Hello Jabali (is that correct?). I am a new member of Audiogon and I live in the UK. I must say I am very impressed with the amount of kit available in the US that is denied to us back in old blighty. There are a number of British companies that have ranges of hi fi that are not for sale in the UK but are in the US, wonder why?
Anyway, my point is, the US Audiogon site (not forgetting eBay as well) has given me a wider knowledge of the choice of kit, tweeks, twits, you name it, that is actually out there and I love it! Knowledge is power, as they say (whoever 'they' are), so yeah, the more the merrier. I say lets have non-English input by all means but I cannot speak any other language other than English and a smattering of Italian, so I would want non-English posts to be translated into English. For me that would be a more productive use of resources than setting up a 'European Audiogon' website. Its interesting that you also mention shipping within Europe. Thought I would give you my tuppence worth regarding that subject too.
The UK is one of the most expensive places around to buy consumer goods and luxury items. The US prices for identical items are always cheaper. In the UK, governments from Mrs Thatcher (remember her?) onwards have slapped a tax on all 'non-essential' goods; this tax is called VAT(Value Added Tax) and currently stands at 17.5% of the total price paid for the goods. Now I myself am very keen to buy kit and cables from the US, and indeed have done so as I feel that the people I have dealt with are true gentlemen and are extremely helpful. However, when importing the goods bought from the US into the UK, muggins (me) has to pay import duty, which is based on the total cost of the item, its insurance value and the cost of its delivery. Once that lot has been calculated and a figure arrived at, 17.5 VAT is then added to it to give a final total. This applies to all imported goods into the UK from other countries including other EU member states. The only items exempt from VAT are food and childrens clothes, though duty still has to be paid on them.
So would it be an advantage to ship within the EU? I believe that would depend on if the individual considers it worthwhile to do so and that is determined by the different countries concerned, own import regulations and duty-costs. In a nutshell, personally,it would-be no dearer or cheaper for me to buy from either the US or the EU. Thanks for your time in reading my rather long-winded response. Good luck and best regards,
Jardo.
Anyway, my point is, the US Audiogon site (not forgetting eBay as well) has given me a wider knowledge of the choice of kit, tweeks, twits, you name it, that is actually out there and I love it! Knowledge is power, as they say (whoever 'they' are), so yeah, the more the merrier. I say lets have non-English input by all means but I cannot speak any other language other than English and a smattering of Italian, so I would want non-English posts to be translated into English. For me that would be a more productive use of resources than setting up a 'European Audiogon' website. Its interesting that you also mention shipping within Europe. Thought I would give you my tuppence worth regarding that subject too.
The UK is one of the most expensive places around to buy consumer goods and luxury items. The US prices for identical items are always cheaper. In the UK, governments from Mrs Thatcher (remember her?) onwards have slapped a tax on all 'non-essential' goods; this tax is called VAT(Value Added Tax) and currently stands at 17.5% of the total price paid for the goods. Now I myself am very keen to buy kit and cables from the US, and indeed have done so as I feel that the people I have dealt with are true gentlemen and are extremely helpful. However, when importing the goods bought from the US into the UK, muggins (me) has to pay import duty, which is based on the total cost of the item, its insurance value and the cost of its delivery. Once that lot has been calculated and a figure arrived at, 17.5 VAT is then added to it to give a final total. This applies to all imported goods into the UK from other countries including other EU member states. The only items exempt from VAT are food and childrens clothes, though duty still has to be paid on them.
So would it be an advantage to ship within the EU? I believe that would depend on if the individual considers it worthwhile to do so and that is determined by the different countries concerned, own import regulations and duty-costs. In a nutshell, personally,it would-be no dearer or cheaper for me to buy from either the US or the EU. Thanks for your time in reading my rather long-winded response. Good luck and best regards,
Jardo.