USA prices vs Europe prices

<p>I want to buy Nikon d7000 and I spent whole morning searching for the best offer. And I was surprised of the difference between prices in USA and in Europe (for example in Germany or in Bosnia).<br>

<a href="https://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/DisplayPage/ThemeID.27720500/id.ProductInterstitialDetailsPage/productID.226636000" target="_blank">D7000 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Lens Kit</a>, <br>

<a href="https://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/DisplayPage/ThemeID.27720500/id.ProductInterstitialDetailsPage/productID.213463100" target="_blank">AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR</a> and <a href="https://shop.nikonusa.com/store/nikonusa/en_US/DisplayPage/ThemeID.27720500/id.ProductInterstitialDetailsPage/productID.213466600" target="_blank">AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</a> in USA costs <strong>$1,569.85</strong>, <br>

thats about <strong>1.180 EUR</strong> and in Germany it costs <strong>2.066,00 EUR (2760 USD)!!!</strong><br>

<strong><br /></strong>Why is that, does anybody know?? And does anybody know where in Europe I could buy this camera for some reasonable price?</p>

<p>Actually most of us in the US who know better don't shop on the Nikon web site, because the price in other stores and on other web sites tend to be lower. E.g., a new D7000 with kit lens is about $1100 from the major stores and a 35mm f/1.8 DX lens is about $200.</p>

<p>I don't know what the major dealers in Germany and Bosnia are, so I looked at Amazon.de and they appear to have the D7000 with 18-105 lens for 785 Euro and the 35mm 1.8 lens for 170. If you bought both items from the German Amazon site, even at 1.34 Euro per US Dollar, you'd be spending less than you would if you bought them from Amazon (or Adorama etc.) in the US. But if you were looking at a D7100 kit plus the 35mm, the Germans would be spending the equivalent of about US$300 more.</p>

<p>Most of the time camera equipment that costs $1000 in the US costs about 1000 EUR in Germany - which is about 30% more but also includes the MWST (tax) of 19%. Curently, prices in EUR tend to be a bit lower than prices in $ - so a camera that's $1000 is maybe EUR 850 or thereabouts.</p>

<p>I just looked on amazon.de and found the D7000 for 785 EUR, the 55-300 for 220 EUR and the 35mm for 170 EUR - the total is 1175 EUR (equivalent to $1528). Buying the same set from amazon.com here in the US, and the cost is $1700 (to which about 9% tax would be added if you lived, like me, in California). Makes the German offer look like a good deal to me...</p>

<p>The same kit but with the D7100 - and its EUR 1500 ($1940) vs $2100 - again the advantage is buying in Germany.</p>

<p>There is also shipping to factor in. I've bought about a dozen cameras from Europe over the past two years (small vintage ones such as Rolleiflex, Bergheil) and even on these fairly small packages the cost is $30-40. It might not be a major factor, but if a specific price is close you might consider this.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>Thanks for your answers, I have a friend in Germany so I will try to buy it there. Definitely not in Bosnia, because here, Nikon D7000 18-105VR Kit is 1200 EUR that's 1600 USD. That's really too much.</p>

<h3> </h3>

<p>One very important reason for the differences in prices is called Value Added Tax (VAT).</p>

<p>Then too, the companies seem to have figured out that the rich Europeans will pay more....</p>

<p>Somebody once suggested that it would be better to have a Value Subtracted Tax.</p>

<p>That way, conversion of a tree into a piece of paper with a smiley face on it would be taxed at the highest possible rate.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>the companies seem to have figured out that the rich Europeans will pay more....</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br /><br /><br />What about us poor Europeans?</p>

<p>If you search for the lowest price in Europe as well as the lowest price offered by a reputable shop in the USA you are likely to find that the VAT (which is normally included in European prices) is basically the difference in the prices; there may be a slight additional discrepancy in prices but nothing like 5-15 years ago when just about everything was cheaper to order from B&H than buy locally in Europe (with VAT, customs fees and shipping included). Gradually the price discrepancy (which was probably related to large US dealers getting a lower price from Nikon) got smaller and nowadays it doesn't make sense for someone living in EU to order from the USA unless there is an item which cannot be found in Europe. I think the largest contribution in the discrepancy in prices across markets was removed by Nikon because they realized that small dealers were dying because people came in to the shots to check out gear and ask for recommendations and then in the evening they would order it on the internet from the lowest priced store. So now Nikon doesn't favour large dealers by giving substantially lower prices any more, as far as I know. But the differences in the economies and taxation and of course the cost of the sales and marketing still can show up as price difference but it's no longer partly due to Nikon's own making.</p>

<p>In Australia we've always thought that we were charged far to much compared with US prices, even when our dollar was as much as 10% higher - the usual argument with camera gear is taxes, transport and the cost of running a store. On-line sales from HK etc have made our retailers trim their prices and send many to the wall.<br>

Comparing like with like, D800 from B&H US$2800 Aussie retailer AU$3400.</p>

<p>Gets a bit more extreme with Leica M, B&H US$6950 Aussie AU$ 8495</p>

<p>Software charges really make us scream, especially Adobe</p>

<p>US postal charges to Australia are off the planet often 2x what it costs us to send to US - love to know why.</p>

Half a century ago, when I first started going to the USA, what cost $100 would cost £100 back in UK and sales tax, as it

was then, was much lower. Over time the real prices have got closer but not quite evened up. One aspect is that

currencies fluctuate, not a lot but the $ € £ ¥ do not necessarily keep in line and from a Manufactuer's point of view it is

better to have stable prices.

Local distribution systems and retail and wholesale structures probably also play a role.

<p>I found this US site with really great prices, but it also seems unreal. It's www.getitdigital.com.<br>

Nikon D7000 Digital Camera w/ 18-55 VR, 55-200 VR & 50mm f/1.8 D AF SPY LENS KIT with a lot of accessories (tripod, card reader, memory card wallet, lens cleaning kit, two camera cases), all that for $1,104.45. Shipping to Bosnia is expensive, $244, but it's still a good deal compering to prices here. And shipping to US is free. <br>

I'm just not sure if it's some fraud or it's OK. I searched for reviews, there are many different stories. Some people are satisfied with what they got, others say it's fraud.<br>

</p>

 

<h1> </h1>

<p>Svetlana - Two of the things you must look at very carefully when buying Nikon gear from outside your own country are:-</p>

 

<ol>

<li>The taxes that your country charges on imported goods, that is not to say that you will be caught but you should know exactly how much it could cost you!</li>

<li>Nikon's warranty policy in your country, the last thing you'd want is to have your nice new equipment go wrong and then be told by Nikon Bosnia that it not their problem and you've got to send it back to the very cheap US seller, who may not be very interested in helping you.</li>

</ol>

<p>So please check these things out before you get too excited about cheap US prices.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>With those web sites, if it seems fake or a scam it usually is. If you receive anything, it's going to be not what you ordered, not a new item, not complete, without a warranty, and good luck getting a refund.</p>

<p>Warranties are a cost to the seller and also differ between countries eg UK warranties are longer than US, I believe.</p>

<p>Norway is generally known as a rather expensive country. I travel the world with my work and Norway is probably the cheapest place in Europe or America for photograph equipment. I have just been checking the local prices for a D7000 body and you can buy it her for uner a thousand US dollars (that includes 25% tax which is not paid if the camera goes abroad).<br>

All my gear has been bought here and I have never had a problem with warranty issues. As long as you have your receipt, any warranty claims will be met without a quibble<br>

</p>

 

<p>1) import duties for EU countries hover around 20-25% of the total value of the shipment, including shipping cost. Any reputable company will NOT offer to or accept requests to that effect to mislabel a shipment so as to avoid such charges.<br>

2) VAT is charged over the total value of the shipment including import duties.<br>

3) US warranty is void in the EU, even US citizens working as expats in Europe sometimes have trouble getting their equipment serviced under warranty by Nikon here (and not just Nikon, many companies put up similar blocks).<br>

So that $1000 order, plus $200 shipping can end up costing you $1200+$300+$300=$1800 before it is delivered to you, which is often more than what you'd pay when buying from an EU company, and buying from them you'd have warranty.</p>

<p>It boils down to:<br>

USA taxes vs Europe taxes, on just about everything.</p>

<p>That's true. A large percentage of US camera sales don't incorporate any taxes beyond the usual corporate income taxes (many of which are dodged anyway) because we don't charge import duties on this stuff (which is probably a bad idea when you consider most other countries do and it's contributing to the fact that we import almost everything and export very little...) and many or most buyers avoid sales taxes by buying online from a vendor in another state (it being an oddity of our tax system that sales tax is not charged on items shipped to a state in which the vendor does not have a physical presence, which is further compounded by companies like Amazon scamming the system by having subsidiary companies own their facilities in most states). We actually incentivize buying imported goods from nonlocal sellers and then complain that nobody can find a job.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>We actually incentivize buying imported goods from nonlocal sellers and then complain that nobody can find a job.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>We, in the US, complain a lot more than jobs. High taxes comes to mind. It never cross our mind what it's like outside the US.</p>

<p>We complain about those who don't pay their fair share of taxes, and how they manage to do so. We complain about how our tax money has gone to waste. But ultimately we can do little about it, other than complaining.</p>