Quote:
Originally Posted by martienne
It's also strange how a European company can add on that extra cost for European customers. I considered buying from the US but thought it was too much hassle and did not, instead paid the EUR 499 - I disagree with the principle although I can take the cost.
I like the company though but I wish I knew the reason for this seemingly ripoff-deal targetting fellow Europeans
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This is not new stuff.
In gaming consoles and other CE devices it is routine for euro prices to be significantly higher than in the US.
There is a *lot* more going on than simple currency conversion.
For starters, there is the general "cost of doing business" aspect: corporate taxes, warehousing costs, labor costs, support infrastructure costs, etc.
Second, the US is a unitary market with one set of regulations and one language for 350 million customers. Localization costs are lower, sometimes zero. (We can generally figure out manuals in "googled english".
)
And electronics retailers are a very lean breed; they know how to live on thin margins when they have to. Add-in very efficient low-cost ground shipment and it is no surprise to see ultra-lean pricing on products shipping out of China via the US west coast; no need to airlift.
Finally, the US doesn't mandate warranty lengths on CE products; manufacturers get to choose. If they think a product has a market with a 90-day warranty they are free to market it as such. Warranties add cost, you know...
Add all those things to the currency aspect and you're likely 90-plus percent of the way to explaining the pricing differential. Works for most products, anyway.
iRex? Who knows what they were thinking, anyway?