It seems a timely occasion to make a couple of comments about the recent changes that have gone on in the music retail marketplace. I welcome any comments anyone would like to make to broaden the discussion
I recently undertook a study tour whilst we were overseas, and discovered some “home truths”. In the USA, the minimum adult hourly wage rate just went up, after much protest to $8.20. In Australia ours starts at more than double that. In the US, the standard holiday allowance is 2 weeks.. In Australia it is double that. If you mention the subject of “long service leave” in the US, they have no idea what you are talking about. When you mention that during the 4 weeks of holidays, we have to pay an extra 17.5% loading, meaning you get paid more to go on holidays than you do for working hours, it just gets full-on belly laughs.
The concept that we live in the best country on earth was therefore reinforced when I came back to Australia and looked at how we live. But there is a looming problem, as we all look to buying overseas where the cost structures are just so much lower. Where will the 1.2 million people who work in retail stores across the country now get a job? Who will support the unemployment costs ( us ), and are we prepared for the day when you can’t just drop in to your local store for a set of guitar strings, or some advice on how to fix your broken trumpet ? Also “biting the dust” will be the ongoing support given to local charities, schools and other non profit groups by local retailers who are part of the Australian community. I don’t think Ebay or Amazon will be very responsive to these requests which we receive in the hundreds, especially for end of year school presentation nights. Who will bring clinicians out? Who will run Band Festivals? Who will provide Professional Development and Reading Days ?
We are also well protected as consumers in this country, with warranty and claims issues protected by government legislation. We have electrical “C tick” compliance to ensure our products are safe, and have fumigation controls , particularly on timber goods ,to ensure we don’t bring foreign diseases & viruses into the country.
Buy from overseas as an end user and you don’t get any of this.
Yes there are some industries where the markup enjoyed along the chain of import is excessive, and we have all seen examples of this. The Music Industry, especially in the past few years is not one of these. Margins are generally very low and the price cutting & dropping margins has already caused several stores and our one big chain to close down.
Currently as an Australian importing consumer, you don’t pay GST unless the goods are over $1000. In most of Europe, the UK and the USA this equivalent figure is $30, and there they are looking to reduce this unfair advantage to zero. We are not competing on a level playing field, and this is is hurting all Australian retailers.
If you are purchasing for a school are you also aware that as the school claims the GST back anyway, the actual price the school pays is often less for an Australian sourced product than the overseas equivalent ?
The point I’m trying to make is – Give us a try ! Your may be surprised when you discover that for most musical requirements we will be at least as competitive as overseas suppliers. You have all the local warranty, certainty that electrical requirements have been met, consumer protection & a local support network available to you. You will be keeping musically literate (mostly nice) people in a job and you will help keep one of the only Music Education Speciality stores in Australia in business.
How much is that worth ?
