yeh the markup is pretty huge. one of my mates who hooks me up with cheap jerseys is a store manager at amart allsports and he can give them to me usually at cost + ~10%, and it generally ends up being around $105 for a $170 jersey i think it is.
then during the offseason though, thats when it gets stupid cheap. he got me the 7 in a row QLD jersey for $60 :D
The cost price of the Nike jerseys made in China or most other South Asia countries is less than US$10. Add a dollar for the bulk shipping costs per jersey, and you know the margin Nike and the retailers get.
This goes for many non essential items as well. My family has a small chain of optical retail outlets in Europe, and their (and all others) markup is something out of this world... Ray Ban goes over the counter at a minimum 1000% markup (yes that is a thousand), and the more expensive the brand, the larger the markup. Spectacle frames have a huge markup as well, but lenses have only a "respectable" 35-50% markup. Given the Australian prices, similar markups will be in place here as well...
I can order an authentic soccer jersey from Europe for about $50 (including shipping)... they are $120 in stores here.
The price of NRL jerseys is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I don't understand how it can be allowed. It's not like rugby league is a sport for the upper class either. So fucking stupid.
I like the new Broncos jersey, looks simple & modern. Simple is always good with NRL jerseys in my opinion, don't want some insane crap like a Tigers jersey..
But i agree with most people that the heritage jerseys are the best NRL jerseys.