Glad you got it sorted @p.waite, and thanks for sharing the Paypal tip.
Most drugs are made in India where companies get cheap labour and lower OH&S standards. You have as much chance of getting sold a false drug or one that has a lower dose than stated in a pharmacy in Australia, and it does happen.
Hi @shorty2012,
CHOICE looked into saving money on prescription medication recently. We note the The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) warns that medicine bought from overseas may not meet the same safety, quality or efficacy standards as ones bought in Australia. For this reason, we donāt recommend sourcing cheap medication from overseas.
Have you had a look at our cost-saving tips in the article above? Weād be interested to hear if any of these were useful for you.
living rurally, upper hunter, nsw, means limited access to anything but normal necessities. we both use ozsale and similar sites for clothing, various online book stores, amazon, book depository, etc., and i buy a lot of my technical equipment from ebay, preferring companies based in aus before any others.
i check out gumtree when weāre looking for something specific but donāt mind it being 2nd hand.
however, when time permits we both enjoy trips to either sydney or tamworth for a greater range of shops, but i always take my phone along and check prices on significant purchases, offering if possible the local shop the chance of coming with 10% of a mutually acceptable internet price (that would incl postage if necessary).
much of the technical equipment i buy IS available here but pricing (eg dslr, lenses, etc) is sometimes upto 150% more.
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I tend to research everything on line, then, if possible, buy locally (I can often get them to price match) I still prefer to look at the item up close and personal before buying it. However, if I canāt get them to price match and/or it is not available locally, I will buy it online
I am not as game as some people I know - I know people who imported white goods from overseas, found that even having to convert them and risking something breaking down and no warranty, they still thought that the price saving was worth it. (especially when the Dollar was in parity) That is just too much risk for my liking.
I am vary about buying clothes without trying it on, unless the online store offers free (no questions asked) returns. I never buy shoes online - have enough trouble getting fitted in shops. 
Having said that, I have once bought a pair of runners - as a second pair, having just gotten fitted for the first 
One on-line clothes stores I used to love (and their clothes always fitted) was Landās End, but the shipping has now become prohibitively expensive, so even their sales are no longer a bargain.
In some cases I find Australia Tax quite annoying and sad - they are forcing us to buy online and from overseas. When I can get something overseas, including shipping for a lot less than the cheapest price for the same item here, I get annoyed.
I havenāt bought a book in a shop for years, and it is especially annoying when I find an Australian book half the price imported from the US or UK. I use Booko for book price comparison - my favourite site!
I also buy vitamins etc from iHerb - again, including freight it is still a LOT cheaper than anything from the cheapest Australian chemist
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I buy quite a lot of things online for a few reasons: overseas sites like iherb or Amazon because I can get products that you either canāt buy in Australia, or are very expensive in Australia, books because they are much cheaper, secondhand products from ebay because the item is no longer available new, new and secondhand board games (I run a small boardgames club) and the only stores we have are very expensive (lots of cheaper online retailers in Australia), Icebreaker clothing from New Zealand when itās on clearance. I would prefer to support a bricks and mortar store where possible, but I have to look at cost. I look for free postage when buying online if possible
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THINGS I CANāT BUY IN AUS
Yes I shop on-line for things that arenāt available in Australia e.g 12.5 US running shoes - our stores like Rebel only sell 12ās or 13ās which donāt fit me. Iāve told em to no avail.
THINGS THAT ARE 1/2 THE PRICE
Bicycle parts are ridiculously expensive in Aust e.g. recently bought a rear derailleur off Wiggle UK for $66 where the same product here at best was $135.00 !
GPS sports watches from Wiggle UK $230 with the best deal from Harvey Norman was $310.00 !
PC technology - extremely cheaper OS.
Always try to buy from Aust especially if I try it on in a shop here - but there is a limit
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Due to health concerns I do a lot of online shopping . That includes groceries through Coles Online , never tried Woolworths , but they would be much the same I imagine . I always look for Australian sourced products first . I do a lot of cooking so due to above mentioned health problems most of my purchases are online . I usually use Everten Online , an Australian based company , and have found them to be very quick delivery wise , good delivery rates and above all their products are well packed . I have never had to return a damaged item to them . I think this last point is often over looked by online purchasers . What good is buying cheap if items are damaged in transit . One thing to watch for when you think you are buying an Australian sourced product is the dispatch date . One very popular "Australian " online store now sources a good 75% of its merchandise from overseas . Buyers queried the dispatch dates .They now are quite open about where their products are sourced from . All online retailers should adhere to source of product .
I do buy online from overseas if an item is not available in Australia .I recently purchased a Finnor Ahab Model 8 fishing reel as a gift for a friend . The Model 8 was never released in Australia so I used an American Online store to purchase it . I would say I would only buy overseas if the goods were not available online in Australia
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Like most, I investigate pricing and availability online, however, if I am going to purchase, I do try to obtain the product from Australia, just because any problems with the purchase could incur postage costs to return the item. I never buy clothes and/or shoes online - only bought shoes online once - from Skeechers actually, and even though I had tried the size on instore, when I ordered it from America, it did not fit well and it was not that much cheaper.
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Yes I shop online for most physical items. I generally search around for the item and then look for best prices.
I generally try to buy in Australia. However, I note that although the online website is physically in Australia, many of the goods come from overseas and usually China/Hong Kong. Most of these do not advise that the item is coming from overseas and there is no hint as the delivery is within days, the package indicting Australia Post. However, it turns out different when the item is actually viewed. An example recently was a mobile phone.
It has an AU power adaptor and the user manual is not in English. When I query the supplier, they say that they were out of stock locally and had to get a direct shipment from overseas. It is still under warranty, however with the online supplier and not the manufacturer.
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Youāve raised some interesting issues @shorty2012, and Iāll be sure to share it with my colleagues who have more knowledge in this area than myself. I have also started a new topic around this subject, as it would be good to find out what others in the Community have experienced in this area.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I frequently shop online. Those items I purchase from overseas include non-prescription medications which I can no longer source locally (e.g. Emetrol - which is delivered from USA at a significantly higher cost than I used to source it from my local pharmacy). I also buy small electronic goods from overseas suppliers - e.g. USB flash drives, compact flash cards, SD cards, etc. Years ago, when the AUD was at parity, I purchased SLR camera bodies and high-end lenses from New York. Prior to that, I had placed an order with an Australian shop-front retailer. That consignment (via the local retailer) took 2 months to arrive from the date of order and the wrong product was delivered (binoculars instead of camera and lens). I took the opportunity to cancel the order and than ordered online from a reputable New York supplier. The New York consignment arrived within a week or ordering in excellent condition and was much cheaper than the local retailer (even including the additional costs I incurred for the overseas consignment, such as purchasing an international warranty and paying a fee to get the consignment released from customs).
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Try to purchase locally or at least within Australia but!!!
At times price is way out, that makes a difference. ānot in stock but will order inā I can do that myself.
Printer ink from Hong Kong, about 10 days and a full set with postage about $17.00/$18.00
( we are a bit outback )
Same from Sydney, $22.00 and still about 10 days so we get from Sydney to support Australia.
Shop around and many things are within reason from Australian suppliers. If not it comes in from outside.
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I buy makeup that is not available or hard to find in Australia ie; Tarte eyebrow pencils. I also buy my Saucony runners on Eastbay as they are cheaper and easier to find in my size and style.
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I buy music scores, books, and classical CDs / DVDs. Access to high quality sources is excellent, and some (usually UK) sites deliver to Australia without charge. Trying to find equivalent products in Australia is tedious, energy and time wasting.
In the past I bought a smart phone, but did not do that for my last smart phone as I judged the risks to be too high and the cost differential to be smaller than in the past.
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Yes. I buy books online from overseas because they are a lot cheaper. They post free around the world, so itās also good for gifts to people in other countries. I tend to check online for everything except clothing because I canāt figure out what I like or what is my size! (I have bought some clothes online, but with limited success).
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I shop online for items I cannot buy in Australia including long womenās shoes.
I am size 12 A in Womenās shoes and cannot buy in Australia I buy from the USA. The few shoes
available here seem to be made wider as the sizes go up. One of my daughters buys clothes from Long Tall Sally in the UK and her shoes (size 13 and a half AAA) from the US. My son has size 15 shoes but lives in the US so can buy shoes there. There is an untapped market for large size fashionable shoes in Australia. I used to work in a section of 18 people in which 4 women had size 11 shoes or larger. I used to buy from Peter Sheppard in Australian but they stopped stocking my size in Thierry Rabotin 2 years so I have to buy from the US.
Long Tall Sally in the UK makes for 2 heights (5 foot ten inches and 6 foot 2 inches) One of the other problems for tall women is getting sleeves in blouses long enough (men can get graduated arm lengths) and long enough trousers.
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Strawberry.net for cosmetics as itās cheaper for most products
Ebay international sellers for second-hand books and random household items e.g. tape measures, scales, mobile phone cases etc - again cheaper than in stores here and the postage is usually really quick.
Modcloth and ASOS for clothing
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Strawberry.net for cosmetics and bookdepository.com for books. Both are much cheaper than stores despite postage costs, and itās more convenient when working full time. Also occasionally petersofkensington.com.au
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