Microsoft Hikes Win7 Prices for Australia

andych said:

And your point is????
It makes no difference if the price level is set from Australia, USA or China, it is still set by Microsoft as they are one in the same.
The bottom line is that it is still more expensive here in relative terms than in other Countries and we do not (as yet) get any special Pre-Order deals.

No. Each local office has a certain amount of control over their pricing method.

sigh.... never mind. I forgot this is a tech forum.

andych said:

Not the case....the keys and software are not time limited in any way.
There is another thread all about Technet....have a look there.

The keys are for testing purposes only. "Evaluation" and not personal use. I used a work one to get the image and will rearm until my keys arrive from the US. (pre-ordered on the special price via a US agent)

On another point, Having used win7 RC for a quite a while now on 2 machines and having just installed the RTM, win7 really is just what vista should have been.Really it looks like vista.

Pricing is a letdown for us Aussies. My guess is that family pack will not be here either. The reason is because we are a much smaller market and perhaps the traditional shrink rapped retailers need protection...Who knows?

Out of curiosity, how is "sales tax/VAT" paid in australia?

Also, anyone know what MS's inport duties are?

In some countries, certain random and infathomable insane inport duties are levied. Mostly due to political trade warring, somtimes decades old...

fseal said:

Out of curiosity, how is "sales tax/VAT" paid in australia?

Also, anyone know what MS's inport duties are?

In some countries, certain random and infathomable insane inport duties are levied. Mostly due to political trade warring, somtimes decades old...

The US and Australia have a free trade agreement, theres no import tax but there is GST (goods and services tax) we pay when we buy it from the shelf

K so it's added after the advertised price like in the US then?

People frequently forget to subtract VAT from the advertised price (and sometimes even the echange rate) when comparing US to XX prices :)

But if it's after then yeah, that's an honest price hike (Well at $50 it would not cover any normal VAT completely anyway)

Yikes, I get stuff from China, Canada, Australia all the time...
My senders simply mark "GIFT" on the package... There is no TAX that way. Has been for many years. PS: The local post master says 'Its LEGAL since I do not have a RETAIL SALES License. " and I am not violating any US, Local or State Laws that he is aware of.

dmex said:

The US and Australia have a free trade agreement, theres no import tax but there is GST (goods and services tax) we pay when we buy it from the shelf

As an ex Customs officer who ahs worked in import duty evaluation areas I can assure you that the free trade agreement does not mean anything that comes from the USA is duty free. Software, however is duty free, no matter where you get it from.

Regarding the suggestion of using the "gift" label, this will not produce any special benefit under Australian situations. On the other hand, unless the value of the goods is greater than $1000AUD there will be no import duty anyway, though you may possibly be slugged for GST, and that (believe me on this one) will largely depend on the mood of the officer doing the evaluation.