"tax" grubbing cocks :eek:

[TdC]

I've been meaning to get myself a new laptop for about a thousand years now, and the deterioration of the current lappy isn't easing procedures I must say.

anyway, prices for the only acceptable laptop in the entire world, the Sony Vaio Z series, configured to a medium config, but with 8GB ram and 3g:

NL: 2382 euros without the external gizmo that Sony wants you to buy
DE: 2275 euros as above
US: 2400 DOLLARS with the external gizmo that Sony wants you to buy

2400 US = 1652 euros

cheapest return flight to New York: 572.50 euros

so...I can FLY to New York city, buy a Sony Vaio Z series laptop of my chosen configuration, FLY back to Holland again, and have enough SAVED to go out for a decent meal. W!T!F!

 

[Tom]

Now add import duty and VAT.

 

[Zarjazz]

Now add import duty and VAT.

Only if you declare it

 

[CorNokZ]

And the price of a good prostitute, which should always be included in a good deal

 

[TdC]

oh sorry, I forgot to mention, all prices are avec VAT because normal people count that in the price, because that's what they have to pay at the end of the line. as to import duty, the same laptop in Japan doesn't exist because their specs are upgraded afaict, but the most expensive one is 2790 euros. that's with dual SSD's and the full HD screen that noone wants anyway.

 

[Billargh]

Christ I'd expect a laptop to suck me off for that price.

 

[TdC]

oh, and recently Dutch customs tried to sting me on an imported technical book. they declared it to be computer parts, and tried to make me pay 72 euros tax on a book that cost 51 dollars.

I still ended up having to pay 6% tax on the book and 19% tax on the transportation costs

 

[TdC]

price for the same laptop on the uk sony site:

1,849.00 inc. VAT

that's 2,089.61 euros. bite me

 

[Billargh]

Get the ferry over, costs fuck all

 

[TdC]

nah mate, I'd have to get a train to a decent city, and that would bleed me dry. last time I flew to London Shatwick and took the train into the city, the return train ticket was 2.2 times my airline ticket in price 0o

 

[megadave]

Get a freddysfag to sort you out

 

[Zenith.UK]

I was going to suggest that. If you buy it online and get someone to pick it up for you, they could mail it over as a birthday gift.

 

[Huntingtons]

or just keep it. ill do it mate

 

[Chilly]

or stop being such a homo and dont buy a piece of crap sony? overpriced shite.

 

[Zenith.UK]

or stop being such a homo and dont buy a piece of crap sony? overpriced shite.

<insert obligatory Bodhi rebuttal here>

 

[TdC]

or stop being such a homo and dont buy a piece of crap sony? overpriced shite.

the only other lappies I like are the Sammy 9 series lappies and the apple schnapple ones. the Z series is superior to both.

 

[DaGaffer]

oh sorry, I forgot to mention, all prices are avec VAT because normal people count that in the price, because that's what they have to pay at the end of the line. as to import duty, the same laptop in Japan doesn't exist because their specs are upgraded afaict, but the most expensive one is 2790 euros. that's with dual SSD's and the full HD screen that noone wants anyway.

Is the US price including sales tax? I doubt it. All US online prices are tax-free. So if you went to say, New York, you'd have to add 8.875% to the price (I know you can claim some back, but still, for the purposes of comparison, online sales between US and Europe are never like for like because of VAT). Still cheaper, but the gap is closing.

There are bargains to be had in the US and UK at the moment if you're earning Euros because the Euro is ridiculously over-valued. Compare UK and European car prices at the moment, its mad.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Have you checked other EU country prices? No customs baby

 

[DaGaffer]

Have you checked other EU country prices? No customs baby

UK is the place to buy at the moment inside the EU, thanks to the weakness of the pound. You're not going to get that much of a saving within the Eurozone itself.

 

[TdC]

Have you checked other EU country prices? No customs baby

import duty is exactly the same across the EU according to NL customs office. it's the goods or value add tax that is different, which hopefully explains the price diff of 100+ euros between NL and DE, and once again between DE and UK.

still, the price diff of nearly 1k euros even with taxes added between NL and US makes me want to shart on Mr Sony's favorite tie, even though I can rationalize why it's there.

edit: also, the Sony online stores do not sell out side of their own countries. eg the DE store will not send to NL (although amazon.de will do this happily)

 

[DaGaffer]

although amazon.de will do this happily

Not on everything they won't. Sometimes I try to buy off Amazon.co.uk for delivery to Ireland and Amazon cancel the order, particularly on consumer electronics (it was Logitech stuff last time it was blocked). Its very annoying that there's supposed to be free movement of goods within the EU, but individual suppliers pull stunts like this. I can kind of forgive it where a company simply doesn't fulfil outside its own borders at all, but where its selective, as in the case of Amazon, it really pisses me off.

 

[TdC]

bahs, this irritates me no end