Falling Dollar and the price of scopes and accessories.

You are alone wondering about this.


Uncle Bob wrote:

I dunno if you've taken a peek at foreign exchange rates lately,
but if memory serves me well, I think the dollar has lost about half its
value vs. the Euro (which was 0.75 and is now about 1.34).

Similar activity vs the Yen, though I don't have a quote.

So things made where Euros and Yens are coin of the realm are going to
get pricey, one would think?

Should I buy that 400 Mewlon now?

Uncle Bob

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Jerry wrote:

You are alone wondering about this.

No he isn't. Those of us on the other side of the pond are wondering why
when the US dollar has devalued to such an extent we are still paying
the same exhorbitant prices for Meade and Celestron kit.

The US is looking like a very good value for money holiday destination
for Europeans this year. More so if you go shopping. A UK newspaper did
a test recently and found that if spending around £1000 or more on Xmas
gifts then flying to New York for a long weekend was more cost effective
than visiting London (cost of flights included).

Uncle Bob wrote:

I dunno if you've taken a peek at foreign exchange rates lately,
but if memory serves me well, I think the dollar has lost about half its
value vs. the Euro (which was 0.75 and is now about 1.34).

Similar activity vs the Yen, though I don't have a quote.

So things made where Euros and Yens are coin of the realm are going to
get pricey, one would think?

Should I buy that 400 Mewlon now?

You should have bought it a few years back when Japan was at its deepest
recession point and the Yen/Dollar ratio at an all time low.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Jerry wrote in message ...
You are alone wondering about this.


Uncle Bob wrote:

I dunno if you've taken a peek at foreign exchange rates lately,
but if memory serves me well, I think the dollar has lost about half its
value vs. the Euro (which was 0.75 and is now about 1.34).

Similar activity vs the Yen, though I don't have a quote.

So things made where Euros and Yens are coin of the realm are going to
get pricey, one would think?

Should I buy that 400 Mewlon now?

Uncle Bob

__________________________________________________ _____________________________
As I read thru the list, I see that all you post are smarta** comments. What gives?

Jim Johnson

Martin Brown wrote in message ...

... Those of us on the other side of the pond are wondering why
when the US dollar has devalued to such an extent we are still paying
the same exhorbitant prices for Meade and Celestron kit.

You ain't kidding. A 14" LX200 GPS is £5499 (with UHTC from some
dealers). At todays exchange rate (£1 = $1.8897) that's nearly
$10,400!!!

So I wondered if it's worth shipping a 14" from the USA.

Surprisingly the MSRP is $9986, but it sells for $5345
(telescopes.com). Add (say) $300 for shipping (assuming you could find
a dealer who would risk the wrath of Meade and send a scope
"overseas"). UK customs would hammer it for 17.5% VAT, and let's be
pessimistic and assume an additional 10% import duty too. Total price
is now approximately 5345+935+535+300=$7115. Credit card payment
should get the "actual" exchange rate, but let's say they gouge a bit
and only give you £1=$1.80.

Total price about £3950 - a saving of £550 - but no warranty!!!

So on balance, it's not quite as bad as we may think. Doesn't stop it
feeling like we're being mugged though :-)

Cheers
Beats

"justbeats" wrote in message
m...
Martin Brown wrote in message
...

... Those of us on the other side of the pond are wondering why
when the US dollar has devalued to such an extent we are still paying
the same exhorbitant prices for Meade and Celestron kit.

You ain't kidding. A 14" LX200 GPS is £5499 (with UHTC from some
dealers). At todays exchange rate (£1 = $1.8897) that's nearly
$10,400!!!

So I wondered if it's worth shipping a 14" from the USA.

Surprisingly the MSRP is $9986, but it sells for $5345
(telescopes.com). Add (say) $300 for shipping (assuming you could find
a dealer who would risk the wrath of Meade and send a scope
"overseas"). UK customs would hammer it for 17.5% VAT, and let's be
pessimistic and assume an additional 10% import duty too. Total price
is now approximately 5345+935+535+300=$7115. Credit card payment
should get the "actual" exchange rate, but let's say they gouge a bit
and only give you £1=$1.80.
Duty, should be 6%, but each is 'on' the others, including the carriage.
So you'd pay (5345+300)*1.06*1.175, plus a 'customs clearance' charge. It
gives very close to the figure you expect. You should be careful on your
shipping charges though. If you opt for insurance, this is often
'invalidated', unless the packaging is done in specific ways. There are
companies who will do this for you, but it is suprising how often, when
something 'goes wrong', people then find themselves fighting to get a
claim accepted. :-(
You will normally pay a 'foreign currency' conversion fee on a credit card
payment.
As you say, the dealers are obliged by their agreement with Meade, to not
ship to the EEC. You _may_ find a friendly one who is prepared to 'bend
the rules'. Otherwise you will need a friend in the US, who will 're-ship'
for you.

Total price about £3950 - a saving of £550 - but no warranty!!!

So on balance, it's not quite as bad as we may think. Doesn't stop it
feeling like we're being mugged though :-)
Yes.
In fact the key though, is that some models are much worse than this.
These are the ones that really 'annoy'...

Best Wishes

In article ,
justbeats wrote:

So I wondered if it's worth shipping a 14" from the USA.

Surprisingly the MSRP is $9986, but it sells for $5345
(telescopes.com). Add (say) $300 for shipping (assuming you could find
a dealer who would risk the wrath of Meade and send a scope
"overseas"). UK customs would hammer it for 17.5% VAT, and let's be
pessimistic and assume an additional 10% import duty too. Total price
is now approximately 5345+935+535+300=$7115. Credit card payment
should get the "actual" exchange rate, but let's say they gouge a bit
and only give you £1=$1.80.

Total price about £3950 - a saving of £550 - but no warranty!!!

I hate to point this out, but you're saving UKP 1550; over five
thousand pounds, versus under four thousand. Enough to buy a UK-sourced
Televue Pronto and 55mm Plossl to use as a finder

Tom

Thomas Womack wrote in message ...
In article ,
justbeats wrote:


Total price about £3950 - a saving of £550 - but no warranty!!!

I hate to point this out, but you're saving UKP 1550; over five

Yikes. How on earth did I (and most of saa) miss that one? How about
"It was a deliberate mistake". No, I didn't think you'd believe me :-)

There's still the no warranty issue to consider but for a 1500 quid
saving it certainly DOES seem more attractive (shaking head, I still
can't believe I made such a ginormous silly error...)

Since I'm here again. How come UK distributors don't discount like US
ones? If telescopes.com can knock 40% off MSRP why can't OUR
distributors knock some off the RRP?

Are we being fleeced by UK dealers? It would be very easy for them to
let us believe that big, bad Meade charge them so much that there
isn't any margin. But is that actually the case?

Any UK (or European) dealer/distributor care to add facts to this
thread?

Cheers
Beats

"justbeats" wrote in message
...
Thomas Womack wrote in message
...
In article ,
justbeats wrote:


Total price about £3950 - a saving of £550 - but no warranty!!!

I hate to point this out, but you're saving UKP 1550; over five

Yikes. How on earth did I (and most of saa) miss that one? How about
"It was a deliberate mistake". No, I didn't think you'd believe me :-)

There's still the no warranty issue to consider but for a 1500 quid
saving it certainly DOES seem more attractive (shaking head, I still
can't believe I made such a ginormous silly error...)

Since I'm here again. How come UK distributors don't discount like US
ones? If telescopes.com can knock 40% off MSRP why can't OUR
distributors knock some off the RRP?

Are we being fleeced by UK dealers? It would be very easy for them to
let us believe that big, bad Meade charge them so much that there
isn't any margin. But is that actually the case?

Any UK (or European) dealer/distributor care to add facts to this
thread?
I'll add one bit of data. Remember that your dealer in the UK, does not
buy from 'Meade'. The way it is done, BC&F, buy from Meade, and sell to
the dealers. Double mark-up, before you start... :-(
The total scope sales for the UK, are probably only in the same order as
one small 'state' in the USA. If a dealer started to ship in the
quantities involved in some of the US dealers, they might well be able to
get extra 'margin', but normal UK astronomy shops, are generally just
'glad' to be able to get the scopes.

Best Wishes

Best Wishes

Since I'm here again. How come UK distributors don't discount like US
ones? If telescopes.com can knock 40% off MSRP why can't OUR
distributors knock some off the RRP?

One small detail. that particular US dealer you're comparing to has in
reality put up their own ficticious MSRP. Prices on Meade and Celestron
here in the US are pretty much dead even between all dealers. Which
suggests that M & C limit what dealers can sell for, but don't limit what
discounts they claim to give to get to that price. Misleading advertising.
Caveat emptor as they say.

Having said all of that, you can still save enough pounds, euros, or
whatever to pay for you coming to the U.S. to buy it, pick it up, and carry
it back. Whether you can or do declare to incoming customs....

Bright new internet commerce idea...those of us who travel to the EC could
just advertise we're coming, accept orders, and bring over for say 10% :-))

David Feindel wrote:
Since I'm here again. How come UK distributors don't discount like US
ones? If telescopes.com can knock 40% off MSRP why can't OUR
distributors knock some off the RRP?

One small detail. that particular US dealer you're comparing to has in
reality put up their own ficticious MSRP. Prices on Meade and Celestron
here in the US are pretty much dead even between all dealers.

Same in the UK, but from a much higher base price. Are they allowed to
invent fictitious MRSP in the USA? That sounds like sharp practice!

Which
suggests that M & C limit what dealers can sell for, but don't limit what
discounts they claim to give to get to that price.

Is that permitted in the USA? In the UK (theoretically) competition law
prevents manufacturers specifying a minimum selling price. Of course any
dealer who steps out of line may find that deliveries to them become
eratic and their customers go elsewhere. Not surprisingly white goods
and car prices are extremely tightly bunched on the high street.

Misleading advertising.
Caveat emptor as they say.

Always.

Having said all of that, you can still save enough pounds, euros, or
whatever to pay for you coming to the U.S. to buy it, pick it up, and carry
it back. Whether you can or do declare to incoming customs....

You are allowed something like £145 + 1L spirits + ... of personal
imports tax free when entering the UK for example.

http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/dutyfree.html

NB Two people cannot bring in one item of £290 value tax free. Go over
the limit and they hit you for tax on everything. It used to be really
stupid when the limit was set at £18 and only the UK tried to enforce it.

Bright new internet commerce idea...those of us who travel to the EC could
just advertise we're coming, accept orders, and bring over for say 10% :-))

Split the difference might be a better model. If you are a regular
traveller it might be worth it for the spending money. The dollar is now
down to its weakest exchange rate for over 12 years. And eyepieces and
filters have potential barter value for local currency.

Regards,
Martin Brown