My business neighbour came in to the shop wanting to buy the TomTom GO950, gave him a price and quoted me he could get one in from UK at a substantially lower price. He also stated that the UK one comes with all of Europe as well Australia. However, I could not find this to be the case.... yet. Then it got me thinking, have I been harsh on Garmin alone with regards to their mismatched pricing between our prices and those over seas? Well, I guess I have and I am willing to put the others in with them if they are rorting Australians. The exchange rate is currently 61pence to the AUD$1.
I will start with TomTom with RRP prices converted to AUD and included maps:
Note: NA = USA & Canada, AU/NZ = Australia & New Zealand, EU = Europe
TomTom
GO950 EU/NA $490
GO950 AU/NZ/EU $650
GO750 EU/NA $400
GO750 AU/NZ $400
One Start EU $200
One Start AU $180
Rider 2 EU $655
Rider 2 AU $800
Rider 2 NA $760
Rider Car mount EU $79
Rider car mount AU $135
Go Home Charger EU $35
Go Home Charger AU $49
Go Home Charger NA $27
Can be noted that the GO950 is only £40 (AUD$66) dearer than the GO750, so why the huge discrepency for the Australian market? Interstingly though the other models are quite comparable to it's overseas counterpart except the TomTom Rider 2, shocking discrepency!
Garmin:
Nuvi 1690 EU $525
Nuvi 1690 AU/NZ $599
Nuvi 1690 NA $489
Nuvi 1390T EU $380
Nuvi 1390T AU/NZ $330
Nuvi 1390T NA $295
Nuvi 1490T EU $330
Nuvi 1490T AU/NZ $400
Nuvi 1490T NA $380
Edge 705 no cadence EU $540
Edge 705 no cadence AU $600 * just been dropped to $500
Edge 705 no cadence NA $500
Zumo 660 EU $870
Zumo 660 AU/NZ $1,000
Zumo 660 NA $870
Zumo 220 EU $655
Zumo 220 AU $700
Zumo 220 NA $652
Oregon 450 EU $655
Oregon 450 AU $600
Oregon 450 NA $435
GPSMap 60CSx EU $540
GPSMap 60CSx AU $500
GPSMap 60CSx NA $435
eTrex EU $140
eTrex AU $150
eTrex NA $110
GPS60 EU $245
GPS60 AU $270
GPS60 NA $210
USB Cable EU $12
USB Cable AU $19
USB Cable NA $16
4.3" Carry Case EU $18
4.3" Carry Case AU $29
4.3" Carry Case NA $30
Nuvi Dash Mount EU $25
Nuvi Dash Mount AU $35
Nuvi Dash Mount NA $25
Oregon Nav kit AU $70
Oregon Nav kit NA $50
What do I get from this? Well certainly the accessories are over priced but with the GPS, it seems to depend on Garmin Europe or Garmin Australia as to what the prices are, and probably dependant on what TomTom are doing. It was difficult to get any idea of pricing of TomTom in USA as most models are with different model numbers and same can be said for many Garmin navigators in Europe.
Garmin Australia receive their stock direct from Garmin Taiwan, however, Garmin USA would be free of Duties and as they are a US company have certain concessions even though the factory is in Taiwan. But is that reason enough to have prices that vary from model to model? With the Aussie dollar all over the place you have to take that into account. What I can't take into account is that there is no consistancy in the pricing difference.
But just looking at the Oregon 450, Edge 705, TomTom 950 and the TomTom Rider 2 it is clear that in these cases the prices are way over the top and are unreasonable whilst some are very comparitive indeed; it just seems to be a whim or a net profit issue by category. Who knows but certainly makes you want to shop around to see what is out there.
TomTom are based in Europe but use an IT distributor to market within Australia which can account for some additional margin. Garmin distribute directly.
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