Hi, On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 11:54 AM, Andrew McGlashan < andrew.mcglashan@affinityvision.com.au> wrote:
On 9/05/2013 7:44 PM, Russell Coker wrote:
Kogan has 6G of data per month and unlimited calls within Australia for $299 per annum. They account for data in 1MB increments though which theoretically could mean you get much more data use recorded but in practice doesn't seem to make much difference as a "session" is apparently some hours in the normal course of operation.
BUYER BEWARE! That's the best I can say, particularly when it comes to Kogan.
Agreed on the Buyer Beware statement, but if you search RC's comments on the subject of 3G data plans/costs/value for money the last couple of years you may find that there is a thread of tryout/discovery as to what is a valid deal and what is not. That is, RC manages to eek out the best deals on paper, experiments, then HAS reported back to the list if the plan did not work out.
There's all sorts of issues with Kogan and Aldi for that matter as ispOne is selling the service wholesale /for/ Telstra, but not, it seems with any kind of endorsement by Telstra -- Telstra are definitely pissed over these plans, and Telstra have very big pockets to destroy competitors -- heck they closed the iBurst network by simply buying out the spectrum. There is currently a court case b/w Kogan and it's supplier; people using Kogan services have been disconnected by ispOne. To Kogan's credit, they are fighting this -- whether they'll be successful, well, only time will tell. However, given the base product is from Telstra Wholesale in a round about way, I don't like Kogan's long chances here.
Crazy Johns, went through a similar ordeal....but won a large payout in the end. All it took was persistence...deep pockets or not, Telstra does have a duty to adhere to the law....and can be forced to when push comes to shove.
Oh and if I was the government, I would put a stop to the practices of Kogan, that is, avoiding GST by selling to Australians IN Australia, but from an "overseas supplier" .... well, the sooner we get a fair market place, the better.
Government on all sides is looking into this , but at present, the cost of admin and recovery is far greater than the amount gathered by the GST. Remember, imports over $1000 are subject to GST
Let me re-iterate, Kogan sells grey import product -- Samsung has said that they would be applying updates to geographic locations based on the target product's market, which means that a 9500 S4 will not be expected to get updates over the AU model 9505 S4 when being used in AU. Also, the 9500 doesn't include any 4G capability. Buy the AU version from an AU retailer, giving full warranty protection and a proper GST inclusive tax invoice and you'll get better support through Samsung (warranty and official software updates).
Perhaps we should be a little clearer here. Most "Grey" imports are deemed such by the manufacturer!. Your Samsung example is case in point. They create artificial geographic market borders then sell to each on different terms. The fact we pay more for prop. software is another example of this. Kogan has found a way to work around that and I argue it is to all of our economic benefit whether you buy from him or not. Kogan is a disruptor trying to undermine the absolute control that a manufacturer tries to excersize in global markets. Without that business getting "in the road", Gerry Harvey would be charging 30% more for TVs in this country make no mistake.
Again, buyer beware. Russell and others here in the past have given Kogan business and support their practices, I know that, I don't need to hear that again.
I politely disagree. RC has always reported back on list if there was an issue. Whilst I do not agree with RC on some issues.....I can not fault the honest appraisals and analysis of these sorts of cost/benefit subjects! ...and I hope it continues!
I do not support Kogan today and I will likely never support them for the reasons given.
A lot of people in my Model Aircraft Hobby said that about these guys a few years back: http://hobbyking.com ...but now at least 90% of our club is buying at least some of their "stuff" from them. Kogan, Hobbyking and any other number of other online only retailers are simply reflecting the merchanidising and marketing concepts/possibilities described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail It pisses the hell out of the Telstra's, Samsungs and Gerry Harveys....but in the end, consumers benefit to some degree. I have NEVER purchased a Kogan item....but I am really glad he is there cos I have probably saved thousands the last few years when shopping at JB or Hardly Normal simply because he exists ! Rgds BW