American products and european prices

Burn Witch Burn said:
Hi Little Onion (Zwiebelchen),
In the states, the prices on almost everything from a pack of gum to cars is listed WITHOUT tax. It is called "sales tax" in the states, not "Value Added Tax" like in UK, the EU and other places. Sales tax varies according to the state. Each one has a different percentage, usually somewhere around 10%. I used to live in L.A. It was around 8%.
Liebe Grüße
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Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

So basicly, all US prices you see are listed without taxes, whereas all EU prices you see are listed including taxes.

That's why european prices are per se 20% higher than US prices, regardless of transfer rates.

So this means: 1349$ * 1.19 = 1605$ (assuming 19% VAT).
Based on a transfer rate of 1.12$ to 1€: = 1433€ which leaves roughly 180€ for g66 per unit if they sell it at 1600€. Which, mind you, is also taxed since EU does not have a sales tax but an actual added value tax.
 
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Thank you all, I didn't know this.. so after this discovery G66 prices don't appear bad at all, considering that you also get 3 years warranty ;)
 
DLC86 said:
Thank you all, I didn't know this.. so after this discovery G66 prices don't appear bad at all, considering that you also get 3 years warranty ;)
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The question remains how Line6 is able to sustain that 1:1 US to EU exchange rate. To be honest, I expect a lot of cutting corners in their distribution. Low salaries, high numbers, low customer support. After taxes and transfer rate, the street price should be 1499$*1.19/1.12 = 1592€.
 
Zwiebelchen said:
Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

So basicly, all US prices you see are listed without taxes, whereas all EU prices you see are listed including taxes.

That's why european prices are per se 20% higher than US prices, regardless of transfer rates.

So this means: 1349$ * 1.19 = 1605$ (assuming 19% VAT).
Based on a transfer rate of 1.12$ to 1€: = 1433€ which leaves roughly 180€ for g66 per unit if they sell it at 1600€. Which, mind you, is also taxed since EU does not have a sales tax but an actual added value tax.
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And you even forgot customs fee :)
 
Zwiebelchen said:
The question remains how Line6 is able to sustain that 1:1 US to EU exchange rate.
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It could be caused partly by where the product is made (country of origin or COO). I guess it's somewhere on the pacific rim? Products mass produced there tend be at near equal cost in the US and EU. Where products made in the US are more expensive in the EU and vice versa.
 
DLC86 said:
So if you buy an FX8 listed at 1350$ you pay 1350$+10%=1485$?
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Hi. Usually a price tag inside a store does not include state sales tax. So yes, if you were to walk into the average store and see $1350 on the price tag, you'd go to the checkout and pay that plus the sales tax. Online, it's listed before you confirm payment. I've never bought anything online that didn't first list the sales tax before completion.

Note: due to the relationships some state tax laws have with other states, you can sometimes end up not having to pay sales tax. I don't know the details of how it works, but I remember when I lived in Chicago, ordering something from (I think it was) California and not having to pay sales tax. But if you lived in California, you would have to pay sales tax on the same product.

Personally, I like it here in Europe where VAT is already included in pricing of all products. In small print you will see the breakdown of price/VAT. But the big number that you see is exactly what you pay upon checkout.
 
anything in Quebec Canada is sale price + 15% taxe.
it only apply form items you buy in the same province you live in.
anywhere else you only pay import taxe if you have to,
i order a lot of stuff form China on Ebay and i was never ask for anything.
on the top on my mind the only time i payed anything was on a Gibson LP body i get on eBay, i pay around 10% extra for that.
 
Basically you will have to pay more if you are in the EU and want to buy and ship a product (Like the Axe) to the EU. Here are the charges you will incur:

1. Exchange fee. You'd have to buy it in US Dollars. If you only have Euros you'll lose a small amount on transfer fees - say by Paypal or other. It shouldn't be that much, probably between 1 to 3% (I think AMEX charges 5%). In my experience, even banks or exchange houses that say they charge no fees ALWAYS have some fee (or they alter the exchange rate to their profit). So there will be some small percentage paid upon changing currency.

2. US Sales Tax - as discussed in previous posts on this thread - that's normal

3. EU Customs Fees - Here in Germany, the Zollamt (Customs Office) will charge you a customs fee. This varies according to item.

4. VAT - In Germany it's MwSt. (Mehrwert Steuer) - 19% They cannot wave this even though you have paid american taxes already. The argument is that due to the possibility of reselling, they have to charge this. So you're double taxed.

5. Don't forget Shipping Cost

I got lucky through a loophole in the import laws. I bought an Axe FX II Mark II two years ago. I ended up saving a bundle on it. I paid the full american list price, but I saved myself almost all of the above fees. After you get married, you have a time limit (I think it is 6 or 8 months) in which you can have wedding gifts sent to you free of customs and VAT.

That's exactly what I did. I bought the axe w a credit card and paid it immediately - (no interest, and since it was in dollars, no exchange fees). I had it sent to my Father who reduced the packaging somewhat and sent it to me (I think we used US Postal Service - UPS would have cost a fortune). I had my dad include clearly marked that it was a wedding gift including a note inside. It was delivered to my door. A couple of weeks later I got a letter from customs saying I had to pay a fee. ...gave them a call, they seemed not to know about this wedding gift rule, but after a few minutes of looking it up, they dropped the fees.

All in all, I ended up saving about 1500 US dollars. That's about how much extra it would have cost at the time. That was around 1000 Euros in 2013.

So if any of you EU guys or gals are getting married...
 
Burn Witch Burn said:
Basically you will have to pay more if you are in the EU and want to buy and ship a product (Like the Axe) to the EU. Here are the charges you will incur:

1. Exchange fee. You'd have to buy it in US Dollars. If you only have Euros you'll lose a small amount on transfer fees - say by Paypal or other. It shouldn't be that much, probably between 1 to 3% (I think AMEX charges 5%). In my experience, even banks or exchange houses that say they charge no fees ALWAYS have some fee (or they alter the exchange rate to their profit). So there will be some small percentage paid upon changing currency.

2. US Sales Tax - as discussed in previous posts on this thread - that's normal

3. EU Customs Fees - Here in Germany, the Zollamt (Customs Office) will charge you a customs fee. This varies according to item.

4. VAT - In Germany it's MwSt. (Mehrwert Steuer) - 19% They cannot wave this even though you have paid american taxes already. The argument is that due to the possibility of reselling, they have to charge this. So you're double taxed.

5. Don't forget Shipping Cost

I got lucky through a loophole in the import laws. I bought an Axe FX II Mark II two years ago. I ended up saving a bundle on it. I paid the full american list price, but I saved myself almost all of the above fees. After you get married, you have a time limit (I think it is 6 or 8 months) in which you can have wedding gifts sent to you free of customs and VAT.

That's exactly what I did. I bought the axe w a credit card and paid it immediately - (no interest, and since it was in dollars, no exchange fees). I had it sent to my Father who reduced the packaging somewhat and sent it to me (I think we used US Postal Service - UPS would have cost a fortune). I had my dad include clearly marked that it was a wedding gift including a note inside. It was delivered to my door. A couple of weeks later I got a letter from customs saying I had to pay a fee. ...gave them a call, they seemed not to know about this wedding gift rule, but after a few minutes of looking it up, they dropped the fees.

All in all, I ended up saving about 1500 US dollars. That's about how much extra it would have cost at the time. That was around 1000 Euros in 2013.

So if any of you EU guys or gals are getting married...
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Are you sure that when importing an US product to the EU, that you pay US sales tax AND VAT?
I know you have to pay the VAT, but also the sales tax? Never heard of this.
 
Zwiebelchen said:
Are you sure that when importing an US product to the EU, that you pay US sales tax AND VAT?
I know you have to pay the VAT, but also the sales tax? Never heard of this.
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You don't pay us sales tax, you pay vat + uk import tax. It is usually 5-7% so you end up with around 25% on top of the total value Inc shipping and a one off customs clearance charge.
 
Hi Guys, yeah, that's right. You would not have to pay both US tax and VAT if you bought the Axe in the EU from a dealer.
I stand corrected.
 
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