Meguiar's Price in Australia

[Wesleyrpg]

G'day there.....

just wanted to say that i've been a fan of your products for a very long time, and use them all the time!

Now i just ran out of Tech Wax (the first one), and wanted to buy some Tech Wax 2.0 but find the price rather steep at $50 Australian dollars! It just isn't fair that Tech wax 2.0 sells for $17.99 US and here in Oz it sells for $50. In fact all of your awesome products seem to sell for almost 3 times the price compared to their US counterparts!

I know there's differences with import fees, taxes and aussie/us dollar surges, but is there anything you guys to do to help with the prices of things?

Are the shops out here shafting us or is there another problem?

thanks

[FRS]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

We are in the same boat.
You can't go wrong with them for sure http://www.autogeek.net/allmepr.html

[FRS]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

.. and http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46020

[nirmaljusdoit]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Wesleyrpg - from what i know, Megs products are equally expensive over the world compared to the prices in the US market. Ive checked out UK, Australia & Thailand for comparison.

I use Autogeek to import all my Megs stuff into India ! Its roughly 2 ~ 3 times the cost including the shipping cost & customs duties (30% of product cost + shipping charges)

[gmck]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Hi Wesleyrpg,

Mate the Australian Megs distributor is just a bloody rip off. They wanted me to pay $A85 for a bottle of M105, which I could get for about $US23 in the states. When I complained they told me I only needed Ultimate Compound and tried to tell me UC was the same as m105. Came up with all sorts of *edit* about freight costs, duties, exchange rates etc. I was in the importing business and I can tell you they don't use USPS or UPS or Fedex to ship their product. It will be coming in on pallet loads by the tonne via a freight forwarder. The freight forwarding business is super competitive, so I can tell you that they can just about absorb the freight if they want. As a comparison compare the Chemical guys distributor pricing in Australia compared to their American web site. Now that guy does his Aussie pricing fairly. The Chemical Guys obviously don't pay duties because there are no duties to be paid on this type of stuff. When they start to BS you, you know they are rip off people, so don't deal with them.

With our dollar now worth more than the US dollar, you should just purchase your products through Proper Auto Care or AutoGeek they both do international shipping. I've been using PAC for my last couple of orders and they have been very good to deal with and it only takes 4 business days for the order to arrive. Just make sure you plan your order so that you can maximize the value on the freight. Make sure if you order heavy stuff like bottles etc, you also order light stuff like pads and MFs. Over order on the light stuff to make it more economical.

No real point complaining here, as Megs US probably don't give a stuff. They should, but if they did, then we'd have a new Australian distributor.

[Wesleyrpg]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Hi Wesleyrpg,

No real point bitching here, as Megs US probably don't give a stuff. They should, but if they did, then we'd have a new Australian distributor.

Hey gmck, thanks for the help and advice.....

i certainly wont be buying anymore products from Autobarn, i'll try this autogeek website that everyone is keen on!

I certainly hope the Meguiar's US does something about this rogue importer here in Australia as its only doing damage to their sales, i mean if there products were 3 tiimes cheaper and at parity with the US dollar they'd sell 10 times the amount of product.

[FRS]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Welcome to the club.

My last order from autoGeek was about $100 worth, paid $70n postage, and it was still only about 45% of what I would be paying here in Sydney.

If we all do this, the Australian importers would learn the lesson, or maybe we need a new importer/distributor in Australia.

Any words from Megs US about this?!!?

Cheers!!!

[clarky75]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Wesleyrpg spot on. Being from Australia this kind of stuff has annoyed me for years. Im sick of the distributors saying oh we need to freight it etc, its just an old story that does not wash. I used to buy alot of sporting gear from the USA, I could buy a stack of stuff and even with premium Fedex shipping id still save 50% on what I would pay here. And lets not forget these companies get the product cheaper and ship in bulk so they would even same more than the average consumer would, its a blatant rip off and they should be ashamed of themselves. Just like cars, you buy a BMW in the USA for say 50k, they sell it here for 150-160k I just dont get it. They have been doing it for years, its a blatant rip off. I try and buy most of my stuff from the US, and now with our dollar being with parity with the US, I plan to do alot more of it

[FRS]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

I've been buying from US for ages.
Whatever I buy and pay postage, it's still cheaper than what Australian stealers are charging.
Here is the list of my recent purchases from US:
-jeans
-shoes
-motorcycle tires
-motor oils
-megs products
-sun glasses
-hi-fi speakers
-motorcycle mufflers/exhausts
-underwear
-business shirts
-ties
-books
-headphones
-slot cars
-balls
-kids toys
-CD's
-jewelery
-makeup (wife)
-perfumes

.. and many, many more.

[gmck]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Wesleyrpg,

I'd check both Proper Auto Care and AutoGeek on the freight cost. I've never used AutoGeek, but I saw a message the other day on Autogeek where some guy claimed he was way overcharged for freight by Autogeek. Proper Auto Care use USPS Express Mail. You can check what the freight should be once you know the weight of the shipment by going to the USPS (note not UPS) web site. Look up the charge by weight in the column for Australia. I've checked each time and Proper Auto Care have always charged exactly the correct amount from the USPS chart. You also get a tracking # so you know exactly when your shipment will front up. What you should also do is register on their forum before you place the order as that entitles you to a further 10% discount.

Forget buying from Autobarn they basically only carry Meg's consumer products and their mark up is a further addition to the existing rip off. You really only need M105/M205 in 32 oz bottles from Megs anyway, (maybe the odd bottle of Ultimate Compound) the rest of your needs like pads, MFs, specialty products etc can be obtained from PAC.

If you have urgent needs or need a DA check out the Aussie site www.waxit.com.au. They distribute all the Menzerna polish range, plus LC pads and other polish ranges and while they aren't exactly cheap, their prices are reasonable and are not a rip off. Looked after me really well when I blew my DA, just gave me another one while mine is getting repaired. Really good guys to do business with.

Clarky75,

Imported cars are not quite the same as polishes. Imported cars do have a heavy tariff built into the price, so you really can't blame BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc. The tariff on imported vehicles is our bloody government protecting both the local manufacturing of GM and Ford.

However you are correct and I forgot to add that Megs Australia would also be buying at substantial discount from Megs US - probably in the vicinity of 40% - 50% off US retail prices. Which just means it is even more of a rip off.

Maybe they should appoint Harvey Norman as their distributor, that would get their sales flying here....

[davey g-force]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Great thread guys.

I agree about the prices here in Australia but have sort of learned to live with it.

Problem is, I never plan my orders far enough in advance, so when I run out of something, I'll just grab it from MotorActive in Silverwater or sometimes even (shock horror) Autobarn. I find MotorActive to be a bit cheaper than Autobarn or Supercheap etc.

I've often looked at Autogeek but like I said, I only ever need one or two items at a time so I just buy them locally. I think now is the time to start bulk buying from the US given our Aussie dollar exchange rate ATM.

Oh, and good recommendation about waxit.com.au I've used them a few times and they are great to deal with, have a good range of stuff and are reasonably priced.

[Wesleyrpg]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

looks like it hit a hornets nest with a hammer,

guys that wasn't my intentions, and im sorry if meguiars is annoyed at me, but i'd love to know the REAL reason prices are 3 times higher here!

[gmck]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Pretty simple answer - Greed.

[vp920b]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

Hi mate,

in Supercheap auto now only $38 dollars for NXT 2. Grab them while discount.

Cheers

[gmck]

Re: Meguiar's Price in Australia

in Supercheap auto now only $38 dollars for NXT 2. Grab them while discount.

That is hard to follow. You reckon it is a good deal when it is double the US price. That's not my idea of a discount.