Well, the prehistoric retail dinosaur that is Gerry Harvey has finally entered the 21st Century. And while some people will probably avoid using his new direct import service out of principle, it’s worth comparing prices to other services to see just how much money Gerry can “save” you. Let’s take a look.
As a comparison, we’re going to look at Ozgameshop and Play Asia. Because Harvey’s site is the newest, we’re going to give it the benefit of the doubt and only go off products they are advertising to see who’s got the best prices.
A couple of things to point out though – these prices don’t include delivery charges. There’s also no accounting for which region you’re buying from. While it doesn’t always matter, there are many games that are region-locked, which could cause problems when you buy online, if not for the game itself, then for the DLC.
In any case, the results are as follows:
Assassin’s Creed Revelations (360)
Harvey Norman: $55
Ozgameshop: $57
Play-Asia: $50.50
Battlefield 3 (360)
Harvey Norman: $59
Ozgameshop: $43
Play-Asia: $67
Modern Warfare 3 (360)
Harvey Norman: $63
Ozgameshop: $54
Play-Asia: $55
Batman Arkham City (PS3)
Harvey Norman: $58
Ozgameshop: $45
Play-Asia: $64
Uncharted 3 (PS3)
Harvey Norman: $64
Ozgameshop: $58
Play-Asia: $64
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Harvey Norman: $52
Ozgameshop: $51
Play-Asia: $56
As you can see, as a general rule Harvey Norman still comes in as a more expensive option in most of the games we checked. Where they didn’t the difference was so negligible that it is most likely wiped out by the shipping charge.
So in other words, it’s still always worth shopping around for the best price, which as usual probably isn’t with the old dog Gerry Harvey…
This article originally appeared in Gizmodo Australia.
Sar Selack
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:47 AMGerry could sell his $5 cheaper than Ozgameshop and I still wouldn’t buy them. I wonder what my price would be …. ?
Daniel
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:11 AMSame here, purely because I refuse to give him my money, hope he goes broke.
jimu
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:21 AMwhat kind of person is the owner of play asia or ozgameshop like?
Alinos
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:43 AMWho cares i doubt they made their fortune from importing stuff from overseas and selling it and then when the very customers he sold to decide to do the same thing and cut him out of the process have a hissy fit
Stewart Walker
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:19 AMHe’s not importing them to Australia, he has setup something overseas and basically trading online and sending them to home users and pocketing the cash.
Awakening
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:12 PMAgreed. He’s not getting a cent of my money, ever again, the hypocrit.
chrobaciky
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 1:19 PMI was considering buying some stuff from Harvey Normans new online game shop.
But you’re right. That’s exactly how it is… He wont be getting my money either.
Scumm
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:59 PMAusgameshop staff are often on the Whirlpool forums answering customer questions.
I won’t be buying anything from Harvey Norman just to save a couple of bucks. Gotta give Gerry credit, though. Hes one helluva self promoter and the trash media swallow it hook line and sinker.. Awaiting a story on Today Tonight or ACA.
jason
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:44 PMfair enough, i dont mind the hate on harvey but i also dont appreciate the 1 month wait to get anything from ozgameshop. i will not get any new release games from them anymore as everything i have ordered has taken at least 3 weeks to arrive
KRiSX
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:33 PMtypical shipping time from UK is 10 working days… deal with it… small price to pay
JEV
Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 6:24 PMAgreed, he can go to hell for all I care. He infuriates me and his television commercials make me literally run across the house for the remote so I can hit mute.
Glenn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:48 AMNick, you should really provide the freight charges… not that it matters, HN is still more expensive than ozgameshop across the board except Ass Creed Rev.
not frank
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:50 AMmw3 is currenlty 118 @ eb, seems someone at HN hq has looked out the window and.night finally have a clue
LOTUK
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:43 AMHeh, I wouldn’t buy from EB or HN unless I had no other choice. They both try to rip you off while advertising how cheap they are.
I miss the days of “If you find it cheaper we’ll beat it by x%”. At least there was a little encouragement to price game competitively. Oh man, I’m entering rant mode. I’m cutting it here
Link
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:47 PMyou do realise that most shops will price market or sometimes even beat the price. EB is only good for picking up second hands from like a year ago.
Temujin Morgan
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 12:38 AMThe amount of times I have been to EB or JB and found new games cheaper than seconds is why the whole seconds issue is worse than Gerry Harvey.
Fenixius
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:34 AMI walked past GAME yesterday and it was $68. Go figure.
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:52 AMI also wonder about how long it takes for them to arrive.
I’ve bought board games from Games Paradise in Sydney (I’m in Melbourne) and they ship the very next day, or at the latest, the day after that. Pretty good I say.
Ozgameshop can take around two weeks, so if Harvey can get the games to you within 2 days he might have some success. I doubt it though. Check out Borders online (please don’t), anecdotally they take longer than Book Depository does.
NotoriousR
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:54 AMhttp://www.harveynormandirectimport.com/help
It will take just as long as ozgameshop.
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:01 AMGuess it’s still Ozgameshop for me then.
Powalen
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:17 AMWell there goes the last glimmer of hope I had in this store. :/ I was ready to give Gerry a chance if he could get games to my door in less time than Ozgameshop (honestly the prices above aren’t TOO bad).
Maybe next time.
Dunnowhathuh
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:07 AMWas wondering the same thing. If it is indeed the same as Ozgameshop, there really isn’t any point in buying from Harvey. If they at least offered a good delivery time with those higher prices, I may have actually bought from them.
NotoriousR
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:52 AMOzgameshop <3
Matthew K
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:58 AMHarvey’s gonna have to take down his “world best price” banner. Though I was impressed that Deus Ex is $26. If I didn’t already have a copy, I’d get on that.
Trjn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:00 AMDeus Ex has dropped dramatically in price.
I was rather happy to pick it up for $70. A few weeks later I couldn’t find a copy for more than $50.
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:02 AMI have it on PC (snapped up the preorder before the publisher remembered to add the Aussie tax to Steam), but am pretty tempted to grab an xbox copy.
Matthew K
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:20 AMSee that’s kind of odd. I mean at first there was some backlash because of those boss battles, but in retrospect it’s turned out to be one of the most acclaimed titles of 2011. It’d probably be GOTY in a lot if places if not for Skyrim – maybe it’s just because November/December turned 2011 from a year of the most anticipated games to the year of the disappointing secquels.
Aidan
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:33 AMYeah, I was surprised and disappointed that it didn’t sell loads more.
It was still a hugely polished and atmospheric game, despite the boss battles.
Thom
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:39 AMI paid $30 on release from Green Man. I don’t have a clear favourite this year, but its in my top 3 with Skyrim and The Witcher 2 (Portal 2 and Uncharted 3 round out my top 5).
Raf
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 3:25 PMAnd if people were disappointed with Deus Ex’s boss battles, I’d love to know what they thought about Skyrim’s dragons. The final fight with Alduin is a huge anticlimax when you just whack him with axes for 5 seconds or less and he dies.
Anyway, the HN prices are clearly competitive but not, you know, better than the competition. I’ll at least have to keep an eye on their prices for new releases.
Scared
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:00 AMI wonder how long the shipping takes from Harvey Norman. It usually takes me ~2-3 weeks to get a game from OzGameShop and if Harvey Norman is a week or less then it might be worth an extra $5 to get it sooner (no more though)
Dunk
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:19 PMOzgameshop seem to be taking longer lately (over three weeks for an item I am still waiting for – and to top it off got an email telling people if they hadn’t order by December 5th it won’t get here in time for Christmas – I ordered a week before that and it was sent on the 4th).
Dan Miller
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:01 AMBe warned, Gerry wants everyone to get negative about this so then he can come out and say “Well, I tried selling online and it did not work.” I’ll still be buying my games from JB.
Lord Crumplebottom
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:06 AMThat’s because Gerry Harvey is Montgomery Burns and thinks he’s the only retailer in Australia. You know, senile.
PsyKoMunKy
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:01 AMAllow me to replicate Gerry Harvey’s enthusiasm for their direct import store by not using it – what kind of idiot opens a new avenue of business with a sigh and expects us to use it?
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:02 AMA young woman who has no other option?
Matthew K
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:25 AMYou call it their avenue of business too? High five!
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:04 AMI have finally noticed a little place called Dungeon Crawl. They are a direct-import business who seem to have similar pricing to HN Direct Import, but the item is on the shelf right there.
NotoriousR
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:09 AMDungeon crawl is pretty great. Sometimes they get their stock in time for release date, sometimes a week after, but you can still walk in to their shop and buy it cheaper than retail and have it faster than what it takes to import from the UK
Ad
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:28 PMPlus they know their stuff AND stock old games – where else could you buy Full Throttle nowadays??
mikezdoesit
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 2:39 PMFull throtle was pretty awful so blessing in disguise?
Nate
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 3:26 PMyou shut your mouth, Full throttle is a classic!
Excelsior
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:05 AMSomething worth noting is that UK region DLC is compatible with the Aus/NZ Psstore.
So you can import from the Uk as much as you like and then buy DLC off your local store. As long as the game code is a BLES then its fine.
Thom
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:41 AMYeah this is why I use OGS and ignore play-asia despite positive experiences in the past.
Excelsior
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:47 AMYep.
Should mention that I’ve only tried for PS3 but I assume XB is the same.
Ad
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:29 PMNot always! Most of the time yes, but Enslaved & Uncharted 2 are exceptions.
Lord Crumplebottom
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:13 AM“Worlds best prices”
HAHAHAHA… no.
enarge
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:18 AMNo amount of discount or speedy delivery can make me shop with this man. If I’m going to support a local store it’ll be Game or (last resort) EB. One day, this man will get the arse and HN may turn into a decent store I’d consider shopping at. Until then, not a chance. His contempt for his customers is readily apparent.
mention
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:26 AMgame is british and EB is american. If you want to support local businiess go independent.
klanky
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:26 AMGameTraders is the only franchise I know of that is Australian owned and do some good deals. GAMETRADERS FTW!
Rade
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:53 PMI dislike HN for many reasons, but his prices ARE decent.
However, I’d much rather shop at GAME where the manager actually knows who I am and knows what I like than shop with a faceless man who thinks customers are idiots.
ilzydroid
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 4:02 PMI know exactly what you mean mate! I shop at Gametraders pretty much exclusively nowadays, especially at the Blacktown store. All the workers there including the franchise owner knows me by name (hope that’s a good thing! haha) and they always give me great deals, extremely friendly and know what they’re talking about!
We need more Gametraders store here, drive out all the EB Games stores! keep it Aussie! :D
mention
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 4:49 PMSweet, have to check out gametraders. In coffs harbour we only have EB, So I DD.
It should also be noted that game, was previously The games wizards, which was wholly australian owned. Whyile it is still a franchise, there will be locals behind the counter. But end of the day, more money goes OS.
dovathetop
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:18 AMSay you bought 4 games, as i recently did from OG, you’re looking at an extra $16 shipping if you bought from HN..on top of HN’s higher pricing..
Hyperthx
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:19 AMThat’s because Harvey Norman supports AMWAY, and so does JVC. BOOOOOM!
Virus__
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:05 PMAnother choice reason to avoid buying from Harvey Norman. I have several friends try & convince me Amway is a excellent way to waste my money.
Cannon
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:26 AMThe ulitmate test will be delivory time
McGarnical
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 3:46 PMIvory? Man, Gerry is more evil than I thought :/
Lover of fine things
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:27 AMGiven Ozgameshop postal cost works out at $0 at HN works out at something more than that, you’re always going to do better with Ozgameshop. If HN can ship over night for a few dollars more that might be an option.
And calling Gerry harvey a dinosaur seems to recent for him, I’m think more ‘pre-vertebrate life barely sentient protein goo’.
mention
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:32 AMA quick search shows that harvey norman is regularly investigated by the ACCC. Clearly a company with truth issues.
Best to steer clear and continue as you have.
weresmurf
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:00 AMThis doesn’t surprise me. I’ve had them flagrantly violate the law regarding refunds at the Browns Plains store when we bought a PC a few years back. The power pack actually died the same day. It was an all in one machine, took it back and asked for my cash back as I found out I could have a custom one built cheaper. I only wanted it back after it had died. They told me all sales were final, no refunds etc. I had to call the Ombudsman while IN STORE to get my refund… :\
Joe
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:40 AMAll this hate for HN is strange to me, I think as gamers we should be hating on the grater evil…EB. With there outrageous in store prices and online prices, the is the company that is trying to F gamers. I hope they go broke. At least at HN you can still get good deals (ps3 $276)… Just saying
enarge
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:47 AMI agree I hate EB too but at least you don’t get the feeling their boss hates you whenever you shop there. For bricks and mortar store, it’s Game for me, then JB. Otherwise, it’s onlilne if I don’t care about the wait.
Hyperthx
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:22 AMGameTraders – Australian Owned and Operated.
DrDalim
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 3:51 PMI agree Game Traders you know the owner and you can build a relationship plus the profit stays local…
Profi
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 3:57 AMUm lol no it doesn’t. Where do you think Gametraders get there stock from? Overseas…… Where retailers such as EB, GAME and JB get most of their stock from local suppliers. EB/GAME/JB also employ many more Aussies than Gametraders do. So by buying from The big 3, you are supporting Australia much more than you think.
Thom
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:48 PMHN is as expensive, but also has a shittier range.
Ad
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 1:32 PMI don’t see them out to screw gamers. We tend to know better and go elsewhere. They basically service parents and kids – the type who don’t know that you can buy online for half the price, or that their ‘new’ games may have been played by staff and put back on the shelf.
Check them out at Xmas, you’ll see 90% either under 13 or over 40 (and usually buying an MA game for their under 13).
If they’re screwing anyone, it’s them and if they aren’t willing to research before buying – eh, no sympathy.
Profi
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 4:00 AMEB has ps3 160gb for 348 with a copy of skyrim, batman, assassins or rayman. Do the math
enarge
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:44 AMThe man is a menace. He cracks the shits at his customers for not shopping with him, then when sales drop further, he blames us for shopping elsewhere…..yeah Gerry, it’s called ‘choice’ and smart shoppers know how to excercise it.
bennie
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 10:45 AMI’ll be sticking with ozgameshop even though their delivery times can be confusing.. I mean, I ordered 2 games on the same day, one was despatched a week later than the other, but they arrived at the same time???
That said, their prices are good, delivery is free, and you get rewards points, which is a nice little bonus.
I would be happy to pay for postage if they could guarantee quicker delivery, like within a week or something.
Stewart Walker
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:20 AMThe thing I hate about Gerry is that he claims that people are getting away with not paying GST. Look at the prices in store and his new online store. There seems to be a little more than just the GST difference.
What a moron
EmbraceThePing
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 12:21 PMExactly.
He whines like a bitch about how dropping 10% gst is going to make his 100% mark ups more palatable when he’s just trying to punish consumers for looking for the best price.
I shop where I get the best price. However with “Jerry” it’s personal. He’s an arrogant pompous arse who thinks the world owes him it’s money and I wouldn’t shop there if you paid me to.
Also Nick, when you write the next article comparing prices try comparing all the variables.
Cost of delivery, wait times and warranty all count toward whether you are going to buy from a retailer. Just like whether you get all the facts determines how your customers react to an article, sort of. ;)
Hannah
Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 7:55 AMIt’s always a relief when someone with obvious epextirse answers. Thanks!
NegativeZero
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 11:44 AMMight be interesting to contrast with Harvey Norman’s local retail price for each one to show how much of a difference it actually is.
Shipping speed will always be the same from anywhere in the UK or Ireland – it’s all Royal Mail and there isn’t a faster option short of a courier. :(
Tits McGee
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:13 PMScumbag Harvey. Goes online. Keeps retail pricing.
Pwylltwiceborn
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 12:34 PMGot to remember this is the guy that wanted new labour laws so he could import cheap labour for his Horse Racing interests and not pay min wage for them……There is a reason the staff called the stores Hardly Normal….