It's not the music shops. It's our government: 1) ang mahal ng import tax. Gumagastos daw ang yupangco ng millions pag may dumating silang shipment. Ang sound essentials, 40% ang binabayaran nila sa customs. So para kumita sila kelangan mataas ang patong. Kaya lets understand why Mahal sila Magbenta. It is reasonable. 2) nationwide shipping. Sa china, mas mura pag mag ship from makati to qc kaysa mag meetup. Sa lbc 2k ang shipping ng gitara kahit makati to makati. So pano mabubuhay ang online retail dito? Small items siguro pwede pa kaya good job ang lavaza. And it's a vicious cycle. Since madami pa din tao walang tiwala sa online, konti ang volume ng shipments kaya mahal. Yung mga camera saka celfone puro meetups pa din para maka sigurado ang buyer - mrt, malls, etc. Pag nag mature na ang infrastructure natin, online retail can thrive. It's not the registration and tax, hindi sya mahal. And maliit lang ang tax pag less than 1.5 million pesos ang annual gross sales. Its the importation that makes prices so high here. Ganun din sa China and anywhere else - mahal din ang fenders and other US made brands dahil madaming import charges and taxes. Kaya dumadami ang 'made for china domestic market' na products. May BMW 3 and 5 series na made in China only available in China na malaking mura vs made in germany. Since malaki ang market, kaya nila ma sustain. E dito sa Pinas limited ang market for high end stuff kaya better pa din sa online shippers dahil makaka mura ang consumers. If mapansin nyo, mura ang low end stuff sa mga music store. Yung high end ang mahal. Pano, Mahal ang importation fee. Sana maging friendly ang government natin sa worldwide trade para mas madami maging available sa pilipinas at lower prices. Sa hong kong for example, sobrang simple ng taxation and importation kaya mas nae encourage ang mga businessmen. Example, they can subsidize 50% of cost if a hong kong company goes to NAMM to promote a product. Now that's a business-friendly environment.
My 2 cents.
