Rip off Britain again

[Andy Pullen]

I just had a look at the Worx circular saw that Screwfix are selling for £140 only in 240v and it looks useful though i couldn't see why it should command a premium price over established industrial brands. Noting it being mentioned on an American website i looked at Amazon.com and found it on sale for $63 which works out at something like £35. How can we be led into paying these inflated prices, i'm disgusted and will get a friend to send over one that is 110v and even with postage at $69 it will still work out half the price of the Screwfix one. I don't understand how they get away with it.

 

[Dave S]

Try importing it on a commercial basis and you'll find the answer.

Trouble with all the 'rip off Britain' brigade is that they don't compare like for like. Much the same as with the 'rip off tradesman' issue that caused much heated debate recently.

You've neglected to add vat and duty to your prices and you also don't have to worry about warehousing, distribution, insurance, staffing costs, covering the cost of breakages, returns etc.

Also, this is a sale price which is significantly lower than the price they were selling it at before (50% lower IIRC). That may not be that far away from what Screwfix have to pay for it and they still have to cover all their costs before they make any profit.

Those who have the Worx saw seem to speak very highly of it, IME.

Dave

 

[Andy Pullen]

Most of those things would apply equally to America. It is a case of what companies find they can get away with, I would bet that Screwfix pay little per unit for this Chinese made saw. Charging four times what the Americans can get it for is unjustifiable and the Amazon price includes carriage free to anywhere in America.

 

[Anonymous]

It is a case of what companies find they can get away with

eerm, hello, thats called business in my books.

 

[Anonymous]

This point keeps rearing it's head on here for some reason

This is just economics and business

Import duties, modification to kit made for the US market to work on european voltages, shipping, CE marking, VAT and selling for whatever the market will stand.


As a previous repsondent said, try importing kit and selling it for the same price as it is sold in the US. How long will the business last?

 

[dolmen]

Andy Pullen I'm with you on this one!

 

[Gary]

Andy Pullen I'm with you on this one!

Me too, I'm sure Mr Screwfix aka Mr B&Q is no where near the bread line.

 

[mr]

Andy Pullen I'm with you on this one!

Me too, I'm sure Mr Screwfix aka Mr B&Q is no where near the bread line.

That'll be because they operate a sensible pricing policy bearing in mind the overheads and profit margin they need to make.
Cheers Mike

 

[Anonymous]

I am truely tired of hearing people whinge about the UK, if B & Q price high they are extortionate, if tesco's price low they are killing the high street, people can't have it both ways.
If america's so great why are 35% of the population on the poverty line earning minimum wage, $5 / hour I think.

 

[nickson71]

It's a fact of life............ if your not happy to pay uk prices then import of the states

I only get stuff from the states that I can't get here because it take a lot longer importing, I tend to get hit with vat, import duty and parcel force charge making the state stuff only a bit cheaper than uk and I have to wait weeks for the kit ....... and I never get electrical with the voltage etc difference

I'd rather shop around in the uk get the best deal I can then either get the same day by going and collecting or wait 2-3 max if being posted

 

[Dave S]

That'll be because they operate a sensible pricing policy bearing in mind the overheads and profit margin they need to make.
Cheers Mike

Exactly.

Dave

 

[Dave S]

I am truely tired of hearing people whinge about the UK, if B & Q price high they are extortionate, if tesco's price low they are killing the high street, people can't have it both ways.
If america's so great why are 35% of the population on the poverty line earning minimum wage, $5 / hour I think.

I agree entirely.

Americans also have to pay separately for their health insurance, unemployment insurance etc - things which we partly pay for here through the taxes on the goods we buy.

Whether anyone agrees with the system we have here is irrelevant - the point is, to compare like with like, the differences should be accounted for.

Acually I've been considering the Worx saw for a while and I would love to be able to get it for $69 but I would rather pay UK prices and live here.

Dave

 

[mr]

I suspect, though haven't looked into figures to support the idea, that wages are greater in the UK than the US as well. I know that in my field I earn approximately twice what my American counterpart can (or at least did a couple of years ago when it was topic of conversation with an American colleague). His cost of living is significantly lower - it all works out in the end.
Cheers Mike

 

[andys wood shed]

The way to compare prices in different countries and cost of living is to use the Big Mac index which has replaced the Mars bar index

Andy

 

[lurker]

Not only wages.

My mate in the US. is a very very senior manager (vice president) of a mutlinational Pharmaceutical company (a name you have most likely heard of). He gets 12 days holiday + publics (less than our bank hols).

He estimates his Kids (2) university degrees cost him about $200K each.

 

[A_n_g_e_l_a]

Andy Pullen I'm with you on this one!

Me too.

The general assertions, within this thread, that the UK retailers are either fair or unfair pricing goods for sale to UK consumers really fail to cut the mustard.

A while ago I gave a specific example of considerable cost savings by purchasing from the US https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=156430. Perhaps detractors could furnish similar numerical breakdowns to support their thesis.

It also might be interesting to know how many of the 'UK prices are fair' brigade actually work in, or have financial connections with, UK retailing.

And, of course, as soon as a moderator spots the argument is being lost the thread could always be closed.

 

[White House Workshop]

Years ago I was on the manufacturing side of the fence in the UK and I can assure you that companies work out their costs very carefully! We also used to import finished product from the Far East and we didn't make much profit on it.

At the end of the day it boils down to demand and volume. The UK market for tools is FAR smaller than the US, so the volumes are lower, so the cost of supply is going to be higher, so the price is going to be higher... As others have said, UK overheads are much higher than in the US - $5 an hour is only £2.50, and 'space' in the US is typically less than half the cost in the UK as there's so much of it. US taxes are lower and charged differently from the UK, too. It's a complex picture and isn't as simple as looking at the price of one item in both countries and seeing a difference. It works the other way too...

Why does a decent loaf of bread in the US retail at $4? Would you pay that for bread when you can go to your local supermarket and pay the equivalent of $1? Why aren't Americans queuing up to import bread from the UK?

You do have the choice to buy from the US if you want to. It all comes down to convenience. Oh, and if your cost of item including shipping is less than about $120 there is no tax or duty to pay (normally) if it is an item for your personal use. Don't use Parcelfarce though!!!!

 

[Colin C]

I have the Worx's saw and I think it is a great saw ( so does Good woodworking I think ), there is a review on circular saws in it and the Worx's is the best there

 

[mr]

I bought the Worx drill just the weekend before last and I'm quite pleased with that - it wasn't a name I had ever heard of before living the sheltered life I do but it does the job.

 

[Dave S]

Me too.

Didn't thinkit would be long before you popped up!

A while ago I gave a specific example of considerable cost savings by purchasing from the US https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=156430. Perhaps detractors could furnish similar numerical breakdowns to support their thesis.

Your argument was flawed then as it it is now, for the very same reasons that I gave earlier in this thread. You, as a private importer, do not have all the costs associated with importing/selling commercially. Bear in mind also that the the importer in question is no longer the official importer because they were deliberately persuading customers to buy an alternative product by another manufacturer, so the cost probably was artificially inflated.

I can't speak for others but I do have some knowledge of importing and selling goods in this country through my wife's new business. You seem to be somewhat blind to the true costs which I guess is why you persist in comparing the costs of doing something commercially with the costs of doing the same thing on a diy basis.

I tell you what. Dino is looking for a UK distributor for EZ right now. Why don't you decide what you consider a fair price and then see if you could actually make a living out of importing and selling it for that price. I reckon you'd be in for a surprise.

Dave