I'm not going to argue that the eDGe is probably not a great value for European customers at this time and if I were in the EU, I probably wouldn't have purchased one.

But small clarification on the numbers aspect, as I'm not sure if you're making a fair apples-to-apples comparison.

First, there is a markup on eDGE's sold by CDW to US customers. They currently list the Midnight Blue for $549.99 ($499 direct from enTourage, but out-of-stock) and the other colors for $599.99 ($539 direct from enTourage). In other words, there's a ~10-11.5% markup that is being charged by CDW that US customers are currently paying that is outside of enTourage's direct control. Also, while enTourage's distribution partner for direct sales in the US (Foxconn, I believe) operates in Europe, my (brief) personal experience with European shipping is that it the industry over there has certain dynamics (greater unionization, tighter regulations, etc.) which results in much higher costs.

Second, the nature of taxes between the US and Europe is different. In the US, a price is advertised and then a local tax is charged on top of that. For example, I purchased my eDGe for $499 but then paid an additional $41.17 (8.25%). As you probably know, most of Europe uses a value added tax which is included in the cost of the good. In the other thread, it was noted that the price includes a 19% Dutch VAT.

Now, let's assume that I purchased a non-Midnight Blue eDGe from CDW in the US. That would cost me $599.99 plus $49.50 in tax. So the total cost would be $649.49, not $539. So if we're making an apples-to-apples comparison, the price difference is more around $100 than $211. And a good chunk of that difference is because European VAT tax rates are higher than US sales tax rates.

If anything, enTourage's margins on international sales are *smaller* than domestic (which I doubt are very large to begin with), particularly when expected costs for warranty work and such are considered.