Airgun "product" prices....European vs USA prices

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Blackpaw

Blackpaw

Member
Apr 23, 2020
3,202
360
Idaho, United States
Okay this is just a comment on manufacturers have "universal pricing" on products. I say kind of "little" BS to this and it cuts both ways, also please don't "lecture" me about VAT (Value Added Tax = sales tax) / Sales Tax / Import Tax etc with the comment/s below. For full disclosure, I am an American who has been living in Europe for almost 9 years. I firmly believe some manufactures / importers "pad their pocket" books with the idea of "universal" pricing, I firmly believe it, and some are more worse than others.

One thing I am very good at is remembering numbers / prices etc, and one thing I look at is trends. I say in general, for many products if you see the USA dollars price you will pay that in euros in Europe, but the Euro price tag includes tax. Depending on the exchange rate and factoring "average" USA sales tax (maybe exchange rate) we pay on average 8-10 % more in Europe than in USA for the same product. BUT.... and there is almost always a but!!!

For certain manufactures I think "equal pricing" doesn't exist and they go into the supply and demand mind set. If people want it bad enough they will pay the price. FX is one company I feel that does this, at least for some of the products, charge Americans more than they need to for their product. I just checked EdGunWest and Brian's prices for parts are very close to Francisco's at Edgun.shop / EdgunLeshiy.shop, guns cheaper or similar depending on state sales tax. Daystate / Brocock prices for sure cheaper in USA and UK.

Has anyone observed or felt the above?
 
Check out ATN US v ATN Europe, sickening (for Europeans)

Then contrast two companies joined at the hip, MTC UK prices v US, where the US customer pays slightly more, where as Daystates new Delta Wolf (UK MADE) will cost UK customers around $500 more.

I have heard it said, and agree to a point, that to discuss money is uncouth, however to pay over the odds when you ain't got much is painful.


 
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I'm also based in Europe and buy large tins of JSB King Heavy for 10 Eur (incl VAT, add shipping) with Balistas in Czech. 

Pyramydair flogs them for 18.99 usd + tax + shipping.

The difference for H&N products is similar. I think I'm gonna send a few containers across the pond ...

Also got a Yong Heng compressor (with max pressure setting) delivered for 280 smackers (US). BSA 4-16x44 TD FFP scopes landed on my doorstep for 78 samoleons apiece from Aliexpress. Love the things. My buddies in the US are salivating at the prospect ... Could the difference be DT's trade war & customs duties?

🐦
 
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Cannot confirm for airguns, but motorcycles, cars, photography, hifi audio and archery equipment.

Couple years ago a Yamaha (YZF) sportbike bike was cheaper in Canada then rest of the world, and when I got my audi A4 in 2016 it was cheaper then in Germany for almost 10K (friend of my wanted to hire a container and to ship for him a car). Japanese lenses (not Chinese built) for Canon (like Sigma or Tokina) getting from USA is cheaper then from EU, high end audio better prices in EU, archery compound bows (Bowtech, Hoyt compounds and some Korean recurves) cheapest in USA. I am talking same models by the specs even if a marketing strategy tries to mess w your mind.

I can't explain, I gave up years ago.
 
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One thing that does need to be factored in when looking at the relative prices is the typical dealer/distributor markup. In my experience (as an American who has lived in Europe and who has worked for European companies for over 30 years in global jobs), retail prices in the US are “generally” more competitive than in Europe and most of the world except possibly Hong Kong and China. Many European countries also allow manufacturers to set and maintain retail list prices. In the US this is generally not allowed, although the manufacturers may set and control a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price). However they cannot force a retailer to sell only at a given price. The retailer is always free to set their own final price. Of course, supply may dry up a bit to retailers who don’t play ball, but that is a delicate game to play (which is why it’s always worth it to ask if there is a discount available).

Now before anyone points out that FX Impact, Crown, Wildcat, Dreamline prices seem to be the same at all US retailers, I would say that retailers have no incentive to lowball prices when product demand exceeds supply, especially when this gap is large. 

So, overall I suspect that a large part of the price difference between Europe is actually due to the distribution channel (retailer, distributors, etc.) rather than all being due to the manufacturers. With respect to VAT compared to Sales Taxes, be aware that many products in the US may also be subject to specific Excise or other taxes and fees that are buried in the price, and not added on like Sales Taxes are. This is certainly true for firearms, but I don’t know the specifics for airguns. Thus, the gap between the US and Europe can be larger than you think after you subtract the VAT, because you are then comparing a US price which includes those hidden taxes with a European price with the VAT stripped out.

Chris
 
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@ChRiSiS, after reading your post and a couple of others like @blejda, I agree that there are some big differences with the prices for American products in Europe and visa versa. I still think for "import taxes" air guns are under the radar so to speak because the Alphabet org says at the federal level they aren't fire arms. 

I see the prices for pellets from Balistas, and it is true, they are much cheaper, BUT their shipping is 16 euros to the Netherlands, so you need to buy a LOT of pellet tins to make it worth it vs paying the slightly higher local price. you need big orders to make some things worth shipping across the border / pond so to speak, but at least in the EU if you order from another EU country you don't have to pay additional tax, depending on what it is, but I don't think in USA between states. Technically, if I remember correctly i.e. Idaho, if you buy something in Utah, you are still supposed to get a refund from Utah and then pay it in Idaho. 😑 I know of NO ONE who has ever done this.
 
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Blackpaw, you are correct that no one voluntarily pays the sales tax on purchases from out of state (except me of course 😎). However many, if not most, of the large retailers are now required to charge sales tax of the state in which the purchaser lives. The small guys don’t, but Pyramyd Air, for example, does (as does Amazon). Generally if there is a local store with the same product, especially small things like pellets, then I will buy local. Unfortunately there usually isn’t anyone around here with a good enough selection, not to mention my reluctance to go out and do a lot of shopping with the Coronapocalypse. (And before anyone tells me its a hoax, or not so bad, I went through April and May in the New York/CT/NJ area and know lots of people who got it and some that died. So don’t go there, ‘cause I don’t want to go back).
 
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