Buy.com Says Goodbye to Australia
11-21-00, 03:50 PM
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I guess with only 12% of the population in Australia making purchases online....it was hard for Buy to strive toward profitable goals in the future!!! The 42% here in the US will probably be more like 50-60% by this time next year!!! 
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11-22-00, 12:13 AM
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quote:<HR>Originally posted by djones6746:
I guess with only 12% of the population in Australia making purchases online....it was hard for Buy to strive toward profitable goals in the future!!! The 42% here in the US will probably be more like 50-60% by this time next year!!!
<HR>
I think that 12% figure is a bit low, although we in Oz prefer more face to face dealings....mail order is nowhere near as popular.
The big problem with the buy.com here was
(1) Poor marketing...I never saw an ad, and only ever happened upon it by chance
(2) Uncompetitive pricing
(3) Poor product range. It was galling to see what the US version offered, and then go to the Australian subsidiary and see that they virtually offered none of it.
Anyone here who had half a clue wouldn't have bought from them, and, like me, order direct from US sites anyway.
11-22-00, 08:02 AM
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Got to agree with fugle - buy.com.au had really poor marketing - a couple of ads in the newspapers over a long period, and their prices generally sucked - you could buy stuff from a B&M store much cheaper, and their shipping costs were too high for small items like DVDs.
Their CDs and DVDs were not price competitive, but on the plus side though, they did have some good specials on hardware and if you bought big ticket items, the shipping cost was the same, so it worked in your favour. I bought some accessories for my Palm organiser fairly cheaply, but had to wait about a week and a half for it to be in stock.
djones - Online shopping, or even mail order shopping for that matter, in Australia is still in its infancy. I have seen recent press and tv ads promoting on-line shopping. The concept, particularly of mail order, has historically not been widely accepted by the Aussie consumer. There is a general association, IMHO, of poor quality products, and "Telemall shopping" type product when you mention mail order. That is not to say that there are not good retailers out there who provide a good quality mail order service, but it's just like flugle says - we prefer the face to face, and try-it-on shopping experience, and also have not had the culture of mail order shopping like you have in the US.
For us DVDers down under though, there is a no other option (well, for me anyway). I love shopping for DVDs on the net! And while the general quality and range of R4 discs are improving, there are many titles I which still aren't available, or do not include features found on R1 counterparts. So I guess I'm one of the 12% buying online! Except with the crappy exchange rate, my buying spree has virtually ceased.
I do hope now that the US Buy.com starts shipping internationally, and we can partake in the coupon frenzy!!! I really miss Reel.com and those coupon days.
BTW, Djones, you've got a good looking collection! I didn't know that Philadelphia Experiment had been released in R1! Great... now I have to get more credit on my Visa!
Their CDs and DVDs were not price competitive, but on the plus side though, they did have some good specials on hardware and if you bought big ticket items, the shipping cost was the same, so it worked in your favour. I bought some accessories for my Palm organiser fairly cheaply, but had to wait about a week and a half for it to be in stock.
djones - Online shopping, or even mail order shopping for that matter, in Australia is still in its infancy. I have seen recent press and tv ads promoting on-line shopping. The concept, particularly of mail order, has historically not been widely accepted by the Aussie consumer. There is a general association, IMHO, of poor quality products, and "Telemall shopping" type product when you mention mail order. That is not to say that there are not good retailers out there who provide a good quality mail order service, but it's just like flugle says - we prefer the face to face, and try-it-on shopping experience, and also have not had the culture of mail order shopping like you have in the US.
For us DVDers down under though, there is a no other option (well, for me anyway). I love shopping for DVDs on the net! And while the general quality and range of R4 discs are improving, there are many titles I which still aren't available, or do not include features found on R1 counterparts. So I guess I'm one of the 12% buying online! Except with the crappy exchange rate, my buying spree has virtually ceased.
I do hope now that the US Buy.com starts shipping internationally, and we can partake in the coupon frenzy!!! I really miss Reel.com and those coupon days.
BTW, Djones, you've got a good looking collection! I didn't know that Philadelphia Experiment had been released in R1! Great... now I have to get more credit on my Visa!
