Amazon-owned online retailer Book Depository has confirmed it will collect and remit GST on overseas purchases from July, when the new tax laws come into effect, reports the Australian Financial Review.
The news comes soon after Amazon announced it would block Australian shoppers from purchasing from its international websites, to avoid having to collect GST on orders worth less than $1000.
'From July 1, as a result of changes to Australian tax legislation, GST will be collected and remitted on all books with a customs value of $1000 or less that are shipped to Australia from Book Depository,' said Book Depository marketing manager Mitch Lang.
The decision highlights Book Depository's independence from parent company Amazon, which acquired Book Depository in 2011.
Booktopia chief executive Tony Nash told AFR the decision would 'level the playing field' for most titles, but 'on some titles they'll still be competitive because of the availability of international editions and their aggressive [pricing] stance'.
'Book Depository is often 10 per cent less than our price which means we'll now be competitive,' said Nash. 'More importantly, the Australian public will know the money they're sending offshore, 10 per cent of that will go back into funding health and education etc.'
The Book Depository has said it will continue to operate independently of Amazon, as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it was "too early" to say if today's takeover of the online bookseller would trigger an investigation.
The deal was announced this morning, with The Book Depository (TBD) founder Andrew Crawford saying the company was looking forward to 'continuing growth' with Amazon's support.
Calls by The Bookseller to Crawford and TBD m.d. Kieron Smith have been directed to the Amazon UK press office, which is refusing to release any more details about the deal, including how much it is worth. In a statement, Greg Greeley, Amazon's vice-president of European retail, said: 'Customers in more than 100 countries enjoy The Book Depository's vast selection, convenient delivery and free shipping. The Book Depository is very focused on serving its customers around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them.'
In the same statement, Crawford, who founded TBD in 2004, said: 'With the support of Amazon, we look forward to continuing our growth and providing an ever-improving service for readers globally.'
Amid questions as to whether Amazon's dominance of the online bookselling market would mean the company falls foul of competition regulations, an OFT spokesperson said: 'It is too early for us to say if we would investigate the acquisition or merger at this stage.' The company said via its Twitter account that it will "continue to operate independently".
In January, The Book Depository said it was in line to achieve revenues of £120m in June this year, £30m of that from the UK. In the year ending June 2010 The Book Depository reported sales of £69m, with two thirds of that coming from overseas, and made an operating profit of £2.3m.
The Book Depository is one of the world's leading specialist online bookstores. Whatever your interest or passion, you'll find something interesting in our bookshop full of delights.
BUY FROM BOOK DEPOSITORY'S USA ONLINE STORE - INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
If you have tried to order from Book Depository in the USA then you know that Book Depository doesn't offer international shipping to every country. In this post we'll show you a simple process to get any item from Book Depository or any other American store shipped to your location, in any country worldwide.
STEP 1: SIGN UP FOR A SHIPPING FORWARDER
If Book Depository doesn't ship to your country then you need to ship your item(s) to a U.S. package forwarder who will then ship your package to your international location. Our recommendation is MyUS.com because we've shipped more than 1,000 packages with six different package forwarders and MyUS has the lowest rates, is tax-free, and is the most popular U.S. shipping forwarder by far.
Signing up is easy, plus you can see exactly how much your shipment will cost to ship internationally before shipping anything to MyUS. Also, if you have any issues placing your Book Depository order, MyUS's concierge service can place the order for you.
Note: If your order is immediately canceled after you place it, then it means that the retailer does not ship to MyUS. Your best alternative bet is to use FishisFast because they aren't as well-known and tend to be on less address block lists. It should be noted that FishisFast is a bit more expensive though.
STEP 2: SIGN UP FOR A CASH BACK SERVICE
Did you know that you can get an extra 2-10% in cash back on your Book Depository order by using a cash back service? Ebates is the most popular and best known cash back service in the United States - plus they gift you $10 in bonus cash after completing your first Book Depository purchase.
STEP 3: BUY YOUR PRODUCT(S) FROM BOOK DEPOSITORY
Once you've set up your U.S. shipping address and clicked through a cash back website, you're ready to make your Book Depository purchase. Just visit the Book Depository website and place your order!
ALTERNATIVES / TROUBLESHOOTING: ISSUES PLACING YOUR BOOK DEPOSITORY ORDER OR ORDER CANCELLATIONS
Check our detailed FAQs page for troubleshooting any Book Depository order issues.
COUNTRIES THAT YOU CAN SHIP BOOK DEPOSITORY TO
Using a package forwarder, you can ship Book Depository internationally to any country or region in the world including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (Britain / England / UK), Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, South America, Middle East, and Europe. It should be noted that there are personal shopper services that can help you buy from any store, including Book Depository, even if they block or don't ship to freight forwarders.