buying from the States

[PaulWarning]

I bought some DR neon pink strings (they match my strap quite nicely) on impulse from Brighton when we had a gig down there, cost me £40, when I decided to buy another set thought I'd shop around, got them for £21.66 including postage, from the states off ebay and they arrived in a week, is it any wonder music shops are closing down? I don't mind paying a couple of quid extra to support them but we're talking nearly half price here, ridiculous.

[yorks5stringer]

Huge marketplace, no import duty and low transport fees, no VAT, etc etc.....! Also the home of Pink?

[muttley]

Prices in the USA do not include any sales tax. Although not as high a % as VAT, the price displayed is not the price you pay when buying over the counter.

As in the above post, retailers in the UK (and rest of the EU) have to display prices including VAT, which is currently 20%. Note: it is the Government that charges VAT, not the retailer! Retailers just act as (unpaid) tax collectors on behalf of HMRC.

Finally, an eBay deal is not likely to yield a profit margin sufficient to pay a high enough proportion of the overheads of running a shop with employees etc. Did you ask for a discount, BTW?

I don't want to appear like a moaner, but please compare apples with apples.

[PaulWarning]

so why isn't everything half price from the states?

Why should I have to ask for a discount? it wasn't arab market stall I bought them from, if the shop could sell them cheaper and still make a profit that should be the price on the ticket

Edited October 1, 2012 by PaulWarning

[BassBus]

Probably simple economies of scale. The shop in Brighton buys five sets at £15/set (for example) adds markup + VAT. The Ebay store in USA buys 50 sets at $10/set + no sales tax. That's the way an economy works. Buy more and the supplier will give the store a discount. Small shops don't have the sales capacity to shift large amounts. Web sites have the whole world, potentially.

[AntLockyer]

[quote][color=#000000][font=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif][size=3]If you order or send purchased goods other than alcohol, tobacco, perfume and toilet water from a country outside the EU then you:[/size][/font][/color][list]
[*]don't have to pay Excise Duty
[*]may have to pay Customs Duty on goods with a value that exceeds £135
[*]will have to pay import VAT on goods with a value that exceeds £15
[/list]
[/quote]

So you owe HRMC some money.

EDIT

Actually just saw this

[quote][color=#000000][font=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif][size=3]Note that on all goods from outside the EU, Customs Duty is waived if the [/size][/font][/color][b]amount of duty[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif][size=3] calculated is £9 or under.[/size][/font][/color][/quote]

So just buying your strings one set at a time you save 20%

Edited October 1, 2012 by AntLockyer

[muttley]

[quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1349098870' post='1821739']
So just buying your strings one set at a time you save 20%
[/quote]

No . Import Duty is waived for lower-value imports. VAT, OTOH, is due on [i]all[/i] imports over £15 in value (value = cost of goods plus shipping and insurance). Not all packages get stopped by customs though. The OP was lucky this time.

[PaulWarning]

maybe at this point I should say I'm not necessarily having a go at the shop, although if they can give discount just when somebody asks maybe they should be reviewing their business model, how many people look at the price ticket and just walk out?, the system from top to bottom seems a bit wrong to me.

[Dingus]

The reasons why goods are cheaper in the U.S.A to begin with ( I could try to explain if anybody is really interested ) are quite complex , but the practicality of importing stuff from the America is that yes, in some cases even with duty and vat you can get things a bit cheaper, and on things like strings and accessories , and this can be worthwhile, especially if you are ordering in enough quantity to make a significant saving. The problems can come when you are buying higher cost items such as basses, where you can find yourself without a U.K warranty and without anywhere to turn to if the goods are faulty or don't live up to reasonable expectations. Even if you buy goods from a reputable retailer in the U.S.A who will accept a return for whatever reason , you have got a job on your hands to claim back the tax and duty you have already paid, as well of the question of who will pay for the return shipping.

As to the U.K retailer selling goods cheaper because you can get them cheaper from abroad, as others have pointed out, shops have completely different overheads to pay and different profit margins to achieve in order to stay in business. U.K retailers are also most usually obliged to buy the goods they stock from official U.K distributors, who of course charge a markup for this service. Trust me when I tell you that if you lived in America you would have other demands on your overall income which would easily outstrip any money you might save on some strings, or indeed any other bass gear you might buy. It's a easy trap to fall into to look at the prices available on some goods in the U.S.A and feel envious, but overall ( at least until recently and some of the changes the current government is trying to force upon us) I would say that, all things considered , we get ( or got) a better deal here in the U.K.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Dingus

[RhysP]

It works the other way too - stuff manufactured in Europe is a lot more expensive in the USA than it is here.
Pyramid & Thomastick strings are incredibly expensive in the USA for example.

[ikay]

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1349099270' post='1821749']
Not all packages get stopped by customs though. The OP was lucky this time.
[/quote]

Yes the OP was lucky! In addition to 20% VAT and duty the Royal Mail also add an £8 handling fee for everything that goes through their VAT/duty collection process. I've been nobbled by this on fairly small purchases from the USA a couple of times recently so they are watching out for this sort of thing.

[Dingus]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1349108212' post='1821915']
It works the other way too - stuff manufactured in Europe is a lot more expensive in the USA than it is here.
Pyramid & Thomastick strings are incredibly expensive in the USA for example.
[/quote]

They're pretty bloody expensive here nowadays , too!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1349094577' post='1821632']
I bought some DR neon pink strings (they match my strap quite nicely) on impulse from Brighton when we had a gig down there, cost me £40 ....
[/quote]
Even in Brighton there is little call for pink strings.

[Dingus]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1349110935' post='1821984']
Even in Brighton there is little call for pink strings.
[/quote]

My nomination for post of the day.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1349109642' post='1821955']
Yes the OP was lucky! In addition to 20% VAT and duty the Royal Mail also add an £8 handling fee for everything that goes through their VAT/duty collection process. I've been nobbled by this on fairly small purchases from the USA a couple of times recently so they are watching out for this sort of thing.
[/quote]
even with VAT and Royal Mail fees on they're still only £35, only £2 more than the cheapest UK price I could find, so maybe it's worth the risk.

[BassPimp66]

Everything is incredibly expensive in the UK. Consumers are getting milked.
The lack of cheap land together with incredily complex planning rules do not allow for big logistics/retail structures like in the US.
Smaller market... etc... "Stack them high sell them cheap" does not work here.

[bremen]

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1349166023' post='1822493']
Everything is incredibly expensive in the UK. Consumers are getting milked.

[/quote]

I think our healthcare is a bit of a bargain compared to the USA though, makes up for slightly dearer bass strings...

[muttley]

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1349166023' post='1822493']
The lack of cheap land together with incredily complex planning rules do not allow for big logistics/retail structures like in the US.
[/quote]

Thank $deity for that.

[muttley]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1349129674' post='1822330']
even with VAT and Royal Mail fees on they're still only £35, only £2 more than the cheapest UK price I could find, so maybe it's worth the risk.
[/quote]

Even less if you buy more than one set. Customs clearance fees apply per parcel or per import (depends on the courier). Therefore, if you buy 1 set or 100 sets*, the fee charged by Royal Mail/FedEx/whichever will be the same.

* a big import will attract import duty as well. You'd have to wade through The Tariff to find the appropriate % rate.

edit: [url="http://tariff.businesslink.gov.uk/tariff-bl/export/commoditycode.html?export=false&simulationDate=02/10/12&id=9209300000&additionalCode1=&additionalCode2=&additionalCode3=&countryCode="]2.7% import duty[/url]

Edited October 2, 2012 by muttley

[Dingus]

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1349166309' post='1822498']
I think our healthcare is a bit of a bargain compared to the USA though, makes up for slightly dearer bass strings...
[/quote]

You have hit the nail on the head here.
It's one thing to look at cheaper consumer goods in the U.S.A , but how much did you have to take out of your last paycheck for medical insurance/ doctors fees ect in the U.K ? In Britain , if your kids need dental treatment, it's free. If your wife is having a baby, pre and post natal care is free. If you need IVF to even have kids in the first place , it's free! Not so long ago higher education was nearly free here. These and a myriad of other things that we think are rightfully free in this country are all things you would have to find money for in America. Life in the U.S.A is underpinned by a simple equation that says : no work= no money , and no money= tough luck it's your own fault and you deseve whatever happens to you. At least in the U.K , for the moment at least ( but probably not for much longer) , we have some semblance of a safety net for the less well-off.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Dingus

[BassPimp66]

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1349166309' post='1822498']
I think our healthcare is a bit of a bargain compared to the USA though, makes up for slightly dearer bass strings...
[/quote]

My comment was about the retail sector/infrastructure difference, not the tax system.
If you set the taxes here at US level, or vice versa, the US would still be cheaper for consumers due to the structural differences.
And for the record, I am happy to pay higher taxes in the UK. God bless the NHS!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1349166023' post='1822493']
Everything is incredibly expensive in the UK. Consumers are getting milked.
The lack of cheap land together with incredily complex planning rules do not allow for big logistics/retail structures like in the US.
Smaller market... etc... "Stack them high sell them cheap" does not work here.
[/quote]
Ah, that must explain why Tescos, Sainsbury's, etc are so unsuccessful in the UK.

[PaulWarning]

of course it could be that DR think they can get away with charging more in the UK, in which case I'm glad I'm doing them out of extra profit