On Fri, 10 May 2013, Andrew McGlashan <andrew.mcglashan@affinityvision.com.au> wrote:

However, take the 9500 S4 vs the 9505 S4 -- the Kogan price doesn't represent value even sans GST. Their best price today seems to be $699, but for not much more you can have the AU product and be able to claim GST back (as a business). A Melbourne supplier of unbranded 9505 product is selling the 9505 for $799 today, including GST and normal manufacturer AU warranty (not third party warranty). Paying a little more for the peace of mind and a proper tax invoice is enough for me.

In our previous discussions of Kogan we determined that the prices on some items from Kogan are almost the same as the prices from Australian based stores without GST. But as most people don't run a GST registered business that's still a ~10% saving. Also in our previous discussions we determined that Kogan often offers a 1 year warranty in situations where other companies offer 2 years. That makes it an issue of whether paying ~10% more for a second year of warranty is a good thing. I believe that paying 10% more for a second year of warranty is a bad investment. The overall failure rate of mobile phones in my observation is significantly less than 10% per year even when you include people who drop them (non-warranty failure). So if the replacement cost of a phone is a huge issue then it might be a good idea to get the extra warranty, but if you can afford to buy a new phone then self-insurance is the best policy.

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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 don't, I think his analysis isn't really up to scratch, but enough said there -- glad you enjoy his input, I don't really enjoy it at all myself; to each, their own.

One thing for other readers to keep in mind is the fact that I don't receive any money for this. There is no financial difference for me as to which phone company or ISP people choose. Can you say the same Andrew? -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/