Well, the prehistoric retail dinosaur that is Gerry Harvey has finally entered the 21st Century. And while some people will probably avoid using his new direct import service out of principle, it’s worth comparing prices to other services to see just how much money Gerry can “save” you. Let’s take a look.
As a comparison, we’re going to look at Ozgameshop and Play Asia. Because Harvey’s site is the newest, we’re going to give it the benefit of the doubt and only go off products they are advertising to see who’s got the best prices.
A couple of things to point out though – these prices don’t include delivery charges. There’s also no accounting for which region you’re buying from. While it doesn’t always matter, there are many games that are region-locked, which could cause problems when you buy online, if not for the game itself, then for the DLC.
In any case, the results are as follows:
Assassin’s Creed Revelations (360)
Harvey Norman: $55
Ozgameshop: $57
Play-Asia: $50.50
Battlefield 3 (360)
Harvey Norman: $59
Ozgameshop: $43
Play-Asia: $67
Modern Warfare 3 (360)
Harvey Norman: $63
Ozgameshop: $54
Play-Asia: $55
Batman Arkham City (PS3)
Harvey Norman: $58
Ozgameshop: $45
Play-Asia: $64
Uncharted 3 (PS3)
Harvey Norman: $64
Ozgameshop: $58
Play-Asia: $64
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Harvey Norman: $52
Ozgameshop: $51
Play-Asia: $56
As you can see, as a general rule Harvey Norman still comes in as a more expensive option in most of the games we checked. Where they didn’t the difference was so negligible that it is most likely wiped out by the shipping charge.
So in other words, it’s still always worth shopping around for the best price, which as usual probably isn’t with the old dog Gerry Harvey…