Exchange Rate $2799 = 2999 pounds?

I know this has been flogged to death, but I see that Coronado have a
special offer on the back page of the current Journal of the British
Astronomical Association - the Solarmax 60 0.7A at $2799. Normal price
$3685.
A well-known London firm is selling what seems to be the same product
for £2999. Their advert inside the back page doesn't show the Solarmax
60 :-)
--
Remove spam and invalid from address to reply.

On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 20:41:44 +0100, Jonathan Silverlight
wrote:

I know this has been flogged to death, but.................

As long as people keep paying that kind of money
the manufacturers will keep gouging them.

I know this has been flogged to death, but.................

I have to admit in both my hobbies Rocketry and Astronomy any dealer who
sells kit thats bought from the US tends to work on the 1$=1£ policy. Their
reasoning being that by the time they've bought it shipped it paid tax and
import duty on it and added a profit margin then it works out at dollar to
pound.

Buying directly from the states can be cost effective especially if you
manage to get missed out on the import duty charge, though my experience is
thats not all that common, i think i've managed to not pay duty on about 1
in 10 us purchases.

Damian

--
Damian Burrin
UKRA 1159 Level 2 RSO
EARS 1115
http://www.ukrocketry.com
http://www.larf-rocketry.co.uk

LARF - Putting the amateur back in rocketry!!

"Mutz" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 20:41:44 +0100, Jonathan Silverlight
wrote:

I know this has been flogged to death, but.................

As long as people keep paying that kind of money
the manufacturers will keep gouging them.

Damian Burrin wrote:
I know this has been flogged to death, but.................


I have to admit in both my hobbies Rocketry and Astronomy any dealer who
sells kit thats bought from the US tends to work on the 1$=1£ policy. Their
reasoning being that by the time they've bought it shipped it paid tax and
import duty on it and added a profit margin then it works out at dollar to
pound.

....which is a 78 % margin on RETAIL prices - and I don't for one second
believe UK distributors are buying like that....

Steve

Damian Burrin wrote:
I know this has been flogged to death, but.................


I have to admit in both my hobbies Rocketry and Astronomy any dealer who
sells kit thats bought from the US tends to work on the 1$=1£ policy. Their
reasoning being that by the time they've bought it shipped it paid tax and
import duty on it and added a profit margin then it works out at dollar to
pound.

Buying directly from the states can be cost effective especially if you
manage to get missed out on the import duty charge, though my experience is
thats not all that common, i think i've managed to not pay duty on about 1
in 10 us purchases.

Damian

One of my other interests is playing guitar and the same applies to
Fender, Gibson and the other US makes.

Buying in the US can save loads of money but getting them home can be a
real problem as Customs & Excise
are *very* aware of guitar cases and the potential revenue in them.

People try all sorts, taking an empty case, taking a cheap & nasty
guitar out there but it can all be a waste of time if they want to see
proof of UK purchase on your shiny new Gibson.

There are those that'll tell you to buy a old and battered vintage
guitar, they cost more than new ones, but the same
thing applies C&E will want to see proof of UK purchase as they know all
about guitar values.

Of course there are also always people who'll tell you they did it
without any problem and I'm sure some do get lucky.

--
Regards

Nick

Not wishing to compete with the guitars but a PST is =A3518 over here!
gulp!

There aren't any secondhand ones about either. sob :=F8(

Chris.B

"Nick Mason" wrote in message
...
Damian Burrin wrote:
I know this has been flogged to death, but.................


I have to admit in both my hobbies Rocketry and Astronomy any dealer who
sells kit thats bought from the US tends to work on the 1$=1£ policy.
Their reasoning being that by the time they've bought it shipped it paid
tax and import duty on it and added a profit margin then it works out at
dollar to pound.

Buying directly from the states can be cost effective especially if you
manage to get missed out on the import duty charge, though my experience
is thats not all that common, i think i've managed to not pay duty on
about 1 in 10 us purchases.

Damian

One of my other interests is playing guitar and the same applies to
Fender, Gibson and the other US makes.

Buying in the US can save loads of money but getting them home can be a
real problem as Customs & Excise
are *very* aware of guitar cases and the potential revenue in them.

People try all sorts, taking an empty case, taking a cheap & nasty guitar
out there but it can all be a waste of time if they want to see proof of
UK purchase on your shiny new Gibson.

There are those that'll tell you to buy a old and battered vintage guitar,
they cost more than new ones, but the same
thing applies C&E will want to see proof of UK purchase as they know all
about guitar values.

Of course there are also always people who'll tell you they did it without
any problem and I'm sure some do get lucky.

--
Regards

Nick

It is worth making the effort to buy in the 'States, even if you do have to
pay the VAT and the import duty. Amazingly, I have only paid it once on all
the things I have imported though, admittedly, I have not tried to import a
whole 'scope. I've never had any problems. In my experience US suppliers are
much more switched on to customer service then their UK counterparts. My
most recent import just a couple of weeks ago was Krieg & Berry's book 'The
Dobsonian Telescope'. Amazon UK wanted £72.21 for this book delivered from
the States!! I've heard of profit margins but considering this book retails
at $29.95, this is a bit excessive. I got it in a week direct from the
publisher for £33 insured airmail delivered. No taxes. Not bad at all.

We do tend to get charged excessively in this country but it's all down to
the market. The US astronomy market is big, the UK market isn't. The
organisation located in Farringdon Road, London, has the UK franchise for
Coronado, Meade and Celestron + a lot else, and they set the retail price so
it's a captive market - and you can be sure they are buying them at trade
prices. It doesn't matter which dealer you buy from the price will be the
same. Importing a scope from the 'States can be a bit difficult as dealers
are franchised by the manufacturer and they are not supposed to sell outside
the USA and Canada. But it can be done. Some less scrupulous US-based
dealers can be found on Ebay (though I think they are a bit 'grey'). The
other downside is that you will get no warranty. Not an issue for things
like eyepieces, but could be for an expensive Meade LX200. Our friends at
Farringdon Road wouldn't want to know. You makes your choice and pays your
money - expensive home comfort or foreign adventures. If you want to buy a
Coronado, I suggest emailing some of the US dealers to see if they will
export. Either that or plan your next holiday near a Coronado dealer.When I
was was in Boston last year, the local Discovery store was selling brand new
Meade LX90's for the equivalent of £900.

Bob H

"Bob Hill" wrote in message
...

"Nick Mason" wrote in message
...
Damian Burrin wrote:
I know this has been flogged to death, but.................


I have to admit in both my hobbies Rocketry and Astronomy any dealer
who sells kit thats bought from the US tends to work on the 1$=1£
policy. Their reasoning being that by the time they've bought it
shipped it paid tax and import duty on it and added a profit margin
then it works out at dollar to pound.

Buying directly from the states can be cost effective especially if
you manage to get missed out on the import duty charge, though my
experience is thats not all that common, i think i've managed to not
pay duty on about 1 in 10 us purchases.

Damian

One of my other interests is playing guitar and the same applies to
Fender, Gibson and the other US makes.

Buying in the US can save loads of money but getting them home can be a
real problem as Customs & Excise
are *very* aware of guitar cases and the potential revenue in them.

People try all sorts, taking an empty case, taking a cheap & nasty
guitar out there but it can all be a waste of time if they want to see
proof of UK purchase on your shiny new Gibson.

There are those that'll tell you to buy a old and battered vintage
guitar, they cost more than new ones, but the same
thing applies C&E will want to see proof of UK purchase as they know
all about guitar values.

Of course there are also always people who'll tell you they did it
without any problem and I'm sure some do get lucky.

--
Regards

Nick

It is worth making the effort to buy in the 'States, even if you do have
to pay the VAT and the import duty. Amazingly, I have only paid it once
on all the things I have imported though, admittedly, I have not tried
to import a whole 'scope. I've never had any problems. In my experience
US suppliers are much more switched on to customer service then their UK
counterparts. My most recent import just a couple of weeks ago was Krieg
& Berry's book 'The Dobsonian Telescope'. Amazon UK wanted £72.21 for
this book delivered from the States!! I've heard of profit margins but
considering this book retails at $29.95, this is a bit excessive. I got
it in a week direct from the publisher for £33 insured airmail
delivered. No taxes. Not bad at all.
Guess what. Books are generally duty free, and zero rated for VAT. The
Amazon figure is even worse when you consider this!....

We do tend to get charged excessively in this country but it's all down
to the market. The US astronomy market is big, the UK market isn't. The
organisation located in Farringdon Road, London, has the UK franchise
for Coronado, Meade and Celestron + a lot else, and they set the retail
price so it's a captive market - and you can be sure they are buying
them at trade prices. It doesn't matter which dealer you buy from the
price will be the same. Importing a scope from the 'States can be a bit
difficult as dealers are franchised by the manufacturer and they are not
supposed to sell outside the USA and Canada. But it can be done. Some
less scrupulous US-based dealers can be found on Ebay (though I think
they are a bit 'grey'). The other downside is that you will get no
warranty. Not an issue for things like eyepieces, but could be for an
expensive Meade LX200. Our friends at Farringdon Road wouldn't want to
know. You makes your choice and pays your money - expensive home comfort
or foreign adventures. If you want to buy a Coronado, I suggest emailing
some of the US dealers to see if they will export. Either that or plan
your next holiday near a Coronado dealer.When I was was in Boston last
year, the local Discovery store was selling brand new Meade LX90's for
the equivalent of £900.

Bob H
It is not only down to the 'market'. There is a very large extra, in the
way that warranties apply. In the US, a supplier is only liable for
warranty for a short period, then it becomes the manufacturers
responsibility. In the UK, the supplier is automatically liable, if there
is a problem with the good, even to the point where he may have to replace
the product!. He then has to deal with the supplier to get the goods
replaced. Many customers allow the supplier to have more margin in this
area than the law really requires. This for some products has practically
no effect on the suppliers costs, but for anything with a relatively large
warranty component, it can add a lot to the suppliers overheads. It is a
'roundabouts and swings' feature, it makes prices higher, but puts the
buyer in the position, that if (for instance), a scope still does not work
right after reasonable attempts/time for repair, he/she, can insist on a
new replacement, or their money back...

Best Wishes

In message , Bob Hill
writes

It is worth making the effort to buy in the 'States, even if you do have to
pay the VAT and the import duty. Amazingly, I have only paid it once on all
the things I have imported though, admittedly, I have not tried to import a
whole 'scope. I've never had any problems. In my experience US suppliers are
much more switched on to customer service then their UK counterparts. My
most recent import just a couple of weeks ago was Krieg & Berry's book 'The
Dobsonian Telescope'. Amazon UK wanted £72.21 for this book delivered from
the States!! I've heard of profit margins but considering this book retails
at $29.95, this is a bit excessive. I got it in a week direct from the
publisher for £33 insured airmail delivered. No taxes. Not bad at all.

Did you try Abebooks? The lowest price right now seems to be £23-76 (£28
with carriage) though the highest price is £86-91 !
It's a very different business, though.