Amazon has finally launched its consumer site in Australia

At this point the prices for CDs/DVD etc is extremely underwhelming
Most are more expensive than my local retailer

Amazon U.K. Is far cheaper

I think the hype about their arrival has mostly been generated by their competitors whining in the media about how this will 'decimate' the Australian retail industry. Gerry Harvey has been moaning about Amazon almost continuously for months to anyone with a camera.

I also think Amazon have seriously underestimated the significance of the distances between the major cities where most of their sales will come from; will they really be able to be as competitive as everyone believes? I think they may have bitten off slightly more than they can chew. I'm reminded of Costco who initially sold themselves as retail 'game changers' but haven't managed to become the 'threat' they seemed to represent. The idea that Amazon will simply sweep all competition aside isn't realistic; it's clearly something other retailers are using to hype their own stores. Just witness the recent buying up of various defunct stores (like the bankrupted 'Masters' hardware chain) by a consortium of Australian retailers who intend to create vast retail showrooms in an effort to 'fight' Amazon (Gerry Harvey is involved with that as well). They're using Amazon's arrival to their own advantage, which is fair enough, but I don't think Amazon will be as much of a big deal as everyone suggests.

We just don't have the population - or the population density - of the United States. We've got roughly 24.13 million people here (living in 7,741,220 square kilometres) and the U.S. has 323.1 million people (living in 9,826,675 square kilometres). I'm not sure how their business model is going to make it worth their while.

Australia Post is a barely-functional basket case, so they'll either need to rely third-party couriers or provide their own means of shipping stuff. Either way, I don't see them making a huge profit.

this post made me think of the days when best buy came into being......the greatest selection of CD's i had ever seen (up until i went to toronto and walked into sam the record man)rows and rows and rows of CD's, including imports, singles etc etc and the prices were mind-blowingly low.

i remember my first big best buy purchase: the entire free catalog on island for $9.00 each (except 'fire and water' which i already had)

those were the days...................

Australia already has JB Hi-Fi for cheap CD's, stereos, TV's and the like. There's also a whole bunch of other (established, trusted) brands here (Dick Smith Electronics, Harvey Norman, Dymock's Books and dozens of others), and Aussies like the idea of reliable, long-standing brands. Smart companies buy up existing brands (an American company owns Vegemite, for example) and don't change anything and people will still buy it. Change the label or the packaging and there's an uproar. I can remember the cling-wrap thing from a few years ago...Glad had to change the packaging back (at great expense) as people by the millions simply stopped buying Glad Wrap! Everyone hated the new doo-dad on the box and wanted the metal serrated edges back.

I think Amazon will find a niche, but they'll never be as profitable here as they are elsewhere.