This is why we buy online

If you live in Australia and read the mainstream media then you will be well aware that there has been much kerfuffle from the retail sector about our growing penchant for buying online.
I buy online often, I try to source what I want/need (ok ok, mostly want) from Australian based sites. But sometime the draw of a bargain from overseas sites pulls me in.

Today I was looking for skin care and I came across this:

Take note of the price....The top screen is from the US site and the serum cost is $18. The bottom site is the Australian on and the cost is $34.95. That's a difference of $16.96, rather a lot for a little bottle of serum.
On top of that if I bought the $18 product and lived in the US I would get free shipping, if I buy it here in Aus I pay an additional $8.95 in shipping!

So I end up paying $43.90....and that is why we shop online folks!

Now I know that this is not the full story, we pay GST etc and if you buy overseas you often buy a large postage fee....but we often end up paying a much inflated price here in Australia.

Can anyone shed some light on why?