Australian Dollar weak again...

[James71]

I saw that... for the last few days I have been buying vintage gillette razors from the USA by the bushel....


(or do razors come in a peck? Or a medimni?)

 

[Rick Blaine]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot will it end

As of a couple of minutes ago :

1.00 AUD = 0.968289 USD

AAAuuuggg! FIRST the LOONIE and now ya'll too!?!?

-I give up!

 

[W4ASZ]

The EACDI

The EACDI (Everything Australian Camp Draft Index), the EA price in U.S. dollars for the standard 90 dollar (AUD) hat, is at 87.39 today.

I'm glad I got a lot of my stuff early in the year.

I didn't realize that the Canadian dollar was virtually at parity with the Australian dollar and therefore near parity with the U.S. dollar. A tip of the more expensive Akubra to you, Rick Blaine.

 

[daizawaguy]

Australian Dollar almost at parity

What a run it`s been - the weak US and strong Aussie...almost 1:1 now

 

[DAJE]

...which sucks if you're outside Australia and want to buy Australian stuff, but it's nice if you're in Australia and want to buy things from other places, most of which trade in US dollars.

In the last week or two, I've bought a cotton newsboy from the US, a tweed cap from Hanna Hats in Ireland (the AUD is strong compared to the Euro, too), and yesterday I ordered another pair of prescription sunglasses from Asia.

 

[Neophyte]

Well guys, this is what happens when you buy Akubras and Drizabones with wild abandon. Our inability to resist great Australian products at great prices has finally caught up to us lol!

 

[Rick Blaine]

Canuckistan too!

The Loonie as well; 1 USD=99.6 CND as of...NOW! Just as I am about to go to Alberta for a week...great! :eusa_doh:

 

[Mav]

...which sucks if you're outside Australia and want to buy Australian stuff, but it's nice if you're in Australia and want to buy things from other places, most of which trade in US dollars.

But rough if you're an Aussie manufacturer or exporter. This will eventually make Stetson a more attractive option to Americans. Increased currency valuations are a double- edged sword; depends on how much Oz depends on export business.

 

[Neophyte]

This will eventually make Stetson a more attractive option to Americans.

What a sad day that will be .

 

[James71]

....another 4 vintage razors on their way to me today.

Buy em up while the buyings good I say.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Shipping

I have never purchased a hat from overseas. My guess is that shipping costs will be high enough that Americans will start buying here to avoid the larger shipping costs. So, I guess my question is, does anyone agree with that? I mean, if the currencies are worth the same, shipping is surely higher from Australia to the USA than it is inter-state.... right?

 

[Yeps]

What a sad day that will be .

Who knows, maybe they will step up their game and properly compete when they notice how awesome Akubra is.

 

[Neophyte]

Who knows, maybe they will step up their game and properly compete when they notice how awesome Akubra is.

I remain a cynic lol.

 

[Mav]

What a sad day that will be .

Agreed. Love Akubra's lids, but there is a certain breaking point, currency- wise, when a Stetson will be economically more feasible. All things remaining equal, which they won't- we're facing some unavoidable currency funkieness here.
On the upside, if Stetson is the bright company I hope that they are, they'll react, properly, to the market. Price-wise, quality-wise, and style-wise. One can dream- I've largely lost hope on the intelligence driving American manufacturing.
Anything further would lead to political discussion, and I am loathe to break the rules.

 

[Mav]

I have never purchased a hat from overseas. My guess is that shipping costs will be high enough that Americans will start buying here to avoid the larger shipping costs. So, I guess my question is, does anyone agree with that? I mean, if the currencies are worth the same, shipping is surely higher from Australia to the USA than it is inter-state.... right?

Agreed. Shipping costs are regulated and/ or pretty inflexible, so that will always be a big add- on to purchase cost. Akubra can do whatever it wants with it's pricing, and if it gets really rough (and it will) they can shave margins to compete heavily with Stetson or any other manufacturer. But shipping will rise commensurate with exchange rates. It will remain dependant on what Akubra wants to do with margins, and they've currently got a pretty slick system of price- fixing (limited distribution on model and color by distributor- that's highly illegal here) so I'm a thinkin' they're clever enough to enact workarounds. Or us fedora- wearing whackjobs would hope. I still dig Akubra vs. Stetson, but my personal elasticities may be driven by personal financial restrictions. As they invariably are, in the long run.

 

[Mav]

....another 4 vintage razors on their way to me today.

Buy em up while the buyings good I say.

Mercenary.
I agree.

 

[DAJE]

But rough if you're an Aussie manufacturer or exporter. This will eventually make Stetson a more attractive option to Americans. Increased currency valuations are a double- edged sword; depends on how much Oz depends on export business.

The Australian economy is largely based on exports, but those exports are raw materials, not manufactured goods.

The rising AUD will hurt Akubra a bit, but not too much, since most of their business is selling hats to Australians, not overseas.

 

[Jim2903]

Projected trend through next spring

http://www.forecasts.org/ausd.htm

 

[W4ASZ]

Follow the Action !

Multiple currency updates. The AUD is creeping back near the $0.99 USD level at this time. Who knows what mischief will ensue ?

http://www.xe.com/

 

[Jim2903]

The AUD is creeping back near the $0.99 USD level at this time. Who knows what mischief will ensue?

Based on the projections at the link I posted above, looks like next spring will be the next best time for me to buy my Campdraft ...