Rip-off Britain

[ninebob]

I've been toying with the idea of a new monitor for the PC for a while and really fancy a 20.1" widescreen, but couldn't justify the cost. So I was delighted when I came across an article on bit-tech a few weeks back about Dell releasing the E207WFP - a budget version of the E2007WFP but without the superfluous bells and whistles such as built-in USB hub and so on, which I don't need anyway. Price was reported to be around $299, so around £156.85 when I converted with Google. Great!!!

Sure enough, a few days later it appeared on Dell's US site, looking good, and priced with an introductory reduction at $260.10. So, again with Google's converter, £136.44. WOW - Even better!!!

Waited patiently for it to appear on the UK site. And now it finally has. At £272.60.

WTF?

Looks like I'm not buying one after all.
I very rarely join in the moaning about this country, but this really takes the p*ss. I didn't realise how much we were shafted on stuff like this, but having searched around I've realised it's not just an oddity with this one product, it's anything and everything.



P.S. Don't believe me? US monitor - UK monitor

 

[Moz]

I dont understand, they want uk pc monitor $299...an then .... can you not still sell to a Yank , an think of it like we stopped them killing overseas
for bush/oil/pirates ...

 

[empip]

The penny drops !
Q : Why do they, the Americans, fight like F?
A : Because they have something to fight for !
How, in a country supposedly 'worshipping the dollar' do so many items cost so much less??
Could it be the old - 'stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap' as opposed to our 'stack them low (or not at all ) and sell them dear' - outlook?

Take houses - land is overpriced and held in short supply here causing our housing supply problems. 'stack it low sell it dear' and how !!

God bless America I say.. We wouldn't be around to have a good old bitch without them that's for sure.

 

[mlb3c]

okay....i'm missing something here.


price difference is (in dollars 12.50) and UK price states that it includes VAT and shipping....so what's the prob?

 

[JohnD]

I think the problem is that

$260.10. is US dollars

£272.60. is UK pounds

£1 UK is worth $1.90 US by currency conversion

260.10 US Dollar = 136.85 UK Sterling at Exchange rate: 0.52614

272.60 UK Sterling = 518.11 US Dollar at Exchange rate: 1.90063

No doubt these are type B prices (what the customer will pay) not type A prices (what the product costs)

Luckily UK wages and salaries are a lot higher than US ones

 

[empip]

Ah, ha ! Now I understand why tis so expensive here ... one for one conversions ......

 

[Softus]

The US price appears to omit tax and shipping.

Also, has nobody remembered about UK import duty and VAT?

 

[securespark]

Yeah, but not that much, surely??

 

[eggplant]

its like that in many cases, things abroad are much cheaper, its often cheaper to buy things abroad, including shipping to uk (only snag is when customs add "duty" on to it).
We get ripped off left, right and centre. If you aver have 10 minutes to spare, calculate how much you earn in a month, then how much of your outgoings are on tax, for eg income tax, council tax, vat on purchases - including fuel to get you to work to earn money in the first place, tax on shopping, National insurance (which IMO is a tax as well), tv licence (tv tax), it adds up to a LOT

 

[Big_Spark]

Generally the Government is responsible due to import tax, VAT bla bla bla..

The companies are likely making the same level of profit here as in the US when the figures are broken down.

 

[Softus]

The companies are likely making the same level of profit here as in the US when the figures are broken down.

Wise observation - after all, we wouldn't want any of those annoying fact things cluttering up our belief systems, would we?