Erinn Goes Abroad

Good as Gold… or Dearer.

This entry was inspired by a recent visit to a locksmith. Silly me, I misplaced my key! (turns out it was lodged in the washing machine. That rascal!) So I lackadaisically stroll to a shop down the way, without worry or hesitation.

“You cut keys?”
With a nod, I hand him my flat mate’s skeleton key and he disappears wordlessly.

As I wait I survey the keys on the wall and note they run between sixty to eighty  cents. I smile smugly, thinking how similar the pricing is to the USA - no! Better! I paid $1.59 for the last key I had made. And I have the benefit of the exchange rate! Aha!

“Eighteen dollars,” he reveals upon re-entering the room.

“Eight?” I suggest weakly, mouth ajar, thinking even THAT sounded overpriced for a key.

“Eighteen.” Again. Without hesitation. And my feverish ears may have caught (or invented) a touch of smugness of his own.


This brings me to a price comparison discourse. Because I don’t want to believe I was ripped off and in fact I can find no evidence of such. I’ve asked around and no one was industriously shocked as I was. “I paid 13 for my last key” someone at the office said knowingingly.  After all, this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed price differences between the USA and NZ. So  I have developed a list of “average” items and performed a side by side analysis of the greenback to the kiwi dollar.

House key
$1.50 USD | $18.00 NZD <— this isn’t completely accurate. Some of my interviewees have paid quite less than $18… then again, they don’t have skeleton keys. Not sure if it should be that much of a difference.  

“The Help”- a paperback novel
$9.95 (on sale. Originally $16) USD | $29.95 NZD

Loaf of bread, standard white
$1.98 USD | $3.79 NZD

Pair of Levi blue jeans
$52.90-85.00 USD | $139.90-149.90 NZD



I will concede that the NZ market is smaller than the US’s which could have an impact on pricing. There is a high tariff on imported goods. New Zealand prices also already include a tax called GST at 15% … as opposed to the state’s sales tax being calculated at the register. The minimum wage is higher in NZ and citizens have access to subsidized healthcare and other public services which could contribute to higher prices in the market.

Fair enough, New Zealand. If these prices are standard, then maybe most people don’t know it any other way. But I’m curious as to how students make this work - particularly those without the benefit of scholarships, government aid or parental backing.