In the US, a 4.5kg box of Dymatize Elite Whey Protein will cost you $61. In Australia, for the same product, you're lucky if you get change from $160! The ever popular NO Xplod costs just $33 in the US - $90 in Aus. Bad Ass Mass: $28 vs $120 here. Etc etc etc.
$30 doesnt buy much these days. Its $30 just for 2 people to go to a movie! But $100 is different. You CAN buy things for $100. And when you spend $100 on something you probably had to consciously give up something else you would've liked.
So when it comes to supplements, spending $30 for a months worth of crazy tasting, crazy looking pre-workout caffeine hits is OK. Its a toy. Its throwaway money for some recreational fun. You are getting your moneys worth even when you are intelligent enough to realise that supplements don't 'do' anything. (NOTE: the hype about supplements growing muscle or burning fat is just an outright ludicrous lie! Saying a supplement will grow your muscles is like saying a tyre will transport you somewhere by itself. Its just silliness. Don't be fooled)!
But in Australia its different. For whatever reason, a $30 supplement will cost $100-$150 here. All of a sudden the value proposition is changed. Its gone from throw-away, recreational money to a serious spend. You wouldn't pay $120 to go to a regular movie in a regular cinema. You wouldnt pay $120 for a regular CD. You wouldn't pay $120 for a regular pasta meal in a pub. So why would you spend $120 on the latest American $30 supplement?
I run a supplement shop and yet I've always maintained that supplements are mostly a total waste of money! I've said 1000 times that supplements DON'T build muscle or burn fat. And they don't! Overseas the use of supplements can make sense - its a bit of fun for play money. You get very little out of the supps but you lose very little money so its OK. But here in Australia its not OK; its not fun and its not play money! Don't waste your money!
POSTSCRIPT: Ironically, the supplements that offer the most value in Australia are almost as cheap here as overseas. Phosphatidylserine, zinc, Vitamin D and C are all between $5 and $45 and will do more for your training and health than any 'hormone booster'!
3 comments:
When a guy who sells supplements for a living and holds a crazy number of trophies for powerlifting and bodybuilding give advice this honest, listen.
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Scientists have proven scientifically that Muscletech supplements are 4000% more effective than standard whey protein isolate. That's really impressive (they're real scientists - they had a photo of them with white coats).
Very good post. What pisses me off even more is the Aussie supplement companies who gouge us even further by charging us the same price as the US. imported goods.
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