Q.When is the global village not a global village?
 

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly different rates
in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved in and
bought from a european site but still around 370euros (+shipping) is the
cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is with amazon.co.uk -who add
on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more expensive again (they do this
only during the order phase which I'm sure is illegal in the EU... all other
times before this it shows the standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the past for
a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a vengeance. Electrical
goods especially seem to have their own set-prices in their own areas and
it's very hard to "shop around".


Its a window wall for the global village. We can see the goods but can't get
at them.

-Kevin.


--
Reply to:

Gunther Gloop put on the robe and wizard hat...and talked like a pirate

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly different
rates in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved in
and bought from a european site but still around 370euros (+shipping)
is the cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is with
amazon.co.uk -who add on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more
expensive again (they do this only during the order phase which I'm
sure is illegal in the EU... all other times before this it shows the
standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the
past for a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a
vengeance. Electrical goods especially seem to have their own
set-prices in their own areas and it's very hard to "shop around".


Its a window wall for the global village. We can see the goods but
can't get at them.

-Kevin.



indeed.
I bought a remote control which from the manufacturers site is $199 in
the US but also $199 in Canada..

Number are the same, amouont of money is vastly different.

David Beamish wrote:
Gunther Gloop put on the robe and wizard hat...and talked like a
pirate

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly
different rates in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved in
and bought from a european site but still around 370euros (+shipping)
is the cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is with
amazon.co.uk -who add on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more
expensive again (they do this only during the order phase which I'm
sure is illegal in the EU... all other times before this it shows the
standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the
past for a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a
vengeance. Electrical goods especially seem to have their own
set-prices in their own areas and it's very hard to "shop around".


Its a window wall for the global village. We can see the goods but
can't get at them.

-Kevin.



indeed.
I bought a remote control which from the manufacturers site is $199 in
the US but also $199 in Canada..

Number are the same, amouont of money is vastly different.

In fairness, it's normal to find goods cheaper elsewhere than from
manufacturer's themselves (helps promote third party sales), but the problem
arises when manufacturers and distributors and _governments_ block people
from buying in one area or another.

-Kevin.


--
Reply to:

Gunther Gloop wrote:
A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly
different rates in different sectors.

I recent;y got into a row about this on the AVforums. The BenQ PB6100 DLP
projector can be had for $799 in the US. Over here it's £1000. UK traders
were trying to convince me that the difference is justifiable because the
cost of providing a warranty in a smaller marketplace is far more than it is
in a massive country like the States. I'm not convinced, even after
allowing for VAT there's a lot of money being made by somebody somewhere.

Andy

Gunther Gloop wrote:
A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly
different rates in different sectors.

I recent;y got into a row about this on the AVforums. The BenQ
PB6100 DLP projector can be had for $799 in the US. Over here it's
£1000. UK traders were trying to convince me that the difference is
justifiable because the cost of providing a warranty in a smaller
marketplace is far more than it is in a massive country like the
States. I'm not convinced, even after allowing for VAT there's a lot
of money being made by somebody somewhere.


"Distributors" on the whole. They get it from the manufacturer and pass it
on to the retailer (or another distributor). For that they lash on a hike
the size of the Hebredies.

They're also the reason why movement and availability of goods is
restricted... We can't have a monopolistic distributor in one region being
screwed by thousands of people wanting the same thing cheaper from someone
else now could we?

-Kevin.


--
Reply to:

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 10:50:23 +0100, "Gunther Gloop" wrote:

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly different rates
in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved in and
bought from a european site but still around 370euros (+shipping) is the
cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is with amazon.co.uk -who add
on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more expensive again (they do this
only during the order phase which I'm sure is illegal in the EU... all other
times before this it shows the standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the past for
a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a vengeance. Electrical
goods especially seem to have their own set-prices in their own areas and
it's very hard to "shop around".


Its a window wall for the global village. We can see the goods but can't get
at them.

You & I plus other residents of the EU pay VAT. Quite rightly too because it
funds our pensions & Health Services (both especially good in Ireland although
probably not as generous on those here in France:-)

Most US states pay bugger all sales tax. An enormous number of people (I read a
figure of over 30% the other day) have absolutely zero Health Insurance cover.
What do you want? Save a few Euros by evading tax n expensive electronic toys or
be bankrupted simply for falling ill. The poor in the US are dirt poor, worse
than any of even the 10 new states joining the EU. The rich tax evaders are
obscenely rich. The government does not give a **** as long as their cronies
have their noses in the trough.

If you want ridiculously low taxes, cheap toy, that way of life plus every other
citizen is a mad fundamentalist Christians then why don't you just up sticks &
move there.

If you want a more caring, cohesive & social society then pay your taxes here &
stop whining.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

"Gunther Gloop" wrote

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly different
rates
in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved in and
bought from a european site but still around 370euros (+shipping) is the
cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is with amazon.co.uk -who add
on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more expensive again (they do this
only during the order phase which I'm sure is illegal in the EU... all
other
times before this it shows the standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the past
for
a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a vengeance.
Electrical
goods especially seem to have their own set-prices in their own areas and
it's very hard to "shop around".

The UK price is £244.99 inc 17.5% UK VAT, so £208.50 ex VAT, so roughly $370
at today's interbank rate, compared to the pre-tax $363 from the US. A
pre-tax difference of $7 hardly seems to represent "wildly different rates"
on the part of the manufacturers or the distributors, or have I missed the
point?

John Howells

Nigel Barker wrote:
On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 10:50:23 +0100, "Gunther Gloop"
wrote:

A.When manufacturers & distributors decide to sell at wildly
different rates in different sectors.


I'm getting rather itchy for a portable mp3 player. I nearly caved
in and bought from a european site but still around 370euros
(+shipping) is the cheapest I can find the iriver120. Even that is
with amazon.co.uk -who add
on the Irish VAT to me so it would be more expensive again (they do
this
only during the order phase which I'm sure is illegal in the EU...
all other times before this it shows the standard uk price).

Anyway, the same player in the US (amazon.com) is $363 (DOLLARS).

This kind of price-discrepency seemed to be becoming a thing of the
past for
a while there, but now it appears to be back... with a vengeance.
Electrical goods especially seem to have their own set-prices in
their own areas and
it's very hard to "shop around".


Its a window wall for the global village. We can see the goods but
can't get at them.

You & I plus other residents of the EU pay VAT. Quite rightly too
because it funds our pensions & Health Services (both especially good
in Ireland although probably not as generous on those here in
France:-)


Obviously it's a long time since you checked the Irish health service. The
thing is buckling at the patches on the patches of the seams. Irish vat is
21% which I do consider excessive and I admit I'm happy to get away with
whenever it happens that I don't have to pay it. ...I'm not talking about
deliberately avoiding it, but for instance I have yet to send a cheque to
the collector general for vat not claimed.


Most US states pay bugger all sales tax. An enormous number of people
(I read a figure of over 30% the other day) have absolutely zero
Health Insurance cover. What do you want? Save a few Euros by evading
tax n expensive electronic toys or be bankrupted simply for falling
ill. The poor in the US are dirt poor, worse than any of even the 10
new states joining the EU. The rich tax evaders are obscenely rich.
The government does not give a **** as long as their cronies have
their noses in the trough.

If you want ridiculously low taxes, cheap toy, that way of life plus
every other citizen is a mad fundamentalist Christians then why don't
you just up sticks & move there.

If you want a more caring, cohesive & social society then pay your
taxes here & stop whining.

Nobody's talking about not paying vat... or talking about vat at all here.

Admittedly you introduce an angle I hadn't factored in for this case in
particular. However the main point I was making still holds imo... people
aren't free to buy across the planet in many cases despite the hoo-ha about
"global market".
Vat does not always account for the shortfall or the restrictions.

Dvd region coding and game & software regions are other examples. Ok,
they're not the example I gave earlier but do also highlight the overall
point.

-Kevin.


--
Reply to:

John Howells wrote:

A pre-tax difference of $7 hardly seems to represent
"wildly different rates"

Explain this one then...

Go to www.ebuyer.co.uk and search for PB6100 Then click on the little
American flag and search for PB6100.

I'm with Kevin on this one. ;)

Andy

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 19:50:30 +0100, "Gunther Gloop" wrote:

Obviously it's a long time since you checked the Irish health service. The
thing is buckling at the patches on the patches of the seams. Irish vat is
21% which I do consider excessive and I admit I'm happy to get away with
whenever it happens that I don't have to pay it. ...I'm not talking about
deliberately avoiding it, but for instance I have yet to send a cheque to
the collector general for vat not claimed.

Irish VAT is average for the EU. You definitely are talking about not paying VAT
by ignoring sales tax on US prices & grumbling about higher Europeans prices.

Dvd region coding and game & software regions are other examples. Ok,
they're not the example I gave earlier but do also highlight the overall
point.

I agree with you on these points ut as you say this is the first time that you
enter these into the argument.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur