Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Amazon re-opens US store to Australian shoppers after backlash

1051004
1051004
minus
plus

SYDNEY: Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would stop blocking Australians from shopping on its US site after a customer backlash, unwinding a move which has tarnished the e-commerce giant’s launch in the world’s 12th-largest economy.


The reversal relieved shoppers who had complained since July about being locked out of the much larger range of offerings they had grown accustomed to on the US site following the opening of Amazon’s local platform a year ago.


But it also raised questions about why Amazon had cited Australian tax laws to explain the initial block — an issue rival eBay Inc had managed to resolve without locking Australians out of its US site.


“It’s a very quick backtrack on a decision that obviously hasn’t benefited them,” said Daniel Mueller, an analyst at Vertium Asset Management.


“It’s probably a reflection on the Amazon Australia website not being great... I think to bolster the Australian website they’ve had to do this.” The world’s second-largest company had prevented Australians from placing any orders on its US website after Australia applied a 10 per cent tax on imported online goods worth less than A$1,000 ($726).


At least 32 US states have passed or are soon expected to pass similar taxes, but Australia had been the first market where Amazon responded by shutting out customers based on where they lived.


On the eve of its Black Friday sales, Amazon said it had figured a way to levy the tax without blocking access to the US site.


One Amazon shopper said he had already given up on the Australian site. Paul Boon, who runs a home-entertainment installation business, said the wall brackets he had bought from the US site were either unavailable or too expensive on Amazon’s Australian platform.


“They sort of lost a sale there I guess. Maybe I’ll have another look next time I have to do an order, but you just move on,” he said.


An Amazon spokesman said that after listening to customer feedback, the retailer had built the “complex infrastructure needed to enable exports of low-value goods to Australia and remain compliant with (Australian) laws.”


— Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon