Rip-off Britain strikes again

[robin_sibson1]

You folks in the US have your problems with rebates. Here in the UK the rip-off

isn't even at one remove from Canon. RRP of the 1DIII in the US is USD3999. I

see from the EOS Magazine website that in the UK it is GBP3049. Since you can

currently get around USD1.90 for GBP1, that's no small difference. Current

street prices for the 1DIIN are around USD3300 and around GBP2200, still a

ripoff but not to quite the same extent. It will be interesting to see what

happens to street prices of the 1DIII, although no doubt initial demand will be

high, but paying 17.5% VAT on a legal import from the US currently looks like a

seriously attractive proposition.

[pjmeade]

Robin,

 

If you can find someone who would "give" the Mk3 to you as a "gift", you would pay import duty (30GBP?) but no VAT.

 

I was able to get a friend in the US to give me CS2.

 

But yes, in Rip off Britain, the exchange rate is 1:1

[mark u]

It's a very strange pricing decision, since I'm sure that 600 pound or so difference inclusive of import VAT will encourage quite a few imports in preference to local purchases.

 

Even odder, since 5D pricing has been much more competitive, and indeed there have been periods when it would have been more expensive to import one than buy it locally. Indeed, now the US rebate is over, the B&H price is equivalent to about 1675 pounds before shipping but including VAT - so the UK price now below 1500 pounds could make it attractive for a US purchaser to import from the UK if they are able to reclaim VAT on export.

[colin carron]

Robin, interesting point. I see Park and Warehouseexpress have both got 'Price - TBC' so maybe the street price will be different.

[HenryUK]

VAT is due on imports valued over GBP18, and gifts valued over GBP36. There is no import duty on digital cameras.

 

You need to be very careful about importing expensive items. VAT plus customs handling fees soon erode any apparent savings.

 

Having the item declared as a gift may work sometimes but it is illegal, and penalties can include forfeiture of the item.

 

Rip-off Britain it is, I'm afraid.

 

Henry

[sgpix]

Not that I've ever done it myself, but I am sure the number of people who travel to NYC, take a trip to B&H, lose the packaging and forget to declare anything on the way back through Heathrow must get higher and higher every time companies try to penalise us for living in the country woth the worst climate in the world.

 

Particularly with such attractive excahnge rates and ?300 returns to the Grande Pomme, as well!

[NK Guy]

While I know it's easy to whinge about Britain being a rip-off, I don't think it's always as

simple as that.

 

- Europe has stronger consumer rights laws when it comes to defective products than the

USA, which basically has sort of none. This translates to higher warranty and out of

warranty repair costs in Europe. For example, in the UK you have up to 6 years to take a

company to court if a product has failed from an inherent design flaw. In the US you can't

do any such thing. Or rather, you can try but you won't have a chance in hell.

 

- In Britain, people get more holiday time than the US. Add 12% to all staffing costs for

marketing, sales and repairs.

 

- Cost of living in the UK is generally higher than the US. Add to staffing.

 

- UK market is much smaller than the US. Lower volume means higher costs.

 

- Distribution costs in the UK are higher than the US. For example, in the US there are

loads of hidden subsidies for fuel, lowering shipping costs relative to Europe.

 

- Import duties are higher in the UK.

 

- The US dollar is in the toilet right now. The pound is very strong.

 

- Cost of marketing to a smaller market. And a more expensive and fragmented market in

Europe, given multiple languages and government rules.

 

So. Does all this make up for a doubling in price? Maybe not. But I don't think it's as

simple as Canon UK execs living in luxury while Canon USA execs live on the cheap.

There's more stuff than that going on.

 

Finally, note also that Canon have regrettably changed their warranty terms. It used to be

that EOS film cameras had international warranties. EOS digital cameras, however, do NOT.

If you buy a camera in NYC at B&H and bring it home it will not have a valid warranty in

Britain.

[milton-chris]

Hmmmmm. Maybe an off-the-wall idea, but if I want to buy something that offers significant savings, I wil drive to the USA and buy it. I'm not sure what costs are from UK to USA, but you can do Toronto to Manchester or Heathrow for $149Cdn each way. Cheap hotels via expedia.ca, cheap airfare on transat, and you can make up a good saving on your new gear purchase. AND get a weekend or a few days in a great place like Toronto to boot - only 1hour drive from USA too.

[jp berger]

Well, in France, it seems the RRP will be around 4495euros. Since 1euro ~= $1.31, that makes a RRP in France of $5900...

[synnacdesign]

Traditionally alot of things have always been more expensive in Europe compaired to the USA. Especially in Britain compared to other countries especially to the USA. However thereis something to keep in my when looking at prices in Britain. The British pound is about 20-30% over valued since quite a few years, alot due to the success of the London Stock Exchange. Nothing bad in itself, but harmful to imports and exports. Cars are one of the best examples there, as an identical car sold in Belgium (built for left side driving) tends to be 20-30% cheaper than the same car in Britain.

 

I concur with the statement that the more encompassing warrantees in Europe do drive up the price. On the other side there are a number of other variables that add to the price as well, other than higher labor costs (marketing and so forth). Price wars are not as fierce in Europe as here, nor are there such huge stores as in the USA to be able to buy in bulk, reducing costs with the flip side that consumer retail prices are lower. Rebates and price adjustments are not as prevelant in Europe either. And Europeans tend to be more willing to pay top dollar for a top product.

 

As they like to say, if you get away with it, take advantage of it.

[mars c]

If you go to downtown hong kong and you know the store, I think you could get the best price in the world, that is if you're travelling to hong kong soon.

 

But if your only purpose for travelling anywhere is to buy that lens and not much else, you'll save alot of money just to order it from B&H.

[robin_sibson1]

I'm sorry, NK Guy, but I don't even begin to buy into most of the points you make, not because, in most cases, they are inherently wrong, but because their impact on the selling price of a high-value item of small size and low weight is, or should be, absolutely negligible. An example where such factors do make a difference is in UK petrol prices, which vary with distance from major supply points (and vary quite a lot once the unvarying tax component is taken out). It is, quite simply, an imperfect market, and when that arises with items of high enough value, market forces will make a correction. This happened a few years back with motor car prices as between the UK and Europe, with UK customers ordering UK-specification vehicles from dealers in (mainly) The Netherlands, or even from a non-official dealer in the UK who would import what you wanted. Howls of rage from the official dealer network forced a realignment of prices.

 

Incidentally, concerning guarantees, I do agree that some care is needed here, and maybe there is a risk to be carried. One might actually be better off with what in the US is a 'grey market' item with some sort of international-but-not-US guarantee, that with an item proudly carrying a US (only) guarantee!

[steve torelli]

Doesn't the general tax structure in Britain and the rest of Europe contribute to higher prices than here in the US ? I'm cerainly no expert,but it would seem to me that it would simply cost more money for a company, foreign or domestic, to do business there. You may want to correct me,and I know there must be other contributing factors, but logic dictates that this would the major one. Good luck

[kevin conville]

WHATEVER the reasons for the disparity in price, I suggest you find a work around. A

friend in the US or Canada, a cheap flight, whatever.

 

Big business doesn't blink an eye sourcing the cheapest goods and services why should

you? "Trade" treaties such as NAFTA and GATT don't apply to consumers, and never were

meant to, so find the loopholes. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

[steven_moseley1]

Hi,

 

I am English and so have had to put up with the UK prices all my life and have been buying and using camera gear for over 25 years, but IMHO anyone who buys new gear has a screw loose. It is and has always been so easy to buy near new gear for half the cost, there really is NO point being ripped off by buying new..

 

cheers Steve.

[ed_baumeister]

Some years ago, when I lived in London, The Economist magazine did a story about high prices in the U.K., and noted that some retailers considered the place "Treasure Island" for the prices they could get.

 

But, you Brits are in the European Union, and there are Internet sellers of reputation on the Continent. One is New York Camera in Germany (that's its name -- no translation).

 

For example, the EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS sells for GBP 1,247.99 at Jessops in the U.K. In euros, at today's rate, that's Euro 1,857.71. The same lens goes for Euro 1,598 at New York Camera in Germany. How much can shipping be? There's another German reseller in Aix-la-Chapelle/Aachen as well.

 

When I lived in London, a young Frenchman in a Nicolas (French) wine store there, discovering I wasn't British, said to me: "In France, when the train she does not come, we burn down the train station. In England, when the trains she does not come, the English, they look at their feet, they look at the sky. Tell me, what is wrong with the English."

 

I moved to France.

[robin_sibson1]

Yes, I know there are assorted workrounds, even legal ones, and I have used them in the past and may well do so again. And I am not in the arbitrage business and trying to find a margin in the third decimal place - minor differences, which may indeed be attributable to genuine local factors, don't bother me in the least. What I resent is the contempt for the purchaser displayed by many companies that go in for this sort of thing on a heroic scale - Canon are not alone. The Great British Public has just revolted, with some success, against illegal bank charges, so perhaps there's hope yet.

[sgpix]

Mars C - you aren't suggesting Fortress, surely? Little independants in TST or Mong Kok, perhaps - but not the orange and blue Circuit City equivalent?!

[mars c]

hehehe , of course there are some scum there too, ready to rip off if your not vigilant. just like in any place in the world.

[glenn nk]

I was in my camera shop yesterday afternoon and noted that the other 17/55 EFS was not on the shelf (they had two until I bought mine four weeks ago).

 

I mentioned this to Lori (my regular saleslady), and she replied "a nice English gentleman was in here a week ago and bought it". I paid the same price for this lens as I did for my 24/105L - $1,450 CAD. The 17/55 is a pricey lens.

 

Lori went on to say that he didn't ask any questions, just asked to see it, and then quickly bought it (he would have had to pay 6 percent sales tax plus 6 percent GST on top of the price). She said she was surprised - until I mentioned to her that just about every Brit on the various forums has complained about the cost of camera stuff in the UK.

 

I'm betting the new 17/55 will "somehow" get a little bit scuffed up so it looks like he already owned it when he returns home. If he left one of his older lenses at home, the new one will fit right into the bag as though it's been there for ages. I know I would try it.