This is insane. Gerry Harvey, he of the fire and brimstone statements against importing goods and services from overseas, has just announced a brand new online service that — get this — allows Australian gamers to import games from overseas at reduced prices, minus the GST.
The website is called Harvey Norman Direct Import — it’s already up and running. Gerry Harvey himself is about to be in on a conference call. We’ll update the story with his comments as we get them.
FULL DETAILS: Gerry Harvey: ‘We’ve Got To Start Somewhere And Games Is A Good Place To Start’
Harvey Norman will use its global operations to launch this direct imports concept, which will allow Australian customers to purchase games directly from Harvey Norman Ireland, GST free and at the lowest prices currently available in Australia.
Harvey Norman’s European suppliers have provided Harvey Norman Direct Imports with hundreds of game titles on line, which are available for immediate shipping.
“In general, harveynormandirectimports will allow customers to purchase new games at prices lower than those paid for second hand games. The market in Australia is demanding global pricing, which are significantly lower – Harvey Norman is delivering”, said Gerry Harvey, Executive Chairman, Harvey Norman.
Urban Chaos
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:31 PMNow thats ironic !
Sicarius123
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:32 PMExcellent news! Now the government can tell him to go fuck himself on the import duties situation.
Drew
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:33 PMAnd still, no one gives a shit about you Gerry.
Drew
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:35 PMIf he is importing games, does he not have to deal with classification laws now too?
Glenn
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:35 PMWay to go Gerry, standing up for what you believe in!?
I don’t care if they ever offer the best prices, I won’t give Gerry the satisfaction.
Sam
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:36 PMEvery single item is apparently “sold out”
Cheap, but not amazingly so, there are better sites out there.
Sam
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:37 PMPlus if their primary company is in australia, how can they get away with no GST?
Virus__
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:19 PMThis. If he’s using one of his overseas Harvey Normans to front it, would that be tax evasion?
Kyle
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:39 PMNo PC games… FUCK YOU gerry, you hypocritical bastard!
Hollow Hal
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:40 PMOh Jerry, you’ve done it again.
I don’t think that he really quite gets the idea. :) All that money from his overprices stores must be blurring his vision.
Barry
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:41 PMThey are more than the ozgamingshop I think but it’s a great start.
Gerry may be the spurn of teh devil now days what with the “demanding the government do something about GST” but still, it’s a good start from a big company.
Barry
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:42 PMNo PC games :-(
olearymo
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:42 PMGod Gerry you are a first class arsehole, you know that?
Joel
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:44 PMI’d hope none of you actually purchase from this site no matter how cheap it is.
He worked out he can make more money by trying to undercut everyone else.
No thanks, I’ll still buy my games from ozgameshop or similar.
Sam
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:09 PMBUT OZ GAME SHOP REALISED THAT TOO.
Seriously your argument is really, really flawed.
Joel
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:22 PMOzgameshop aren’t money hungry douchebags who sell overpriced products and have no idea about technology. He tries to get imports with a GST tax and then does the same thing himself that he’s trying to prevent?
I’d choose Ozgameshop over supporting Harvey any day.
Joel
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:24 PMYes I’m aware I just wrote Goods and Services Tax tax.. who needs a comment edit button when you can just look like an idiot instead!
TSH
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:53 PMWhy isn’t this guy in politics? I think he’s missed his true calling…
LUCIFER
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 3:53 PMHAS ANYONE NOTICE ALL THE PS3 GAMES ARE SOLD OUT…. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT
Paul
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:01 PMIt’s not all his fault, the problem also lies in the fact that the bigger manufactures use Australia as a dumping ground for older generation goods. When a new product arrives on shelf in the US and Europe – they send all their older stock to Oz and hike up the whole sale prices to cover any loses.
Then there is the issue with too many middle men; Factory to warehouse – distributor – importer – warehouse – shop floor all adding a % to the sale of the goods.
Ben
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:01 PMIt’s down now, haha
BlackBird
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:01 PMThe website isnt really running, just the front page.
“This store is currently closed.
Please check back in a little while.
“
light487
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:02 PM“This store is currently closed.
Please check back in a little while. ”
Uhmm.. yeh.. I’m thinking someone didn’t like that.
Vincent
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:10 PMIt’s ironic that Gerry Harvey’s online store ALSO has opening hours…
Sam
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:17 PMI can only hope that this is his white flag of defeat, and this is a win for consumers. Gerry is one of the most vocal supporters to ammend the GST threshold for imported goods – it’d be (even more) hypocritical for him to continue to push for it now.
Zim
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:33 PMMaybe he’s trying to make a point to force the government into taxing the imports thus removing his competetion.
mike
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:42 PMHopefully the retailers in Australia are starting to wisen up. I hate Harvey Norman but if their prices start to compare then I’m happy to start shopping there again. I haven’t compared the prices yet but if they are $5 to $10 more than ozgameshop, I might consider it if I can get my purchase quicker.
maddogeco
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:46 PMsilly question will games (i think from ireland in this case) run on Aussie xboxs and PS3s ?? arent they region locked ?
Sicarius123
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:20 PMPS3 games are region free. Xbox games are locked to PAL/NTSC.
doubleDizz
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:49 PMI see him in crusader garb on a giant white horse yelling, “YOU FORCED MY HAND AUSTRALIA!!”
LOL
Jay
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 4:55 PMif there’s a flat delivery fee per game no matter how many games you buy, why not add that to the price and shout out “free delivery!!!” … this Gerry Harvey clown must be new to marketing
Drew
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 5:06 PMBecause it makes the game look cheaper than it actually is and they can push that the delivery is only $3.95 which is dirt cheap.
All in all a win for them, I think they are doing it right. All though flat rate delivery isn’t a bad idea.