So why are us Brits getting screwed over once again?
- Thread starter Corralis
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This time however, the Console & Games are NOT regionalised. So get a plane ticket to New York for a holiday, take the ferry over to Jersey (where the sales tax is less) and buy yourself one. Just remember to take it out of its box when you take it home otherwise you'll end up paying duty on it back in Blighty.
Quick Robin, TO THE CALCULATOR!
VAT in the U.K. is 20%.
20% of £349 is £51, which means the console is sold for £298 + VAT
$399 converted to £ is £255.50, so there's still a £44.50 unaccounted for.
Where does it go?
VAT in the U.K. is 20%.
20% of £349 is £51, which means the console is sold for £298 + VAT
$399 converted to £ is £255.50, so there's still a £44.50 unaccounted for.
Where does it go?
That's the shipping cost obviously, and any other insignificant bureaucratic fees that get added on in the import process. Has anybody thought to actually maybe ask Sony what goes into deciding the cost? I guarantee you we aren't getting the console in the states cheaper than they will be in Japan or the rest of Asia.Hero in a half shell said:
But like I was told when I traveled to the UK a few years ago with my university, "If you try to compare prices in the UK to US Dollars you're going to drive yourself insane."
As far as the whole tax thing goes, here in the states $399 is going to be the base cost they put up on the shelves. Many states (like Washington for example, the home state of Microsoft) have sales tax on quite literally EVERYTHING you buy except for simple food stuffs(flour, pork chops, apples etc...) and candy/soda popHero in a half shell said:
So really there is only about £20 difference that you have to kind of suck up.
Just figure it's the cost that comes with having a higher minimum wage than the US does.
Still 1000SEK(around £100) cheaper than it'll be in Sweden, so shush. 
No PS4 for me until the price has dropped a lot...
No PS4 for me until the price has dropped a lot...
Things cost more in the UK anyway, our wages on average are higher, and therefore so are our general costs. It's not Sony or MS being bastards, it's all down to economics.
I feel sorry for Australians too, they are known for being ripped off when it comes to luxury goods.DanielBrown said:Still 1000SEK(around £100) cheaper than it'll be in Sweden, so shush.
Actually they are not, there are sales tax issues again and the much more fundamental point is that Australia is long way from anywhere else and only has a population of 23 million. Yes that is twice that of Belgium but Australia isn't next door to Germany's 80 million or France's 65 million. So a higher transport cost has be shared over a small sales volume. If you had to ship to Belgium only via Ostend the price would be even higher than Australia but as it Rotterdam, in Holland, is used as the main landing point for the entire EU. In about 3 days you can transport from Rotterdam to the 300 odd million population of the EU.Legion said:
Aye, though from what I read in another PS4 thread the price in Australia was gonna be 549AUD. Not sure if that persons source was reliable, since it seems a bit low compared to their usual prices. It exchanges to £331.Legion said:Things cost more in the UK anyway, our wages on average are higher, and therefore so are our general costs. It's not Sony or MS being bastards, it's all down to economics.
I feel sorry for Australians too, they are known for being ripped off when it comes to luxury goods.DanielBrown said:Still 1000SEK(around £100) cheaper than it'll be in Sweden, so shush.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you just take a weekend trip through the chunnel, pick up whatever you want in France, then come right back and save a few bucks?Corralis said:
Don't get me wrong, I get what you're saying and it really shouldn't be priced the way it is. It just seems weird to me that you would complain about regional prices when you can drive from anywhere to anywhere in your country in under 6 hours and your neighboring countries don't have the problem.
On that subject.......Legion said:Things cost more in the UK anyway, our wages on average are higher, and therefore so are our general costs. It's not Sony or MS being bastards, it's all down to economics.
I feel sorry for Australians too, they are known for being ripped off when it comes to luxury goods.DanielBrown said:Still 1000SEK(around £100) cheaper than it'll be in Sweden, so shush.
EB Games listed price for the PS4: $549.00!
Just over half the original PS3 release price, and comparable to current PS3 pricing. What I can't decide is whether I'm gonna take a Day 1 plunge or wait six months, see what happens.
Funny actually, potatoes don't have VAT on them here, as they're part of the unprocessed foods market and as such exempt from vat under the 1994 VAT act.Archangel357 said:
But yeah, the price in the UK is largely made up of VAT, we still get a worse deal aside from that though, it's to do with adjusting prices for percieved income, games are most expensive in austrailia (for example) because people earn more there (the minimum wage translates to $15.03 per hour).
Also, I'm pretty sure Americans don't have VAT listed on the price of an item, which makes the gap seem bigger.CaptQuakers said:VAT my fellow Brit, We get shafted by it and so does anyone who wants to sell in out country, We have tax a hell of a lot more than the yanks do I am afraid
it's not only you on the UK, sadly is a common practice with overseas itemsCorralis said:
for example the Xbone with a $499 US dollars price (I'm getting a PS4 but there's no oficial price in México yet) in México is going to cost $8,499 pesos wich translates as $654 US dollars +/- *damn taxes and retailers "cut"*
Remember, fuel costs a lot more over here. Unless you're buying in bulk, it's not economical, and HMRC has an arbitrary definition of what they acept as "personal use".Agayek said:
Not exactly true, The negiboring countries DO have the same 'problem' and the european price translates to £340, a mere £10 cheaper. It would cost dozens of times that much money to get to calais and back from pretty much anywhere in the UK. Oddly enough, it's actually £332 in Australia (the cheapest of the PAL territories for the first time ever ever) but again, importing it wouldn't be even remotely worth the effort.Agayek said:
Oh well, VAT is totally worth it in my eyes.
Microsoft is still bitter about that massacre in Boston. I dunno what you guys did to Japan, but Sony's still upset.Corralis said:
Ummmm, do you VAT? It shouldn't account for all the difference but It should make up some of it. Perhaps you have the stores who will by carrying them to blame as well. I dunno how it works with negotiations between manufacturer and retailers but I'd say it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that different regions would end up with different figures. Most likely though, is that Microsoft is pretty confident English consumers will be willing to purchase at that price.