topic Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair in Alpha & NEX interchangeable lens cameras

UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

allanarthur — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 11:56:10 GMT

I have the a7ii already and several Sony lenses.

Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f4 _ Sony 70-200mm f4 G_ Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8_ Sony 90mm f2.8 Maco G_ and Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f4.

I have been waiting patiently for the new a7iii to come out

The a7iii looks to be a great camera.

In the US it is priced at pre-order $1999.

If you do the conversion at 1.39$ to the £, that should make it pre-order £1438 here in the UK.

But the pre-order price here in the UK is £1999. This makes it a staggering £561 more expensive.

That is 39% more expensive here, than in the US.

Now i expect there to be some price differences, i dont know what tax you pay in the US on cameras etc.

But this UK price difference is wrong Sony.

I was going to buy the new a7iii and i was prepared to pay around £1600 but £1999 has taken it out of my price range.

I like Sony gear buttttt the prices, especially in the UK.

I have a back up Fuji camera and kit lens, which i also like.

I have to admit, that I have also been looking at Fuji recently.

I might have to look a little harder now.

Regards,

Allan

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

jumpsuit — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:22:24 GMT

Hi @allanarthur

It does seem odd that prices aren't proportionate globally, but this has

always pretty much been the case.

It may be worth you waiting a little longer just to see if any retailers

start running any offers, or even if Sony bring back the cashback offers on cameras.

Cheers.

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

allanarthur — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 17:35:37 GMT

Hi Jumpy

Thanks for the reply mate.

The price differential just seems unfair.

I started with Minolta in the day, and bought Sony's first camera the a100, and have upgraded since then. I was really looking forward to purchase the new a7iii, but not at that price. I wiil take your advice and wait to see if the price comes down here in the UK.

Regards,

Allan

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

Mick_D — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 21:17:04 GMT

The prices quoted on US websites are a little misleading, in that they're all subject to local sales tax (VAT) at the point of sale. The situation is further confused by differing import taxes and duties and of course, by the fact that retailers are free to charge whatever the going local market rate is for their type of product.

The problem is aftersales, and the related issue of 'grey' imports which avoid these duties. Increasingly, warranties are only valid in the country or region the product is purchased in. If a fault develops with your 'grey' Japanese camera, you will need to send it back to Japan for repair. This is the case with virtually every camera maker these days.

In my experience, the savings, once you've paid your shipping, VAT and the rest, just aren't worth it.

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

IamNic — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 21:39:02 GMT

Mick_D schrieb:

The prices quoted on US websites are a little misleading, in that they're all subject to local sales tax (VAT) at the point of sale.

Thanks @Mick_D,

I was just about to write the same.

I personally hadn't yet have the opportunity to travel to the US, yet a friend of mine went there on her holidays last year.

She told me that it was utterly confusing to pick something off a shel in the grocery store, just to be surprised with the added taxes at check-out.

In Germany (where I live) products are already listet with their price+tax on the shelf.

Same goes for electronic products.

When Sony e.g. announced the PS4 release price as 399$, 399€ and 349£, I first thought it was unfair, too.

Yet if you do the calculations, it evens out after you add the tax on the US price.

Same goes for cameras and every other electronic device on the market.

- Nic

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

allanarthur — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 22:19:06 GMT

Thanks to you both for your replies. It helps to know that the US prices are not inclusive of purchase tax. I just wonder if the US purchase taxes would equal the difference to the US and UK prices, £500 +.

It does seem we pay premium prices here in the UK.

Regards

ALLAN

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

IamNic — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 22:32:04 GMT

Hi @allanarthur,

did you ever order something from the US or China?

I personally did and e.g. had to pay 40€ for a 120€ product from the US.

That is nearly a third in taxes (or 33%).

It is mostly less expensive to purchase a product directly in your home country.

Always check what would be less expensive - purchasing the product from the US and paying the taxes applicale for your country, or directly purchasing it in your home country.

- Nic

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

allanarthur — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 22:53:00 GMT

Hi Nic

Yes i have purchased items from the US and China. Mostly photography related items. The taxes and import duties are pricey but not as steep as the US and UK price difference of the a7iii.

All the best

Allan

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

ukaskew — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 07:10:15 GMT

As others have mentioned the UK price includes 20% VAT, the U.S. price is before sales tax.

Let's say 8% sales tax, that gives us an equivalent UK price of £1554 at current exchange rates. Factor in 20% VAT on the UK price and it's much closer in comparison than it appears (the UK price less VAT is £1665).

Secondly, the UK camera market works on the basis of a high initial price to profit as much as possible from early adopters. This is pretty much the only period a UK camera retailer will make a reasonable profit on products. When the 'newness' wears off UK prices tail off fairly significantly for many items (check the graphs on camerapricebuster). Bringing prices much closer to other territories.

Finally,the cost of doing business in the UK is higher. Transport and warehousing cost significantly more and we consumers enjoy very robust consumer rights in the EU with returns/replacements legally available long after warranty periods etc. That all costs.

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

allanarthur — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 11:49:49 GMT

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

This does make me feel a lot better.

It is when you view the US Youtube photography sites, and they state $1999. It gives you the impression that this is the purchase price. You think that it is the same as in the UK, namely the purchase price always includes VAT.

I guess i will wait until the price comes down, so it is affordable for me.

Regards

Allan

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

manbitescat — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:12:25 GMT

Well despite that explanation, it's a fact that most corporations regard the UK as a financial 'milch cow' and that has been the case for years. I remember in the 90's there was some kind of enquiry into the price of CD sales, which were around 25% cheaper in the US and the EU. It's commonplace for most products these days to use a $/£ exchange rate of 1:1. A phenomenon known as 'Rip-off Britain'...

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

gcoyle — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 11:41:23 GMT

it has got far worse since Brexit, i noticed all camera related products go up in price by a few hundred pounds. yet the wages havent. bloody tories

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

Angelod001 — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 13:26:48 GMT

That doesn't add up... If you account for an 8% sales tax in New York for example, you wouldn't count that as the equivalent non VAT UK price, because you've essentially added VAT to the US price.

The price in the UK should be £1725.60 including Tax. In the US it would be $2159.99 (£1,533.31) including tax. So really the difference is around £200 when taxes are accounted for - and that's if you even get charged sales tax. I've bought Sony cameras in New York as recently as 2016 and didn't get charged sales tax at all.

I'm not sure what the consumer rights in the UK are compared to the US but I'm happy to be educated, I wasn't aware there were any significant differences. Some stores in the Uk offer extended warranties but that is down to the store, not the manufacturer. Re warehousing costs, I'm not sure I buy that but again would gladly look at a break down from someone in the know. I would bet that at least part of the hike we experience in the UK is down to historic costs - where it used to be much more expensive to sell in Europe and it set a precident. A precident that (at least in part) manufacturers are still taking advantage of, despite actually having much lower costs now. Another factor is that these businesses struggle to escape corporate taxes as easily as they do in the US, I can't help but feel the money is simply recouped from the European customer by upping the price. Again, happy to be educated otherwise if people have the actual numbers, but if we're all just theorizing, there's mine.

Re: UK New Sony a7iii price unfair

asonge — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 19:46:07 GMT

Unfair indeed! And gap higher than in general for these kind of goods... will have to look for a way to get it cheap...in the meantime, no purchase.