Are Grey Market Imports Refurbished?

[I @ M]

There is no duty on cameras. The only tax is GST which is levied at 10% at every stage, but as everyone along the way except for the poor mug at the end left with the goods gets to claim back what they paid against what is due, just the poor buyer left with the 10% tax.

While overheads are relatively high in Australia and volumes are comparatively low, this will add a bit to the cost but it won't double the cost.

The biggest problem is that pricing is largely based on what the market will bear. We have been paying high prices for many decades. Recently when the dollar went down, wholesalers increased prices (justifiably), but since our dollar bottomed, it has increased in value by more than 50%. That means prices should have dropped by 1/3rd. Have they? No.

People keep buying so there is no incentive to importers & wholesalers to lower prices.

This is incorrect. the only time there is no duty is if the item is under $1000 the following is from the customs website.

Example 3: Import of goods (other than tobacco products or alcoholic beverages) valued above $1000
AUD$
Customs value (Cval) 2000.00
Customs duty (Duty) @ 5% of Cval 100.00 (Payable)
International transport and insurance or postage (T&I) 150.00
Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI) (Cval+Duty+T&I) 2250.00
Goods and Services Tax (GST) @ 10 per cent of the VoTI 225.00 (Payable)
Total payable Duty + GST 325.00

Keith.

Peter and Keith, the terminology may be confusing to some.

Peter, photographic equipment is mostly free from tariffs which are a totally separate form of charges than duties payable.

Keith has the correct summation regarding duties applicable to general goods.

My reference to the above duties and charges are in relation to an importer who has a registered business in Australia and imports goods on a regular basis such as Canon Aus; Nikon Aus; CR Kennedy etc. etc.
They do pay GST, customs duties and probably more fees related to importing goods than most ordinary people realise which sometimes the grey importers may not pay one or more of those charges depending on their business practices.

I am not having a go at grey importers or the prices charged by the "official" distributors, merely pointing out where the savings can come from when goods are parallel (grey) imported.
I am the same as most people, I enjoy a bargain and would very much like to see lower prices on my chosen brand items but at the same time I can see why prices are higher from same companies than others.