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Kindle 3G costs over 70% more in UK...........


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Old 22-04-2012, 10:42
epsom
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...........than in the US!!!!!!!

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/n...72-UK-U-S.html
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Old 22-04-2012, 11:57
alanwarwic
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Amazon I guess relies heavily on UK retail for its presence. (Kindle, not Amazon)

There is so much world beating kit around that no one speaks of because its not in front of our nose.
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Old 22-04-2012, 12:01
JulesandSand
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It's not just here, it's 189 Euros on the German site.
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Old 22-04-2012, 12:30
Nigel Goodwin
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But isn't the price in US lower because it contains advertising?.
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Old 22-04-2012, 14:26
Gormond
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This is misleading.

The Kindle Touch 3G comes in 2 flavours in the USA with one being subsidised with adverts which gets you a $30 discount.

If you compare like for like you get excluding VAT:

USA - $189 or £117.33
UK - £140.83

Which means we pay 26% more and not over 70% more as the thread title suggests.
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Old 22-04-2012, 15:51
alanwarwic
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It is very bad that even web financial news sites now prefer 'bums on seats' over accurate reporting.
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Old 01-05-2012, 16:56
Bluemotel
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This is misleading.

The Kindle Touch 3G comes in 2 flavours in the USA with one being subsidised with adverts which gets you a $30 discount.

If you compare like for like you get excluding VAT:

USA - $189 or £117.33
UK - £140.83

Which means we pay 26% more and not over 70% more as the thread title suggests.
Not too surprised. The UK is a little high maybe but I've seen so many either side of a $=£ exchanges over the years. Sometimes I've seen the same item in a European currency (esp pre Euro) with a bigger gap. Each market is different, it depends on many things - labour cost, market size etc. Yes, this is unfair, it's the swings and roundabouts of living in different countries. I'd happily pay more for the benefits of UK over US however, I realise not everyone will feel the same !!
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Old 01-05-2012, 17:26
ironjade
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Still cheap for what it does.
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Old 01-05-2012, 20:53
LostFool
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When comparing prices you also need to take into account VAT. In most US States the sales tax is between 5-10% but in some States it is 0%. Add in the higher costs of doing business in the UK (taxes, rent, wages and bills) and the two prices aren't that much different.
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Old 01-05-2012, 20:56
Bluemotel
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Still cheap for what it does.
Indeed, a good piece of kit
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Old 04-05-2012, 22:28
kev
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When comparing prices you also need to take into account VAT. In most US States the sales tax is between 5-10% but in some States it is 0%. Add in the higher costs of doing business in the UK (taxes, rent, wages and bills) and the two prices aren't that much different.
You've also got import duty to contend with + round pricing which doesn't bounce up and down as the exchange rate fluctuates. Yet it;s a tad dearer than the US but not significantly so once all that is taken into account!.
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Old 05-05-2012, 00:46
alan1302
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If the exchange rate changed it could be come cheaper in the UK than US - would people then complain we should put the UK price up to match the US? LOL
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Old 06-05-2012, 22:23
swills
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Amazon I guess relies heavily on UK retail for its presence. (Kindle, not Amazon)

There is so much world beating kit around that no one speaks of because its not in front of our nose.
Bought the 3G Touch for my wife in the USA on holiday last November, got it from Amazon and they delivered to the Hotel $189 could have the $149 one, but the ads bit put me off, but some say they are not that bad
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Old 31-05-2012, 00:27
adrianTNT
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Kindle and other electronics are usually more expensive in other countries than in US. Probably in US competition is tougher and this makes prices better for consumer.
I am from Europe and I try to buy most electronics from US when possible.
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Old 31-05-2012, 02:13
ShaunIOW
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Kindle and other electronics are usually more expensive in other countries than in US. Probably in US competition is tougher and this makes prices better for consumer.
I am from Europe and I try to buy most electronics from US when possible.
I remember reading once with regards to video recorders that they were cheaper in the US than UK as US customers wouldn't put up with the higher prices so they got bumped in the UK to make up the shortfall. The same article also mentioned that in the US it tends to be 'how cheap can we sell something and still make a profit' and in the UK it's 'how much can we charge and still sell some'.
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Old 31-05-2012, 07:28
alan1302
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I remember reading once with regards to video recorders that they were cheaper in the US than UK as US customers wouldn't put up with the higher prices so they got bumped in the UK to make up the shortfall. The same article also mentioned that in the US it tends to be 'how cheap can we sell something and still make a profit' and in the UK it's 'how much can we charge and still sell some'.
In the UK items will always be more expensive as we have 20% VAT on everything. And in the US a large chain of shops has a population of 250 million people to sell to in the UK it's only around 60 million so they but less from the manufactuer and receive less of a bulk discount. That's two reasons for stuff here to be more expensive.
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Old 01-06-2012, 08:07
Batwing
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So?

You are comparing two different countries and two different markets. Prices are set by how much a market is willing to spend not by how much another market is willing to spend in comparison.
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Old 01-06-2012, 08:28
stud u like
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In the UK items will always be more expensive as we have 20% VAT on everything. And in the US a large chain of shops has a population of 250 million people to sell to in the UK it's only around 60 million so they but less from the manufactuer and receive less of a bulk discount. That's two reasons for stuff here to be more expensive.
The quicker we get rid of crippling VAT the better. It is a regressive and unfair tax as it doesn't allow for variances in income.
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Old 01-06-2012, 08:44
alan1302
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The quicker we get rid of crippling VAT the better. It is a regressive and unfair tax as it doesn't allow for variances in income.
What do you propose we replace it with?
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Old 01-06-2012, 13:21
spiney2
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.... considering the free 3G webrowsing i think it's a bargain. i read the papers evvery day. no 3G tariff.

this post on my kindle !
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