Travel Photography - Why are cameras so expensive in Australia?

I'm after a Canon 60D. Cheapest I can find here is $1159 body only (grey importer with a shopfront to walk in) or $999 plus shipping from HK grey market supplier. In the USA it's on sale at BH Photo for $899. They're cheaper in Asia too which I expect but our dollar is higher than the USD so that price is what's really puzzling. Shipping from Japan to the USA or Australia can't be that different assuming Canon in Japan sells them at the same price to everyone. It's just so frustrating that if I were in the USA I could buy it for the equivalent of $840 AUD at today's exchange rate since they ship free within USA. Over $300 difference!

I could also get it with a Canon EF-S 18-135mm Lens for $1199 but then I would have to pay tax if it's over $1000.

I'm after a Canon 60D. Cheapest I can find here is $1159 body only (grey importer with a shopfront to walk in) or $999 plus shipping from HK grey market supplier. In the USA it's on sale at BH Photo for $899. They're cheaper in Asia too which I expect but our dollar is higher than the USD so that price is what's really puzzling. Shipping from Japan to the USA or Australia can't be that different assuming Canon in Japan sells them at the same price to everyone. It's just so frustrating that if I were in the USA I could buy it for the equivalent of $840 AUD at today's exchange rate since they ship free within USA. Over $300 difference!

I could also get it with a Canon EF-S 18-135mm Lens for $1199 but then I would have to pay tax if it's over $1000.

Australia's official Canon importer, Canon Australia [though likely a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon Inc.] set their own prices. I suspect that they have set their prices at levels they feel the Australian market will bear in order to do the volume they fell they need. If that wasn't the case then I suspect they would have lowered their prices as a result.

In other words the blame lies with your fellow Australians who are willing to pay what you see as high prices for their Canon gear.

Also consider that the sunk costs of setting up a distribution network, dealer base, and repair facilities are somewhat fixed yet in the U.S. these costs get spread across +300M potential customers as opposed to ~22M potential customers in Australia.

With the current exchange rate, most sold in Australia cost more than in the US. Unless the price is set in USD, like gold. Cost of living simply higher.

I was there a few months ago, I found everything to be way expensive.

Does Australia slap you with import duties and/or taxes when you try to bring in goods of any non-insignificant value by mail?

10% GST on items shipped with a value over $1000 AUD. You also get the GST back if you purchase it within 30 days of going overseas via TRS kiosks at the airport. So I could get back about $100 which is still $200 over the USA price. The other annoying thing is that when Canon dealers do run a promo, it's usually for a twin lens kit which doesn't help people who already have the lenses and just want the body.

Wait, can you buy stuff from Amazon.com and pay no tax/duties on goods where the value (incl. postage) is below AUD1,000?

Heh, if you PayPal me the money, I'll go over to B&H and buy it for you. :)

In all seriousness, isn't there someone you can ask to make this purchase for you, and either hand-carry to Australia or ship it? I remember growing up in Europe, my musician father used to this all the time with small high end musical equipment that cost 2x over there... heck, even I've gone to Paris with 3 ipods in my carry-on...

Then again, isn't a $200-$300 savings a little small to complain about? I understand if you were buying a $9k Leica or something... I mean, I understand it's the principle of the thing, but if you want to buy the 60D body, just buy the body, and enjoy it.

Did you just realize it now? It's always been that way in Australia even when AUD is cheaper than US. Buy it from B&H and have them shipped it to you. That's what my oz friends did.

A MR run to the US for a couple of hours might be in order then :). If you can buy a few items without duty you will have probably made up the cost of the plane tix.

If a Camera, Laptop, Camcorder etc each can save you like $300, might be worth it.

Paradoxically, I bought my Pentax K-7 in Sydney a couple of years ago because it was 30% less than the UK price and comparable with the US price.

Get this...

canon australia website http://www.canon.com.au/en-AU/For-You/EOS-Digital-SLR-Cameras/7D

canon USA website http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/digital_slr_cameras/eos_7d


exact same camera, $700 surcharge for just being australian though :(