Goodbye to the “Australia Tax”!

We all know it exists, the “Australia Tax”. It is that ridiculous extra fee we pay to international retailers just for living in Australia. If you’ve ever tried online shopping you will know that buying something and having it sent here is ludicrously expensive – and not because of the postage or the exchange rate.

But, Australia Post has done something incredibly consumer oriented, and we can all wave goodbye to that Australia tax.

They have launched a new service that gives local Australian shoppers a US postal address, so they can shop at websites that offer cheaper prices but only deliver within America. The service is called ShopMate and Australia Post initiated the service last week in order to capitalise on the Christmas gift-buying rush.

According to the Daily Mail, Parcel Post general manager Kelly Heintz says the service will cut the annoying price difference suffered by Australian consumers. Something that has been coined as “digital discrimination”.

This will also mean that we no longer have to wait for Australian retailers to catch up to their American counterparts as we now have access to so many products so much sooner than when they actually reach Australian shelves.

It isn’t the first time a service like this has been available, but it is the first that doesn’t solely rely on couriers.

To find out more or set up your own ShopMate account, simply head to the Australia Post website: http://shopmate.auspost.com.au/

So tell us, will you be using the new ShopMate feature? Does this excite you? Tell us in the comments below…