prices, US v. Europe (head explode)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Henry
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Henry

Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
Can you imagine?

cheers,

Henry
 
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:31:00 +0200, Henry wrote:

=>Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
=>recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
=>might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
=>but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
=>mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
=>Can you imagine?
=>
=>cheers,
=>
=>Henry

Yes.

But then, the Euro is overvalued.
 
Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
Can you imagine?

cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...

It seems only fair as we pay a lot more here for prescription medicines.
 
Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
Can you imagine?

cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...
So why don't you import one?
 
Henry said:
Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
Can you imagine?

cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...

Difference, value of the Dollar to the Euro, and VAT (which we don't have in the US.)
 
1. power supply
Click to expand...
Many of the larger U.S. on-line stores will provide a 220/240 volt
model at a slightly higher cost. You could also get it from Asia or
Australia. My Australian Brother printer (an HL-1850) is rated at
220-240V 50/60Hz and the Australian price for a 3420c seems to be
around 180 Euro.
2. warranty
Click to expand...
This can be a problem. On the only occasion I have had a failure the
local distributor honoured the warrantee after I told them the device
was a gift from an American relative. There was a brilliant piece of
extortion by one manufacturer that honoured the warranty after you had
paid them to "upgrade" the product for "Australian conditions". The
cost of the upgrade was about the extra cost of the device in
Australia.

Anyway, from your figures you could afford to pay two way transport to
have the printer fixed and still come out ahead.
3. Customs and VAT
Click to expand...
If that accounts for the difference in price you have your
explanation.
cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...
I agree that there are some risks in importing goods yourself and you
may end up paying more than if you had bought the product locally.
However, if you average the cost over a several purchases you will
come out ahead and you will help your fellow citizens by introducing
some global competition to your domestic market.
 
Jimmy said:
Difference, value of the Dollar to the Euro, and VAT (which we don't have
in the US.)
Click to expand...

The difference between the value of the dollar vs. the euro shouldn't
make any difference, since Brother is a Japanese company and the machine
is most likely made in Taiwan or Korea or some place like that. And even
if the exchange rate _were_ a factor, it would work the other way
around, since the euro has been higher than the dollar, continuously,
for the past 13 months.

And VAT is 22%, not 135%.

No, it's simply price-gouging by the European distributors.

cheers,

Henry
 
David Segall said:
If that accounts for the difference in price you have your
explanation.
Click to expand...

I don't need, and never asked for, an 'explanation'. There is neither
surprise nor mystery in the fact that things cost more in Europe. Our
friends in Britain remember well enough the time when a US price of $100
meant a UK price of £100, regardless of the exchange rate.

And, no: customs and VAT don't amount to 135% mark-up (i.e., the
difference between 150 and 350).

I was merely venting a little, and perhaps launching a pre-emptive war
against Yanks who complain about prices. :-)

cheers,

Henry
 
Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
Can you imagine?

cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...
Is retail price maintenance legal in your country? In other words is
the manufacturer or distributer allowed to set a minimum retail price
for a product? Can the local manufacturer or distributor prevent a
retailer from selling the product that they import from some other
overseas supplier? If either is true then it is easy to imagine and
the solution is a political one. If neither is true then you have a
golden opportunity set up an on-line store!
 
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 06:31:00 +0200, Henry wrote:

=>Right. I'm _still_ looking for the all-in-one of my dreams and have
=>recently become aware of the new Brother mfc 3840cn, which looks like it
=>might have potential. That model is not yet available here in my area,
=>but the identical-except-no-ethernet 3420c is. The 3420c is available
=>mail order in the US for $149. Here it costs 280 euro, or about $350.
=>Can you imagine?
Click to expand...
Yes.

But then, the Euro is overvalued.
Click to expand...

It may have little to do with the value of the Euro vs the U.S.
dollar. Brother has a factory in the U.S., which means they may be
able to save import duties. That's more likely the cause of the price
discrepancy.
 
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