with plenty of leftover cash.

IbanezFreak777 · #10 10-10-2009, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydogga

I was just talking about this today.

I could buy 2, count them TWO EGENs from Japan with shipping (meestursparkle) from the same price of ONE here.... And with plenty of leftover cash.

Yeah its nuts, one can almost start a business just buying from shops ... :P

LonePhantom · #11 10-10-2009, 07:26 PM

Well that link was very interesting dom. Very good reading, explains a lot. I figured most of those factors were involved anyway. Still in this day of internet and speedy international shipping, the prices here are a little hard to swallow.

Mind you I for the most part try to support my local store, and they try to give me good prices as a result. Not as good as the US price, but still reasonable for here.

IbanezFreak777 · #12 10-10-2009, 11:16 PM

As much as I would like to support my local store, I am more interested in supporting myself. My money is better spent on my family then on local stores. They need to drop prices, otherwise they can go jump in a lake..

mar01 · #13 10-11-2009, 12:03 AM

hey guys.. im sure Ibanezes are way cheaper in the states,Hk or in Jap.. but to me ive spent 4 years in OZ. and i found that prices of guitars n equipments in Australia to me is way cheaper from where i come from... and how i wish im in OZ now... the prices here guys.. are ridiculous 200-300% marked up.. wat a bULL.. cheer mateys...

dimefan90 · #14 10-11-2009, 01:40 AM

I used to work in a small independently owned music shop, and the 2 other chain stores in the area (macron and world of music) told the distributors that if they sold stuff to us they would not buy from them any more. so the suppliers would not let us have any brands the other stores stocked.

So we sold mainly second hand guitars at very very cheap prices. i picked up a couple of guitars for myself and paid about half what they were worth. $500 for a year old mex classic 60's strat.

i always wanted to carry ibanez and my boss would often try to convince the suppliers, but they just wouldnt budge.

after a couple of years the store just wasn't generating enough income because people would come in asking if we had something, we always had to tell them no, and they would just go to the other stores.

the moral of the story is. try to support your local store, BUT only if it is an independent.

this is why i travel further to buy my strings.

prydogga · #15 10-11-2009, 02:07 AM

I still do buy from Aus, but only because I can get massive discounts from my store, it's still not overseas price but it's worth it to bring business to a friend. Except I will be buying my nextCharvel from US, there is a very short supply in Aus and they are outrageously priced here.