Over priced and over here

Here's a Pentax lens at big UK retailer.  £629.99 ; and here it is at big US retailer $689.95, less a $100 rebate - net price $589.95.  With the pound trading at $1.967, my sister in California can buy it for under £300.

Stuff costs more in the UK than the US. For example an Xbox 360 $399 (£200) in the US, and £275 in the UK. Some products have localization costs (different manuals, safety stickers, cables etc). UK dealers work to higher margins. UK distribution costs are higher. There are taxes (e.g. 8% duty on lenses) and of course VAT which alone accounts for half the difference in X-box prices, but when I'm paying more than double I feel that someone somewhere is taking the Mickey Bliss.

Some friends of ours recently started a book shop and they have been having the same thing with some books which carry the US$ price on the cover; there's no VAT on books, nothing to localize, it's margins and distribution costs.  Here's a snippet from their blog. 

A phonecall to the wholesaler says "we charge the full UK currency equivalent to cover the costs of getting the book over from the US" ..... How did you bring the book over from the US? In a sponsored canoe, one at a time?

"In a sponsored canoe ??! " will enter my library of phrases.

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  Or what happens when you throw stones in a glass house. My post on over priced and over here attracted

• Anonymous
  January 01, 2003
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  December 07, 2006
  Hi James - we got several emails in response to that post - no-one wanted to go on the record (or at least 'on the blog') - but like everything in life, the Internet is undercutting and undermining what is in effect an artificial market barrier (a bit like cars a few years ago). We've been given a good tip-off from two booksellers about where to source US books, and and as you might imagine the Internet plays a key role...

• Anonymous
  December 08, 2006
  The comment has been removed