We do we allow it?

[Guest]

Hi,

After long and valiant service my solar regulator's mortal coil has shuffled off. I decided to go for a new and more sophisticated controller - a Sunsaver Charge Controls-10Amp - and was quoted £70 plus delivery. I had a look around the web and purchased the identical model for £30 plus delivery from a retail outlet in the USA. Even when you add the VAT and freight on this is far better value than we are being offered here in the UK. It was so good I ordered two and they are effectively half price and I can add to my PV array in the future.

Can anyone enlighten me as to why we are always asked to pay far more than anywhere else in the world?

Regards




Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[rogerroger]

because at the end of the day we accept it.

the internet, as you've found out, is a great way to buy cheaper but being so conservative us Brits moan cos something turned up a day late for example then give up.

I've not bought a CD from the High Street in five years as refuse to pay the prices - others, however, will still sheepishly trudge to HMV and pay £14.99 for the same CD I get for £8.99.

We pay high prices because we tolerate them.

/forums/images/icons/cool.gif Roger Holden /forums/images/icons/cool.gif
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.first-magnitude.co.uk>First Magnitude</A>

 

[jimi]

But ...

But .. in the US on business recently I bought Sony Playstation games for the kiddies, got them home & they would'nt work .. different chips in the UK machines, so i've now got to buy them in the UK as well!! Perhaps the fear of that sort of thing happening & the logistical difficulties if there is a problem prevents us being more adventurous in our purchasing?

Jim

 

[Trevethan]

Re: But ...

These different standards ( the same applies to DVD) is a way of screwing customers in high margin countries like the UK. Sony et al says that this is a legimate way of defeating copyright thieves. My argument is that if the products were sensibly priced to begin with, why would anyone bother to copy?

You can get your Playstation "chipped" so that it will play US, UK and othjer games. Unsure of price etc. It voids warranty so don't do it int he first year.

DVD players can be similarly upgraded.

Sony recently lost a court case in Australia against a company that chipped Playstations.

 

[rogerroger]

Re: But ...

Oh I totally agree - hence the invention of different formats e.g. PAL vs NTSC for video which used to stop you even being able to buy a VHS tape in the US that would work here. Or regional codes on DVDs that (in theory) stops you buying from abroad.

And the biggest anti-consumer conspiracy is that we drive on the left therefore making it a real pain for us to buy cheaper cars from Europe...

/forums/images/icons/cool.gif Roger Holden /forums/images/icons/cool.gif
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.first-magnitude.co.uk>First Magnitude</A>

 

[kingfisher]

+VAT+freight+IMPORT DUTIES

Import duties for electronics from the US can be upward of 50%.

Make sure when you order stuff, you have them mark it as "GIFT" or "SAMPLE". Otherwise you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[Gunfleet]

Bizarrely professional photographic equipment is miles cheaper here. American photographers are dead keen on buying from English mail order companies.

 

[Footpad]

Re: What drives high prices - a theory

I think UK prices have a lot to do with property prices. Property prices fuel everything, employees need more money to pay their rent or mortgage, your window cleaner and gardener have to live nearby as well. You need more money to pay your business rent or mortgage. If you own your premises your accountant looks at the inflated value of your property as an investment and looks for a reasonable return on that investment etc etc inc marinas.

So as long as we live on this overcrowded island our prices will be higher than those with more room.

Thats my theory anyway - you may think differently?

 

[Guest]

Re: What drives high prices - a theory

Hi

But property prices are only high in some areas of the country... You can buy one house and get another free in some parts of these islands. Property prices in the South and other hotspots cost an arm and a leg (plus heart, lungs, liver and at least one kidney in London.) I'm sure that anyone doing mail order could manage it oop nawth and the courier prices would stay the same.

Regards




Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[Footpad]

Re: What drives high prices - a theory

You have a good point but I believe that on average our property prices are still higher than most other countries and for some reason we mostly want to live and run businesses in the SE thats why the prices are higher there. You could set up a mail order company in Northumberland but you would still have to buy from companies in the south.

That said the small electronic parts that were used to manufacture your bit of charging wizardry were probably manufactured by workers living in a shanty town and being paid one US dollar a day. You're right somebody is ripping us (and them) off somewhere.

 

[Joe_Cole]

Who did you buy your bits from? Do they have a web site?
I would be interested.

Joe Cole

 

[Guest]

Re: What drives high prices - a theory

Hi,

Footpad writes

I believe that on average our property prices are still higher than most other countries

Ummm... have you looked at prices in Germany recently? 100 year mortgages are common otherwise property in many areas is unaffordable. Huge swathes of industrial Greece (Yes, I know - on both counts) have very high prices. Denmark has limited land resources, Sweden and Norway both have tiny areas of inhabitable land - you monohull sailors would be fine as one leg is shorter than the other - perefect for mountain dwelling. Other countries have higher taxation but the UK seems to carry the burden of much higher prices.

Cars, cameras, yachts and yacht bits, solar panels, CDs, DVDs, clothes, washing powder and so forth is all cheaper abroad.

Regards

Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Sure, try www.solardyne.com - they are the cheapest I found for regulators but other bits may be cheaper elsewhere.

Regards



Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[petery]

Re: +VAT+freight+IMPORT DUTIES

Recently bought some kit from the US via a dealer who didn't export very often. He charged me freight, then he got an unexpected bill from Fedex two weeks later for VAT, duty and handling that they had paid on his behalf in the UK.

It was still cheaper to buy from the US - but I had to shell out a further £70 on £300 worth of kit

 

[ccscott49]

Yachtbits, panel regulator, £40+vat, look around a little more, you can get stuff cheaper in the UK, but you have to look for it.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

You can buy a shunt or an open regulator for £40. No bother. Try one of the more sophisticated switching regulators and they are £70 plus.

I had a new juicemaker delivered today. Cost in the UK for the identical model £299 plus delivery. Cost ordered in the states? $290 including delivery. Customs £50. I still only paid £244 for it. How come an American retailer can ship it to me for £55 less than a UK distributor?

Regards



Fred

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.

 

[ccscott49]

I don't know, but I bet I could have got it cheaper, with a little research! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Footpad]

Re: What drives high prices - a theory

All right I promise I won't mention property prices again. Its still all very interesting though, where are all the millionaires that are ripping us off and why do the mail order chandlers, British car manufacturers, boatbuilders etc go broke so often. Is it that we are inefficient or is it dishonesty? There has to be an explanation somewhere, market forces apply as much here as anywhere else?