You're forgetting 1 whole component that for the most part isn't a factor in Japan. Distributor costs.Sinsemilla wrote:Mate what are you talking about? Saying some products you sell to just get your money back? Come on. You can buy these same lures that are $20 in tackle stores for half that off a jap site for the same lure. and the same goes with rods and reels. It doesn't cost $5 a lure to get over here. Everyone has bills and expenses. Not just the tackle industrycobby wrote:Hardly off subject. As Drew said for a similar job, he wouldn't get out of bed for a 'measly' $75k p/a. Everything that is produced or imported and then on sold has to have that high wage factored in to it's sell price for the business/es to make a profit to continue trading. Anyone who wants to buy said product then demands a pay rise in order to pay bills, buy necessities etc, receives it, domino effect with rest of the workforce coupled with relatively low population density, insanely high weekend pay rate loading and we have what is affectionately known as the Australia tax. And then every so often on all sorts of hobby forums a topic is created where someone questions why they can import a knockoff blank from China for $6 when retail stores charge $15+ for a painted and packaged version. Sure, there's some industries that make an absolute killing from markups, the fishing industry on just about every facet including commercial fishing does not.russellh2 wrote:Not sure what the average wage for a fitter and turner? $75k+p/a?...( I presume 2017) has to do with my original post.
FYI - I started as a First year Turning and Fitting Apprentice at Caterpillar Australia in Tullamarine on $Au24:00 per week, was a 40 Hours week in those days - Mid 1960's
Strange how we tend to drift "Off Subject".
Using Megabass as an example. Megabass distribute to retailers locally (Japan) direct. Retailers pay whatever Megabass wholesale cost is, add their markup to cover their costs plus some profit and bang there's your retail costs (in Japanese yen) that you see on a website. Megabass only have to cover their costs with their profit margin, whatever sales taxes exist in Japan and that determines their wholesale cost to Japanese retailers. Small freight costs which is what you pay for your $150 worth of lures are tiny compared to commercial container loads and in majority of cases exempt from import taxes and GST.
To service the Australian market Megabass sell their products to Frogleys, the Australian distributor at a price. Frogleys then have to pay freight costs, then add any customs duties, GST, their own warehousing costs, staff costs, utilities costs and come up with a wholesale price to cover those costs and make a profit that retail tackle shops pay, plus the overpriced local shipping costs who then add their margins on which finally is what you pay in Australia. So the $5 extra a lure you pointed out gets chewed up fairly quickly.
Go see how many full time jobs are available compared to casual/temp/contract jobs on seek. It costs a business close to $900 a week to employ a full time employee on the $600odd minimum wage...