[Edoardo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SleepyOne /img/forum/go_quote.gif insyte - Cheaper to fly to nearby countries to buy it.

Britain isn't near to Italy at all, but I could leave in the morning, buy a pair of Grados in London, have lunch and come back in the afternoon. I would have done 6000 km and 5 hours of flight but of I'd have still saved some money. Same thing for Germany. Less kilometers though, But in this latter case, I'd take a train.

 

[insyte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SleepyOne /img/forum/go_quote.gif insyte - Cheaper to fly to nearby countries to buy it.

Yes it is, I could go to Singapore and get one from Jaben if I wanted a brand new one

Headphone+airfare back and forth is still cheaper than the ridiculous price of the distributor

 

[SleepyOne]

Yup, and safer too in case of fake etc.


Edoardo - we all become headphone day shoppers, a bit like day trip to France to get wine etc...

 

[insyte]

More importantly, I could audition it before I buy

 

[paaj]

yeah, the pricing is really frustrating.
another thing: I wanted the wooden boxes they offer now, tried to order them four times and no reaction...
I guess that's why they don't sell the headphones abroad themselves...

 

[split_brain]

Just go for Alessandro or purchase used from the 'for sale' forums here.
Damn, that photo of Venice is interesting. Looks like it's really about to go under.

 

[Patu]

I've owned HF-1 (two times), SR225 (two times), RS-2 and RS-1. None of them were bought from my local dealer.

I completely agree with the ridiculous pricing of Grados in Europe. In Finland RS-1 goes for 999 euros ATM (which is like $1250-1300).

 

[mark2410]

if its in the eu, just have a friend in that country buy them and post them. a lot easier and no customs hassle

 

[hoosterw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif if its in the eu, just have a friend in that country buy them and post them. a lot easier and no customs hassle

Even if one person ships another from abroad, meaning non-EU into EU you are liable for import taxes. At least as far as my knowledge goes.

Customs will not find out easily and let the package pass probably, but you would be liable.

Isn't that correct?

Rgds

 

[SleepyOne]

They probably check US parcel more carefully, esp. larger items. For UK, if the "gift" is above £35 it is liable. Then they will tax you for both the gift + postage......and plus custom charges and courier fee too...

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoosterw /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even if one person ships another from abroad, meaning non-EU into EU you are liable for import taxes. At least as far as my knowledge goes. Customs will not find out easily and let the package pass probably, but you would be liable. Isn't that correct? Rgds

sorry i was meaning, if you are wishing to buy something from somewhere in the eu and you are also in the eu, then as i said you dont get stung by customs if a friend gets then send to you

 

[wolf18t]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you're referring to shipping within the states. For shipping from the states to Canada UPS is your worst nightmare. Brokerage fees of close to $100 are not uncommon (even on packages of very low value). USPS EMS is very quick and reliable. Priority is also very good (though slower). This is my advice for shipping from the states to Canada. I have no idea about what works best in the states.

I second that from my experience. Last december I was burned by UPS brokerage fees with an order from BDent. That was the first time and will be the last time I deal with the brown trucks. Thiefs!

USPS is cheap, reliable (in my experience), you only pay (and not every time) actual Canada customs brokering fees and you receive the package by Canada Post who just have an office usually very close to your home.

 

[fjrabon]

basically, I think Grado would be more than content to be a US only company. John Grado doesn't seem to want to expand much more than current levels. SO basically he says "well, I'll control US prices, but I'm not dealing with overseas stuff" and lets dealers in other countries do whatever they want. And for whatever reason demand overseas for Grado products seems to point to a higher price point than it would even support in the US. It boggles my mind that somebody wold even consider $300 bucks for SR225's, let alone the $500 that people regularly pay.

 

[krmathis]

You're certainly not the only one to hate how this distributor-protection "method" impact the Grado prices outside US. Especially in Europe.
I agree that the price over here should be a bit higher since there are extra shipping costs involved, and probably also the need of a distributor between Grado and the dealers. But in no way near 1.5-2x the price as it is today (VAT not included).

But, if Grado don't want my money that is ok for me...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefectiveAudioComponent /img/forum/go_quote.gif The FS forum often does not ship to europe...

Does not help much, as most (or at least a lot) of what is for sale in there is CONUS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoosterw /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I do not think it is only Grado. It would be unfair to only blame them. There are many more US brands that are high priced in the EU. It is a more general problem I think. Don't forget that an average of 25% arises at entering the EU border. VAT and import duties! Another 10 to 15% could be explained to the distribution/retail system (as explained before) but more than that overall is way out of line.

Sadly its way more than that! At least in Europe outside EU...
Take the GS1000(i) as an example:
Norway (Stereofil): $1,600 (NOK 10,200)
US (TTVJ): $995

Both the norwegian and US prices are listed without VAT (no taxes apply at all besides 25% VAT on top of the price listed). Hence they should be comparable.. But still the norwegian prices are 1.6x the US prices.

 

[fjrabon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're certainly not the only one to hate how this distributor-protection "method" impact the Grado prices outside US. Especially in Europe. I agree that the price over here should be a bit higher since there are extra shipping costs involved, and probably also the need of a distributor between Grado and the dealers. But in no way near 1.5-2x the price as it is today (VAT not included). But, if Grado don't want my money that is ok for me... Does not help much, as most (or at least a lot) of what is for sale in there is CONUS. Sadly its way more than that! At least in Europe outside EU... Take the GS1000(i) as an example: Norway (Stereofil): $1,600 (NOK 10,200) US (TTVJ): $995 Both the norwegian and US prices are listed without VAT (no taxes apply at all besides 25% VAT on top of the price listed). Hence they should be comparable.. But still the norwegian prices are 1.6x the US prices.

There are two different ways to go about pricing things. The first is to just go for max profit overall. The second is to consider market share as something valuable as a long term investment. THe second way tends to lead to a lower price than the first, as you're willing to sacrifice some current profitability for greater visibility in the market. However, since Grado lets their international distributors, who don't have Grado's long term market visibility in mind, set their prices they tend to just go for pure profit maximization. Grado could do one of two things to get around this, ship directly or try to control their international distributors more. The first is impractical, because they sell too many headphones but have too small of a company to deal with it. John Grado doesn't seem to want to turn Grado Labs into a large firm. He likes Grado the way it is and doesn't want to see that change. Its his company, so whatever he wants is fine. The second is impractical, because they're not big enough. Sennheiser is a large enough company that they can impose their will on their international distributors and dictate international prices. Grado can't do that. If Grado pushed its weight around too much, many international distributors would just say "fine, sell your owned danged headphones."

Like has been said, Grado is just awkwardly sized for international distribution. Its too large to sell direct like Allesandro does, but too small to have any real control over its distributors like Sennheiser does. So its distributors charge profit maximization prices, which the market says are around 2X the price of what Grado can dictate in the US. If Grado tried too hard to push down the prices overseas, or circumvent their distributors, their distributors would just drop Grado, and you'd find it even more difficult to buy Grados around the world. So, it is what it is. It's not like John Grado is out there saying "I hate foreigners, I'm going to rip them off." I'm sure if he had his pure preference, he'd be able to sell them for the same price as he does his US headphones + shipping and VAT.