Tool prices in Germany

[AJB Temple]

We are in Germany currently, and my wife having singularly failed to find any interesting tool shops near Koln, yesterday we visited a couple of the DIY sheds. Bauhaus and Obi. These are like B&Q but with a far better range, especially at Bauhaus. It has been interesting to compare prices. Electrical tools (not top brands like Festool or Milwaukee - didn't see those) are similar prices to the UK. Makita probably a bit cheaper (I was looking at an orbital sander which was the same number in € as it would be £ in England. However, German made tools, perhaps unsurprisingly, are way cheaper.

For example I bought a Stabilo 2 metre level for €22.90. I have seen this for about three times the price in the UK. Excellent quality 1.5 metre adjustable laying out square, also German made, €24, which is frankly a steal. Precision rigid straight edge, 1 metre €28 (and €14.50 for an alloy version with a handle).

Mrs AJB has now discovered proper tool shops so hopefully today we will see if any essential bargains are to be had!

 

[DiscoStu]

That's interesting to know especially given the gbp to euro rate at the moment. It would be interesting to know what the likes of Festool are as it might be worth a trip to buy a few tools.


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[mind_the_goat]

However, German made tools, perhaps unsurprisingly, are way cheaper.

So what is this 'common market' we hear so much about ?

 

[harvestbarn]

Well you do not have to pat Vat + sales tax to import your purchase which is useful particularly when the pound is strong. I have bought quite a few items from Germany this year only had a problem with one and a replacement was sent promptly

 

[mind_the_goat]

hmm, well this is talking about high street prices which presumably include VAT at the German rate (19%?). Besides, I don't believe there is any option to reclaim VAT on purchases within the EU unless they are exported outside the EU, and visa versa.
So, other possibilities are, German based company offering much cheaper prices to German distributors, which I suspect is not permitted under EU law, or UK distributors adding a huge mark-up. The second option is quite acceptable from a trade point of view but doesn't seem to make sense from a business angle. A third option I guess is UK businesses having much greater overheads to try to cover.
Noticed a few threads recently on this topic where people have been finding better prices from German mail order sites than can be found in the UK, good news for us but bad news again for UK businesses.
Be interesting to hear comments from members in other EU countries, or even non-EU ones

 

[AJB Temple]

I think Rob that relatively few people actually bother to compare mainland EU prices with the UK and take the trouble to import things themselves. It is OK for me as we are regularly in Germany. I have obviously been highly selective as I am only interested in buying things over here that I either can't get in the UK or that are significantly cheaper. If the difference is significantly more than the VAT, which it is in a number of cases, then clearly there is some imbalance going on. The Stabilo kit seems to be a premium product in the UK, but over here it is the standard German brand and competes against own brand gear in the sheds.

Fastenings are also in my experience a great deal cheaper here, with both good quality and a better range being available than in UK DIY sheds or walk in trade outlets. On the other hand some electrical tools from Japan are cheaper in the UK than in Germany.

Fact is we get ripped off quite a bit in the UK.

Most machinery in the US is far cheaper and there is much wider choice (I recognise machinery imports are impractical). Festool is far cheaper and advent should be taken of visiting US friends in this regard! It is significantly cheaper to import many tools and kit direct from Japan than it is to buy Japanese tools over here ,especially if you have access to a forwarding agent. (I got quite a bit of experience of this doing it with knives and stones).

 

[Roughcut]

I thought Stabilo made pens?

*Stabila

 

[themackay]

In the majority of cases its either 100 dollars 100 euros or 100 pounds we may have higher overheads than the states but I doubt there is much difference between here and Germany the only reason I can see for high prices here is retailers greed because they get away with it ,I have bought quite a few tools,fishing reels etc from Germany making a good saving over uk prices.

 

[Gerard Scanlan]

The price difference is really just down to the exchange rate with the Pound. Germany benefits a great deal from the pressure on the Euro from the struggling european economies. If they still had the German Mark they would have the same problem as the Swiss are now encountering. The shared Euro keeps German exports cheap.

 

[AJB Temple]

I agree about the exchange rate effect Gerard, but I disagree that it is just that, because the pattern is so inconsistent.

Yes - Stabila. Oops. I must say the autocorrect on this website is a challenge for me. I can hardly manage a single post without it changing a word to something unintended.

 

[AJB Temple]

I meant to add that I had a good look at Bessey clamps and the various clones available here. At Bauhaus, where they seem to have some deal on at the one near Euskirchen, they are currently about half the price that I can find them on-line in the UK, even in the multi pack deals. The clones are almost indistinguishable from the branded product, and cheaper still.

 

[themackay]

I think the exchange rate is just used as an excuse ,you cant say the pound is strong as it used to be near 2 dollars and 1.7 euros

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I'm not sure if I'm making excuses for UK retailers but the exchange rate fluctuations may be a significant part of the price difference.

The current Euro rate has been around 1.40:£ since March 2015. For 2013 and 2014 the average rate varied around 1.20:£.

But the contract with the equipment manufacturer is quite likely to be for 1 - 3 years and many retailers only review prices annually (eg: Axminster). Therefore the price in December 2015 bears heavily on the exchange rate (say) 12-24 months earlier, and lags current exchange rates.

So an item selling in Germany for 120 Euros in (say) June 2014 would have an equivalent UK cost of £100. The same item today at a rate of 1.40:£ would give a comparable UK cost of £86 - making UK prices seem unjustifiably expensive.

The proof of this (or otherwise) will only become apparent over the next one/two years where we should see prices in the UK stabilise/fall as new buying contracts reflect the current strength of sterling, and those in Germany rise due to the current weakness of the Euro.

 

[themackay]

I agree that prices in each country will change relative to movement in the exchange rate .I recently bought some pearlex powder from USA $60 including import duty resellers here are asking £79 so thats double the US price a bit more than the exchange rate at play there

 

[iNewbie]

The price difference is really just down to the exchange rate with the Pound. Germany benefits a great deal from the pressure on the Euro from the struggling european economies. If they still had the German Mark they would have the same problem as the Swiss are now encountering. The shared Euro keeps German exports cheap.

In Stabila's case it may be they have a UK distributor who has Rent/Electricity/Postage/Staff/overheads/etc.

http://www.brianhyde.co.uk/page/stabila.aspx

 

[AJB Temple]

I couldn't care less what costs Stabila's UK distributor has. It is their problem to deliver goods to market at competitive prices: and they are not achieving it in the UK. Even if I were buying the goods for business use in the UK and recovering the VAT, it would still be significantly cheaper for me to buy retail in Germany. We should simply not be so gullible and accept ridiculous UK prices when they are blatantly inflated.

I don't buy the 1-3 year fixed currency deals either: no business that is buying any kind of quantity of imports enters into arrangements to forward buy two or three years stock at a fixed exchange rate. There are ample mechanisms available to hedge fx exposure and companies like Axminster (for example) will certainly do so.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Strange things happen in foreign Countries with prices. I remember being in NZ about 18 years ago and finding Marples stuff in an expensive suburban ironmongers ... at a third of the price it was in this Country. Estwing and other US stuff was half the price it was in this Country. I brought DeWalt stuff back legally for half the cost of this Country. I don't know where transport figured in those equations. From speaking to my family I believe this is very different now, though.