Buying a DUTY FREE camera from Dixons at Heathrow

Following up to Ken Tough :

True. Prices within the UK include the 17.5% Value Added Tax (VAT).
If you buy on the high street, you can actually claim that VAT back
after you leave the country.

Only if you are traveling back to a non-EU country.
--
Tim C.

Hooverphonic wrote:
this is the Dixons dutyfree link - Nikon D50 GBP382.89
http://www.dixonstaxfree.co.uk/index...ing& group=13

and this is the Ebuyer non-dutyfree link - Nikon D50 GBP 378.74
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...c ial_uid=907

so NOT buying Dixons duty free actually saves you GBP 4 !!
if it really was dutyfree it should cost GBP 322.33

That's a load of crap. Dixons is a high-street store with high-street
overheads and service levels, and the ability to walk in the store when
your camera breaks and get them to replace it.

Ebuyer is a cheap online reseller with *no* service, no-one to go shout
at, nobody to call. If something goes wrong expect to spend months
screwing about with online e-notes before sending the thing back.

In addition, ebuyer might not even be selling the same product. I
bought a Canon A75 from there a few years back and they were selling a
grey-market import which didn't even have a UK warranty and had
documentation in Spanish. They don't give a ****, they'll sell whatever
they like, no guarantees about things going wrong. The reason they were
selling the import is that UK cameras have long been subject to a price
premium that isn't applied to other electronic goods (such as computer
chips). The manufacturers sell the same camera in the US for roughly
20% less, for no reason. If ebuyer are selling one of these imports
bought on the grey market, it's no wonder it's cheaper. UK consumers
pay too much for cameras. It sucks. but not news.

If it's not worth an extra £4 to get the product from a legitimate
retailer, then go ahead, and waste your time with ebuyer. So the
apparent £56 price difference is easily explained: you get the UK
product, you get the convenience of buying it in a store with high
overheads, and you get somebody to complain to when it goes wrong
(something that to me is worth at least 10% of the price of the
product, rather than trying to post the camera off to a service centre
and waiting a month (and that assumes that ebuyer even gave you a valid
warranty to start with)).

Good luck with your penny pinching.

Matthew Brealey wrote:
Hooverphonic wrote:
this is the Dixons dutyfree link - Nikon D50 GBP382.89
http://www.dixonstaxfree.co.uk/index...ing& group=13

and this is the Ebuyer non-dutyfree link - Nikon D50 GBP 378.74
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...c ial_uid=907

so NOT buying Dixons duty free actually saves you GBP 4 !!
if it really was dutyfree it should cost GBP 322.33

That's a load of crap. Dixons is a high-street store with high-street
overheads and service levels, and the ability to walk in the store when
your camera breaks and get them to replace it.

Ebuyer is a cheap online reseller with *no* service, no-one to go shout
at, nobody to call. If something goes wrong expect to spend months
screwing about with online e-notes before sending the thing back.

In addition, ebuyer might not even be selling the same product. I
bought a Canon A75 from there a few years back and they were selling a
grey-market import which didn't even have a UK warranty and had
documentation in Spanish. They don't give a ****, they'll sell whatever
they like, no guarantees about things going wrong. The reason they were
selling the import is that UK cameras have long been subject to a price
premium that isn't applied to other electronic goods (such as computer
chips). The manufacturers sell the same camera in the US for roughly
20% less, for no reason. If ebuyer are selling one of these imports
bought on the grey market, it's no wonder it's cheaper. UK consumers
pay too much for cameras. It sucks. but not news.

If it's not worth an extra £4 to get the product from a legitimate
retailer, then go ahead, and waste your time with ebuyer. So the
apparent £56 price difference is easily explained: you get the UK
product, you get the convenience of buying it in a store with high
overheads, and you get somebody to complain to when it goes wrong
(something that to me is worth at least 10% of the price of the
product, rather than trying to post the camera off to a service centre
and waiting a month (and that assumes that ebuyer even gave you a valid
warranty to start with)).

Good luck with your penny pinching.

On April 5, 2006, Dixons announced that they were removing the brand
from the high street and would only be using the Currys brand, branded
as Currys.digital. This was said to signal a shift to more internet
based selling and to "reduce confusion". Dixons stores would be
retained in Ireland, and other locations such as airports. The new
currys.digital stores are now open.

In article ,
Ken Tough wrote:

True. Prices within the UK include the 17.5% Value Added Tax (VAT).
If you buy on the high street, you can actually claim that VAT back
after you leave the country. You just need a form from the retailer,
and get it stamped before you check in at the airport (carrying the
goods out of the country with you). They will mail you a cheque
for 17.5% of what you paid.

I looked at prices for the Nokia E61. 349 pounds. Even if you got 20%
VAT back, it's still way more than what you'd pay in the US, under $400.

On Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:53:39 GMT, Ken Tough
wrote:

SNIP
True. Prices within the UK include the 17.5% Value Added Tax (VAT).
If you buy on the high street, you can actually claim that VAT back
after you leave the country. You just need a form from the retailer,
and get it stamped before you check in at the airport (carrying the
goods out of the country with you). They will mail you a cheque
for 17.5% of what you paid.

Hi

Sorry to be pedantic, but that is not strictly correct.

Let's assume you bought an item costing £100 which included 17.5% VAT;
what you would actually get refunded is £14.89, NOT £17.50.

This is because something costing £100 INCLUDING VAT, breaks down to a
VAT-free cost of £85.11 plus 17.5% of this sum (£14.89) adding up to
your £100.

In other words, you cannot work out the VAT-free cost of an item by
just deducting 17.5% of the purchase price; the way to do it is to
divide by 1.175.

Regards
KGB

KGB (KGB) wrote:


In other words, you cannot work out the VAT-free cost of an item by
just deducting 17.5% of the purchase price; the way to do it is to
divide by 1.175.

Or simply multiply by 1/1.175

You won't believe how many people believe that buying a stock at a 15
percent discount means you gain 15 percent if the price doesn't change.
(The gain is actually 15/85, not 15/100)

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:48:04 GMT, mrtravel
wrote:

KGB (KGB) wrote:


In other words, you cannot work out the VAT-free cost of an item by
just deducting 17.5% of the purchase price; the way to do it is to
divide by 1.175.

Or simply multiply by 1/1.175

You won't believe how many people believe that buying a stock at a 15
percent discount means you gain 15 percent if the price doesn't change.
(The gain is actually 15/85, not 15/100)

Which is even betterr.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:48:04 GMT, mrtravel
wrote:

KGB (KGB) wrote:


In other words, you cannot work out the VAT-free cost of an item by
just deducting 17.5% of the purchase price; the way to do it is to
divide by 1.175.

Or simply multiply by 1/1.175

You won't believe how many people believe that buying a stock at a 15
percent discount means you gain 15 percent if the price doesn't change.
(The gain is actually 15/85, not 15/100)


I used to own a shop many years ago. My usual markup was 50% - i.e.
my profit was 33.3%

Regards
KGB

KGB wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:53:39 GMT, Ken Tough
True. Prices within the UK include the 17.5% Value Added Tax (VAT).
If you buy on the high street, you can actually claim that VAT back
after you leave the country. You just need a form from the retailer,
and get it stamped before you check in at the airport (carrying the
goods out of the country with you). They will mail you a cheque
for 17.5% of what you paid.

Hi

Sorry to be pedantic, but that is not strictly correct.
....
In other words, you cannot work out the VAT-free cost of an item by
just deducting 17.5% of the purchase price; the way to do it is to
divide by 1.175.

Not pedantic at all, that's a very good point. I was very sloppy
there, and in fact
I remember scratching my head briefly when calculating what I was due
back
after buying my last camera in the UK.