eBay to geo-block Australia?
Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 5:16AM CDT
Category: Store NewsPosted by: Burn Views: 19,875
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In what could be a major problem to Australian collectors, online powerhouse eBay has threatened to geo-block Australians from using their worldwide platform.
The Australian Government is set to introduce new laws from July 1 (the new financial year in Australia) that would see a Goods & Services Tax (GST) imposed on all imports. (Currently imports under $1,000 do not attract any GST.)
What is confusing about the situation is that under Australian laws, a business with an annual turnover of $75,000 MUST register for GST. But, as Jooman Park, eBay’s vice president and managing director for Australia and New Zealand points out, "This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the marketplace: eBay is not a seller, eBay does not own the goods, does not handle payments and it does not distribute anything. eBay is a third-party online marketplace that simply connects buyers and sellers."
This in itself creates a challenge. How does the Australian Government plan to enforce this? While it's one thing to bring legal pressure to big companies like Amazon, how do they plan to force smaller online retailers like BigBadToyStore to register and collect taxes for them?
Jooman Park proposed a much simpler solution. "A simpler alternative for an island nation is to work with the logistics companies. All parcels arrive at a small number of Customs points, via a small number of international logistics companies, one of which is government-owned.
These companies can require buyers to declare whether a good is new and to nominate a value of the good as part of the pricing of parcel delivery to Australia. This system does not require parcels to be stopped, other than for routine auditing.
It captures all goods, regardless of whether they were purchased via a platform or from a dot.com. It is practical and enforceable, raises genuine revenue and is fair. Unlike other proposals, this does level the playing field."
The reason the Australian Government wants to change the law, aside from revenue raising, has been because of pressure from major retailers such as Harvey Norman. Gerry Harvey, Executive Chairman of Harvey Norman, has been a strong proponent of taxing online sales as he believes it will help level the playing field between online businesses and brick-and-mortar stores.
From a "services" perspective, the legislation will no doubt hope to generate more income from big companies such as Google, Facebook, Adobe, Microsoft etc.
It should be noted that eBay has for a number of years, had a working history with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), sharing data of the sales of sellers with sales of over $10K-$20k a year with the ATO for their data-matching program.
Geo-blocking of course, is nothing new to Australians with many streaming services geo-blocking Australian residents. This has led many Australian residents to embrace Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as a way around those geo-blocks, something they may have to do if they wish to shop internationally on eBay. (Side note: The Australian Government has considered banning VPNs in an effort to curb internet piracy despite many businesses using VPNs legitimately.)
With July 1 not too far away, the legislation itself isn't even finalised. The Australian Government however are determined to implement this legislation which will leave many online sellers scrambling to some how implement required changes before July 1.
Is this a good move by the Australian Government? As an Australian, will this affect you at all? Let us know on the Seibertron.com forums!
Credit(s): news.com.au
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Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875142)
Posted by ausbot on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:35am CDT
Posted by ausbot on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:35am CDT
Dammit, Australia Sucks for collectors if this happens it will put a huge hit to my collecting.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875143)
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:57am CDT
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:57am CDT
Immediate thoughts in chronological order:
Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
- - wut
- Uh eBay man, you're about two weeks late for April Fools
- Alright guess I better build my collection REAL QUICK then.
Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875144)
Posted by BumbleDouche on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:59am CDT
Posted by BumbleDouche on April 18th, 2017 @ 5:59am CDT
FFS just when you think it couldn't possibly suck any worse living here they invent some new way to screw us!
Just RECENTLY, I can think of restrictions on show availability on Netflix, damn-near impossibility of legally importing MP-Megatron, freaking PRINGLES (of all things!) being made at some crap-tastic factory in Malaysia or something instead of the USA, so they're now smaller, more expensive and taste awful... No wonder people resort to illegal importation of goods, the Government wants a piece of everything!
And those bricks-and-mortar stores like Harvey Norman (which I refer to as "Hardly Normal" for its outrageous prices) should think more about what they're doing wrong by charging so much rather than "leveling the playing field" by making it impossible for anyone to sell outside of their corrupt standards.
Just RECENTLY, I can think of restrictions on show availability on Netflix, damn-near impossibility of legally importing MP-Megatron, freaking PRINGLES (of all things!) being made at some crap-tastic factory in Malaysia or something instead of the USA, so they're now smaller, more expensive and taste awful... No wonder people resort to illegal importation of goods, the Government wants a piece of everything!
And those bricks-and-mortar stores like Harvey Norman (which I refer to as "Hardly Normal" for its outrageous prices) should think more about what they're doing wrong by charging so much rather than "leveling the playing field" by making it impossible for anyone to sell outside of their corrupt standards.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875145)
Posted by BumbleDouche on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:08am CDT
Posted by BumbleDouche on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:08am CDT
Also - Australians don't shop via eBay just to avoid huge markups from criminals like the operator of Harvey Norman...
For Masterpiece Transformers and a lot of other products, there's simply *NO OTHER WAY* to purchase these goods in Australia.
If they then go on to introduce complicated paperwork & tax nonsense, smaller retailers like BBTS or Robot Kingdom will probably just draw a line through Australia and not bother with us at all, eliminating the *last* of our options!
For Masterpiece Transformers and a lot of other products, there's simply *NO OTHER WAY* to purchase these goods in Australia.
If they then go on to introduce complicated paperwork & tax nonsense, smaller retailers like BBTS or Robot Kingdom will probably just draw a line through Australia and not bother with us at all, eliminating the *last* of our options!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875146)
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:31am CDT
We'll still have access to ebay.com.au, we just won't be able to access international sellers.
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:31am CDT
Qwan wrote:Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
We'll still have access to ebay.com.au, we just won't be able to access international sellers.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875147)
Posted by Evil Eye on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:41am CDT
Posted by Evil Eye on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:41am CDT
I could go on a big political soapboxy rant about how this kind of government meddling in private business does no good at all and only breeds discontentment amongst the people, but I'm not going to. Nevertheless this is really, really stupid and I hope it gets overturned.
If it does go ahead: Boycott eBay. Use alternative sources (I recommend Mandarake). Do what you can to tell the company/the gubmint "No, this is not acceptable and I will take my business elsewhere if you do this".
If it does go ahead: Boycott eBay. Use alternative sources (I recommend Mandarake). Do what you can to tell the company/the gubmint "No, this is not acceptable and I will take my business elsewhere if you do this".
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875149)
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:48am CDT
Ah, well that's... better. Phew. Still though, the fact that most Transformers-related searches tend to turn up approximately 2-10 (often barely-related) items from Australian sellers before moving on to international - that's worrying to say the least if those results are going to be all we get.
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:48am CDT
Burn wrote:Qwan wrote:Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
We'll still have access to ebay.com.au, we just won't be able to access international sellers.
Ah, well that's... better. Phew. Still though, the fact that most Transformers-related searches tend to turn up approximately 2-10 (often barely-related) items from Australian sellers before moving on to international - that's worrying to say the least if those results are going to be all we get.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875150)
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:56am CDT
Look at the broader picture. Yeah it affects us collectors, but through work we source parts from AliExpress.
eBay should have phrased things a different way, they won't be implementing this block to protect themselves, they're doing it to protect sellers. What's stopping AliExpress and other online market places from adopting a similar stance?
Once again, another poorly conceived piece of legislation because the Government (and Opposition) simply do not understand technology and are desperate to reign it in and control it.
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:56am CDT
Qwan wrote:Burn wrote:Qwan wrote:Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
We'll still have access to ebay.com.au, we just won't be able to access international sellers.
Ah, well that's... better. Phew. Still though, the fact that most Transformers-related searches tend to turn up approximately 2-10 (often barely-related) items from Australian sellers before moving on to international - that's worrying to say the least if those results are going to be all we get.
Look at the broader picture. Yeah it affects us collectors, but through work we source parts from AliExpress.
eBay should have phrased things a different way, they won't be implementing this block to protect themselves, they're doing it to protect sellers. What's stopping AliExpress and other online market places from adopting a similar stance?
Once again, another poorly conceived piece of legislation because the Government (and Opposition) simply do not understand technology and are desperate to reign it in and control it.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875152)
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 7:08am CDT
Eesh, yeah, I didn't even think of that. I guess it's easier to get fired up about things on the small scale, but when you put it like that it makes this whole thing less personally frustrating and more... I guess I'm just gonna keep using the word "worrying" but I mean it more now.
Posted by Qwan on April 18th, 2017 @ 7:08am CDT
Burn wrote:Qwan wrote:Burn wrote:Qwan wrote:Geez, I can't even imagine what kind of effect this is going to end up having! Honestly I'm probably just gonna ignore it for now because wow, being unable to access eBay at all because I'm in Australia? I can barely even comprehend that idea.
We'll still have access to ebay.com.au, we just won't be able to access international sellers.
Ah, well that's... better. Phew. Still though, the fact that most Transformers-related searches tend to turn up approximately 2-10 (often barely-related) items from Australian sellers before moving on to international - that's worrying to say the least if those results are going to be all we get.
Look at the broader picture. Yeah it affects us collectors, but through work we source parts from AliExpress.
eBay should have phrased things a different way, they won't be implementing this block to protect themselves, they're doing it to protect sellers. What's stopping AliExpress and other online market places from adopting a similar stance?
Once again, another poorly conceived piece of legislation because the Government (and Opposition) simply do not understand technology and are desperate to reign it in and control it.
Eesh, yeah, I didn't even think of that. I guess it's easier to get fired up about things on the small scale, but when you put it like that it makes this whole thing less personally frustrating and more... I guess I'm just gonna keep using the word "worrying" but I mean it more now.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875164)
Posted by fenrir72 on April 18th, 2017 @ 8:02am CDT
Posted by fenrir72 on April 18th, 2017 @ 8:02am CDT
Iz the socialist government short of cash? major bummer!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875187)
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2017 @ 9:30am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2017 @ 9:30am CDT
The solution proposed below...
... is what Canada has been doing for as long as I remember. Every item gets a GST, unless its declared as a gift. I thought Australia was already like that, but it turns out you guys have been able to live tax free as long as its under $1000? Wow, thats cool, I didnt know.
Pretty sure the guy's idea came from already established mailing procedures like Canada since it sounds the same.
Jooman Park proposed a much simpler solution. "A simpler alternative for an island nation is to work with the logistics companies. All parcels arrive at a small number of Customs points, via a small number of international logistics companies, one of which is government-owned.
These companies can require buyers to declare whether a good is new and to nominate a value of the good as part of the pricing of parcel delivery to Australia. This system does not require parcels to be stopped, other than for routine auditing.
It captures all goods, regardless of whether they were purchased via a platform or from a dot.com. It is practical and enforceable, raises genuine revenue and is fair. Unlike other proposals, this does level the playing field."
... is what Canada has been doing for as long as I remember. Every item gets a GST, unless its declared as a gift. I thought Australia was already like that, but it turns out you guys have been able to live tax free as long as its under $1000? Wow, thats cool, I didnt know.
Pretty sure the guy's idea came from already established mailing procedures like Canada since it sounds the same.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875229)
Posted by Kyleor on April 18th, 2017 @ 11:30am CDT
Posted by Kyleor on April 18th, 2017 @ 11:30am CDT
There's always a loophole or workaround, you just have to find it.
For instance, I've bought from sellers on ebay that are 'in the US' however they ship the item from China.
For instance, I've bought from sellers on ebay that are 'in the US' however they ship the item from China.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875238)
Posted by Seibertron on April 18th, 2017 @ 12:36pm CDT
Posted by Seibertron on April 18th, 2017 @ 12:36pm CDT
This is interesting. Australian customers are one of my largest source of international customers for the Seibertron.com eBay store. It's not a lot in the big scheme of things, but it is apparently something for me to consider.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875253)
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:22pm CDT
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:22pm CDT
After I read this I was gonna comment "poor Burn!", but then realized the post is written by Burn. 
Not gonna say this IS bad since this is really the first time I've heard of this and need to investigate it more, but on the surface I can't help but feel bad for all ye Aussies with this after you all already had some streaming sites and services geo-block your country.
Is there a country in the world that doesn't suck in some huge way?
Not gonna say this IS bad since this is really the first time I've heard of this and need to investigate it more, but on the surface I can't help but feel bad for all ye Aussies with this after you all already had some streaming sites and services geo-block your country.
Is there a country in the world that doesn't suck in some huge way?
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875255)
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:26pm CDT
The US... assuming you are a white male.
Posted by william-james88 on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:26pm CDT
SillySpringer wrote: Is there a country in the world that doesn't suck in some huge way?
The US... assuming you are a white male.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875258)
Posted by EunuchRon on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:34pm CDT
NOT cool, man, NOT cool. I know plenty of white people that got it rough, plenty of black people, plenty of Latinos, and some Asian people too. Everyone can have a bad time. No need to go hating on anyone like that. Even if you're joking that's not funny.
Posted by EunuchRon on April 18th, 2017 @ 1:34pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:SillySpringer wrote: Is there a country in the world that doesn't suck in some huge way?
The US... assuming you are a white male.
NOT cool, man, NOT cool. I know plenty of white people that got it rough, plenty of black people, plenty of Latinos, and some Asian people too. Everyone can have a bad time. No need to go hating on anyone like that. Even if you're joking that's not funny.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875316)
Posted by WreckerJack on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:18pm CDT
Posted by WreckerJack on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:18pm CDT
I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875318)
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:25pm CDT
No, not really. We actually had access (via TRU) to TakaraTomy Masterpieces. We get nearly all waves of all lines and suffer poor distribution like every other country.
We just end up paying more.
Posted by Burn on April 18th, 2017 @ 6:25pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
No, not really. We actually had access (via TRU) to TakaraTomy Masterpieces. We get nearly all waves of all lines and suffer poor distribution like every other country.
We just end up paying more.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875327)
Posted by WreckerJack on April 18th, 2017 @ 7:04pm CDT
That is what I am saying. When you pay more and shipping costs more it limits your options. Instead of being able to pick up all the figures you want you sometimes have to make choices about the ones you really want. (I have to do this even though I live in the US. Yay for adulting
)
Posted by WreckerJack on April 18th, 2017 @ 7:04pm CDT
Burn wrote:
We just end up paying more.
That is what I am saying. When you pay more and shipping costs more it limits your options. Instead of being able to pick up all the figures you want you sometimes have to make choices about the ones you really want. (I have to do this even though I live in the US. Yay for adulting
)
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875421)
Posted by Terrsolpix on April 19th, 2017 @ 2:39am CDT
US, assuming kinder eggs and children with such low IQs that they choke on anything they see don't exist.
Posted by Terrsolpix on April 19th, 2017 @ 2:39am CDT
SillySpringer wrote:Is there a country in the world that doesn't suck in some huge way?
US, assuming kinder eggs and children with such low IQs that they choke on anything they see don't exist.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875429)
Posted by Rainmaker on April 19th, 2017 @ 5:49am CDT
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
Posted by Rainmaker on April 19th, 2017 @ 5:49am CDT
WreckerJack wrote:I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875432)
Posted by WreckerJack on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:06am CDT
I have always been told it was shipping costs that drove prices up in AU due to most things needing to be flown or put on a boat.
Posted by WreckerJack on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:06am CDT
Maximal Rainmaker wrote:WreckerJack wrote:I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
I have always been told it was shipping costs that drove prices up in AU due to most things needing to be flown or put on a boat.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875434)
Posted by william-james88 on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:10am CDT
But thats the same in the US. All product is shipped from Vietnam.
Posted by william-james88 on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:10am CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Maximal Rainmaker wrote:WreckerJack wrote:I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
I have always been told it was shipping costs that drove prices up in AU due to most things needing to be flown or put on a boat.
But thats the same in the US. All product is shipped from Vietnam.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875436)
Posted by Burn on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:17am CDT
nah, it's simple price gouging. When the Australian dollar went up to parity with the US dollar, we were told to get in and snap up our electronics and stuff because they'd be cheaper, but they weren't. Retailers bought stock in when the dollar was up, but by the time it went to distribution the dollar went down so they used that as an excuse to keep the prices up.
Posted by Burn on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:17am CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Maximal Rainmaker wrote:WreckerJack wrote:I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
I have always been told it was shipping costs that drove prices up in AU due to most things needing to be flown or put on a boat.
nah, it's simple price gouging. When the Australian dollar went up to parity with the US dollar, we were told to get in and snap up our electronics and stuff because they'd be cheaper, but they weren't. Retailers bought stock in when the dollar was up, but by the time it went to distribution the dollar went down so they used that as an excuse to keep the prices up.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875439)
Posted by Qwan on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:24am CDT
I mean technically, everything needs to be flown or put on a boat to get to Australia.
But yeah, the fact that I was SUPER EXCITED last year when the price of Deluxes at most stores came down from the equivalent of 23 USD to about 19 USD... that says something.
And Rainmaker's right, Toys R Us and Myer do get a lot of the more "collectable" stuff (along with a few other random places - I found two sets of the Platinum Dinobots at an EB Games once). Just a month or two ago I found Victorion, some G2 Menasor/Superions, a few Unite Warriors sets, and MP Tracks and Road Rage at a Canberra Toys R Us - and a Platinum Liokaiser at a Myer near that.
Of course, that's not much use if you don't have one of those stores near you - the nearest Toys R Us to me is nearly 240km/150 miles/2.5 hours' drive away, and nearest Myer basically the same distance. All I have within any kind of reasonable radius is the aforementioned basically-useless Target and Kmart, plus an equally-useless Big W. If I want any kind of regular mass-retail TF there's a fairly good chance I'll find it at some point, but if I want literally anything even slightly more special than that my options are to drive an insane distance just to check if anywhere has it in stock, or go through the net. Which, yeah, probably gonna be a bit harder to do that soon it looks like.
Posted by Qwan on April 19th, 2017 @ 6:24am CDT
WreckerJack wrote:Maximal Rainmaker wrote:WreckerJack wrote:I don't even live in Australia and this makes me angry. Isn't collecting hard enough there? Geez.
Actually Toys R Us and Myers have a lot of boxsets and MP's, while KMart and Target continue to be useless most the time. The prices just seem to be higher for some reason.
I have always been told it was shipping costs that drove prices up in AU due to most things needing to be flown or put on a boat.
I mean technically, everything needs to be flown or put on a boat to get to Australia.
But yeah, the fact that I was SUPER EXCITED last year when the price of Deluxes at most stores came down from the equivalent of 23 USD to about 19 USD... that says something.And Rainmaker's right, Toys R Us and Myer do get a lot of the more "collectable" stuff (along with a few other random places - I found two sets of the Platinum Dinobots at an EB Games once). Just a month or two ago I found Victorion, some G2 Menasor/Superions, a few Unite Warriors sets, and MP Tracks and Road Rage at a Canberra Toys R Us - and a Platinum Liokaiser at a Myer near that.
Of course, that's not much use if you don't have one of those stores near you - the nearest Toys R Us to me is nearly 240km/150 miles/2.5 hours' drive away, and nearest Myer basically the same distance. All I have within any kind of reasonable radius is the aforementioned basically-useless Target and Kmart, plus an equally-useless Big W. If I want any kind of regular mass-retail TF there's a fairly good chance I'll find it at some point, but if I want literally anything even slightly more special than that my options are to drive an insane distance just to check if anywhere has it in stock, or go through the net. Which, yeah, probably gonna be a bit harder to do that soon it looks like.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1875985)
Posted by Va'al on April 21st, 2017 @ 5:41am CDT
Posted by Va'al on April 21st, 2017 @ 5:41am CDT
An update on the GST story: it's spreading to other retailers, too.
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business ... 1db0696ba4
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business ... 1db0696ba4
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882106)
Posted by Burn on May 16th, 2017 @ 3:53pm CDT
Posted by Burn on May 16th, 2017 @ 3:53pm CDT
Forum member Qwan has sent along some interesting information regarding a potential drop in price of Transformers in Australia as well as sightings of new Warrior class RiD Combiner Force figures.
While it's unsure on whether this price drop is permanent and only a Big W thing, what is certain is that from May 18, Target Australia is having a sale which includes some Transformers figures.
Tiny Titan Changers - $5 (no saving)
TLK Legion - $7 (no saving)
TLK Deluxe - $29 (save $5)
TLK Quick Changers - $17 (save $2)
TLK Knight Armor - $34 (save $5)
RiD One Step - $17 (save $2)
TR Legends - $17 (save $2)
And if saving money and finding new RiD figures isn't enough for you, then you might want to also keep an eye out for Wave 1 Voyagers from The Last Knight!
Thanks to Griffin and Krayt of OzFormers who have confirmed the arrival of Optimus Prime and Megatron at Toyworld and Toys R Us.
Qwan wrote:My local Big W appears to have, some time in the last two days, stocked on two cases of RiD Wave 2 Warriors. No Skywarp (though I'm not 100% certain he's in the wave?) and both Soundwaves had regular non-faceplated head molds.
However, on top of that it also seems that Big W has dropped the price on RiD Warriors down to 20AUD ($9 lower than it was just a week ago AFAIK). It's not a sale or special of any kind, the price tag simply now reads (and the figures scan at) $20 apiece - each of the other non-Big-W stores in my area still have them at $29 as well as only having previous waves.
No idea if this is a wave-based price change or if Big W has just randomly decided to drop the price and it coincidentally matched up with my local one getting new stock - either way, interesting. (Note that all 3 similar size/price classes are now different prices - RiD Warriors $20, Gen Deluxe $25, TLK Deluxe $29. Nothing for certain but that might have something to do with the change, maybe to differentiate the products better on the stocking end?)
While it's unsure on whether this price drop is permanent and only a Big W thing, what is certain is that from May 18, Target Australia is having a sale which includes some Transformers figures.
Tiny Titan Changers - $5 (no saving)
TLK Legion - $7 (no saving)
TLK Deluxe - $29 (save $5)
TLK Quick Changers - $17 (save $2)
TLK Knight Armor - $34 (save $5)
RiD One Step - $17 (save $2)
TR Legends - $17 (save $2)
And if saving money and finding new RiD figures isn't enough for you, then you might want to also keep an eye out for Wave 1 Voyagers from The Last Knight!
Thanks to Griffin and Krayt of OzFormers who have confirmed the arrival of Optimus Prime and Megatron at Toyworld and Toys R Us.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882910)
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 5:35pm CDT
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 5:35pm CDT
Found Quake at Kmart
Found the voyagers at Toys R Us
Found the voyagers at Toys R Us
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882920)
Posted by WreckerJack on May 19th, 2017 @ 7:37pm CDT
Posted by WreckerJack on May 19th, 2017 @ 7:37pm CDT
Fellow Seibertronian, Rainmaker has provided us with this photo of The Last Knight Voyager Wave 1. These figures were seen at Toys R Us in Canberra. According to Rainmaker, they cost their usual price of about 50$.
If you are from Australia you can win a trip to LA for Transformers The Last Knight. Check out this article to find out how to win!
If you are from Australia you can win a trip to LA for Transformers The Last Knight. Check out this article to find out how to win!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882929)
Posted by Qwan on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:21pm CDT
Wellllllp now I gotta go to Kmart too. Was it just Quake, or the rest of Wave 4 as well?
Posted by Qwan on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:21pm CDT
Rainmaker wrote:Found Quake at Kmart
Found the voyagers at Toys R Us
Wellllllp now I gotta go to Kmart too. Was it just Quake, or the rest of Wave 4 as well?
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882934)
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:55pm CDT
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:55pm CDT
Just Quake.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882936)
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:55pm CDT
Posted by Rainmaker on May 19th, 2017 @ 8:55pm CDT
Just Quake.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1882960)
Posted by Burn on May 20th, 2017 @ 1:01am CDT
Posted by Burn on May 20th, 2017 @ 1:01am CDT
Krok and Roadburn have been spotted in other K-Marts as well.
The little Titan Masters themselves are marked down to $5 on clearance at K-Mart.
The little Titan Masters themselves are marked down to $5 on clearance at K-Mart.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1884672)
Posted by Rainmaker on May 27th, 2017 @ 4:39pm CDT
Posted by Rainmaker on May 27th, 2017 @ 4:39pm CDT
I found Bisk at Kmart
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1884763)
Posted by Qwan on May 28th, 2017 @ 5:03am CDT
Posted by Qwan on May 28th, 2017 @ 5:03am CDT
Some bad-good-news today guys. I found a Quake in Kmart on my local rounds, but yet again, it was only Quake. (His package was really beat up, too! I wonder what distribution hell he's been through to get here, the only surviving member of his case...)
Also in potentially better news, my friend - who's not particularly knowledgeable on TFs, but eager to help me out - reports finding what she described as a "small blue one who turns into some sort of water thing?" at a Kmart in Armidale a few days ago. She didn't grab it at the time, and upon being shown images of TR Seaspray she's totally unsure if that's the one she saw (not the best memory, or confidence ); but if anyone's in the area, maybe it'd be worth a check?
EDIT: Okay, after much more deliberation ("It was like... a bit smaller than a calculator"), it seems like it might have been TR Scourge actually. False alarm, sorry guys!
Also in potentially better news, my friend - who's not particularly knowledgeable on TFs, but eager to help me out - reports finding what she described as a "small blue one who turns into some sort of water thing?" at a Kmart in Armidale a few days ago. She didn't grab it at the time, and upon being shown images of TR Seaspray she's totally unsure if that's the one she saw (not the best memory, or confidence
); but if anyone's in the area, maybe it'd be worth a check?EDIT: Okay, after much more deliberation ("It was like... a bit smaller than a calculator"), it seems like it might have been TR Scourge actually. False alarm, sorry guys!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1885387)
Posted by william-james88 on May 31st, 2017 @ 1:01am CDT
Posted by william-james88 on May 31st, 2017 @ 1:01am CDT
A deal at Toysrus in Australia started today for movie toys. The flyer shows deals on the deluxes, Armour Knight Turbo Changers and Legion class figures. The deal makes the deluxe price a bit more bearable but the deal on the Legions is not bad at all. 3 for $20 is the equivalent to them coming out to $4.96 USD each. Of course, that assumes you want 3 of these to get that deal.
You can find the entire flyer here.
If you ever find any oys in stores, let the community know in the sightings section and the sightings forum!
You can find the entire flyer here.
If you ever find any oys in stores, let the community know in the sightings section and the sightings forum!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1887861)
Posted by Qwan on June 7th, 2017 @ 11:38pm CDT
Yow that's a lot of money. Time for me to start looking into other options; even with the shipping costs, I get the feeling it'll be at most the same price to get it from TFSource or the like.
Posted by Qwan on June 7th, 2017 @ 11:38pm CDT
Burn wrote:Big W pricing for Trypticon
Yow that's a lot of money. Time for me to start looking into other options; even with the shipping costs, I get the feeling it'll be at most the same price to get it from TFSource or the like.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1887868)
Posted by Burn on June 8th, 2017 @ 12:53am CDT
It's pretty much a given that he'll be part of their Toy Sale, so hopefully he comes down to something a little more reasonable.
Posted by Burn on June 8th, 2017 @ 12:53am CDT
Qwan wrote:Burn wrote:Big W pricing for Trypticon
Yow that's a lot of money. Time for me to start looking into other options; even with the shipping costs, I get the feeling it'll be at most the same price to get it from TFSource or the like.
It's pretty much a given that he'll be part of their Toy Sale, so hopefully he comes down to something a little more reasonable.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1887875)
Posted by Rainmaker on June 8th, 2017 @ 2:27am CDT
Wow...Myer had Fortress Maximus at $350...good thing I bought him on a sale
Posted by Rainmaker on June 8th, 2017 @ 2:27am CDT
Burn wrote:Big W pricing for Trypticon
Wow...Myer had Fortress Maximus at $350...good thing I bought him on a sale
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1889554)
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2017 @ 6:21am CDT
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2017 @ 6:21am CDT
Has anyone else here made the mistake of buying through Premium Collectables?
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1889679)
Posted by Rainmaker on June 15th, 2017 @ 4:39pm CDT
I haven't bought through any online website like that, enlighten me on how it is a mistake.
Posted by Rainmaker on June 15th, 2017 @ 4:39pm CDT
Burn wrote:Has anyone else here made the mistake of buying through Premium Collectables?
I haven't bought through any online website like that, enlighten me on how it is a mistake.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1889680)
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2017 @ 4:54pm CDT
Dodgy as all fuck. I'm STILL waiting on MP-36 Megatron. I have e-mailed them every week for the last month (as per their advice on their website) and received NO response at all. They pick and choose who they reply to on their Facebook page.
Ozformers have a rather large thread dedicated to their problems.
So if anyone is thinking of dealing with that website, DON'T!
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2017 @ 4:54pm CDT
Rainmaker wrote:Burn wrote:Has anyone else here made the mistake of buying through Premium Collectables?
I haven't bought through any online website like that, enlighten me on how it is a mistake.
Dodgy as all fuck. I'm STILL waiting on MP-36 Megatron. I have e-mailed them every week for the last month (as per their advice on their website) and received NO response at all. They pick and choose who they reply to on their Facebook page.
Ozformers have a rather large thread dedicated to their problems.
So if anyone is thinking of dealing with that website, DON'T!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1889692)
Posted by Qwan on June 15th, 2017 @ 5:52pm CDT
I have, multiple times, and to be honest I'm still making that mistake intentionally. Yeah they tend toward being dodgy as all hell and I've been waiting on TR Megs and Sixshot since January, but their prices do save me a some money and they do tend to come through eventually. When it comes down to the choice between getting Sixshot 6+ months late and for $15 less than regular retail, or never seeing him at retail and having to pay hugely inflated prices on the aftermarket, I figure it's worth the stress and insane waiting to be able to actually get the toys at all.
(Not to mention they came through on my first order (UW Devy), if two months late, and even managed to get me a replacement wheel for Mixmaster who was missing one, for no extra cost. So that probably gives me at least some bias toward them, like a gambler who gets lucky on his first go.)
I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone (especially someone who has a better way of getting the figures they want), but the fact that I'm already caught in their trap plus the - theoretical - availability of items I probably wouldn't get otherwise has me near-permanently snared at this point. I've currently preordered Siege on Cybertron, Blitzwing, Octone, and Overlord from them; the peace-of-mind of knowing that I will get them eventually (since I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm definitely never gonna see SoC and Overlord in the wild, at least) plus the fact I'm saving about $50 overall is more-or-less worth the forever-long wait to me.
Posted by Qwan on June 15th, 2017 @ 5:52pm CDT
Burn wrote:Has anyone else here made the mistake of buying through Premium Collectables?
I have, multiple times, and to be honest I'm still making that mistake intentionally. Yeah they tend toward being dodgy as all hell and I've been waiting on TR Megs and Sixshot since January, but their prices do save me a some money and they do tend to come through eventually. When it comes down to the choice between getting Sixshot 6+ months late and for $15 less than regular retail, or never seeing him at retail and having to pay hugely inflated prices on the aftermarket, I figure it's worth the stress and insane waiting to be able to actually get the toys at all.
(Not to mention they came through on my first order (UW Devy), if two months late, and even managed to get me a replacement wheel for Mixmaster who was missing one, for no extra cost. So that probably gives me at least some bias toward them, like a gambler who gets lucky on his first go.)
I definitely wouldn't recommend them to anyone (especially someone who has a better way of getting the figures they want), but the fact that I'm already caught in their trap plus the - theoretical - availability of items I probably wouldn't get otherwise has me near-permanently snared at this point. I've currently preordered Siege on Cybertron, Blitzwing, Octone, and Overlord from them; the peace-of-mind of knowing that I will get them eventually (since I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm definitely never gonna see SoC and Overlord in the wild, at least) plus the fact I'm saving about $50 overall is more-or-less worth the forever-long wait to me.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1891727)
Posted by Rainmaker on June 23rd, 2017 @ 6:01am CDT
Posted by Rainmaker on June 23rd, 2017 @ 6:01am CDT
The other Wave 5 4 (darn) deluxes have made it! Found them in Target
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1891743)
Posted by william-james88 on June 23rd, 2017 @ 8:15am CDT
I cant see your image since its blocked at my work. Are they actually wave 5, like Windblade and TwinTwist, or are they wave 4 ? If its wave 5, it would be big news.
Posted by william-james88 on June 23rd, 2017 @ 8:15am CDT
Rainmaker wrote:The other Wave 5 deluxes have made it! Found them in Target
I cant see your image since its blocked at my work. Are they actually wave 5, like Windblade and TwinTwist, or are they wave 4 ? If its wave 5, it would be big news.
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1891744)
Posted by Kurona on June 23rd, 2017 @ 8:15am CDT
I'm afraid that's Wave 4, friend - unless you linked the wrong image by mistake?
Posted by Kurona on June 23rd, 2017 @ 8:15am CDT
Rainmaker wrote:The other Wave 5 deluxes have made it! Found them in Target
I'm afraid that's Wave 4, friend - unless you linked the wrong image by mistake?
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1891779)
Posted by Qwan on June 23rd, 2017 @ 9:59am CDT
I'm assuming from the "other" there in Rainmaker's post, that it is indeed Wave 4 (since Krok and Quake were already seen sporadically while the rest have only been spotted once or twice, hence the 'other' Wave 4 Deluxes pictured), and that there was a slip-up somewhere between brain and fingers. Even so it's great to hear - I already happen to have my Percy and Topspin, but if they're turning up more commonly around Australia, it should mean more people can get the toys they want without too much hassle!
Posted by Qwan on June 23rd, 2017 @ 9:59am CDT
Kurona wrote:Rainmaker wrote:The other Wave 5 deluxes have made it! Found them in Target
I'm afraid that's Wave 4, friend - unless you linked the wrong image by mistake?
I'm assuming from the "other" there in Rainmaker's post, that it is indeed Wave 4 (since Krok and Quake were already seen sporadically while the rest have only been spotted once or twice, hence the 'other' Wave 4 Deluxes pictured), and that there was a slip-up somewhere between brain and fingers. Even so it's great to hear - I already happen to have my Percy and Topspin, but if they're turning up more commonly around Australia, it should mean more people can get the toys they want without too much hassle!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1892546)
Posted by Va'al on June 26th, 2017 @ 7:26pm CDT
Posted by Va'al on June 26th, 2017 @ 7:26pm CDT
In what could be considered an update to a previous story we reported (here) about changes to how online companies operate in Australia - and bound to impact the bigger retailers such as Apple, eBay, Amazon, etc - fellow Seibertronian Burn has brought an article from the New Daily to our attention.
It appears as though all the expected changes to tax will kick in a year later than expected for those larger online retailers, now starting in July 2018 instead.
This might appease the big companies, which had threatened a geo-lock on the Australian market, but how does it affect others? And how does it affect you as an Australian collector and consumer of imported items? Let us know in the discussion in the Energon Pub!
It appears as though all the expected changes to tax will kick in a year later than expected for those larger online retailers, now starting in July 2018 instead.
The new tax, which was due to be implemented next month, would have forced Australian consumers to pay a 10 per cent GST on overseas low-cost goods.
The delay is a win for international online giants but has angered local retailers, who believe they are being put at a disadvantage.
Gerry Harvey, chairman of retail behemoth Harvey Norman, argued the change was the result of clever lobbying by overseas internet retailers, who talked Australian politicians into delaying the change.
[...]
“If a product is $100 or $1000 in a shop in Australia you put 10 per cent GST on it. If the product is the same price and is imported from overseas you don’t put any GST on it. So it’s just a subsidy straight away to an offshore retailer. How anyone can say that’s a good idea is beyond me.
“If they pay no GST why should anyone in Australia pay GST?”
The government agreed to implement the tax in last year’s budget, claiming the move would level the playing field for small businesses and generate an extra $300 million in revenue over four years.
This might appease the big companies, which had threatened a geo-lock on the Australian market, but how does it affect others? And how does it affect you as an Australian collector and consumer of imported items? Let us know in the discussion in the Energon Pub!
Re: eBay to geo-block Australia? (1892577)
Posted by WreckerJack on June 26th, 2017 @ 9:47pm CDT
Posted by WreckerJack on June 26th, 2017 @ 9:47pm CDT
I don't live in AU and this makes me mad.
