Why do we get such a raw deal in Europe ?

R

RayFrisby

Well-known member
I have finally had it ! After recieving yet another crazy quotation for equipment here in Ireland; I want to know why do we in Europe always seem to get the wrong end of the stick ?? I have been looking at getting an Arri Softbank Kit 1 for quiet a while. After searching high and low and weeks of phone calls to suppliers I have been quoted 2800 Euro for a 3 light kit from Arri which is 3600 US dollars, this is one light less than the Softbank Kit 1 which retails for aprox 2600 Dollars in the US.
Here in Europe the Softbank Kit 1 costs almost 3400 Euro or 4360 Dollars. Its not just Arri, every single item we buy in Europe seems to be almost 40 to 50% dearer. Dealers are definatly making mony off the European market; this is not something that can be put down to Vat and import duty alone !!

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Pricing of just about ANYTHING is normally dictated by what one can charge locally, not what it's worth globally.
Look at a BigMac, and how much it costs in various countries.
In fact, I recall someone who analized a BigMac's price around the world, and used its cost as a type of multiplier when estimating pricing of other goods, i.e. a BigMac is 1.7x more expensive in Ireland than in the USA, hence an Arri light kit is about 1.7x more expensive. Now, I didn't completely believe this to be true of course, but it was kind of interesting nevertheless.
 
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that sucks though, are you really remote? or is there like crazy civilization out there. Sorry, but when i think of ireland, i think of rolling hills and golf.
 
Yep know exactly how you feel. The answer is probably due to at least two things. One each country is small compared to USA so volume sales perhaps.

Two we put up with so much crap and say NOTHING.

The average american (if there is such a thing) would kick up hell or tell them to go get stuffed!

Michael
 
what also doenst help is the lack of local sales people, or even local people in general selling the equipment. here in the bay area, if you dont want to pay retail, its not that hard to search craigslist.com or even here on the boards to find someone with the equipment, or similar equipment you want. The flea market style helps alot.
 
And the Smart European will take it as an excuse to go on a shopping spree to America.

Even if you do pay duty, it's worth the trip and a possible mailing of gear back for waranty work.


- Mikko ... buys everything from clothes up in the states.
 
I understand your Euro`pain`, but look at the sunny side: you can have terrific long and remote beautifull walks on the Westcoast and see nice places like The Twelve Pins or Galway, they dont have that! They have bush...

So its an investment worth to stay and work (and pay) in Europe...;-)
 
vidled said:
Pricing of just about ANYTHING is normally dictated by what one can charge locally, not what it's worth globally.
Look at a BigMac, and how much it costs in various countries.
In fact, I recall someone who analized a BigMac's price around the world, and used its cost as a type of multiplier when estimating pricing of other goods, i.e. a BigMac is 1.7x more expensive in Ireland than in the USA, hence an Arri light kit is about 1.7x more expensive. Now, I didn't completely believe this to be true of course, but it was kind of interesting nevertheless.
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Believe it, a consumable such as the Big Mac is a great way to compare cost of living and as accurate as any one indicator. The move to the EU was suppose to create a macroeconomic structure that would ease inflation, reducing price on goods by increasing scale. Hasn't worked well and high tax rates (americans wouldn't put up with a VAT either) has raised costs. Well at least you don't pay as much for health care.

It also seems that there are very few dealers in each country from what I have witnessed here. Good old price competition never hurts either but it would not solve the situation. I was in Poland recently, and automobiles are through the roof with many people going across the border to Germany to buy cars. There were car lots on every corner but no one could afford them domestically. Arbitrage is alive and well in continental europe springing up cottage industries. This is the reason the grey market exists BTW.

Finally there are the manufacturer's that set price regionally. Interesting, college text books in the U.S are the most expensive in the world, with the same textbook in Britain going for half the price. The publishers clearly state that they charge more here because we will pay it. What can you do?

I love Ireland BTW, I head over for business this month in Limerick.
 
Well,
one reason for the higher prices would be warranty I guess, when buying anything at a store you get 2 years...
at least in Germany...
unfortunately software is also more expensive, and I never got my money back when I reported a bug;-)
 
bosindy said:
There were car lots on every corner but no one could afford them domestically. Arbitrage is alive and well in continental europe springing up cottage industries. This is the reason the grey market exists BTW.
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Another example are Switzerland and Germany. South-Germany is making _a lot_ of money from Swiss people passing the border and buying consumer goods in Germany that often cost 50% less than in Switzerland. On the other hand, people from Germany living on the border of Switzerland work in Switzerland, _earn a lot_ here, but spend the money mainly in Germany.

Did I already mention that I bought my HVX in the US? :)
 
And for the Big Mac:

In Switzerland, the UBS bank distributes every now and then a brochure that shows how many minutes people of different branches in different countries have to work to be able to buy 1 Big Mac (or to stay 1 night at a middle-class hotel or to drive 5 km by taxi etc.) and it shows that there is no country that has EVERYTHING cheaper and better than the other countries. The country with the highest salary (it's not Switzerland!) has most prices for food extremely high - so it's complex maths and depends on the salary of the sector where you work and also what you are gonna buy..... There is just an (interesting!) high-score for the "best mix" of salary and prices.... and it's a european country that is on the first rank so we can't complain over here if we have probably to work exceptionally 1 percent longer than our american friends for an HVX - for most everyday objects we work less and THAT's a cheap life! - in MANY countries they earn in 1 month what we earn in 1 hour.... and their prices for food etc. are STILL only 10 times less... so do the maths
 
Cynic821 said:
Pascal: Everyone is using the Euro now right?
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Yes, most Europeans are using the Euro, also in Switzerland. But the Euro is not the official money for Switzerland, this still is the Swiss Franc (CHF). But the Euro is so important, that you can use it almost everywhere. For example, if I go to the money machine (ATM in the US), I can choose if I want my money in Swiss Francs (CHF) or in Euros (EUR). And most touristic areas also accept the Dollar (USD), the Pound (GBP), the Yen (JPY) and so on.

But in Italy for example, the unstable (for European standards) Lira (ITL) is gone, they now have the Euro. Just as an example.

I also read this thing about the relativity of the prices, very interesting, so Switzerland is one of the cheapest countries of the world for the people living there.

I forgot an interesting detail: You may know Walmart. They wanted to rule the German market, because the thought something like the following: "We are the cheapest, we just blow away anybody." Well, they have given up the German market, sold all their stores and made, I don't know exactly, maybe one billion Dollar losses, because the German market is already very "cheap".
 
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RayFrisby said:

Here in Europe the Softbank Kit 1 costs almost 3400 Euro or 4360 Dollars. Its not just Arri, every single item we buy in Europe seems to be almost 40 to 50% dearer. Dealers are definatly making mony off the European market; this is not something that can be put down to Vat and import duty alone !!

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Click to expand...

It's an old and sad story, apart from vat and import duty, it's just speculation but it's what we deserve with the politicians we got and this bullshit of European Union.
 
Pascal_Parvex said:
But in Italy for example, the unstable (for European standards) Lira (ITL) is gone, they now have the Euro. Just as an example.
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they just changed the name from Lira to euro, situation is black like the hvx body, trust me.
 
bosindy said:
Well at least you don't pay as much for health care.
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Uhoh.....wrong! We do pay a lot health care, only it costs less when you need it! In Austria and many other countries the payment is low in your hand but 50% of your actual wage run into health and pension systems. So if you "earn" 1.000 a month your employer actually pays another 1.000 into those funds automatically. And it is mandatory. You cannot say you want the full 2.000 and insure yourself. You simply can´t. Your employer is forced to pay it for you as some sort of tax. Other parts of that money go into unemployment funds, so unemploeyd people get money for quite some time until they find a new job. So basically there are two misconceptions between US and Europe:
a) we do not earn little; the 1.000 in the workers hand burn 2.000 into the employers pocket (or 2.000 - 4.000 etc.......).
b) we do not get charged from doctors, hospitals etc, but actually we pay high insurance rates all our working life to be entitled to do so.
 
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