God Bless America

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philip newing
30/04/2005 at 17:12
Having just returned from a holiday in California, a store card from an American outdoor retail company called REI dropped through my letterbox today.

It jogged my memory regards something I noticed while over there. The price of goods in the USA is the same as in the UK but in Dollars, ie, £200/$200.
An example I just looked up is the Mountain Hardwear Alcove 2 tent; Ellis Brigham catalogue- £219.99. REI: $220. So that's half price!
'Course while over there you can bag lots of bargains and if its in a sale you get a double whammy. If you mail -order you get stung by import duty which sours the deal a bit. But I cannot get my head round why these disparities exist.

British companies are exporting goods abroad and selling them at half the UK price -and that price includes the immense mark up that all clothes and equipment retailers apply (UK and USA). The mark up is obscene. Talk about being shafted. Please God let Tesco get wind of these margins and stuff the outdoor retailer sector. The sooner they all go tits up the better for all of us. Anyone out there like to defend the indefensible?
ptc*
30/04/2005 at 17:19
I buy overseas on the net, Icebreaker long sleeve zip neck including air mail from NZ-£45, same from Ellis Brigham-£60.
I do it all the time, never caught by customs yet.
But generally, if people are going to walk into the shop and pay premium rates in the UK, why would the retailers want to change it? Just to be nice? I wish.
So, US, NZ and ebay it is.
And local independants with discounts, MCofS/BMC etc
Ace High
30/04/2005 at 17:39
Re US prices: It's the same with just about anything you can mention. I picked up cd's for $8 that cost £10 in the UK, electronic goodies were the similar prices in $ as they are in £ here.

My advice? Save your money, go to the US and have a spending spree in somewhere like NY or Boston.

Guess where I'm going in October?
ptc*
30/04/2005 at 17:40
Weston-Super-Mare?
Ace High
30/04/2005 at 17:45
LOL - Weston-Super-Mud more like; I served my RAF apprenticeship there 1970-72
Ddyrchafedig Gyrrwr (Beic Modur)
30/04/2005 at 18:42
If you have a "contact" in the USA, ask him/her to buy a item on your behalf and then post it to you clearly marked as a "gift" for a Friend.

Apparently, they can then not slap an import tax on it, as they cannot prove otherwise.

That was from someone in work who has a mate in the USA who has done this . Can't comment on if this is correct mind ewe!
Dave Mycroft
30/04/2005 at 20:12
I have a brother in law in Chicago, and what Tony says has always been true with anything he's sent. As long as it's been marked as a "gift" then I've never had to pay vat or import duty.
julian b
30/04/2005 at 20:14
Use to work in customs and theres so much stuff coming through you would be unlucky to get caught,whatever you do!
Dave O aka Jungle Dave ;)
30/04/2005 at 21:07
I know my brothers girlfriends parents live in the states and I have jokingly suggested that I may order stuff to their address and then re-imburse them for the cost of sending my "gift"

or I might just pop over anyway for a few weeks

Ddyrchafedig Gyrrwr (Beic Modur)
30/04/2005 at 21:39
Post it to yourself as a "gift" when you are there then!
Evil Genius Darren
30/04/2005 at 22:57
I think it does help when it comes via post. As carriers like UPS handle less stuff, unless the sensors/sniffer dog goes nuts it will more likely get lost in the masses.
30/04/2005 at 23:41
What amazes me is that the American postal service get the right letters in the right boxes...

Lets face it thier armed forces couldnt hit a barn door if they lived on it !!! lol
Bastard
01/05/2005 at 08:33
Unfortunately there are strict rules on gifts as well. Like the value must be below £36. See this link for details.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P55_4947

Mind you I ordered an item form the states and it came through without any duty. It's basically pot luck, and note that according to the Inland Revenue if the sender deliberately misdescribes the cotnents the receiver is liable for any fines etc.
Bastard
01/05/2005 at 08:34
The ne good thing is that the limit on personal imports is going up to £1000 later this year so at least if you go to the states you can bring a lot back.
Spiritburner
01/05/2005 at 10:57
REI - the only time I've been to the checkout of an outdoor shop with a trolley!

Gear, cars, cds & just about every type of goods is cheaper over there but when you find out how much they are paying for health insurance & the crap holiday entitlements you realize things aren't so bad in Blighty.
RockyRobin
01/05/2005 at 12:48
It would appear that some of the manufacturers are not happy about us Brits trying to evade the rip-off culture we live under:-

[quote]Just to let you know, the following vendors do not wish their products to be sold internationally through REI Direct Sales: Salomon, Merrell, Burton, Petzl, The North Face, Charlet Moser, Quiksilver, La Sportiva, and Rossignol.[/quote]

Its their loss as there's plenty of other smaller outlets that ignore the manufacturers :D
[b](Please don't name them on here as the manufacturers will get wind of them)[/b]

Seeing as I do pay VAT on stuff I bring in and still save i'll still keep thumbing my nose at the great disparity between here and other countries. :D

Seeing as the manufacturers will have more difficulty in doing this with other EU countries in relation to us perhaps would be a good idea to start a thread where people can post linkys to online sellers in the EU that offer good savings. At least we could forget about the duty and VAT :)
I've tried googling for EU online retailers but its hard work compared to the barrage of USA sites you get shoved down your throat :(
DH
01/05/2005 at 14:06
Hi
I unfortunatley still work for Customs and I recently posted on a similar thread that was started by 'leo fortune west' - you can see it in the 'gear' part of the forum (it was last added to on the 26th april if that helps you find it). Basically, the word 'gift' is meaningless from a customs point of view, it is the type, value and the origin of the goods that decides the duty & vat charges. However, loads of people get goods without customs charges from, say the states and the next time they get 'stung' - absolutely not the faintest idea why!
John Kilgour
01/05/2005 at 16:18
See the earlier thread concerning the increase in Duty Free to £1000. Gordon Brown put the proposal in his Budget as subject to EU agreement. I think this is an electioneering con trick since the EU wont agree. However I shall be happy to be proved wrong!
Neil H
01/05/2005 at 16:44
Yes i agree with all that the prices in UK to the US are ridiculous. I just got hold of a brand new Smartwool Lightweight Zip T for £26 (including postage) from the US, where as over here the same top would be approx £50-£60. I have noticed though that on the other side from the UK (ie Europe) the prices are the same as here or even higher, for example some of the prices of gear being sold on e-bay from German sellers is equivalent to what we would pay in the shops here, i can only guess that the reason for that is that the Germans and some other european countries are on average on higher wages than us lot!
Weird Darren
01/05/2005 at 18:35
Didn't Trail run an article a few months back trying to justify the high prices we pay over here for prices.
Not one of their best pieces of journalism IMHO.
There is NO justification for the price differences. Basically the UK is being used to support cheap prices in the US IMO.

The UK is a rip off, end of story. Yet not one of the political parties has mentioned this. We have from time to time the Department of Trade and Industry doing their investigations into unfair competition. But lets face it, we all know they are in the pay of big business so they woul dnever come in on the side of the consumer.

I agree with the previous statement, roll on Tesco stepping in and breaking the monopolistic practices we are suffering.

As an example of the rip off, Jetboil $80 (or £45) approx in the US, over here £70.

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