T-Man Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 I was surfing on Rennlist and noticed a post advising everyone that Mobil-1 was on special at Walmart!! 5 US quarts which is near enough to 5 litres for a whole $22 odd dollars. This was the 15W/50 fully synthetic, high zinc stuff that I would use without even thinking. Best price I have been able to get is $250 for a 20 litre drum. Another classic example of us Aussies getting the sharp end of the stick. I don't think you can even buy crap oil at Kmart for $22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberpunky Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 you can buy cheap oil at super cheap etc. I know it is popular to complain how we get ripped off in Australia but you do have to factor in we live on an island in the middle of the pacific, all companies have infrastructure costs, and that a business needs to make a profit. Bottom line is we do pay more here for things and as many of us do, we can shop online and save money, but when all the Aussie businesses have closed, then the lack of infrastructure here will suck big time. It has already got to the point that many electronics stores feel like they are just a showcase, as ppl come in , take the advice and then go and buy online. Anyway as someone who has changed industries twice due to online sales changing my ability to make an average living, then I see things a little differently to most Aussies who are happy just to complain about how bad we get *ripped off*. We can either pay a local or let their business die, and then I can see us all complaining about the lack of places to deal with in the flesh, when all we have is an online option peace Cyberpunky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Man Posted 27July, 2013 Author Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 Bruce, this is not about buying off the net and cutting out the Australian distributor.We run a wholesale/manufacturing business which needs to compete against imports on a regular basis. We have needed to become more efficient, more competitive and smarter about our product and service offering. I do not begrudge anyone making a dollar, that after all is why people get into business in the first place.I do however have an issue paying 2.5 times the US price for oil in Australia. You can add as much infrastructure costs as you like, the reality is that the high prices are generally created through multilevel distribution channels where everyone needs to make their cut and pure greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberpunky Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 Fair enough Theo and I wasn't suggesting anything other than sometimes living on our little island does come at a price I am in no way an expert on oil pricing either and whether we get gouged or not. I am just over what seems like the new Aussie past time of complaining how much we get ripped off compared to the US(and this wasn't directed at you specifically and am sorry if it came off that way). I would love to pay the same(and sometimes do thanks to the net) but I would never even consider leaving our wonderous island in the pacific. They can enjoy their super low prices, and their guns etc as well, as I think we actually have it pretty good here and if we pay too much for oil etc now and then, then so be it, as it's cheap at half the price IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberpunky Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 oh and too answer the question... I would guess multi-channel distribution is the culprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Mouth Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 Is there a link T-Man? Do they ship out to Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Man Posted 27July, 2013 Author Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 oh and too answer the question... I would guess multi-channel distribution is the culprit I reckon that is where the big increases are Bruce. I know we are going to pay a premium because of our geographic location.I don't have an issue with that. I am prepared to pay a fair premium to support local business. But I am sick and tired of being reamed, both as a consumer and a business owner. Even in my industry there are many examples where we are paying double from a distributor who may have exclusive import rights for a product from Europe, however we could buy that product and land it for half the price.Basically the Australian market is too small and importers, distributors and retailers need to make horrendous margins to sustain businesses which in other countries would never cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Man Posted 27July, 2013 Author Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 Is there a link T-Man?Do they ship out to Australia?No DM. Walmart is like a K-mart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 Doesn't the government like to stick their finger in when it has something to do with oil and petrol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastr Posted 27July, 2013 Report Share Posted 27July, 2013 you can buy cheap oil at super cheap etc. I know it is popular to complain how we get ripped off in Australia but you do have to factor in we live on an island in the middle of the pacific, all companies have infrastructure costs, and that a business needs to make a profit. Bottom line is we do pay more here for things and as many of us do, we can shop online and save money, but when all the Aussie businesses have closed, then the lack of infrastructure here will suck big time. It has already got to the point that many electronics stores feel like they are just a showcase, as ppl come in , take the advice and then go and buy online. Anyway as someone who has changed industries twice due to online sales changing my ability to make an average living, then I see things a little differently to most Aussies who are happy just to complain about how bad we get *ripped off*. We can either pay a local or let their business die, and then I can see us all complaining about the lack of places to deal with in the flesh, when all we have is an online option peace Cyberpunky I disagree, and I feel for you having to switch because of competiton, but every time an Australian gets to pay less for something, their life gets a little bit better. I have had to compete with international competition and it is tough but ultimately I also am the first to import something if it save me some dollars or gets me a better product for the same cash. So I just see it as change and I am acutely aware of wanting to have my cake and eat it too. The fact is Australia overpays for everything, whether oil, cars, big macs or electricity. Sometimes it is market structure, sometimes it is government interference, sometimes it is old fashioned market protection (which is nearly always government interference anyway) I don't buy the market isolation thing for a nano-second, this is the same xcuse that Porsche et al use to charge double the world price for cars. I can buy Califorinian oranges for about the same price as oranges grown just down the road. Nobody can convince me that oil is 3 times the price because we live in the southern hemisphere. A single shipping container would hold an immense amount of 5 liter oil containers, it is not perishable so the shipping costs would struggle to be 50c per container. The truth is that we historically had a very structured market with fixed wages, cozy government protected duopolies and plenty of middle men taking their cut and plenty of taxation at many levels. Every Austrlaian that travelled filled their suitcases with glee as they travelled, encountering a world out there where the rip-off magically evaporated and prices were where they should be. The first time I ever travelled, I was inundated for requests for jeans, booze, tech items - the lists were endless. As I travel regularly now I buy virtually nothing locally and I supply my extended family with whatever they ask for. I recently procured a watch for my nephew at 1/5th the price he was quoted locally. That is a rip off by any reasonable definition. I feel for the salesman, the packers, the landlords of retail properties who struggle against the tide of online imports. But I smile at the people who all of a sudden don't have to take an overseas trip to realize realistic pricing. And for the other business owners who now get a share of the consumers wallet previously locked up in other purchases. Ultimately lower prices is better for everyone, even those who have to go through painful readjustment. Who amongst us would be unhappy to see the price of a new 911 fall to about 120k? What about all those other companies who might find themselves with a customer when the owner finds themsleves with both a 911, but also another $150k in discretionary spend budget? Reduce that down to purchases of oil. Everything we overpay for reduces our ability to buy from some other business. If it cots us an extra $100 to change the oil, that is $100 taken from the local pizza place, the local butcher, whoever. The local retail shop might be complaining, but the guy who has a courier business seems to be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasserkuhl Posted 28July, 2013 Report Share Posted 28July, 2013 One of my clients makes oil, here in South Australia. In a shed. A 5 L container would cost him around $10 to make, inclusive of everything involved to get it to a finished product. I have requested a sample so that I can get one of my other customers, a lubrication specialist to analyse its properties and compare to the oils I use in my Cars. I guess I don't want to save money, I just want to buy local, from people who are actually making something (crazy, I know) If, of course , the oil proves to be sub-standard in anyway, I will continue to pay $13 a Litre for what I know is 'good oil'. Coastr's commentary above explains things in a balanced manner, every dollar we spend has an effect and affect on the Australian economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted 28July, 2013 Report Share Posted 28July, 2013 Oil I can sort of understand However, Why is fuel cheaper further inland (like Warwick) than Brisbane? It's further from the refinery for it to travel, it doesn't make sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastr Posted 28July, 2013 Report Share Posted 28July, 2013 Oil I can sort of understand However, Why is fuel cheaper further inland (like Warwick) than Brisbane? It's further from the refinery for it to travel, it doesn't make sense! Because the cost and the price are only tangentially related. Maybe the guy at Warwick makes more money from coke and chiko rolls so sells ona tiny marin to bring in the punters. The cost of a product only has relevance in that a business must sell above cost in order to keep the doors open per the long term. Apart from that, pricing is the darkest of the dark arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ930 Posted 30July, 2013 Report Share Posted 30July, 2013 We are always quoted oil price based on USD per barrel, but our domestic price is based on the Singapore price, that we are never told. Import oil ? Some yes maybe, but we have oil wells in the Bass Strait, the North-West shelf and other sites in this country. We have refineries too, so why do we pay what we do ? Or is this the original question ? Gas, what do we pay ? Inpex, a Japanese company is building a refinery in Darwin harbour, Bladen Point, and will be shipping all of the gas to Japan paying to Australia 4c per litre. And don't get me started on the environmental vandalism that has gone on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeM Posted 3August, 2013 Report Share Posted 3August, 2013 one of my other customers, a lubrication specialist . Well that comment has the potential to open up a can of worms mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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