The French edition of Elle magazine sells in France for €2.50. This exact same magazine is priced here in Australia at $30.60. While the Australian dollar has risen, the local price has not fallen.
A quick check with a couple of banks indicates that €2.50 should convert to around $3.30 Australian right now. So, what is the remaining $27.30 made up of. Freight would take a portion of that, but not $27.30.
The continuing high price of international magazines, those brought in by air freight and those not, is impacting on sales and feeding the perception that newsagencies are expensive. Customers are finding sources elsewhere.
It is reasonable that newsagents and consumers ask: who is profiting from the exorbitant prices being charged for many international magazines in Australia?
nothing new here it has been going on for ages , have a look at any American mag, when the aussie dollar droped the american mags went through the roof now it is close enough to $1 for $1 and the mags stayed the same price . so who is ripping who off .I have tried to bring it up on here before but no one seems to care and just keep selling over priced mags , making someone a hell of a lot of profit .
Shaun, this is worse. Look at the price difference. Extraordinary.
my customers have been complaining since stone age.
I got one customer wanting to pay the American price as shown on the cover ie $AU 8.99 instead of $AU 14.95.
I have to loose that sale instead of loosing money.
Just started getting BHG CREATIVE COLLECTION SERIES SEW SCRAPPY in @ $31.95.Don,t know what it costs in the US but our customer seemed embarrassed to tell me how much cheaper it should be.
Just checke the price on the net. $12.99 in the US, highway robbery.
Most of the sales for my overseas titles have been lost to subscriptions. It’s cheaper for the consumer to get a subscription direct from the US or UK publisher whhich includes shipping than it is to buy it in a newsagent in Australia.
worst is the customer will never believe the retailer and think quite simply that the retailer pockets the rest.. so easy to forget the distributor is at fault and not the retailer whose margins aren’t any bigger because of a strong currency
its worth every cent if you read the articles with “an outragous french accent”
How come The Craft Mailbox
(www.craftmailbox.com.au) can sell if for $16.50?
Sorry – I should have made it clear_ The Craft Mailbox is selling the Sew Scrappy magazine that Brendan has for $31.95 for $16.50.
Megan, I can only assume that they import thier magazines in themselves. This really highlights the loading added by the industry magazine distributors in Australia. You would think they would try to be more competetive in order to increase their market share. This does unfairly make us look like rogues.
Thank you Brendan. I wondered too whether perhaps they couldn’t return unsold stock?
i heard gotch bought overseas mags for $1 per ton.
my customers constantly complain about the price of airfreight copies of mags and when I tell them we are under price control they look at me as though I am personally pocketing the excess. It is very frustrating but we sell a lot of them and I cannot afford to be without them.