"Americans not getting bang for buck in Europe"

In message k.net,
Gregory Morrow writes

nightjar .uk.com wrote:

Up to a value of £145, that is true. Over that, you are liable to pay UK
import duty and VAT, but you should also be able to claim back any taxes
you
paid in the USA when you export the goods.


No. The US does not have VAT.

So? When you import something into the UK over the limit, you pay _UK_
VAT on the purchase price.

--
Arwel Parry
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/

total and utter bull****.
clothes are much cheaper in US than UK, levi jeans are $26-30, uk they are $45-70,
shirts are $10-15, uk they are $20-30, etc etc.
electronic items are all cheaper, sales tax is only 8%, UK's is 17.5%.
50" HDTV for $900! in UK would be $3000.
I bought a watch for $40, reduced from $65. saw it in a uk shop, for £65. that's over $100!
I see this a lot, importers just switch $ for £ and charge us that. And people pay it.


"milesh" wrote in message ...


nightjar
Not so long ago, it was reported in the English newspapers that many Britons
are now going on shopping trips to the USA, because the exchange rate is so
favourable.

Some items are cheaper in the USA but not all. Electronic items such as
cameras, computers etc. are much cheaper in the USA than in England.
Clothes are about the same price when the exchange rate is taken into
account, except for USA brand items such as Levi's (which closed it's
last USA factory recently so the savings my disappear).

On a recent trip to London from the USA, I found that after figuring in
the exchange rate the prices on most goods were comparable to that in
the USA in USD prices. Example, we purchased some inexpensive shirts
with "London" embroidered on them for 10 pounds each. With the exchange
rate that would be about $18USD which is actually a decent price.

Electronic goods look like they would be much cheaper in the USA. I
wandered into a few camera stores in London and found a digital camera
for 300 pounds. That same camera in the USA sells for $300USD.

Carrying these items you not going to be noticed, after all you took
them to the US right?


"Sjoerd" wrote in message ...

"freeda" schreef in bericht
...

I read an article on this in a UK broadsheet. Apperently, if you want a
Digital Camera, an iPod, and a laptop computer, you can save about 500-700
GBP, more than worth it since a return from London to NYC is under 200 GBP
and it is only a 7 hour flight.


And you have to be lucky at UK customs, too.

Sjoerd

"nightjar .uk.com" nightjar@insert_my_surname_here wrote in message
. ..

"freeda" wrote in message
...
I read an article on this in a UK broadsheet. Apperently, if you want
a
Digital Camera, an iPod, and a laptop computer, you can save about
500-700
GBP, more than worth it since a return from London to NYC is under 200
GBP
and it is only a 7 hour flight.

And you have to be lucky at UK customs, too.

I didn't think luck came into it. If you only have a few items for
personal
use, I was always under the impression the no import duty/VAT was payable.

Up to a value of £145, that is true. Over that, you are liable to pay UK
import duty and VAT, but you should also be able to claim back any taxes you
paid in the USA when you export the goods.

Well personally I have never decared anything and I have never been
searched/questioned when returning to the UK.

You probably weren't giving off any of the signals that people do when they
know they shouldn't be smuggling stuff :-)

Colin Bignell



You've obviously never returned to LHR then. They never stop anyone, just stand there chatting.
I was off the plane and into London in 10 mins.

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 10:13:50 -0600, Olivers wrote:

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) muttered....



Well, we enjoyed favorable exchange rates for a long, long time - when
the dollar keeps dropping in value, perhaps we should do something about
our trade deficits? (I admit my recent trip to Vienna cost me
considerably more - in US currency - than the one in 2000, but what can
you expect, with our current administration?)


Quick course in Economics, Ev, the part you must have missed during your
last and lamented miseducation.....

For trade deficits, a dropping dollar makes US goods cheaper and cheaper
abroad, quickly increasing US exports (although we now produce less
exportable goods, and have not been able to produce cars attractive to
foreign purchasers).

Meanwhile, the dropping dollar causes folks to quit buying foreign goods
which begin to cost more and more (works for everything but oil). Imports
drop, the trade deficit decreases, and the dollar strengthens.

That's the theory.

Sounds nice. However, besides the issues that were already raised, there
are major reasons that lead things not to work quite that way in many
instances.

Starting with large corporations and how they price their stuff inside the
company. Or event with importers exporters who feel they can grab a good
deal of the difference, or they have to swallow a good deal of the
difference in order to maintain market share.

Looking at the recent drop of the USD in relation to the Canadian dollar,
I do see vegetables etc. which indeed dropped in price. Cars did not.
Many induatrial products did not.

Ethan Allen surprised me: they have lowered their price in Canada.
Probably because they had a hard time competing before. In contrast,
Canadian furniture makers, who export a significant fraction of their
stuff to the US, had to bite the bullet. Shermag recently issued a profit
warning.


Actually, the US dollar had become far over-valued as a number of
foreign economies had slowed/declined, and the current "adjustment" down
represents a reality bite for US travelers abraod, the dollar being
worth closer to what it ought to be.

I would say that a Euro/USD at par would be roughly the equilibrium rate.
At 0.80 Euro/USD the dollar was overvalued. That did not go on for an
extremely long time though. Now it's arguably undervalued.

I am not convinced that particular rate would be a big deal if most of
Asia were not tied to the USD though.

Sadly, for US consumers, one thing
which would cause the dollar to jump in value would be a quick increase
in US interest rates causing a flood of foreign investors to invest in
US governmental and commercial debt instruments. Immediately, US
consumers would be paying more for personal debt service and the
interest-increase would shoe up in price increases.

Not so quick. An increase in interest rates would have some effect.
Probably mostly on large corporations who would hetch in a dfferent way,
shifting more of their cash at hand in USD to protect themselves. But I
suspect it would take a while for investors to massively come back.
Rather, I would expect the first thing would be that the stock market
would drop. Balancing the poor corporate returns to the new rates.

Agree about London. but add New York to that list.
esp. JFK airport.


"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message om...
Earl Evleth wrote in message ...
On 7/02/04 17:42, in article ,
"Sjoerd" wrote:

The day AA flight from Boston to London was only about a quarter filled.
This is a great flight, less than 6 hours and one does not lose a night`s
sleep.
Earl

Best way to get to Europe from the states. We usually layover at
London airport hotel, then fly to continent next morning. No reason to
spend any time in London IMO, Lousy weather, lousy food, lousy
overpriced accommodations with a
high incidence of surly unhappy people. I avoid it as I try to avoid
Newark NJ here for the same reasons. Also try to avoid anywhere in CA
where the weather can be OK but the hi incidence of surly or crazy
people in this land of fruits and nuts coupled with exhorbitant prices
for the discomfort of being there dictates avoidance for this world
traveller.

For what it is worth after 30+ years world travel, at least every six
months per
year on both business and pleasure, I find Australia and Australians
magnificent. Austria with the Austrians more laid back and less
impressed with themselves than the Germans brings Austria to the top
of my list and not to forget Bella Italia with their superb food,
beautiful people, a language that is musical to my ear coupled with
the history and usually good, sunny weather. Of course I love the
rolling green hills and the people and food of Mother Ireland but my
ancestry probably has something to do with my love of it.

Those that disagree can feel free to flame away.

"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers
wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of communism, the final
stage being dictatorship.

On 8/2/04 19:10, in article ,
"nick" wrote:


"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers
wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of communism,
the final
stage being dictatorship.

You mean like in Chile, where the final stage was a dictator called
Pinochet?

J;

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 18:10:55 -0000, "nick" wrote:


"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers
wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of communism, the final
stage being dictatorship.

OK, change the words to Social Democracy - I'll settle for that.
Served the UK pretty well from 1945 to the time Thatcher was elected.
Served other countries in Europe pretty well too.

There was a version of it under Franklin D Roosevelt as well.

Much prefer it to global corporatism which is Robin Hood in reverse -
rob the poor to feed the rich.

In article , Keith Anderson
wrote:

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 18:10:55 -0000, "nick" wrote:


"Keith Anderson" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 09:29:59 -0600, Olivers
wrote:

Keith Anderson muttered....



Surprised you don't like the UK. It has a Prime Minister with his head
right up a right-wing president's arse, who's a champion of global
corporatism, who's dismantling the welfare state and privatising
everything............no wonder there are a load of surly people
around.


....and you want to replace him with a Tory?

No

(or from the sentiments which flow from your keyboard, some
disenfranchised
former Eastern European bureaucrat with genuinely authoritarian socialist
perspective)

I'd actually settle for a democratic socialist. I'm a big fan of Tony
Benn.

Socialism aint very democratic After all its the first stage of
communism, the final
stage being dictatorship.

OK, change the words to Social Democracy - I'll settle for that.
Served the UK pretty well from 1945 to the time Thatcher was elected.
Served other countries in Europe pretty well too.

Till the bill for years and years of foregone infrastructure investment
came due....

jay
Sun Feb 08, 2004




There was a version of it under Franklin D Roosevelt as well.

Much prefer it to global corporatism which is Robin Hood in reverse -
rob the poor to feed the rich.