It’s a bargain hunter’s heaven. Cheap imports and cut-throat retail competition are dropping the costs on all kinds of household appliances.

Costco Australia’s Managing Director Patrick Noone says there is no shortage of fine cheap products.

“The cost of DVD players and DVD recorders, remember after they came out- They were $500 or $600 a bit, now they’re all the way down to $70, for a DVD Player and combination right down to $145,” Patrick said.

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“a few years ago a TV like this Samsung would had been $4000 or $5000 once they first came out. Now these TV’s have dropped all the way down to $1500, great price, great value, great quality.”

“We’re a $US73 billion-a-year company so we will buy merchandise from around the globe. As a global retailer we will be able to source merchandise from any a part of the sector, from Asia, from Europe and produce it right down to Australia. And with the strong Australian dollar, at some great prices.”

Peter Hammerman owns 2nds World where prices for brand spanking new appliances are falling each month.

“Cheap is just not nasty, cheap is actually good. You get a terribly quality product at a superb price,” Peter said.

“The costs are going lower and lower, we’ve dishwashers from $385, that hasn’t ever happened before.”

The reason- Fridges, stoves, washing machines, dryers and TVs are actually being manufactured in countries where labour is cheaper and quality is at the up.

“The standard of the product today is much better than it was 10 years ago, even five years ago. Everything comes with a minimum two year warranty. Turkey, China, Korea, Poland, Mexico, this is amazing the number and diversity of goods coming from everywhere. It’s the labour cost from Thailand, we’ve wonderful manufacturers of Bosch and Fisher and Paykel that manufacture in Thailand,” Peter said.

Manufacturing is getting faster and more innovative. The instant a brand new model hits the stores, the obsolete versions become the most important bargains around.

Go for factory seconds and you’ll double your savings. Even a damaged carton can halve the worth.

“Lots of our factory seconds, it’s very difficult to determine the tiny ding, that’s at the side here as it has had a forklift scratch. In order that is $1589, all the way down to $899, so save $690,” Peter said.

Aldi buys directly from the manufacturers and has some real bargains.