Fractal prices in EU

[USMC_Trev]

I agree with most of your posts, however it is not correct that sellers cannot market directly to customers in Europe.

All products sold in Europe must comply with European regulations and must get CE marking. Also, the seller must have a European Authorized Representative. This can be a local office in Europe or, like what Fractal did, outsource that to G66.

Do you not see the internal dissonance of what you wrote? What you said indicates that, functionally, sellers cannot market directly to customers in Europe. When you put too many if/thens and addendums and additional middlemen, then the law becomes the lie. Instead of expanding into your own markets with new competitive products, the EU vampires cash flow from earners.

If Fractal or anyone else could sell directly you would never have heard of G66 except as a service and dealer network, not the sole source vendor. It would just be you, the Fractal website and the shipper (FedEx. DHL or whatever).

Well, sellers can market directly in Europe. There's no law against that. It a question of the sales strategy of the producer.

Personally I don't mind the prices, given the excellent service of G66.

Fractal essentially sells itself. Marketing effort is minimal in comparison to other players in the space.

 

[Jeronimo]

Do you not see the internal dissonance of what you wrote? What you said indicates that, functionally, sellers cannot market directly to customers in Europe. When you put too many if/thens and addendums and additional middlemen, then the law becomes the lie. Instead of expanding into your own markets with new competitive products, the EU vampires cash flow from earners.

If Fractal or anyone else could sell directly you would never have heard of G66 except as a service and dealer network, not the sole source vendor. It would just be you, the Fractal website and the shipper (FedEx. DHL or whatever).

Fractal essentially sells itself. Marketing effort is minimal in comparison to other players in the space.

We still disagree, Fractal could have made the choice to sell directly and have an Authorized representative. There are companies that do provide this service.

Fractal chose to use G66 as importer and the authorized representative.

The US has a hefty tariff system to protect their local market. We as consumers just have to pay te price when purchasing stuff from the other side of the world. It’s just part of the global economy system.

 

[Mohi]

Here you can find very detailed information of why the EU requires these representatives:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32019R1020

Personally I think it makes a lot of sense, and as European customer I am very happy we have these measures in place.

 

[GlennO]

If Fractal or anyone else could sell directly you would never have heard of G66 except as a service and dealer network, not the sole source vendor. It would just be you, the Fractal website and the shipper (FedEx. DHL or whatever).

I have personal experience trying to sell musical products around the world, and I can tell you there are many good reasons why a distributor is worthwhile. Language, culture, finance, shipping, support, customs, etc. are all reasons why it makes sense to have a regional overseas distributor. IMHO they are worth every penny of their markup, both to the manufacturer and the customer.

 

[BaronVonGrim]

Materials are mined out of the ground. The distance traveled becomes incredible after that. The total distances traveled of its individual parts is well over 10,000's miles. Yet its difficult to make money in the shipping business. Just ship it around the world enough times until you get the price high enough to make a buck

 

[Josetxu]

2 important factors that may be overlooked:
1: VAT in Europe is significantly higher than US sales tax. Here in the Netherlands it is 21%. The price on the Fractal site does not display tax but I think staat and local tax is around 10%?
2: Warranty, in US this is 1 year and you have to pay for an additional 2 years

Let’s take the FM3 as an example:
Price at Fractal $1099 (at normal price)
Tax $ 110 (at 10%)
Shipping $ 50 (estimate)
Warranty $109,99
Total $ 1369 = €1211,50 (at exchange rate 1,13)

Price at G66 € 1349 including VAT
Shipping € 5 (assuming <10 kg weight)
Total €1354

So total difference €150 which not too terrible when you take into account estimated import duties of 5% or €50.

But 2 years warranty is mandatory in Europe, so we shouldn't pay for it...

 

[Immanuel]

But 2 years warranty is mandatory in Europe, so we shouldn't pay for it...

We always do that. A longer warranty means higher expenses to the shop. There is only the customer to pay for that.

 

[ChristThePhone]

I bought a mainboard via Amazon UK (outside EU) - no problems, no extra cost. I bought jewelry from a maker in North Carolina via etsy - no problems, no extra cost except for shipment. I'm fully aware that things would have become very complicated if anything had gone wrong but at least I had the choice. And btw : the mandatory warranty in EU is 6+18 months afaik. During the first 6 months the seller has to prove the item was not broken when he sold it, during the remaining 18 month the buyer has to prove he didn't break it.

This said I still understand why a small company wouldn't want to have to deal with all the complicated regulations and laws in foreign countries not speaking the same language.

 

[Diego]

But 2 years warranty is mandatory in Europe, so we shouldn't pay for it...

G66 warranty is 3 years, just to be clear