oddbob Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 New to Pigeon Watch, so bear with me on this one. It is generally recognised that we pay far more for our goods in the UK, but sometimes I think certain companies take the urine :< I bought a Simmons scope from America over the Web, it cost me £118 plus another £24 delivery. Now I know some of that is down to the favourable exchange rate, but, for the same model bought in the UK, the only price I could find was £219. And it didn't matter which shop I wanted to get it from, they all charged the same. The American dealers prices varied between $158 - $190. I can't help notice that the same applies to Theoben products. There must be some price fixing going on, one dealer I spoke to confirmed that because he refused to promise not to discount, they refused to supply him. Is this not illegal under UK law? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled_cky Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 i saw a program not so long ago and they had 3band members from some famous band(i'd never seen them before :o ) they got 1 to be in London, 1 in New York and i think the other in Torronto. they all had to buy the same 10products but in the shops they could get to in the city they were in.. the guy in London paid i think £29 for an item, and the 2nd in New York bought the same product for 32 US $ and the 3rd in Torronto had to pay 35 Canadian $ for exactly the same product... the program was just showing how much we are being 'scammed' and 'conned' out of our money but we cannot do anything about it.. is it the exchange rate or VAT? Aled *edit* Jess says it was 'Tonight With Trevor McDonald' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbob Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 I was talking to a wagon driver yesterday, he thought a lot of it was to do with transport (fuel) costs, and that he was earning less now than he was 18 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Price fixing normally only operates within the same Country. Specifically between the UK and the USA, the difference is a result of the exchange rate (very favourable at the moment) and our far higher tax regime and of course, the added Import Duty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webber Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 I cant comment on this particular product, but most gun shops in the uk buy through a distributor, who will have been appointed by various product manufacturers. The situation in the US domestic market may well be different, with stores buying direct from the manufacturer. Obviously, by purchasing direct from the states you cut out the distributor and his margin. I have felt for some time that many UK stores translate $ to £ on a 1:1 basis. A couple of years ago I saved a few hundred quid on a Leupold scope. The GMK price at the time was in the region of £1100. I purchased the same scope from a store in the US for $649. I also purchased several other items at the same time, but I rekon that the scope cost me in the region of £500. Which in a round about way, meant that I got the Sako rifle for free. I am currently compiling an order for Cabelas, who I have found to be very good, but I have found that ordering less than $200 worth of stuff not worth while. webber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peck Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hello Webber, watch out that you do not get stung for import duty and vat. I recently purchased some stuff from the USA and got stung 40% by the UK customs. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbob Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hello peck (of Rimfire Central?). I have had a fair bit of stuff from the states, and only had to pay tax twice, but never 40%. The worst was Brownells. who charged me more for p&p plus local tax (which I don't think I should have had to pay) than the goods I was ordering, and the second was UPS, who have set up in the UK and collected the postage and tax from me, which worked out at less than 24%, so I was still well in. Must be luck of the draw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammergun Posted December 22, 2004 Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 The last large order from the US I made was subject to the following VAT at 17.5% Import duty (varies depending on item) at 4% Overall charge of 22% of the value of the item. You should only normally have to pay US sales tax if you are making the purchase within the same state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishdave Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 You should be paying VAT and not the local state GST if you are buying kit from the US I am sure there was a Test case with barbour at the centre of a price fixing alegation about 15 years ago the long and the short was that legaly they cant price fix. but leagaly they dont have supply any one they dont want to and they dont have to justify themselves!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishandshoot Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I overheard a conversation at my local fishing/shooting shop, the guy was saying that the air rifle importer fixes the price and if you go cheaper you don't get to sell them in your shop anymore. I think this is a disgrace, but it happens across the whole economy, cars, holidays, food, drink......etc...... one answer is an open market and internet technology is helping, I have bought things from the USA and saved alot of money, you just need to ensure things are compatable ie...not 110v. The other things to do is boycott the big boys....Tesco, Asda etc... and shop locally. farm shops and farmers markets are one of this countries biggest growth retail sectors so somethings are changing. If you use my general rules you wont go to far wrong. 1. Use local shops, butchers, green grocers markets etc..... 2. Shop on the net and on reccomendation ie X-Box games £10 cheaper online!!! 3. Grow your own if you have the land 4. If you cant grow it, shoot it. (dont try this on X-Box games!!!) 5. Try old fashion TRADE. swap 6 rabbits for a rib of beef. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palombier Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I've noticed that all Laksen clothing is the same price wherever you look. Even serial discounters like The Sportsman Centre in Devon charge the same price. isn't this what they call a cartel? P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 A cartel is a number of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods, by the members. So one Company cannot be a "cartel". Quite a few Manufacturers refuse to let Retailers discount their products. I don't think that is illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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