Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

[GuitarStv]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

The pricing difference on a mesa amp really cracks me up . . . if I paid 4k for an amp I'd never let it leave the house for fear of damages and theft.

orange tiny terror - 585$
fender USA standard strat - 1029$ to 1189$ depending on what colour option you want.
Orange Rockerverb 100 head - 2225$

And depending on the kind of beer you want, a pint will cost you between 3 - 5$ on average. (2$ for special promotion type days)

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

That's what I was shooting for. Minimum wage might be a better indicator.



Unfortunately I believe it's your own country's import tariffs. Kind of a no-lose deal, really - it either encourages local industry or fills the coffers. What's not to like about that?

Minimum wage ovr here is just short of £6, so about ten bucks.

The price of US gear over here is not just down to our import duty etc. It plays its part but not to the degree of over 70% mark up.
USA made guitar gear seems to follow a simple formula of take what it costs in the US and just change the $ into a £.
The exchange rate does skew things a bit, but you'd expect the current strength of the pound would make USA gear cheaper... which it hasn't.
But at least we have european made amps such as Marshall, Engl etc so we have an option. The price of a Marshall TSL100 wouldn't even buy you a Mesa transatlantic.

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Minimum wage ovr here is just short of £6, so about ten bucks.

The price of US gear over here is not just down to our import duty etc. It plays its part but not to the degree of over 70% mark up.
USA made guitar gear seems to follow a simple formula of take what it costs in the US and just change the $ into a £.
The exchange rate does skew things a bit, but you'd expect the current strength of the pound would make USA gear cheaper... which it hasn't.
But at least we have european made amps such as Marshall, Engl etc so we have an option. The price of a Marshall TSL100 wouldn't even buy you a Mesa transatlantic.

What is the rate of tariffs on imports such as musical equipment? I would think between the tariffs, port fees, and the cost of shipping a container full of amps from California to Europe could possibly double the price of the amp. I'm sure there is also some price goudging as well. I suspect though, without knowing the ins-and-outs of English and EU tax law, protectionist policies could certainly drive up prices 50%-70%. I suspect all of the above would have their hands out to collect on an import from other countries.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

What is the rate of tariffs on imports such as musical equipment? I would think between the tariffs, port fees, and the cost of shipping a container full of amps from California to Europe could possibly double the price of the amp. I'm sure there is also some price goudging as well. I suspect though, without knowing the ins-and-outs of English and EU tax law, protectionist policies could certainly drive up prices 50%-70%. I suspect all of the above would have their hands out to collect on an import from other countries.

Container shipping is really, really cheap. That's why so much stuff is imported these days. The total cost of shipping into the uk adds less than 1% onto the price of the goods (on average).

Import duties are around 20%. So you'd expect a foreign bit of kit to cost 20-30% more than in the native country. If you look at the price of far eastern products, this is about true.

The simple fact is that if I mail ordered from the USA and then paid the shipping and import duty it would be a cheaper way of buying many bits of US kit than buying it over here.

The Mesa, as an example, would probably cost less than $3k, rather than over $4k. It is that far out of whack.

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Container shipping is really, really cheap. That's why so much stuff is imported these days. The total cost of shipping into the uk adds less than 1% onto the price of the goods (on average).

Import duties are around 20%. So you'd expect a foreign bit of kit to cost 20-30% more than in the native country. If you look at the price of far eastern products, this is about true.

The simple fact is that if I mail ordered from the USA and then paid the shipping and import duty it would be a cheaper way of buying many bits of US kit than buying it over here.

The Mesa, as an example, would probably cost less than $3k, rather than over $4k. It is that far out of whack.

If that is the case then, I would suspect there is price goudging on the retail side of things. One would think this makes Mesa pretty uncompetitive over there. I've never played an amp worth more then $4k

 

[sosomething]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Holy **** you UK guys are getting SHAFTED on the Mesa stuff. Wow.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Holy **** you UK guys are getting SHAFTED on the Mesa stuff. Wow.

It's not just Mesa stuff, it's pretty much anything made in the good old US of A.

The Mesa is a great example because it's a premium product so the actual difference runs into the thousands.

Seymour Duncan humbuckers start from around £60, which the thick end of a hundred bucks.
I bet you don't pay that much over there
On that front, how much are Bareknuckle pups in the states, I know expensive will come into it, they ain't cheap over here.

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

It's not just Mesa stuff, it's pretty much anything made in the good old US of A.

The Mesa is a great example because it's a premium product so the actual difference runs into the thousands.

Seymour Duncan humbuckers start from around £60, which the thick end of a hundred bucks.
I bet you don't pay that much over there
On that front, how much are Bareknuckle pups in the states, I know expensive will come into it, they ain't cheap over here.

http://www.rainbowguitars.com/acces...nkiller-humbucker-pickup-set/PAINKILLERSET/KN

About $259/set. It's more then I would pay, but generally p/u's here can run $80-$100 for SD's if you know where to buy and what model. I'm curious as to why there is a massive mark up. seems like an inordinat amount.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Beat to the punch.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

http://www.rainbowguitars.com/acces...nkiller-humbucker-pickup-set/PAINKILLERSET/KN

About $259/set. It's more then I would pay, but generally p/u's here can run $80-$100 for SD's if you know where to buy and what model. I'm curious as to why there is a massive mark up. seems like an inordinat amount.

$80 is not as cheap as I thought they'd be. That's about £50, which when you add shipping, import duties is not too far off at all.

Oddly $259 for the set is cheaper than you can get Bareknuckles for over here... which figures.

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

$80 is not as cheap as I thought they'd be. That's about £50, which when you add shipping, import duties is not too far off at all.

Oddly $259 for the set is cheaper than you can get Bareknuckles for over here... which figures.

yeah, like i said it depends on which p/u and where you buy it. if you buy at a retail store prepare for close to $100 bucks. you can find them cheaper online. I hate when i go into guitar center and see that they charge %10 over what they charge on their own website.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

If you want to talk price 'shafting', Australia is the place. Our SD pickups start at $179, and most are over $200.

Epi Les Paul $1250
Les Paul standard $4700
Plexi 50W re-issue head $2800

I buy ebay......more chance of getting a dud (guitar-wise) but soooo much cheaper.


We're a bit stuck amp-wise as delivery for those would be HUGE.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

If you want to talk price 'shafting', Australia is the place. Our SD pickups start at $179, and most are over $200.

Epi Les Paul $1250
Les Paul standard $4700
Plexi 50W re-issue head $2800

I buy ebay......more chance of getting a dud (guitar-wise) but soooo much cheaper.


We're a bit stuck amp-wise as delivery for those would be HUGE.

I'm glad someone chimed in from down under. Just to remind us in europe that we've not got it that bad.

Are those prices in US or Oz money?

And I didn't even mention cricket

 

[AlexR]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

In aus$, but its the same as USD now (yay!!).

A few more prices:

Orange tiny terror $900
dual terror $1300

both heads



Just wish we'd been able to put a good side on the park cricket-wise. So frustrating to have the best talent out there - not that it would have made any difference to the result overall....you guys are playing better at the moment.

 

[Kam]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

****ing hell, you Australian dudes have it bad.

 

[Tor]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

If you want to talk price 'shafting', Australia is the place. Our SD pickups start at $179, and most are over $200.

Epi Les Paul $1250
Les Paul standard $4700
Plexi 50W re-issue head $2800

I buy ebay......more chance of getting a dud (guitar-wise) but soooo much cheaper.


We're a bit stuck amp-wise as delivery for those would be HUGE.

Could you find the prices for the other amps in this thread. Bit curious.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

I'm just looking on a few sites.

Fender twin '65 reissue, retail $3400
you won't pay that, but its unbelievably high.

Marshall MG100hfx $750
Mesa Mk V head $6000

 

[Tor]

Re: Cost of Gear - USA v Europe

Dang, you're worse off than Norway.