Pricey in the US, bargain in Europe or vice versa!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Slayne, Dec 8, 2019.

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  1. Slayne

    Slayne Proper geezer Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sweden
    I sometimes come across stuff that is noticably cheaper in Europe than in the US, and price for most of us DO matter and factor in when we decide what to buy.

    For example:

    The Yamaha A-S1100 is $2500 USD in the US (amazon, music direct might be cheaper elsewhere)

    and that's a price where I personally probably wouldnt consider it, but in Sweden it's $1475 USD!

    Now it suddenly becomes very interesting and something of a bargain, wouldnt you say?

    And the larsen hifi 8 speakers sell in sweden for $3700 USD where as US they're $7500 USD. More than double. That's crazy.
     
  2. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    I bought a pair of showroom demo Spendor SP3/1R2 from a UK dealer for about 40% of the typical US price, even with the cost of transatlantic shipping factored in.
     
  3. Helom

    Helom Forum member

    Location:
    U.S.
    I bought my A-S1100 from a local brick and mortar dealer here in the Midwest and paid less than $2K out the door, including 8% sales tax.
    Even at its full retail price, it spanks some far pricier units - the Rogue Pharaoh for example. Build quality is also superior to many.

    That some are willing to pay full price via the likes of Crutchfield isn't my concern. It doesn't take much investigative work to discover these units can be had for good discounts elsewhere. That's just due diligence when shopping for an item in this price range. If someone buys it through the first website that pops up, they deserve to pay full price IMO. That's the premium for simply hitting a checkout button and not calling around.

    I bought a pair of new-in-box Spendors from a local dealer and received nearly a 20% discount. I essentially went home with "free" Sound Anchor stands and still paid less than retail for the speakers. I've found these types of discounts are also available on the competing British brands. The funny thing is, their performance, even at full U.S. retail, is still competitive with U.S. and Chinese-made gear from various competitors. That's why I don't get hung up on what people are paying across the pond. The same item may be listed for less over there, but are they also receiving a discount between 15 and 20% simply for asking? If not, the practical gap in prices is not as large as it appears.

    Regardless, if you want a specific item and you want a warranty, you most often are required to purchase from a domestic, authorized dealer. So the best price one can get here is the price and if that person wants it enough, that's what they'll pay. Economics 101: the value of an item is that which the market will bear.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2019
  4. Chris Treece

    Chris Treece Forum Resident

    Location:
    Haworth, UK
    The ‘price’ of the A-S1100 is a moot point here in the UK right now, mainly because you can’t find one for love nor money. Various retailers have them advertised for £1149, but no-one anywhere has stock. I scoured the market for weeks - contacted loads of dealers who basically said they had no lead time on stock. In the end I found a mint ex-dem model in black for £900, so bit at that price. Consensus was that Yamaha would probably replace it with a new model before any of them saw stock of the 1100.
     
  5. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Ortofon and Goldring cartridges are cheaper if you buy them from Europe/UK and have them shipped over.

    Graham Slee products are cheaper if you order them factory direct.

    Rega turntables are less expensive in the UK than the U.S., but probably not worth the hassle to make a UK/Euro model work over here.

    IIRC some Arcam products are also a bit less expensive if you import them.
     
    AJB69 and Dennis Metz like this.
  6. Omnio

    Omnio _ _ _ ____ ____ _ _ _

    Location:
    El Lay
    I have some connections in Japan and I see sometimes crazy good deals on Luxman, Accuphase, et. al. stuff. The trouble is that most of them are working only on 100V. But I did buy nice hi-end headphones and music servers from Japan that worked multi voltage. I don;t know if the A-S1100 works on 100-240V, but if it does, it's worth to look around the WORLD wide web. I even check out some south-Korean bidding sites, too.
     
  7. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Bear in mind, with Accuphase. To get service (even out of warranty), you must buy it in your country. Accuphase will not service or support units bought overseas (to get them serviced, you must send them back to that Country's Accuphase Service facility). This might not be wise to do.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  8. fried

    fried Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris
    Big difference between UK and European prices too. I saved €300 on a Rega elex r by buying in the U.K. then carrying it back to France.

    The U.K. has a culture of discount advertised prices. French dealers always offer a substantial discount even without being asked.

    Pro-ject is cheaper in Europe though.
     
  9. Catcher10

    Catcher10 I like records, and Prog...duh

    Everything nowadays is too expensive, does not matter what side of the pond u are on.
     
    alan967tiger and patient_ot like this.
  10. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    Indeed, and there's been a significant gap since at least the 1980s. I imported an RB300 arm in 1985, at full boat retail plus VAT and shipping it was still $90 less than DEALER COST in the US at the time.
     
    McLover and patient_ot like this.
  11. Mintsauce

    Mintsauce Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Wales
    Harbeth appear to be expensive in the US, I paid £3300 for a new Ebony pair of SHL5+ earlier this year, list price on those in the US is $6400 (£4871) on the other hand I know the mark up on my Luxman amp was massive compared to Japan. Swings and roundabouts.
     
  12. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    Biggest brands that come to mind for me have already been mentioned. Spendor has a huge markup in the states and Accuphase, well that markup is just embarrassing. Then Rega to a much lesser extent. In Germany I could get the Dynaudio Special 40s for 2400 USD and the Classic Spendor 2/3 for 3300 USD. A 900 dollar price difference. In the U.S. the Special 40s run 3K and that is with the correct stands the Classic 2/3 is 5K without. Obviously you can get a little better deal on both sides of the Atlantic with a little negotiation.

    Honestly that’s my biggest hang up with Spendor.
     
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