Unfair Pricing

[Anthony Mckay]

Hello all,
Just wondering if anyone else outside the US has noticed the sometimes vast difference in prices for the same equipment that reefers outside the US have to stump up ?
I understand that because there are many reefers in the US that suppliers can sell in bulk thus the price is better and of course there’s local tax, import duties etc etc.
But when say a piece of equipment made and sold from inside the EU, so there’s no import duties to other EU countries plus cheaper shipping costs can literally cost double !!!!
I’ve just been looking at a piece of equipment sold in a main US and I want to add one of the best equipment suppliers to reefers in the US if not the world sells a piece of equipment for $129 yet in the UK the same equipment costs nearly $200 yet it flies or bobs past the UK on a ship !!!!!
Then if you buy it from the US you rightly have to pay import duties but then the dreaded shipping on top makes it not viable.
I suspect it’s just the price I must pay for living on a little island but just needed a rant lol
Thanks
Anthony

 

[reefwiser]

Wait till you guys are out of the EU then they will add a fee for that too. I have bought a lot of equipment overseas over the years. I stopped worrying about it and just hoped that if the product did well they would eventually sell in the US. Taxes and exchange rates for countries plus just shipping to countries play a large role. So equipment is hard to support in smaller countries to the level satisfactory for most companies so it is not worth them even selling anything too a country.

 

[ChiCity]

Well the US is the world’s largest consumer so naturally our prices will always be competitive... But in your case, living in England, I’m sure you have to deal with high tariffs which drive prices up

 

[Anthony Mckay]

Its ok we'll vote to be the 51st state lol
Then companies wonder why people buy knock off copies but surely fair pricing would increase sales and help them get back all that money and time they've spent in developing and limit the market of knock offs

 

[alton]

I hate bring up our president's name but he has been complaining about unfair trade practices since taking office. I have a good friend who hunts in Africa and always takes an extra $400 scope because after taxes the scope would cost his PH $1600.

 

[Anthony Mckay]

I understand that the US is the largest consumer market in the world but if they can sell an item for a price in the US and nearly twice as much elsewhere someone is making a vast profit.
You would never sell an item at a loss to your biggest market or your company would go bust very quickly

 

[Reef Monkie]

I understand that the US is the largest consumer market in the world but if they can sell an item for a price in the US and nearly twice as much elsewhere someone is making a vast profit.
You would never sell an item at a loss to your biggest market or your company would go bust very quickly

I am a European to and US pricing makes me cry but I think that the idea that it is just because they are the largest consumer market is a bit of a myth. The whole point of the EU is to be one of the largest consumer markets in the world and it is pretty successful at doing that.

The real reason comes down to choices. I will try to keep this as free of politics as I can. To start with US prices don't include sales tax. On top of that taxation is handled very differently in the US with local taxes being levied mainly via a tax on property. Then there is the fact that in the EU employers are responsible for jointly contributing towards the healthcare and unemployment insurances of their employees. Any cost a business makes is reflected in consumer pricing, and some of these costs are considerable. These choices can be quite painful if one views this in isolation without taking into account what the governments in the EU believe that their citizens receive in return.

Personally speaking I think we should do what we do best as Europeans, complain loudly and bitterly about taxes and our governments while quietly being quite content with the quality of life we have. It's that or emigrate to a place where they make different choices.

 

[cgdcinc]

Supply and demand.

 

[anit77]

What happens when you buy the product from a US supplier and have it shipped to EU countries? Are there duties and taxes levied on goods in addition to the frieght?

 

[Reef Monkie]

What happens when you buy the product from a US supplier and have it shipped to EU countries? Are there duties and taxes levied on goods in addition to the frieght?

Taxes always, and where I live import duties are levied above a certain € value depending on the product and the country it is imported from. VAT (Value Added Tax or sales tax ) is 21% where I live, or 6% for some 'essentials' like food, art, books, and some services.

 

[roberthu526]

Do Europe countries have higher tax rate?

 

[Anthony Mckay]

No higher tax rate just the import duties from the US.
The thing is you can buy it from the US paying import duties and shipping for something made and sold within the EU (where there are no import taxes and shipping rates are far less) for about the same price !!!!! Why ???
My gripe is if they can sell it in the US for X amount of $ (which is further away and they pay import duties) why can't it be sold for the same price within the EU countries where its supplied ???
Somewhere we are getting ripped off one thinks LOL.

 

[anit77]

Well... I guess that where some of the money for your better health care system come from. Still sucks to have to Pay that much more for something that's made there to begin with. Maybe one of the suppliers can fill in some of the blanks for you.

 

[ajm83]

Generally I think the US price shown doesn't include VAT though, does it? So that's 20% right there (UK prices are shown with VAT).

It is annoying though, I agree. Another annoying thing is that our friends in the States have places like BRS & Marine Depot punting things out at good prices. AFAIK we simply don't have an equivalent over here.

@Ryanbrs - how about a UK Branch?

 

[Sea MunnKey]

All I can say is any reef related hardwares is always cheaper Stateside but not in terms of any exotic and hard to find corals compared to what's being sold in Toronto.