As painful as this is, I will now prove the point with cold hard comparisons. Keep in mind, this is not entirely a fair fight as Australia has only about 22,000,000 people available to buy stuff (a.k.a consumers) and America has over 307,000,000.
1. New Balance "Rock and Tone" sneakers, or "joggers" as they say in Australian.
Model #WW1870
Australia:
New Balance Australia's price: $170 AUD (equal to $181 US dollar as of today), with free shipping and 10% off through May 25.
America:
Zappos in America price: Originally $84, currently on sale for $68. Free shipping within the U.S., as in to my mom who can forward them on to me.
Ouch, that was painful. I wanted to buy these today, and I probably will... only downside is that there's no instant gratification, and I'll have to pay about $30USD shipping for my mom to send them to Sydney. Bottom line is, including postage to Australia, I'll still only end up paying only $98USD (which is currently $91AUD). Yay, for me.
2. Aqua Sphere Kids Seal Goggles, we love these goggles and would literally have them mailed across the world to have them.
Australia: Rebel Sport's price: (comparable to a Sports Authority store in America) $39.99 + shipping (as of today that is equal to $42USD + shipping).America: Amazon.com's price: (who is normally not necessarily the least expensive but does offer free shipping) $18USD with free shipping, at least for me as I pay for a yearly "Prime" membership, which as you can say is clearly worth it!
If I assume shipping from the US to Australia would be about $10 for this item (it would actually probably be about $5USD when packed with a boatload of other stuff), that would make the total cost including shipping down under about $28AUD. Probably only worth saving the money if I didn't need them in a hurry and was having a bunch of other things shipped.
Well that wasn't quite as painful as the shoes, but still gives you an idea of the astronomical prices here.
So here's one of my favorite (that's "favourite" for my Aussie friends) comparisons, it actually still shocks me when I see it... Ralph Lauren clothing.
Well I would have loved to compare Ralph Lauren clothing, because the prices in Australia are absolutely out of control. But since they don't even sell it online down under, I'm not able to provide any solid comparisons here. I can however compare Ralph Lauren cologne prices... though anyone who actually knows me knows, don't wear it around me or you're likely to have me start on a tangent of complaining about the smell (of any mens cologne that is:).
3. Ralph Lauren Big Pony Cologne #1
Australia:Myer.com.au price $125AUD + $8 shipping. Ouch. As of today that is equal to $132USD. America: Amazon.com price $61USD. Never mind the fact that we could probably find this at Marshalls or TJMaxx for $10.99 or less. Clearly there are signs I am needing a U.S. shopping trip, and maybe a lap around an American outlet-mall circuit.
4. KitchenAid Mixer
Australia:Kitchenwaresuperstore.com.au price is $679AUD, that's currently $720US. OMG. Seriously? Though I will admit, I do love me some Kitchenaid small appliances.
America:
Amazon.com price is $243. Sorry, but that is an absolutely redonkulous with a capital D. Unfortunately when it comes to items that must be plugged into a wall, you won't be able to bring your American 110volt ones, because even with a transformer, they are likely to eventually stop working... I know this from personal experience. Dear Kitchenaid hand mixer, I miss you. Love, Me.
So there you have it, if you are considering a move to Australia and are thinking-- of course it's more expensive-- but how much more could it really be.... well the answer is, a lot more!
Though before I wrap this up, I should mention that there is one area in which Australia's prices kick America's ass, and that's in anything related to healthcare-- for example, we had an x-ray here last week (2 images) and it cost $75, with no insurance. Not sure how much that would cost in the U.S., but I'm guessing somewhere over at least $200.
Anyway, my advice to anyone moving here would be, if you are already shipping a container with furniture, etc. then load up any and every thing you need and like and may ever imagine you want. And definitely do NOT leave things in the U.S. and think you'll just buy new ones here-- because new ones here (of whatever) will be potentially double to quadruple the price.
Anyone for an $18 hamburger?
