[xan]

It's a fact that you've to pay more for audio in europe than the states. But the difference between the prices here in the netherlands and the states is huge at Brystonprices.
Bryston 4BSST $4,757 holland
Bryston 4BSST US $3249 states
And normally you pay here the dollarprices in euro's.
Can somebody explane this difference. it's no fun:)

[Rocket]

Hi,

I live in Australia and typically we pay 2 - 3 times the price of what audiophiles in the states pay.

Factor in, shipping, taxes, commission to importer, dealer costs and it certainly adds up.

I buy direct off the internet but if you have any problems with the product you have to send the item back to the dealer you purchased it from.  Shipping costs can certainly add up.

Regards

Rod

[jeffreybehr]

xan, the biggest difference in prices is another layer of margin, the importer's.  The importers, generally, pay the same price that US dealers pay.

So a $2000 preamp sells for $1200 to US dealers and to the importer.  The US dealer sells it for $2000 or as close as they can get to that.  The importer has it shipped, pays duty, etc. and then sells it to a dealer for maybe $2100, and that turns into $3500 at normal markups.

[nicolasb]

I'm not too sure about the situation in Holland, but in Britain we usually have to deal with:

- American prices are quoted without tax. British prices include V.A.T. at 17.5%.

- Import duty.

- Cost of transatlantic shipping.

- Cost of transportation within the UK (which is often very high because of the obscene price of petrol in this country).

- Mark-up by the UK distributor.

- General "rip-off Britain" attitude by all and sundry.

Xan, I'm actually very jealous of the fact that you pay euros for dollars. In Britain we normally end up paying pounds for dollars, which, given the current exchange rate, is an obscenity.

I have to say, it's usually the UK distributors that are mostly to blame. Their prices made sense when the exchange rate was about $1.30 to the £. But the prices are still exactly the same (or even higher) now that the exchange rate is $1.80 to the £. They're raking it in.

Bryston is far from being the worst case in the UK - you should see the mark-ups on Theta Digital equipment, or Velodyne subwoofers.

Also, to be fair, Bryston is a Canadian company and not a US one, so one has to look at exchange rates with the Canadian dollar - these don't always track the US dollar exchange rate.

[John Ashman]

To throw salt in the wound, we sometimes pay less for European gear than Europeans, depending on how the exchange rate is doing.  America, land of cheap high-end........

[nirmal]

I agree entirely. Prices here in the UK are obscene, especially at the high street showrooms. The advice you get from 'experts' in some of these shops is shocking! I had a particularly shocking experience in a Worcester showroom. I was very grateful that I didnt visit that shop several years back, when I started off in this hobby. But having said that, importers who sell on the internet are making a killing too.
I now purchase most of my kit on the internet either from manufacturers or distributors, who have a 'return it within a week if you dont like it' offer. I have found that with careful research and help on websites like these, I very rarely have to return anything. The savings are huge (especially from pro suppliers). The biggest saving I ever made was £750 and the smallest £200 (for major pieces of equipment).
UK manufactured kit is less of a rip off, but still expensive (high over heads, and the cost of that 'made in England label' probably) here. Sometimes I wonder if it is our gulliability that keeps prices where they are at the moment.

Cheers
Nirmal

[caleb]

You want to be in South Africa pal - here it's not expensive - it's a rip off! ! ! !

[nico75r6]

>It's a fact that you've to pay more for audio in europe than the states. But the difference between the prices here >in the netherlands and the states is huge at Brystonprices.

The same in Italy! For the Bryston B100 SST R (only the remote, no DAC or other options) the offical importer price is 4.930 Euros wich translated in USD (at 1.20 rate) means 5.916 USD!!! A rip off!

Usually the importer (if you complain) will give you a discount of about 30% and the retail street price would be about 3300 EURO (3960 USD) but this is still a RIP OFF.

I am a proud owner of a B100 SST R but to be able to get it at a reasonable price (under 3000 EURO) I had to buy an "ex demo" one. The alternative would have been waiting to get an used one in Europe (220-230v/50hz).

I believe Bryston should do something to stop this and put some restriction on the pricelist european importers can do on their products. They will sell a lot more stuff. An alternative would be to let customers in Europe buying Bryston's products directly from Bryston.


Nicola

[PorkpieHat]

I live in Canada, so much of this is lost on me. The one question I would ask of my European friends is whether the price difference in Europe is greater than the price of an air ticket to come to Canada. Mercedes Benz has built an afficianado tour business on the arbitrage between the two for years. Peterborough is only a $US 50 bus and train ride from the international airport in Toronto. Come on over and see the sights!

[bsmith15]

I am not 100% sure, but would think that even purchasing directly while on a visit to Canada there would be duty and / or tax due to clear customs when returning to your home country.  Between duty and / or VAT the cost difference between air fare and hotel would have to be considerable to offset.

[PorkpieHat]

Understand the VAT/Duty issues, but I was thinking of the comments about distributor/dealer markup.