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There is. There's a myriad of grey market importers based overseas like e-Global Digital Cameras, there's plenty of locally based (i.e. forced to comply with local warranty and tax laws) companies which offer drop shipping likw Kogan who you may have heard of since they've been featured on Slashdot a few times.

Then for everything else there's reshipping companies in the USA like Re-ship or Meimei who will provide you with a USA address to drop the product to and then forward ship your parcel onto you for a small fee.

A few Aussie retailers have already started advertising the SGT for sale. Kogan for example is offering the SGT for A$50 or more cheaper then the equivalent Ipads (which Kogan also sell).

IOW the SGT costs too much to sell. $200 is the most people will pay for a non-iPad tablet.

A few Aussie retailers have already started advertising the SGT for sale. Kogan for example is offering the SGT for A$50 or more cheaper then the equivalent Ipads (which Kogan also sell).

IF the best buy guys don't sell up sells and ripoff cables they get there hours cut and geek squad is filled with sales men and not techs. Staples is just as bad.

In Australia, Kogan started an Aussie on-line retailer. generic "DSE" 2 metre (embrace the metric system) from one of our cheaper electronics retailers "Dick Smith Electronics" are A$25 (US$27). This is why Aussie retailers dont push "extended warranties" too hard all the fat is in the overpriced cables (that and most Aussies are smart enough to realise that warranty isn't even good enough to wipe your arse with).

Since The AUD reached over US$0.80 I've been buying my cables from the US as it's almost half the price including shipping.

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/kogan-blu-ray-player-slim-bdlive-full-hd-1080p/

$130 for a region free 240v blu ray player from a known brand with USB support as well for playing stuff off a HD.

I'm not 100% certain they ship to NZ, but if not he's certain to know someone in AU who would ship him one.

You can find these for as little as $9 in Australia...

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/hdmi-cable-v14-3-metres-gold-plated/

I call BS on the $12 with International postage too. Where did you order it from?

It seems unfair to have one set of rules for online retailers and another for brick and mortar retailers.

but there isn't. Online Australian retailers operate under the same rules and laws as brick and mortar retailers.

The Australian government realises it does not have power over foreign retailers. The tax free threshold was established to allow cheaper imports and create competition in our stagnant, monopoly dominated retail market.

Read this blog entry of Rulsan Kogan who runs an online store within Australia. Kogan.com.au pays the same taxes and import duties as Harvey Norman but does a much lower volume of sales then HN yet manages a much better price on equivalent (no-name brand) goods.

This is Gerry Harvey and others attempting to foist an artificial barrier to consumer choice and the free market in general. It wont stop at 10% (the GST) because Harvey cant compete with Aussie online retailers, let alone Chinese or US ones.

The other problem is that there is nothing anyone needs at Palm. Palm is the only one using WebOS, and anyone can order up a million devices from a manufacturer using reference designs from Symbian or HTC (using either Windows CE/Phone7 or Android) and market them under their own brand name with almost zero licencing fees. By building a phone around the Palm platform you're doomed to vendor lock-in from the beginning, on a mostly-dead platform to boot. From a development standpoint Palm is a terrible choice in the long run, unless you've got some killer licencing deal from Palm from the get go.

There was the Kogan Agora, which looked pretty sweet until it got indefinitely delayed.

There's an interesting backstory to that low price (AU$299/$399, btw).

Kogan is an Australian online retailer. They started when Kogan got pissed off with always being ripped off on local pricing and decided to go direct to Chinese manufacturers.

Eighteen months ago young tech-head Ruslan Kogan wanted an LCD television but didn't want to pay full price for it.

He did some research and sent a few emails to factories in China, and now the 24-year-old not only has a new 117cm high-definition TV in his lounge room, he is planning to go global with his own brand of consumer electronics.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/entrepreneur-cuts-tv-middle-men/2007/03/26/1174761375485.html

That story is a little over a year old; now there's a lot more products in his store and he's taking on the big electronic retailers over here. http://www.kogan.com.au/profile/

Is this USD or AUD?

Try a link to the Kogan web site
http://www.kogan.com.au

You tell me.

The page seems to be a US page

Strange, I didnt notice that Australian PC magazine was a US site.

Also I'm having a bit of trouble finding this address in the US:
APC Magazine Street address:
Level 18, 66 Goulburn St,
Sydney, NSW 2000

And certainly never mind that the first two lines of the article clearly mentioned Australia:

Australian-based tech importer Kogan has revealed the first Google Android-based phone that will ship in Australia

So reading a review from an Australian magazine, about an Austalian company, importing phones into Australia I think it's fairly safe to assume that the price is in Australian dollars.

They are selling them at $299 on their website

$399 with Camera and GPS .
  I hope the prices are in Australian dollars, that would make it a pretty good buy

Just looking at their web site, they're charging $60 AUD for international shipping, which seems like a lot for just a phone!

Also international sales should not be charged GST (Australian VAT or sales tax) so they should take 9.09% of the main item's price, or about $23.00 USD at current rates.

They are selling them at $299 on their website
$399 with Camera and GPS .
I hope the prices are in Australian dollars, that would make it a pretty good buy
And the website has this comment "PRE-ORDER NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT - DEMAND WILL EXCEED SUPPLY!"
I wonder how they know for certain that demand WILL exceed supply ?

The design of the Kogan Agora and Kogan Agora Pro, when dispatched, will be materially similar to the images set out on this website. Despite this, Kogan Technologies reserves the right to make non-material modifications to the design of the phones in its sole discretion.

Also, I won't be surprised if the shipping date slips.