[mediafriendly]

I can confidently report (writing this from Hong Kong), that the prices I see advertised of LCDs and Plasmas in the UK press and in ads from Currys, PC World etc, indicate that people are getting a bargain back home in terms of flat panel displays. The prices here in Hong Kong are at least that.

So if the sun's out - enjoy!

[Jarrak]

Alas the bulk of the flat displays in the UK are based on panels a few generations old and you're probably seeing cutting edge kit in the far east some of which has not hit the UK yet.

[Nigel Goodwin]

I wouldn't have said so?, Hong Kong isn't really well known for it's 'cutting edge', more like it's 'cutting prices'.

It's the cheap low quality panels which come from that part of the world, and as you say, they are usually at least one or two generations behind the good quality panels.

[Jarrak]

Used to read articles in AV mags who visited HK and would rave about the latest kit that totally wiped the floor with what was being offered to the UK consumer both in terms of manufacturer design and third party enhancements.

This was a couple of years ago and I've never been personally but I would expect to see many products on sale in the HK market that we never see on our high street thanks to it's retail openess and access to other far east sources.

[mediafriendly]

i haven't seen anything over here that blows my mind away compared to what we have in the UK. They have the interesting situation here, that all the televisions sold now seem to be flat panel widescreen, yet there is absolutely no true 16:9 widescreen material broadcast on television. And a lot of the panels I have seen seem to lack proper format conversion for 16:9, so people are watching a lot of unnaturally fat people, and seem happy doing so. A salesman in Fortress (big electronics chain owned by Hutchison), told me "you get used to it after a couple of weeks....."

[Osamede]

Flatscreen prices in the Uk are certainly a ripoff compared to the USA. Same is true for most electronics. Some digital cameras for example, are almost half the price in the USA than in UK.

[okuda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osamede

Flatscreen prices in the Uk are certainly a ripoff compared to the USA. Same is true for most electronics. Some digital cameras for example, are almost half the price in the USA than in UK.

Yes I know what you mean after you have taken the exchange rate into the equation your $100 = £50 roughly at the moment...

For example a HD-DVD player over there is $300 that works out at £152.79 at the current exchange rate..

the same HD-DVD player over here is £349.99 which works out as $687.35

It is less than half price in the USA, can someone please explain why a 240V to 12V transformer cost the best part of £200 because that is all that is different between the two players...??

[mikw]

Great, TV's are cheap, but fuel, travel costs, tax (unstealth and stealth) and pretty much everthing else says that we ARE the rip-off capital of the world.

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by okuda

It is less than half price in the USA, can someone please explain why a 240V to 12V transformer cost the best part of £200 because that is all that is different between the two players...??

The UK has VAT as standard and since the US market is huge the volume production of their unit plays a part also on average I suspect retail overheads are probably cheaper in the US. The EU/UK also imposes import and technology taxes on imported flat panels which the US probably doesn't which artificially maintains the price of home built kit (less reason to lower prices with less competition) while denying some models appearing in our shops.

[Osamede]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

The UK has VAT as standard and since the US market is huge the volume production of their unit plays a part also on average I suspect retail overheads are probably cheaper in the US. The EU/UK also imposes import and technology taxes on imported flat panels which the US probably doesn't which artificially maintains the price of home built kit (less reason to lower prices with less competition) while denying some models appearing in our shops.

Yeah, but that doesnt cover all the costs. And if we take this argument to the most basic levels, when I walk into a shoe repair shop in New York City, whch is by no means a cheap place, I can buy a simple plug-end adapter for example, for $1-$2. In the UK, that same thing will cost me £3 ie US $6!!!

At some point we have to admit that consumers in the UK and Europe in general are getting ripped off. Things just dont have to cost this much.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osamede

At some point we have to admit that consumers in the UK and Europe in general are getting ripped off. Things just dont have to cost this much.

I would agree - what really bugs me is items which are made in England, yet still are only a fraction of the UK cost if you buy them in the USA.

Look at books, no VAT on books, yet the price is usually one for one, dollars to pounds.

[Orbitalzone]

Well economies of scale must play a part, America is obviously a much bigger market but that can't be whole of it....especially if you then consider that transportation across a big country must cost a lot more than across the UK.....

It is very hard to really find an exact reason for the big price differences across the pond... some things are cheaper in this country... food shopping isn't much different as far as I can see except that the portions are bigger in the US, plus you have to add the sales tax to the prices shown.

However I've found that some US products are cheaper or very closely priced in the UK, Pepperidge cookies for example are about £1.99 or something $2.99 in the US (well in New England where I was for a while)

Anyway I don't think this will ever really change so we all might as well just accept it! - and I'm sure the retailers know that we'll just accept it as it's (currently) to much bother and not always simple to import items like plasmas, lcds etc.

[Osamede]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbitalzone

Well economies of scale must play a part, America is obviously a much bigger market but that can't be whole of it....especially if you then consider that transportation across a big country must cost a lot more than across the UK......

The funny thing is that the UK actualy has a transportation advantage, with the bulkk of its 60MM population in an extremely concentrated area - one of the most concentrated in Europe and more than comparable with the USA.

Delivery routes benefit from concentration. It means you can serve more people per mile travelled.

This is why many companies can actually serve the entire country by say placing a warehouse in Tamworth or Peterborough and doing it all from there. Look at Ocado for example - the US companies who tried to do what theya re doing, like Webvan, just went bankrupt. But in the UK, Ocada can do what it is doing from just one or two warehouses.

But bottom line is if I am in London, there is just no reason from a transportation point of view why that someone in New York should have better prices than me, let alone Seattle.

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osamede

But bottom line is if I am in London, there is just no reason from a transportation point of view why that someone in New York should have better prices than me, let alone Seattle.

I suspect on a lorry by lorry basis the overheads such as fuel and tax favour the US distributors over the UK who come at the bottom of the table just in the EU

[Osamede]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

I suspect on a lorry by lorry basis the overheads such as fuel and tax favour the US distributors over the UK who come at the bottom of the table just in the EU

Said lorry has a far more dense network here - and far less miles. No excuses. Ripoffs are ripoffs and I am tired of the stories.

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osamede

Said lorry has a far more dense network here - and far less miles. No excuses. Ripoffs are ripoffs and I am tired of the stories.

I am no questioning the overall fact of the UK paying top price for almost every product just that the cost of buying, running and maintaining a lorry in the US will be cheaper than the UK.

Come to think of it that is a good example of what you are saying, it all comes down to political choices and the reaction of the public who support those policies.

We have in effect what we want, a high taxed system with a general attitude that precludes complaints perhaps rooted in the class structure of our nation of the last thousand years.

[Osamede]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

I am no questioning the overall fact of the UK paying top price for almost every product just that the cost of buying, running and maintaining a lorry in the US will be cheaper than the UK..

Th red flag then would be the fact that said lorry costs twice as much to run in Scandinacia - and their prices for flat screen TVs are realy not much more than ours - except theirs basically come with 5 yr warranties based on generally aceepted statutory terms, regardless of any manufactuerer statements.

This is no joke - I a moving back to Scanidnavia and when I looed at the prices for TV's, it was scary torealize that it was to my benefit hold my money and it buy over there! Wow....

Either way, the lorry transportation is not the driver of total item cost with a flatscreen. We are not anywhere near the develoment state of a £29 DVD player - these things cost £1,000 so transportation and are chaning by the minute so aint the issue.

Funny enoiugh I have never seen the CBD or FPB stand up and try to defend this abuse of Uk customers.Nor do UK customers really compalain as you pointed out.

[Kojack]

SO where are the good panels made then, it would not suprise me to see Panels assembled else where but 99% of all the components are made in Asia such as China/Taiwan & Malaysia.

From what ive see over the years most top brands/models may start out been made in Japan or the US but always end up with the components coming from Taiwan/Malaysia.

Im sure some techy will correct me if im wrong

[Kojack]

Maybe not then

[Jarrak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kojack

Maybe not then

It's true that a lot of cutting edge R&D is still based in Japan but the bulk of the manufacturing has like in the west moved out of the home country to cheaper areas.
The SONY/Samsung joint project is based in Korea probably because at virtually every level costs are lower and these days the standard of production facilities has no bearing on where the plant is located.

The most cutting edge production lines are probably in countries that are decades behind in other areas, you don't even need a well educated workforce with such automated facilities these days.
As for China well like Japan they too took technology and ideas from outside and added their own flair and now are getting into a position where they not only host major Japanese and US electronics companies but also supply huge quantities of components and are a step away from being pace setters.


Kids, forget French and German take Cantonese or Mandarin

[Orbitalzone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

Kids, forget French and German take Cantonese or Mandarin

是那牌子完善感覺!

[Sky_Blues_Fan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

I would agree - what really bugs me is items which are made in England, yet still are only a fraction of the UK cost if you buy them in the USA.

Look at books, no VAT on books, yet the price is usually one for one, dollars to pounds.

Absolutely true Nigel, and no amount of political double speak by our government can disguise the fact that we in the UK are being ripped off.

I come from the Midlands, the true home of Jaguar Cars. I fail completely to see why I can buy a Jag for less in the USA than in the UK.

This subject is one close to my heart, as some of my previous posts will show. When I read the local papers here (I am currently in L.A.) I get quite annoyed seeing how little a brand new Toyota Sequoia V8 off roader costs for example. I also get angry when I see Hyundai in the UK making a big fuss about their new five year warranty, when they have been offering a ten year one as standard in the US for years now.

Manufacturers even give products a different name and/or a higher spec in an attempt to make this whole thing less obvious. VW for example offer a Jetta with a 2.5 engine which we don't get in Europe, Toyota's RAV4 is a bigger car with a bigger engine in the US. Hyundai offer a beautiful 3.8 liter V6 car called an Azera which Europe will never see. It costs less than £12500 NEW! Try getting an equivalent vehicle in the UK for less than £20K.

In previous posts I have also covered the cheapness of HD tv sets in the US, so I won't go down that route again.

Forgive me, rant over.

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Last edited by Sky_Blues_Fan : 15-04-2007 at 01:38.