Are we getting ripped off on some gear prices in the UK?

ICBM

Teetonetal said:

What was the last really good, top quality Marshall amp?

Jubilee.

Aside from the vintage reissues, which are pretty good as well.

Moe_Zambeek

The YJMs are great!

SNAKEBITE

May's Britain.

Reverend

ICBM said:

Teetonetal said:

Marshall AST1C Astoria 1x12 combo green. 2999 USD (ca 2450 GBP). in Sweetwater. Same combo is 1499 GBP in Andertons.

Rip off UK indeed.

The difference is that in the UK, Mesas are massively overpriced but almost justify it on the quality and features they have.

I have no idea why modern Marshalls sell in the US at all.

For Marshall, could you say Harley Davidson?

ThorpyFX

I don't think there is anything nefarious going on, businesses exist to sell stuff and make money. When you ship gear across borders, you suffer with the exchange rate, add 20% for vat  plus import tax and possibly a distributor margin (debatable what value this adds) then of course the price is going to be much higher than it would be if you were to buy a product made in the UK.

This is the thing though, being ripped off suggests that it is happening against your will. People choose to buy this stuff, you choose to pay the price, you could buy locally but the psychological lure of the big brands is there rooted into our psyche....

i have several guitars that are made in Britain, they use locally sourced woods, locally made pickups and sound incredible. crucially though they play insanely well and feel better than the mass produced items made by the bigger named brands. They don't cost anymore than some of the big brands middle of the range items but..... I'm certain they aren't as desirable to other guitarists because they lack a G, F or P on the headstock. Which i get too as i enjoy those brands as much as the next guy, but if i couldn't buy those brands i don't think id suffer at all, we have a massive wealth of awesome luthiers, amp makers and pedal makers in this country.

anyway, food for thought or not depending on how you see these things.

SNAKEBITE

If people didn't buy it then the prices may drop (or the company could go out of business).

SteveRobinson

SNAKEBITE said:

May's Britain.

I thought he was more of a Vox guy?

maltingsaudio

Thing is you have the option to buy whatever you want from wherever you want, If you want it tommorow then something stocked in the UK is the the one you go for and pay accordingly. If your prepared to wait then buy from johnny foreigner (is that racist ? meant to be funny) where ever he may live, and see how much you've actually saved when you've paid all you have to state tax import duties carriage Vat and  then don't whinge when its faulty and you try to claim warranty on it... Oh and don't forget they use different electrickery voltage and plugs ect

Chalky

modellista said:

Sassafras said:

It's a small price to pay for not living there.
It's a shit-hole.
I wouldn't live there for all the money in the world.

I find statements like this really bizarre.  Even if you've seen some dodgy American places, surely you're aware that the USA is bigger than the entirety of mainland Europe, and as such will have some nice bits as well as not so nice bits?  Unless you're claiming to have visited every single town in every single state and found nothing to recommend in any? 

Easy with that realism @modellista, it don't go down well in this place!  For some folks here, the back of their own heads is a foreign land. 

Neil

I must admit whenever I pop over to that "shithole" to visit my son and daughter in law I have a mooch around to see what is for sale, some stuff is very good value.

Regarding price differentials, one thing to bear in mind perhaps is that VAT is always included here.
When buying in the USA  the state tax is added  to the sticker price after sale in the shop so bargains may not be all they seem.  Dependent where you are it can make a bit of a difference. 

When my son was in Washington we used to pop over the bridge into Oregon to save almost 9%.

State taxes illustrated here...

Whitecat

Shipping across state lines usually means no sales tax though, depending on the source (and whether it's a registered business in more than one state). So that's one way around that... if the value is high enough it's worth doing.

Alnico

Voxman said:

Sassafras said:

It's a small price to pay for not living there.
It's a shit-hole.
I wouldn't live there for all the money in the world.

Alnico said:

I'm happy to pay more and not be American.
I've met some that i quite like but there's no way i would live there so they can keep their cheap stuff.

C'mon guys, steady - just a thread on pricing differentials only - as this is a guitar forum section probably best to steer clear of the politics...I think there's a 'speakers corner' section that's probably a better home for such views/discussions.  Also, I appreciate this is a UK site but we might just have some friends from across the pond looking in too...after all, a lot of the great gear we love does come from the US. We don't want to upset them ......don't forget they have more missiles than we have!    

PS - I've only been to US a few times (NY, Florida), but really liked it.  I'd love to go again to other parts eg Boston, see LA, Nashville etc 

I wholeheartedly agree with you, however that's how i feel about the pricing thing.
If you look at what i actually said, i kept it balanced and just expressed a view that i would not want to be American, live there or be part of their culture. I didn't run their culture or their country down, i just don't like a lot of it. I thought that was relevant to how i see the price gap, that was all.
My best friends Wife is Californian and is the happiest, most lovely Woman i've ever met. I have met some that i really liked and i don't wish any offence to Americans.

Just wanted to make that clear.
I'm fine with paying more to live here, that's all.

Voxman

Alnico, it was more the other post...I was just trying to be gentle and diplomatic. Lol

Alnico

Voxman said:

Alnico, it was more the other post...I was just trying to be gentle and diplomatic. Lol

No problem, i just didn't want to be misunderstood.

gavin_axecaster

Whitecat said:

Shipping across state lines usually means no sales tax though, depending on the source (and whether it's a registered business in more than one state). So that's one way around that... if the value is high enough it's worth doing.

Yes but the purchaser is supposed to declare all such purchases on their tax return and pay "use" tax.

Whitecat

gavin_axecaster said:

Whitecat said:

Shipping across state lines usually means no sales tax though, depending on the source (and whether it's a registered business in more than one state). So that's one way around that... if the value is high enough it's worth doing.

Yes but the purchaser is supposed to declare all such purchases on their tax return and pay "use" tax.

I'm sure you can imagine how often that happens. Try getting out of paying VAT on the other hand...

The US has been trying to close the sales tax loophole anyway, by making it mandatory to collect on all purchases, but there are major logistical and political barriers in the way. 

professorben

ThorpyFX said:

I don't think there is anything nefarious going on, businesses exist to sell stuff and make money. When you ship gear across borders, you suffer with the exchange rate, add 20% for vat  plus import tax and possibly a distributor margin (debatable what value this adds) then of course the price is going to be much higher than it would be if you were to buy a product made in the UK.

This is the thing though, being ripped off suggests that it is happening against your will. People choose to buy this stuff, you choose to pay the price, you could buy locally but the psychological lure of the big brands is there rooted into our psyche....

i have several guitars that are made in Britain, they use locally sourced woods, locally made pickups and sound incredible. crucially though they play insanely well and feel better than the mass produced items made by the bigger named brands. They don't cost anymore than some of the big brands middle of the range items but..... I'm certain they aren't as desirable to other guitarists because they lack a G, F or P on the headstock. Which i get too as i enjoy those brands as much as the next guy, but if i couldn't buy those brands i don't think id suffer at all, we have a massive wealth of awesome luthiers, amp makers and pedal makers in this country.

anyway, food for thought or not depending on how you see these things.

Peavey?

andyp

Just listening to the Guitar Nerds podcast and from what they're saying there's a real wealth of quality kit made in the UK, it's interesting listening. Particularly their chat on the Honeyboy amps, based not far from me and I'd not heard of them before.

Andy

Blueingreen

Most retailers sell some items that are "core":  the volume of sales is important to their business, they can't afford to be undercut by competitors, they have regular and efficient dealings with suppliers.

Other items are "non-core": they'll never sell that many, ordering from suppliers is non-routine and more time consuming. 

On the non-core stuff, they will typically need significantly bigger margins before stocking them looks worthwhile.

Some items that are core for a US business are non-core for the equivalent business in the UK - partly to do with import costs, partly to do with marketing strategies, partly to do with economies of scale.  A popular mid-range piece of kit for a guy in California becomes a niche luxury item for a small percentage of British players undaunted by high mark-ups.

DLM

Teetonetal said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

Teetonetal said:

It does work the other way too. UK / EU made stuff is often quite a bit more in the US.

Thorpy gunshot 185 gbp in andertons. Ca 220 gbp in proguitarshop.

Shipping costs are huge and profit margins need to be maintained. Often there is also a 3rd party involved. Then these are pretty niche things so not being shipped in cost effective qty.

I'm pretty sure Orange amps cost a fortune in the US.

Marshall AST1C Astoria 1x12 combo green. 2999 USD (ca 2450 GBP). in Sweetwater. Same combo is 1499 GBP in Andertons.

Rip off UK indeed.

Diezels cost a fortune Stateside, too.