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…
Ash
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:17 AMMiserable old fart. I hate Gerry Harvey and will NEVER EVER buy a single thing from him, in store or online. He only cares about his back pocket and not the struggling Aussies. I hate him for kicking up a stink about imposing a GST on online purchases below $1000. Fair go, Gerry.
Ash
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:25 AMYou stole my handle :(
now how am I going to know if it’s me posting or you?
(Agree with you on this though haven’t bought anything from Hardly Normal in years)
Marrowmaw
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 2:09 PMGet a Gravatar. Not hard to do.
Bill
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:52 AMName me one business in the country whose primary concern is not their own self interests and their own back pocket. Welcome to the real world.
by a dicshonarie
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:46 PMI bought a xbox 360 4gb for $168 from them.
He’s doing something right.
red t-rex
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 5:42 PMYeah, I used to boycott HN due to his really annoying advertising but when it comes down to saving some money I folded and have bought a few things. I bought a PS3 title from them just so I could do the swap at JB Hi Fi for MW3. It saved me $30. If possible I will buy elsewhere.
Charles
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:46 PMI was going to say… business is BUSINESS not charity. I mean, it’s terrible of course, but it’s just the way isn’t it.
Sean
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 2:12 PMYes but there is a difference between business and excess greed. Just because you can charge an excessive price and get away with it, doesn’t mean that you have to.
Nate
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:22 AMBut for a fair comparison you do need to include postage. ozgameshop prices already include it so to you need to add $3.95 to all the HN prices.
light487
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:27 AMOzGameShop do FREE shipping, so even with the first example where HNDirect are $2 cheaper, when you factor in shipping, it is still cheaper given that the there is a $3.95 shipping charge from HNDirect. The site design is crap and has not been optimised for the market they are targetting etc
The only thing that might save them is delivery times. If they can get good delivery times that are better than OzGameShop (especially on pre-orders) they might be able to do some good in the market… but I won’t hold my breath.
Matt
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:34 AMTotally agree, light487. OzGameShop are a bit hit and miss with delivery times, so if HN can beat that, then there is potential to grab some business.
cayal
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:45 AMI’ve generally found Ozgameshop to be really good with delivery, at least lately. I got Infamous 2 and NCAA Football 2012 in a week.
ruffs
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:58 AMI won’t be changing who I buy from. Ozgameshop has been fantastic, good prices, free (included) shipping, and they’ve been very on the ball when it comes to keeping their customers informed and happy. They’ve won my customer loyalty very convincingly. I would keep buying from them if their prices were twice as high as Gerrys. I despise that old crone anyway and would never buy anything from him. Hope he fails.
Eccentric
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:16 AMI think HN’s poor in store service will be reflected in the online shop. Need some suckers to buy a few things and have to return them to find out though!
MotorMouth
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:02 AMWhat? There is only one game where HN is the most expensive and one where it is equal most expensive. If you total up the prices for all 6 games, HN comes out cheaper than Play-Asia. So why give him a hard time? The guy is about the most patriotic Australian I know, after Dick Smith. All he has been trying to do is keep jobs and money in this country, how is that a bad thing?
Where on the interweb can you go and see 20 or 30 TVs set up side-by-side and running identical content? There simply isn’t any substitute for physical retail stores and if people keep using them for doing research then buying off-shore, then one day all those stores will be gone, just as record stores have already all but disappeared. Then we’ll all be left to rely on strangers, most of who, are complete idiots, and their on-line reviews.
If you think retail is uncompetitive, it is because you don’t know how it works. I’ll give you two examples. When I bought my first flat-screen TV about 5 years ago, I did the rounds of all the retailers and found what I wanted cheapest at Myer (believe it or not). So I went back to do the deal and after explaining to the sales guy that I had looked around and decided to buy from Myer, he rang his manager and got me another $150, without me having to ask. I got a TV with an RRP of $1999 for around $1200.
Last month I was killing time in JB Hi-Fi, looking at the new Acer and Asus Ultrabooks. When I saw an 11.6″ Asus with Core i7 for $1600 ($100 off), I formed some vague notion that I might get one cheap in the US while I was there (just got back), because it would be much cheaper, right? The sales guy came over and engaged me in conversation. When I told him of my vague plan, he asked how much it would cost in the US. I told him about $1200 he he asked if I would buy it from him for that price. I said I certainly would but when he checked he discovered that their “invoice” price was $1358, so he offered it to me for $1350 and explained that if I was traveling overseas I could claim my GST back at the airport. I bought the machine, got $125 or something back at the airport and ended up paying around $1225 for a brand new computer that had only been on the market for two weeks. MOre importantly, we went into 3 or 4 Best Buys in the US and didn’t see any Ultrabooks at all, so not only was JB Hi-Fi price competitive but they are actually a much better store.
The point of my long rant is that local retail is generally excellent and you don’t need to haggle for a good price, you just need to go with the programme. More importantly, if you don’t support it, it will go away and we will all be worse off.
Makk
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:41 AMTotally agree. Gerry is an old codger, but is a guy who is trying to keep jobs local.
I have also saved tonnes of money by bargaining in store, they usually come down under the prices at Good Guys and JB’s.
I have known a few people who have worked for the HN company over the years, and they are given so much opportunity within the company, with one of them now being a franchisee. Gerry’s business model is something to be envious of, he’s not a rich man for no reason.
He’s allowed to have his stand on the import issue, but the government don’t have to listen.
Penmonicus
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:46 AMThe guy in JB sold you a computer for 8 bucks less than cost price. I fail to see how that helps to keep the company afloat.
cayal
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:46 AMHe’s not trying to keep jobs in Australia. He’s trying to prevent Australians from getting better deals online therefore not forcing him to lower his prices.
All he wants is money. That’s what he is in it for.
deadnotsleeping
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:57 AMAgreed! Problem is it seems in vogue to hate on Harvey Norman.
light487
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:16 AMHere are the averages:
Harvey 58.5
OzGameShop 51.33333333
Play Asia 59.41666667
Harvey is only marginally cheaper than Play Asia and significantly more expensive than OzGameShop. If you add on the cost of delivery ($3.95 for Harvey) then Harvey is a lot more expensive than OzGameShop. Still cheaper than local… but if you can get it cheaper..
“The point of my long rant is that local retail is generally excellent and you don’t need to haggle for a good price, you just need to go with the programme. More importantly, if you don’t support it, it will go away and we will all be worse off.”
So paying double, and in some cases more than double, is getting with the programme??
Getting with the programme is Harvey finally realising that people aren’t stupid, mindless fools and will shop where the bargains are. If they are in local stores, and sometimes they are, or online.. it is not relevant to the buyer. People are becoming more and more tech savvy, so finding bargains on the internet is the next logical step.
Look.. Harvey, in principle, is good.. but this is a global market place now.
janon
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:26 PMGet with the program?
Right, so recently I bought a Panasonic GH2 kit, in Australia the price is around AUD$1,400 (for non grey import).. From Bhphoto or Adorama it is US$699, that is WELL under the wholesale price in Australia.. Sorry that is not a program worth supporting…
P.S. The Australian RRP is $1,699 so the $1,400 is already well under the Australian RRP, just almost double the US one..
There are many many products and brands priced like that here, sure there are some expections but not many.. the problem is not GST, it is not the retailers either, it is price gouging by the Australian Distributors…
doofus
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:06 AMDon’t forget UK based sites like the hut and zabvvi – a quick comparison:
Assassin’s Creed Revelations (360) – the hut $44.98 delivered
Battlefield 3 (360) – the hut $39.54 delivered
Modern Warfare 3 (360) – $63.62 delivered
Batman Arkham City (PS3) – $51.19 delivered
Uncharted 3 (PS3) – $55.85 delivered
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) – $52.74 delivered
cayal
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:47 AMAre zavvi reliable? They have good prices but I’ve heard it’s hit or miss with delivery.
Neilo
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:17 AMI know them from when I lived in the UK. The company started as a management buy-out of Virgin Megastores. They went bust shortly after, only to start up again as an online only store. I’ve bought 3 games off them in the last couple of months and the prices were very good, Dead Rising 2 was only about $25. Each of the games arrived packed separately and took between 8 and 14 days to arrive.
Ron
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:31 AMIt would be helpful to have the Australian RRP to compare to the online prices.
Joel
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:42 AMYou also forgot to factor in the part where Gerry Harvey is an idiot who doesn’t deserve your money after he tried to get a GST on exactly what he’s doing.
Rawprawn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:15 AMFor PC games, http://www.g2play.net is hard to beat, of course your stuck with the download..
Assassins Creed $20.59
MW3 $19.30
Marrowmaw
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 6:09 PMAlways amazing service too.
James
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 3:09 PMI LOVE g2play. I’ve bought about 20 games from them to date and never had an issue. Who want’s a physical box anyway? Now they just add to steam and I own them forever. Except BF3. I’m boycotting that one. :)
The Gremlin
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:18 PMI don’t get all the hate. Its competitive. Bitching about a few dollars difference is ridiculous.
Also, you *must* factor shipping in. Its just idiotic if you don’t (the store for sure does). OzGameShop is free shipping, Play Asia and HN are not
Jarod
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:42 PMBiased articles annoy me more then anything
Tera
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 3:10 PMI really got turned off Harvey Norman stores and their “low prices” when I tried to buy something and asked them to price match another retailer (because I was already in the HN store, I figured I’d just get it there). It was a genuine price, but the store manager said it was too low and he refused to match it! The other store was nearby so I went back. Talk about money walking out the door …and all the bad PR they’ve copped from me since then!
anon
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 5:17 PMbuying shit from overseas is ruining the economy. keep the money in Australia.
Richard
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 2:21 PMThe ‘shit’ here is stuff that comes from overseas anyway. If the local market didn’t then mark up the prices in the absurd fashion, often selling games at close to 200% the price of the exact same item elsewhere, then people wouldn’t be looking to buy overseas.
By buying this crap overseas I have more money to spend on other things here.
Richard
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 2:29 PMI should add I’m not solely blaming retailers. Both distributers and the government have a lot to answer for in regards to the pricing of products in Australia, particularly when it comes to restrictions placed on retailers to parallel import goods. For all their arguments about it helping protect the local industry, it has dont nothing to save book outlets and other retailers, all it did was strengthen distributers control of the market.
Pete
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 6:27 PMGenerally I find their service crap, and most definitely that’s on an individual basis as most of their staff is prepubescent and couldn’t care less. If you’re lucky enough to score someone near the top of the food chain in their stores you’ll do alright in service.
At least he’s FINALLY given competition a shot, instead of being a hypocritical whinger.
Geo.
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 6:43 PMNo-one should be under any illusion as to what this is all about. Gerry is one smart businessman who wants to cut out competition from offshore retailers by having GST and Customs Duty imposed on all imports. Something which the Government may soon look at. This ‘GST free’ games site is just a means of influencing Government opinion in his favour. Think of it as waving a red flag at a bull.
Glenn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 6:52 PMI always browse Ozgameshop, but I’ve only ever bought 2 games from Zavvi. They were a little bit cheaper, and had free postage at the time. Which took 21 business days to get to me both times. I’ll probably buy from Ozgameshop next time.
Palo Verde
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:31 PMI just finds his stores boring, no new products, if any, comes out once every umpteen month always the slowest in bringing out anything anything at all, slection limited, boring old stuff, no new products. You go to Best Buys in America, almost weekly they have new products coming out. At HN, same old same old week after week. How boring! No wonder peeps are shopping online.
James
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 3:13 PMOK, the big problem with Gerry is what he’s really doing here. He won’t be selling online for long.
He’s doing this to force the Australian government to impose GST on imports under $1000. As soon as that’s in place his brick and mortar stores suddenly look mildly more appealing. Then the online store goes away.
The big issue is not the tax. If the online prices were only 10% cheaper then Harvey Norman then fine but the truth is that most their prices are double what we can buy it for online. That’s nothing to do with GST. I just hope the government are smart enough to realise this too.
gerry fooled himself of brisbane
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 5:13 PMI agree with James – ” . . He’s doing this to force the Australian government to impose GST on imports under $1000″. As far as I am concerned, harveys whole operation stinks and I have bought nothing from him or his stores since he tried to attack the consumer last time. You lost gerry, lost my dollar and its gone for good. Even my old arthritic golden retreiver could have figured out this new cunning trick you think you have pulled on us. We’re not fooled, you fooled yourself. I hope Santa brings nothing to your house this christmas you stinking old grinch.