We just got word yesterday that the Xbox Series S, the smaller sibling to the Xbox Series X is real! Priced at a more affordable rate of $299 in the US, the console may have a few compromises in its build to hit that sweet spot but it’s still an impressive piece of hardware for households wanting to get a taste of next-gen technology without breaking the bank.
So what’s the local price? A very very tantalising R6,999.
That’s a next-gen console for less than a Nintendo Switch or a PS4 Pro. Nice.
Last Updated: September 9, 2020
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 12:14
Interesting… but let’s use today’s currency conversion. $299 comes to about R5025. Why are we required to pay $417 for a $299 console? Is this the official price from Microsoft, or the usual price-gouging BS local retail markup. So once again, it’ll be cheaper to import from the US. https://media1.giphy.com/media/6qq0soPoimjRBSjR8D/giphy.gif
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 12:14
Interesting… but let’s use today’s currency conversion. $299 comes to about R5025. Why are we required to pay $417 for a $299 console? Is this the official price from Microsoft, or the usual price-gouging BS local retail markup. So once again, it’ll be cheaper to import from the US. https://media1.giphy.com/media/6qq0soPoimjRBSjR8D/giphy.gif
Gavin Mannion
September 9, 2020 at 12:47
South Africa aligns with the UK market and in the UK this console will be selling for £299 which at todays exchange rate is R6 492.
And since the Rand is tanking still setting the price at R6 999 is perfectly understandable. Remember the Americans say $299 but that’s without tax so add on State and Federal sales taxes and the US version is s probably closer to $350
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 12:47
You’re still wrong. The UK price was set at £250 (not £299) which amounts to R5429.52 (given the current exchance rate).
PS: I’m absolutely shocked. Gavin, you didn’t post anything about Donald Trump to me. What does this mean? What will you do when Biden and Harris win this November?
Gavin Mannion
September 9, 2020 at 13:33
I thought it was £299 here as well.. so yeah slightly more expensive than it should be but the size and distance of the SA market really does explain it. I still think it’s a good price.
Regarding Trump I thought I’d give you a break because even in your deluded state you can’t surely be still supporting someone who dishonours the military dead and Mandela or have you fallen that far?
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 13:34
It’s going to be €249 though (so roughly 250 pounds) in your neck of the woods. Which is definitely a much better price than our €323. With that extra bunch of euros in your hand you’ll be able to get a game, or spoil the missus with flowers, or get your Donald Trump onesie from Amazon.
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 13:33
You wash your mouth, Joe Biden is a saint.
Kenn Gibson
September 9, 2020 at 12:58
So I used to import musical instruments at a distributor level. We would pay X for the instrument, you then need to factor in a few things. VAT at 15%, Shipping at 8-10%, then the distributor needs to make money (30% to pay salaries, make sure they have parts etc for warranty), as well as the retailer (30-50% – retail is expensive to maintain). Some items would also include a duty of between 0 and 45%, you would factor your exchange rate with what you think you would pay for it in the 90 or so days that it takes to pay your supplier overseas. Probably similar sums with the new Xbox. You’re not being ripped off, there are legitimate costs and jobs that need to be paid for in the supply chain.
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 13:24
Yep, I was aware of that, and that’s why in South Africa, it’s sometimes cheaper to import goods yourself, rather than be dependent on local distributors or retailers.
The only console I bought locally (in recent years) was my PS4 Pro. Every single gaming console (except for two or three replacement xbox 360s) I have owned in the last few years
-or currently own – I bought while abroad, and a few I even imported – I got my xbox one nearly R3000 cheaper than locally. I bought it from an online store in the UK, and they couriered it to me. Yes, they COURIERED it to me, and it was still cheaper than going to a store in Canal Walk.
It’s not something you want to hear from a potential customer if you’re a local retailer, but sometimes a man needs to save his money and find the best possible deal for himself (provided they want to wait a week or three for their precious package to arrive).
Yondaime
September 9, 2020 at 16:38
What online store is this?
Kenn Gibson
September 9, 2020 at 13:24
sure and a person has to do what a person has to do. I honestly think ZA’s distribution model needs to be seriously looked at, but that is a separate discussion. The only issue with grey importing is that you take all the risk and have no warranty.
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 13:33
The thing is, we are living on the penis end of Africa, and shipping goods is a real cost. At the end of the day, if you’re an owner of a store, you have to make a profit. It’s capitalism 101, however… we’ve seen some truly disgusting behaviour from our retailers over the decades – especially from our gaming distributors. https://media2.giphy.com/media/l2SpKBAxpCCLuUGU8/giphy.gif
Chris Summers
September 9, 2020 at 17:41
Shipping costs are only expensive if it’s coming in by Airfreight, Oceanfreight is dirt cheap these days. Obviously if you’re only importing a single unit for personal use you can’t really take advantage of this as much as MS South Africa can who I assume would be the official importer. If it’s another company, below still applies anyway.
A 12m container of say 15 tons from FOB major chinese port delivered to a warehouse in JNB for unloading can be had for ZAR 40k or so, and you can take off ZAR 15k if Durban is the final destination, although 2/3 of that will of course then be added on the distribution costs further downstream on the supply chain
Not sure if they are Duty Free, but customs will hit you for Import VAT (which the Importer will claim back anyway) at FOB Value + 10% upliftment x 15%
Warehouse & distribution charges will obviously vary, but since these won’t be stored for long anyway and existing distribution channels at favourable contracted rates with RAM, Value or similar are in place, won’t break the bank either. Of course the FOB China price to MS locally is also going to be substantially lower than MSRPs in the USA as shown above.
Sure, people along the supply chain must also make some money on this, but some people are making a fair whack more than others, certainly more than the logistics guys.
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 18:00
That’s interesting, I expected your import costs to become less per unit as you increase the number you’re importing, but I didn’t expect it to be that low. But, either way, it’s still strange to see that it’s still cheaper for an individual to import a luxury item from Amazon or some small online store in Utah (even taking into account import duties and tax), then to wait for all those costs being added on to an item appearing in a store.
That kind of makes it seem that the system is really broken or at least overly cumbersome or laden with “hidden costs”, and consumers are getting milked (ruthlessly) in South Africa.
By the way, do you know how we compare to other countries in terms of importing costs?
Chris Summers
September 9, 2020 at 18:41
In terms of capacity, a 12m Highcube will take around 65 to 75 cubic meters of cargo (depending on how well space can be utilised), so that’s a fair number of units per container.
South Africa is very expensive compared to many other (non-landlocked) countries, much of which can be attributed to firstly our port charges (Cargo Dues) which are among the highest in the World, as well as the distance of JNB from Durban which adds a massive additional cost on every container.
Shipping lines are also complicit as they raise an empty turn-in fee if you return empty container in-land (JNB) as opposed to Durban (where container came through initially). Presumably this is to cover the costs of repositioning the container back down to the actual sea-port, but ignores the fact that many containers are actually re-used for export in JNB, meaning that the exporter pays for the transport back down to DBN.
And no, if you imported a 12m container to JNB, you may not simply stuff it again with your export cargo to save on that Turn-in fee, although maybe exceptions are made if you are BMW SA or someone similar. You will return the box to City Deep, pay the charges, and can then collect another empty there and then on the same truck you delivered the empty with.
It’s a racket the shipping lines have been running for a long time.
When it comes to actual Ocean-freight costs, i.e. port to port, we are pretty competitive globally, and highly competitive in Africa.
Of course all of the above is ignoring the fact that Durban specifically has major other issues such as efficiency, but I suppose that’s in line with everything else the government has their sticky fingers in.
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 13:24
If it wasn’t for the lockdown, I would have ordered a new Nintendo Switch from a US store in March. They would have sold and couriered it to me for less than R1800 (all incl., I would have probably had to pay an additional R100 or R200 to customs). I mean comeon now. It’s a glorious time to be alive.
Yondaime
September 9, 2020 at 16:38
What online store is this?
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 18:21
For the xbox one? It wasn’t Amazon. I was comparing prices and trying to find the best deal possible. It was one of the smaller online retailers, either electrical discount uk.or appliances direct. It was already heavily discounted, and the courier cost was an added bonus. Just check as many of those online retailers as you can – not all of them will ship outside of the UK though, but occasionally you strike it lucky.
PS: I used to just use HMV but at some point they became overly expensive, and Amazon became my prefered store.
SagatatiaRZA
September 9, 2020 at 12:14
Smart move by them. Car manufacturers have always had cheaper units of flagship vehicles available, mostly to appeal to markets abroad in poorer countries. Xbox being the first to do this with consoles is surely gonna win them some support, despite what I thought initially
Son of Banana Jim
September 9, 2020 at 12:14
Yesterday, my initial thought was that Microsoft should rather focus on getting the Series X in stores, and THEN ensure that there’s a large selection of launch titles, and then later on, once the Series X has been established, introduce the much weaker and cheaper Series S. But, I realise now that the issue for most (especially because of the Covid crisis) is cost. They’d rather opt for the cheaper version… now.
Maybe this is a smart gamble by Microsoft…. I guess we’ll see in 2022 whether the sales are on their side. I still think it’s not a good idea to split your market in such a way. Consoles aren’t smart phones. I think Microsoft might be doing themselves a disservice, because inevitably they’re going to release another variety after the Series X and S, probably another Slim (with comparable power to the Series X) and then another boosted one like the Xbox One X was for the Xbox One.
Kenn Gibson
September 9, 2020 at 12:58
That is tempting….. dang…….
Will probably end up getting this, and then the PS5 later….
Iskape
September 9, 2020 at 15:03
The only price I am interested in is the price of its Big Brother, the Xbox Series X.