RX42B motor prices

QUOTE (CMOTD @ 26 Jul 2012, 08:15) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The Americans generally do not remove sales tax for overseas transactions and didn't in this case. I paid exactly the same price as a US resident.
That's actually wrong. Internet retailers in the USA only charge sales tax on sales made within their own state. If you buy a product from a vendor in Iowa, but you live in Florida, where the vendor has no business presence, you do not pay Iowa sales tax on that transaction. You are expected to declare this transaction on your State tax return and pay the appropriate amount of Florida sales tax for that transaction. But very few people do, which is why internet sales have proven so popular. Of course, instead of paying sales tax you have to pay the shipping fees.

Sales to overseas buyers should *not* include any sales tax. However, UK customs and excise may demand their cut before handing over the goods. And some vendors (Amazon.com springs to mind) add on the expected UK duties and taxes at the time of sale to avoid any unpleasantness with UK Customs. This takes the fun out of the will-they-won't-they game.

QUOTE (Pendleslot @ 26 Jul 2012, 08:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>As a dealer of SCX my trade price to purchase these motors - assuming stock was available is more than the price you are paying from America, then we pay VAT on top !
Why are you paying VAT ? Surely your turnover warrants being VAT registered. As such, you should be claiming the VAT back. VAT is a consumer tax, and a business should only be paying VAT on what it consumes, not what it resells. If VAT was due at every step along the supply chain, then the amount of VAT would soon push the price beyond sustainable levels.

QUOTE (Pendleslot @ 26 Jul 2012, 08:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Manufacturers also price their products more/less expensive for different markets, if for example SCX want to sell into a particular country they may offer more favourable pricing to that distributor, we also see a varying degree of mark up from distributors which also effect end prices.
Sorry, I forgot to comment on this bit, which is the epitome of 'Rip Off Britain'. SCX knows that the Americans will only pay so much for a product, and prices it accordingly. They know that Brits might complain, but will still part with their cash at a higher level, so they price it differently in that market. Such is the nature of business; businesses exist to make a profit. Without profit, a business will close and the people involved will go off and do something else with their time. You can't blame businesses for trying it on in this way.

The only way around this is to not buy a certain company's products. Look how quickly the new Racer Capri sold out. Look at the buzz the car has created for a manufacturer that is probably little known outside the hobby. How much are their future products now being anticipated ? £50 for a car that works *that* well ? What's not to like ? This product represents good value for money. Now look at the Ninco 1 range by comparison. How do we view the *value* of those cars with the likes of Racer in the marketplace ? Now, if the Ninco 1 was priced at £20 per car, they would probably sell out in a real big hurry, too. But most of the comments I see on here about those cars are along the lines of, "They're nice enough, but why are they so expensive?"

Interestingly, a quick look on the slot32.de site shows the Racer Zakspeed Capri currently priced at €65. This is in line with the £50 it has been selling for in the UK. But they also show the upcoming Mampe version at a fraction under €50. Will that one be priced at £40 in the UK when it arrives ? If not, why not ?

OK, generally speaking, Americans will only pay so much for certain products. Look at how much they howled and complained when petrol hit $4/gallon a while back. At that price, many of them were trading in their V8 motored SUVs for small import cars and hybrids. Fuel prices have dropped back, and the US motor industry is once again safe for the time being.

But, it is often quite amazing what Americans are willing to spend on some things. It takes 'Keeping up with the Joneses' to a whole new level.

So the US distributor is trying the crack dealer marketing method ? Get 'em hooked, then jack up the price. But then, shouldn't the first one be free ?

QUOTE (Pendleslot @ 26 Jul 2012, 10:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Yes, of course we are VAT registered. My point was that when i purchase something from a UK distributor my purchase price is trade plus VAT. So yes i do pay VAT.
We do then claim VAT back which is paid out for purchases but then we pay HMRC VAT collected on their behalf for everything we sell.
But that's my point; your price from the wholesaler is *not* trade + VAT, it's trade. You get to claim that VAT back. If you are basing your retail price on trade + VAT, and then adding VAT on top of that for the consumer, then there's double taxation going on. As a retailer, you set your prices according to what you think you can get away with, but you can't use downstream VAT as a justification.

But you are also in an unfair situation when the government uses VAT to muck about with the economy as a whole. As consumers, we expect the retailer to take the hit, at least for a while, after the VAT goes up. In order to remain competitive, you most likely do so, but you have to jack the prices up eventually in order to preserve your margins and restore your profit levels. However, if VAT is then dropped, as consumers, we expect to see an immediate corresponding drop in the price we pay. We don't see it as fair that you should be able to keep your prices the same for a while in order to recoup some of the money lost from when the rate went up.

Please note, Sean, that I am in no way having a go at you. My two main suppliers for my slot car habit are Pendles and Ebay. What started out as a discussion about one motor is now more broad in scope. I'm in the IT trade, and if you look at hardware prices between the UK and the US, the difference would make you weep. Even more frustrating is the difference in software pricing, especially where downloadable software is concerned. There is no physical shipment yet the vendors often fix their prices in the three major currencies according to what they want to receive. We've moved on now to the disparity of prices around the world, and tax/exchange rates fail to explain it adequately.

Look at the back of any book in the US and you will see the price in USD and CAD. And there will be a huge difference. When I lived in the US, it wouldn't be surprising to see the numbers for Canada as much as 80% higher. But of course that was in CAD, and there was an exchange rate difference. I just checked, and if you round it up, currently USD1.00 = CAD1.01. And yet those book prices remain steadfastly high. Are the Canadian import duties and taxes so high on books that this accounts for the difference ? Transportation ? Retailer margins ? All of the above ? Others I haven't even thought of ?

I'll finish on this thought: it doesn't matter which side of the Atlantic you live on, the tax system is antiquated, unwieldy and wasteful. What we need is a massive overhaul that simplifies things to maximize the amount of revenue that can be used for projects that benefit the community, instead of squandering vast amounts on the system that collects the revenue in the first place, and which ensures provisions to get a reasonable amount of tax out of everyone that *should* be paying it. And the first thing I'd do away with is all corporation taxes. Corporations don't pay tax; only the consumer pays tax. Taxing corporations just adds to the price consumers pay for the corporation's products. So let's not pay the corporations and the government workers to process this payment, and put the money saved towards fixing a few extra potholes, or buying some extra ambulances, or paying our teachers a decent wage for the fundamental service they provide to our nations. I'm starting to sound like a left wing nutjob now, which is strange, because I'm sooooo not. Anyway, it's time for a cuppa, so I'll stop now.

QUOTE (Pendleslot @ 26 Jul 2012, 10:46) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>No tax, no vat, no over heads, no wages, no rent, no rates........ sounds like heaven
http://www.pendleslotracing.gi ?