From cocots@gmx.net Sun Apr 07 05:58:52 2002
Subject:Re[2]: Speakeasy Pre Amps in the UK

Hi Thomas,

> In the UK we don't pay customs fees when buying from within the EU,
> but we incur horrendous charges when buying from the States. I was
> surprised that the US charges customs taxes in like manner when
> purchasing from Europe.

Yes, that's well-known in both ways (I once bought software from Sun
that was delivered from their US central, and had to pay a hefty customs
fee, whereas when I bought software from SCO, it came from their UK
subsidiary and was considered EU internal commerce, so no fees at all).

> In fact as David incurred $400 charge on a $500 purchase, the US has
> it worse than us. That charge is outrageous. I have toyed with the
> idea of purhasing a Motion-Sound RS147., or some such number but the
> transportation and customs duty is a deal breaker.

You're absolutely right, everybody obviously tries to protect their home
markets. That's what I also stated last year when looking into buying a
Rickenbacker guitar from the US : the fees double its price. So if you
want gear that's not available through a European subsidiary, you're
basically set to pay or to abandon. OTOH I recently bought a keyboard in
Germany : no fees, no trouble.

Regards,

Cornelia