From An Onymous Lefty:
I wonder if Mr Harvey thought through the consequences of highlighting to his customers on every news site just how much better deals are online.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
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Hoyden About Town 
I ordered books online on the same day, from the Eastern States and from overseas. The overseas books were a lot cheaper (more than ten percent, way more), the website usability was much better, the postage was free instead of the local gouging, the books were actually in stock, and to add, erm, something to something, they got here a lot faster. Australian stores need to take a long hard look at themselves, instead of hyperfocussing on this relatively piddling ten percent. It’s the entire buying experience that determines whether we buy again.
I’ve given up buying from mainstream bookstores in Australia completely. The only books I buy here now are indie press (and the occasional last-minute present from an RL store).
If I can’t find what I’m looking for in the shops near me, I’ll go looking for it online. That’s always been my policy, and it’s not going to change just because the big box retailers (who tend not to be stocking what I’m looking for in the first place) are getting all upset about it. This is something which comes from firstly, being Australian and fond of yaoi manga, obscure fandoms, science fiction, and fantasy; and secondly, from being Western Australian ditto. If I can’t get it here, I’ll get it in Sydney or Melbourne. If I can’t get it in Sydney or Melbourne, I’ll get it shipped in from overseas.
Oh, and I’ll spend money if I have it. Which at present I don’t. So I’m not spending it anywhere – including the big box retailers.
Oh, and a big “me too” to what Lauredhel’s saying. Seriously, if I can get it sooner, cheaper, and easier from the US or the UK than I can from an Australian supplier, then guess where I’m going to be buying it from?
Also, they might think that consumers aren’t smart but when the ACCC is saying that it would cost more to collect the GST on overseas purchases than it would gain in collecting them I don’t think consumers have too much to worry about in that direction. I can’t see big retailers making things any cheaper given that it’s a lot cheaper for them to import their stock now with the dollar so high. Besides all they have to do is wait until the dollar goes down again and people will be back. The dollar reaching parity with the US dollar happened 27 years ago and then again now, so that is a lot of time between drinks for consumers. If the big retailers are going broke because a small minority of consumers are buying online then they need to look at their business model.
They also need to take a good look at what people are buying. Cheap books with no postage, clothing in sizes and styles not available anywhere in Australia. If Pottery Barn shipped internationally I’d buy stuff from there as well. But they won’t even ship to Canada so I think it will be a while before I can buy any of their stuff.
It’s called competition big retailers.
I completely agree with lauredhel – same experiences and same conclusions. Australian shops need to look at their cost-padding.
This campaign has made me MORE inclined to shop online. The big retailers complaining about the lack of a level playing field? Hypocrisy much?