Sony USA vs UK rippoff pricing
Options
icarusi
Posts: 94 Forumite
Even when 3.7% duty and 20% VAT are included, the US price of a Sony FDR-AX100 4k camcorder at $1800-2000 should be £1350-1500, *not* £1700!!
I've checked other US/UK prices which equate when duty and VAT are included, but not on this.
I don't expect a direct $/£ translation as US web prices don't often include US sales taxes, but not in the above case.
Sony will probably say it's a different 'euro' model with 25fps rather than 30fps, but I suspect Sony deliberately engineer the 'euro' model to justify a higher price. The similar Panasonic GH4 has US/euro 25/30 fps in the same model so poor showing from Sony.
Until Sony has parity on US/UK prices I won't be buying (at least in Europe) on principle!
I would like to see a MSE general enquiry into current Sony (and any other brands) blatant US/UK price rippoffs.
I've checked other US/UK prices which equate when duty and VAT are included, but not on this.
I don't expect a direct $/£ translation as US web prices don't often include US sales taxes, but not in the above case.
Sony will probably say it's a different 'euro' model with 25fps rather than 30fps, but I suspect Sony deliberately engineer the 'euro' model to justify a higher price. The similar Panasonic GH4 has US/euro 25/30 fps in the same model so poor showing from Sony.
Until Sony has parity on US/UK prices I won't be buying (at least in Europe) on principle!
I would like to see a MSE general enquiry into current Sony (and any other brands) blatant US/UK price rippoffs.
0
Comments
-
Until Sony has parity on US/UK prices I won't be buying (at least in Europe) on principle!
I would like to see a MSE general enquiry into current Sony (and any other brands) blatant US/UK price rippoffs.
It's not only Sony that have far higher prices in the UK than in the US.
Just about all electrical and electronic items are the same so if you are not going to buy goods from manufacturers that do this, you won't be doing much buying at all.
It's not only VAT and import duty that has to be taken into account.
In general, wages are higher in the UK than in America and these costs have to be accounted for (office staff, customer service people, distribution workers etc).
Properties are also far more expensive to buy or lease, fuel and energy costs far higher, and probably loads of other things that all have to be factored into the final selling price.0 -
US generally has warranty terms which are nothing compared with the European models as well.
Its up to a company to decide how much to charge in what country, I don't see what the problem is here. You cant compare the US to the UK, our average salary is higher so you would expect any company to get what they can from us.0 -
You have to remember that in the UK your consumer rights are massively higher. If it breaks within the first 5/6 years you can argue your rights under the SOGA. In the US with many products you have only a 6 month statutory right.
Similarly there are greater safety tests things have to pass, more rules over recycling/ disposals etc
Statutory rights etc arent given for free they cost the businesses money and this is reflected in the price.0 -
-
$1 = €1 = £1
0 -
I'm not sure how much extra they're making off their UK customers though, there's a few reasons why it might be more expensive to sell int he UK market.
Higher wages for staff, and better consumer rights over here have both been mentioned. There's also the different specifications required - safety laws in the UK are different, not to mention the voltage is completely different, so all the components that would be affected by the voltage would have to be specific to the UK.
But I'm guessing they add some extra profit on as well, because they can.:coffee:Coffee +3 Dexterity +3 Willpower -1 Ability to Sleep
Playing too many computer games may be bad for your attention span but it Critical Hit!0 -
This is the Money *Saving* Forum isn't it? I'm surprised there are so many apologists here. I've checked enough US/UK prices to know not all are so blatantly ripoff as Sony's on this. If other firms can do US/UK parity when duties and tax are factored then so can Sony!
I can do a personal import, inc. carriage, duties and taxes for £1350 vs £1700 so I'm definitely not paying the latter. I'd even buy another brand rather than pay such a price difference. If we keep paying, they'll keep charging.
If this post is in the wrong part of the forum, please move it.0 -
When you import your camera, make sure you get an international warranty as return-to-base could be quite expensive/inconvenient.
FWIW, I'd really not recommend a 4k camcorder as being a great investment. 4k is a lot of pixels, sure, but they're still on a tiny form-factor sensor so you have even worse low-light problems and the audio will still suck badly (it always does on camcorders). All you're really doing is making the editing overhead higher when the bitrate will still mean you're using heavily compressed MPEG-based encoding, and exhibition is limited to a fraction of a percentage of TV's and cinema screens (at which point those compression artefacts will show up anyway).0 -
Just for comparison Panasonic GH4 body from BHPhotovideo (USA) $1700 = £1020 plus 3.7% duty plus 20% vat £1223. UK price £1250-1300 inc. vat. So if Panasonic can get those prices why not Sony?0
-
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 248K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards