Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post

octatonic · May 9th, 2008, 10:41 AM

It is a couple of things.

US price is without sales tax, which is around 8.25%
European prices include tax in them, which is 17.5% in the UK.
(I'll talk about the UK mostly as I live here and know more about it)

You also have import duty which for guitars is 3.2 - 3.7%.

Additionally you need to consider that importers of guitars want to make a profit too- add around 30% for that.

The shops you buy from have higher operating cost compared to the US- the cost of living is higher than most places - they pay more income tax, higher rates and rent etc. That all has to be passed onto the customer.

Also the prices in the UK are full retail, which you need to haggle down from.
In the UK you can't save money by shipping out of state and avoid paying the tax (because we don't have any states or any laws governing out of state sales).

You also have not inconsiderable shipping costs- which are cheaper the more guitars you buy.
On import guitars, if you ship 1000 it is considerably cheaper *per guitar* than shipping 5. This makes a difference with the next point.

Lastly, population in the US is much larger than the UK- so they have economy of scale.
For higher priced guitars (above $2000) it is actually cost effective to fly over, buy it in the US, ship it back as carry on luggage.

May 9th, 2008, 10:41 AM	#8 (permalink)
octatonic Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2007 Location: London Posts: 1,244	It is a couple of things. US price is without sales tax, which is around 8.25% European prices include tax in them, which is 17.5% in the UK. (I'll talk about the UK mostly as I live here and know more about it) You also have import duty which for guitars is 3.2 - 3.7%. Additionally you need to consider that importers of guitars want to make a profit too- add around 30% for that. The shops you buy from have higher operating cost compared to the US- the cost of living is higher than most places - they pay more income tax, higher rates and rent etc. That all has to be passed onto the customer. Also the prices in the UK are full retail, which you need to haggle down from. In the UK you can't save money by shipping out of state and avoid paying the tax (because we don't have any states or any laws governing out of state sales). You also have not inconsiderable shipping costs- which are cheaper the more guitars you buy. On import guitars, if you ship 1000 it is considerably cheaper per guitar than shipping 5. This makes a difference with the next point. Lastly, population in the US is much larger than the UK- so they have economy of scale. For higher priced guitars (above $2000) it is actually cost effective to fly over, buy it in the US, ship it back as carry on luggage. __________________ “Music is perpetual, and only the hearing is intermittent.” - Henry David Thoreau.