Rip Off Britain v USA prices

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Sailfree

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I need a new Harken Main Block part number 1559.

Best price in UK £88.85

Price in USA $75.40

At $2 =£1 that makes it roughly£38.

Can anyone explain the reason for the difference please?
 
I can't explain the difference, some is VAT, think there might be import duty too.

But its great, I have colleauges hand carry car parts back every week!
 
VAT, import duty, freight, UK distributors profit and the fact that the UK price will have been calculated at the exchange rate prevailing at time of import, perhaps months ago.
 
Maybe he understands that one day a pension might be a nice thing so decides that if you want to live in one of the most expensive countries in the world you have to pay a premium now and again.

nah, that is just silly, sorry, off to buy some more badly made Chinese crud..
 
I am now buying that part from the USA but ultimately I do believe in supporting your local corner shop.

Anothr example Leatherman waves $61.

We all need somewhere local to get parts urgently but I do wonder how I would go about equipping a new boat the next time.

Is it just lower operating costs for shops in the USA or are they more efficient I really would like to understand the difference but its not just boat bits.

I bought my Honda Fireblade for £6000 when the identical machine in tthe UK was over £8000. It appears Honda sell cheaper in Holland and it was imported from Holland to UK. Likewise a Yamaha 1300FJR is about £11,000 in UK but recent ones imported via the USA were £8,500. It can't just be taxes as the same taxes go on importing these motorcycles. Are the large manufacturers so scornful of the UK buying public to look elsewhere that they have a special price just for this island race??
 
I was recently re-fitting a racing keelboat and needed approx £3k worth of Harken Fittings.

I emailed a few US suppliers and managed to get the whole lot (including delivery) for around £1,900 - a good saving. However, import duty was questionable (when I emailed the EU body they were unaware what catagory chandlery came under - anything from 2% - 10% they suggested!!).

I then approached some UK chandlers, who agreed a bulk discount on RRP, and I got the whole lot for £2,100 from the UK.

Not only did I save a 4 week delivery and a potentially drawn out debate with customs on import duty, I also helped support the UK chandlers.

Worth approaching a few I think?

Jonny
 
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Maybe he understands that one day a pension might be a nice thing so decides that if you want to live in one of the most expensive countries in the world you have to pay a premium now and again.


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You call 79 quid per week a pension?


It's not just compared to the US that we're being ripped off.
Three years ago I re-engined our boat. Yanmar 3JH4.
Best UK quote 6500 quid, incl VAT but installation would be another 1.5K

Got it done in Belgium (backward, 3rd world country with no health service or pension provisions whatsoever) and paid 6000 Euro (saving of 35%) and they took the old Volvo off my hands in lieu of labour.
 
Yet another example!!

I am sure labour in Belgium can only be a little cheaper but I wonder if rent/marina fees and any council tax is not a considerable bit cheaper.

In the case you quote surely the explaination must be that Yanmar have a cheaper list price for Belgium than the Uk.

There has been lots of publicity to the fact that big Japanese electrical suppliers refuse to supply Tv's etc to outlets that sell below their unofficial strict minimum price!! As usual our bunch of self centred politicians do nothing for the buying public - their electorate!! Can we just simply blame our politicians for allowing it to happen and its easier to achieve artificially high prices on an island?
 
Sorry, I was being a bit flip. I'd agree with what others have said and would add that the US has a home market that is 5 times that of the UK, labour, land and overheads that are lower than here and the net result is a lower price.

In the internet enabled world we live in commodity prices are going to be driven by the shop and the country that can keep it's overheads low and service levels up. In terms of level of service the US can teach most of the UK retailers a thing or two. There are notable exceptions, such as, in my experience Mailspeed, but mostly I consider myself lucky if stuff arrives within a week. I once ordered a fishing rod by phone from California at 5pm one day and was fishing with it 24 hours later!

Having said all that I buy all of my electronics here in the UK, at a premium price directly from the guys that fit it onto the yacht (I'm no electronics handyman) because if anything goes wrong I want the service that goes with the extra price.
 
Service can be good in the UK as well though (as you have recognised)....

I ordered a new liferaft and cradle Tuesday evening at 21h00 from SeamarkNunn, and it arrived Thursday morning at 09h30..... pretty good, and a competitive price too....

I however do find the price disparity frustrating..... costs are lower in the USA.... but salaries and disposable income aren't..... what especially annoys me is stuff that is made in the UK being cheaper in the USA.... just plain wrong IMHO......
 
anither fishy story!! and how long afore a fish wus caught, eh? of course, being a US rod, I s'pose the fish'd turn up and ask "sunny side up, poached, scrambled or fried, sir?"

of course, there are 200m people in US, 4 times here, so i suppose its not surprising that stuff is a bit cheaper over there ...
 
I think it's us: the people- we allow these shops to rip us off. We don't rise up and string em up from the lamp-post. Although it is a Dutch company which makes the machines which inject chemicals into meat which will then absorb more water. We then pay cheap meat prices for water.

An example which always rankles was many years back when I worked in London and a nearby pub was deliberately serving short measure, about 1.5 inches down on a standard glass. I asked if he was selling these to me as pints, and got the answer do you want these beers or not? (Evil whatsit wouldn't say they were pints.) Some beery oaf behind me says if he doesn't want them I'll have them. It's that attitude which lets them get away with it. If we all boycotted a particular shop or manufacturer - and let all the others know it would be their turn next we might see some action. But we'd never get it all together.

(Pub story has a happy ending: we sent weights and measures round there)
 
[ QUOTE ]
I need a new Harken Main Block part number 1559.

Best price in UK £88.85

Price in USA $75.40

At $2 =£1 that makes it roughly£38.

Can anyone explain the reason for the difference please?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's mostly to do with shipping and Customs & Excise - be careful of ordering from the USA because you might get stung with a hefty bill once it arrives in the UK, particularly if someone like DHL is used to ship it. I bought some software (only available in the USA) for US$130, then had US$65 shipping charge slapped on top. Fair enough, I figured it was worth it. Little did I know that HMRC would slap another £35 on top for import duties. Just to add insult to injury, they based their value on US$195 (i.e. value including shipping) rather than just the product value.
 
It's not just the price of goods, it's the service and availability.

I went with friends who were looking for new 3 piece suite in California.

"Yes sir, we can deliver tomorrow." Was the usual refrain.

In UK, I went to DFS and was told that I could have my suite in six weeks time. Decided to try elsewhere and unless I wanted some crud, I'd have to wait for six to eight weeks.

In the end, I went back to DFS and ordered. Ten weeks later it arrived and even then they forgot to include the free leather care pack and in the end had to go back to the store and have a chat with the manager.
 
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I am sure labour in Belgium can only be a little cheaper but I wonder if rent/marina fees and any council tax is not a considerable bit cheaper.


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Avarage price in Belgium for labour in the boating industry €35 (£23).
Average I've encountered in Britain £50.

Marinas are cheaper in Belgium.

Level of taxation is higher.
Hence, there's a larger "black" economy. Last estimated at close to 40% of GDP.

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In the case you quote surely the explaination must be that Yanmar have a cheaper list price for Belgium than the Uk.

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One word: Barrus - sole importers of Yanmar in the UK. They don't work through Yanmar Europe, but get their stock directly from Japan. No stock -> currency fluctuations and longer lead-in time. Lead-in when we inquired: 6-8 weeks.
We got our engine from the Yanmar dealer in Nieuwpoort - though price war pretty much the same where-ever we asked in Belgium/Holland. Lead-in: 4 days
The main reason we went with him was that he was prepared to take the old engine in lieu of labour.
 
A few points on this topic:
1 You are allowed to bring in to the UK from a non EU country goods to the value of GBP 145 free of Vat and duty.
2 US retail prices do not include state taxes which are added on at point of sale and average 5%
3 Most US retailers are reluctant to use the cheapest transport to the UK which is US Post. If they use a carrier you are stuck with another 20-30 quid so most small purchases are not economical.
3 I agree with other posting about the gullible British public. Several times I have posted about tidal errors on Lowrance chartplotters and always among the replies are pillocks who say it something along the lines of "doesn't really matter it's a great display - what are you complaining about".
Incidentally, just look at US websites to see what the Yanks buy their plotters for! This week the pound rose to $2 yet Redcar RAISED the price of one of their Garmin plotters yesterday!!
 
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