Why are Bikes so dear in UK ??

DJ said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have a
good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

Yes. Prices appear to be very high here compared to Holland even.
I am sure compared to US and China they are exorbitant.

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have

a

Quoted message said:

good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

And Fuji insist that there US dealerships don't sell them on the Internet

!!

Quoted message said:

I wonder why...... (NOT !)

DJ

Yes we are being robbed blind, and not just on bikes.

Graham

"DJ" wrote...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have

a

Quoted message said:

good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

And Fuji insist that there US dealerships don't sell them on the Internet

!!

Quoted message said:

I wonder why...... (NOT !)

DJ

No VAT in the US, although you can expect to pay 5% - 10% in sales tax on
the US$900 price.

Very low fuel / energy costs means everything costs less to ship about the
country, and reduces overhead costs for businesses.

Low population density keeps land prices down, reducing operating costs for
businesses.

Lack of any real national health program keeps taxes down.

I'm not claiming that any of this makes the US "better" in any way, and
indeed I think that we Americans are living on borrowed time in many
respects, but these are the factors that I see contributing to the
difference in prices between the US and the UK.
--
mark

In article <[email hidden]>,

mark said:

Low population density keeps land prices down, reducing operating costs for
businesses.

That's the big one that puts UK prices for everything up.

Quoted message said:

Lack of any real national health program keeps taxes down.

It's more than just health, isn't it?

Quoted message said:

I'm not claiming that any of this makes the US "better" in any way, and
indeed I think that we Americans are living on borrowed time in many
respects,

Time? How about borrowed money, in that deficit? It works for you
because the dollar is used for international trade, so every other
country holds dollar reserves that finance the deficit. If the world
suddenly switched out of dollars, you'd have a bigger Argentina.
That's why Americas agents - such as the proprietors of most of the
UK press - are deeply concerned about the Euro and are working hard to
split Europe politically and undermine its institutions and currency.

(It has been said that Saddam's real crime was to price his oil in Euros.
After all, all his worst atrocities happened in the 1980s, when he
was a regional agent of the West, and our armaments manufacturers -
including Donald Rumsfeld personally - were getting rich supplying him).

--
Not me guv

"mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:z6eVc.7458$3O3.5228
@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net:

Quoted message said:

I think that we Americans are living on borrowed time in many
respects,

Careful, you'll have Dubya declaring you a terrorist state if you go saying
things like that! :-)

Graeme

"Graeme" wrote

Quoted message said:

Careful, you'll have Dubya declaring you a terrorist state if you go

saying

Quoted message said:

things like that! :-)

I can't think of a higher honor.
--
mark

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have

a

Quoted message said:

good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

And Fuji insist that there US dealerships don't sell them on the Internet

!!

Quoted message said:

I wonder why...... (NOT !)

DJ

This could be about televisions, cars, CD's or many other items, you'll find
the same sort of differential.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

"mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:64fVc.28394$9Y6.20264
@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:

Quoted message said:

I can't think of a higher honor.

Yeah, you're perfectly safe, but the house two streets over might be at
risk if they try a "precision" air strike 🙂

mark said:

No VAT in the US, although you can expect to pay 5% - 10% in sales tax on
the US$900 price.

Very low fuel / energy costs means everything costs less to ship about the
country, and reduces overhead costs for businesses.

Low population density keeps land prices down, reducing operating costs for
businesses.

Lack of any real national health program keeps taxes down.

Being the world's biggest economy helps - everyone can pile it high and
sell it cheap. Look on the bright side though - photgraphic film
processing in the UK is said to be among the cheapest in the world.
Soon to be killed off by digital, so enjoy it while it lasts.

in message <[email hidden]>, Graham

(') said:

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to
have a good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

Yes we are being robbed blind, and not just on bikes.

We have a market economy. If you are persuaded there are profits to be
made, why not set up your own import business?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

A message from our sponsor: This site is now in free fall

DJ said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have a
good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

And Fuji insist that there US dealerships don't sell them on the Internet !!
I wonder why...... (NOT !)

DJ

No question we are being charged a lot more but you are free not to
pay it and therefore you are not being robbed. Bike dealers, importers
and general costs are more at every point in this country and I
suspect bike dealers themselves operate on a higher margin than in the
states and probably have less turnover typically per store.There are
some bikes where the difference in price between the usa and uk is
only perhaps 20-25% and I personally think this is fair all things
considered but anything above 50% is pure rip off and in the case of
the fuji bike you mention doubly so. I personally wouldn't pay it.

It seems to me since returning to cycling after a 15 year approx
absense that many things now have excessive margins on them. I have an
old spoke key that was 25p back in the late 80s and is made in the uk
I now see the same design is made in taiwan and is about £4!

There are always companies trying to rip off the uk consumer so simply
don't buy from them. If the difference is more than 30% tops steer
clear I say.

Just bought a couple of flimsy plastic mudguards £19.99, and a simple alu
pannier frame £19.99. Bike cost £50 second hand. Moral - buy from other
cyclists, not from shops. Keep the gear circulating.

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

"Martin Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DJ said:

I am interested in buying a Fuji Roubaix - good spec bike, seems to have

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

good reputation.

Price in the UK £999.00 (GBP)

Price in the US $900.00 (USD)

We are talking almost 500 quid difference - how can this be ??
Are we not being robbed blind.

And Fuji insist that there US dealerships don't sell them on the Internet

!!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I wonder why...... (NOT !)

DJ

No question we are being charged a lot more but you are free not to
pay it and therefore you are not being robbed. Bike dealers, importers
and general costs are more at every point in this country and I
suspect bike dealers themselves operate on a higher margin than in the
states and probably have less turnover typically per store.There are
some bikes where the difference in price between the usa and uk is
only perhaps 20-25% and I personally think this is fair all things
considered but anything above 50% is pure rip off and in the case of
the fuji bike you mention doubly so. I personally wouldn't pay it.

It seems to me since returning to cycling after a 15 year approx
absense that many things now have excessive margins on them. I have an
old spoke key that was 25p back in the late 80s and is made in the uk
I now see the same design is made in taiwan and is about £4!

There are always companies trying to rip off the uk consumer so simply
don't buy from them. If the difference is more than 30% tops steer
clear I say.

I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?
Trouble is you'd need to be assured of excellent packing and you'd still be
taking a risk, but I wonder what, say DHL or fedex shipping for a relatively
lightweight bike would be? Plus, what the taxes would be for us to pay here?
Is it just VAT?

At "Eddy's Bike Shop" a Spec Sequoia Elite is $1099.
http://eddys.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=3690&Catalog=39&sort=price
In the UK its £999 everywhere.

Roughly, $1099 is £600.

Assume £80 ($100) shipping (pure guess.)

£680 plus VAT is £800.

So is it worth taking the chances of a mashed up bike and a lot of hassle to
return, for £200 (20%)? Assuming you could find someone who would ship it.
Plus I believe the brake cables are wired the "wrong way" round in the US?

Plus I:ve just noticed this on a Spec dealers web site
"The manufacturer's sales policy forbids mail order/web sales. We suggest
calling the Supergo retail store to verify availability before visiting. "

So, perhaps the best way to buy one would be;

Fly to US on holiday.
Buy bike via friend who buys it.
He sells you the bike cheaper, lets say half price (customs are no dummies,
they wont believe it was $5.)
Ride it a bit.
Bring it back as luggage (usually free)
Declare it.

Now you have paid £600 plus VAT, say £50.

Savings of £350 have paid for your airfare.

Probably worth doing that :-)
--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Tumbleweed said:

I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?
Trouble is you'd need to be assured of excellent packing and you'd still
be
taking a risk, but I wonder what, say DHL or fedex shipping for a
relatively
lightweight bike would be? Plus, what the taxes would be for us to pay
here?
Is it just VAT?

No, you may be charged import duty. Duty varies on product to product and
depends on the country of origin. I have no idea if it is charged on whole
bikes or components but if it is it could be of the order of 10% (you'd
need to check with C&E)

IIRC duty is charged on the price including shipping, then VAT is charged
on the duty-paid price.

Quoted message said:

At "Eddy's Bike Shop" a Spec Sequoia Elite is $1099.
http://eddys.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=3690&Catalog=39&sort=price
In the UK its £999 everywhere.

Roughly, $1099 is £600.

Assume £80 ($100) shipping (pure guess.)

£680 plus VAT is £800.

So, if duty is payable, your cost may be nearer £900.

Now, although you may not be able to get £100 discount you will find shops
offering 10% of the price back in accessories and you have a shop to which
you can return the bike easily if there is a serious fault.

Colin

Tumbleweed <[email hidden]> wrote:

: I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?

This has been done to death. See threads passim.

It's not usually cheaper unless you find something that's a real bargin. Same
as getting a real bargin over here.

US prices don't include state taxes which US buyers pay. I'm not sure if
overseas buyers have to pay those though.

You do have to pay VAT at 17.5% + import duty. The resulting price is
usually about the same as UK RRP.

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

"Colin Blackburn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tumbleweed said:

I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?
Trouble is you'd need to be assured of excellent packing and you'd still
be
taking a risk, but I wonder what, say DHL or fedex shipping for a
relatively
lightweight bike would be? Plus, what the taxes would be for us to pay
here?
Is it just VAT?

No, you may be charged import duty. Duty varies on product to product and
depends on the country of origin. I have no idea if it is charged on whole
bikes or components but if it is it could be of the order of 10% (you'd
need to check with C&E)

IIRC duty is charged on the price including shipping, then VAT is charged
on the duty-paid price.

Quoted message said:

At "Eddy's Bike Shop" a Spec Sequoia Elite is $1099.
http://eddys.com/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=3690&Catalog=39&sort=price
In the UK its £999 everywhere.

Roughly, $1099 is £600.

Assume £80 ($100) shipping (pure guess.)

£680 plus VAT is £800.

So, if duty is payable, your cost may be nearer £900.

Even worse than you guess, I just looked it up, its 15% the [censored].
http://www.directly2u.co.uk/customs.html#Bicycles

680*1.15*1.175 = £920 (roughly) only £80.

Quoted message said:

Now, although you may not be able to get £100 discount you will find shops
offering 10% of the price back in accessories and you have a shop to which
you can return the bike easily if there is a serious fault.

Colin

Agreed, its a bit better for "a friend sells it to you".

Lets say he sells it to you for $500 as far as customs is concerned. So that
is about £280.
Duty and tax on that is £92. So you have paid about £700 (£600+92). Might
be worth doing, esp if you could plan it in advance so your friend buys it a
month or two early, and then you have their receipt to prove it is second
hand and not brand new. But a lot of hassle and risk.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

Tumbleweed said:

Agreed, its a bit better for "a friend sells it to you".

Lets say he sells it to you for $500 as far as customs is concerned. So
that
is about £280.
Duty and tax on that is £92. So you have paid about £700 (£600+92).
Might
be worth doing, esp if you could plan it in advance so your friend buys
it a
month or two early, and then you have their receipt to prove it is second
hand and not brand new. But a lot of hassle and risk.

A fair amount of risk. C&E are not stupid and don't just read the value
off the little green customs sticker and accept that as the actual value.
They may tell you how much it is worth and what the duty is.

Colin

Tumbleweed said:

I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?

Sometimes the specifications are very different.

--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's
nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

Tumbleweed said:

I wonder if there are US cycle dealers that would ship internationally?

Why bother with the States? I've just seen a Giant TCR1 on a German
website for EUR1499 (£1012). Same bike on a UK site is £1399. I don't
know whether this is typical but it's worthy of investigation.

For years it was the case that windsurfing equipment was much cheaper in
Germany than here.

--
Michael MacClancy
Random putdown - "A modest little person, with much to be modest about."-
Winston Churchill
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk