Pricing in Europe

[Bloody Matt]

I hope this question doesn't come off seeming like a complaint. I am genuinely curious about what determines the cost of skateboards in Europe (or maybe more specifically Germany) compared to what the same product would be sold for in the United States. What my inquiry is about involves my interest in purchasing a board by a new European company. I think I read on here that the boards are screened in Germany, even. At a local shop in Berlin this board is 55EUR (about $67.50 USD), but I've seen the same board for sale on an American shop's site for $55USD. Is the price merely adjusted to match whatever the going rate of boards are in each market, regardless of shipping costs and customs fees?

Yeah, thanks.

[pile]

you can't beat us prices on skate goods. that's it.

[sleepypancakes]

The us market is a lot bigger and typically the center of skateboarding "culture" if you will. So we get the cheaper goods, don't really know why other than a larger market.

[ivegotlevitation]

you can't beat us prices on skate goods. that's it.

[pica]

import taxes, added value tax, shipping/freight costs...

where i live a pro board costs 65 euros, shoes range from 60 to 80 euros. bones wheels cost 45 a paor of indys 70. the koston shoe is on top of the game and costs 95. wtf.

[Bloody Matt]

The us market is a lot bigger and typically the center of skateboarding "culture" if you will. So we get the cheaper goods, don't really know why other than a larger market.

So essentially this means that an American distributor would be purchasing a large enough quantity of product off of the Euro company and therefore could charge a competitive price comparable to that of an American company's?

And I mean, is the Euro company selling their product in Europe at a price which is as high as the imported US brand so that it seems on par quality-wise?

[Bloody Matt]

import taxes, added value tax, shipping/freight costs...

where i live a pro board costs 65 euros, shoes range from 60 to 80 euros. bones wheels cost 45 a paor of indys 70. the koston shoe is on top of the game and costs 95. wtf.

Yeah, it's pretty harsh. I planned on getting a pair of new Indy's but the cost of them here sort of blew me away. I have a sort of new set in storage back in Toronto so I guess I'll wait until the end of August when I visit family and ride these fucked up hand-me-down Gullwing's until then. Been lurking eBay for gear though I've always tried to buy locally.

[Mark Renton]

It sucks here in Europe, luckily one of my friends is going to NY for vacation so he can buy me eras and stuff

[Hercules Rockefeller]

thats just what we deserve for not carrying guns, reading faggy books about faggy poetry, not having proper wrestling and football teams and not having our wedding dinners at McDonalds.

also, france is in europe. we just cant win.

[sleepypancakes]

thats just what we deserve for not carrying guns, reading faggy books about faggy poetry, not having proper wrestling and football teams and not having our wedding dinners at McDonalds.

also, france is in europe. we just cant win.

Damned straight, America Fuck yeah!

The us market is a lot bigger and typically the center of skateboarding "culture" if you will. So we get the cheaper goods, don't really know why other than a larger market.

So essentially this means that an American distributor would be purchasing a large enough quantity of product off of the Euro company and therefore could charge a competitive price comparable to that of an American company's?

And I mean, is the Euro company selling their product in Europe at a price which is as high as the imported US brand so that it seems on par quality-wise?

Let me put it this way to you. I bought a Polar online in the US for $52.95, where you're saying you can buy a similar board in Germany for approx. $67.50 USD. That's nearly a $15 difference on a product that should, theoretically, cost more in the US. Some brands like Magenta though, press and screen in the US which makes them obviously cheaper here.

[bbk]

The price of a Polar, deck in sweden is in todays exchange rate $85,91.

cheaper skate shoes are about $100 and the more expensive ones $150, DC's used to have the worst prices, a webshop had nick dompierres shoe for about $240

a set of stf's are $79 and a set of indys are $86

[Bloody Matt]

Yeah, it is Polar I'm referring to. Buying a board here that is by DLX or NHS would only be about 5-10EUR more, which doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe this is an issue with what the shops where I am want to charge, but my feeling of curiosity lies in why a European company wouldn't want to keep their prices lower than imported American boards instead of pretty much matching the price point. Seems like that would only benefit everyone on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I shouldn't be making these assumptions publicly, as I obviously am pretty naive to the whole thing.

You said "Let me put it this way to you..." but I don't see what you're saying there.

[alcol]

I really can't believe how expensive things are here compared to the States, I live in France and it definitely sucks to pay 65 euros for a new deck....

[sleepypancakes]

Yeah, it is Polar I'm referring to. Buying a board here that is by DLX or NHS would only be about 5-10EUR more, which doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe this is an issue with what the shops where I am want to charge, but my feeling of curiosity lies in why a European company wouldn't want to keep their prices lower than imported American boards instead of pretty much matching the price point. Seems like that would only benefit everyone on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I shouldn't be making these assumptions publicly, as I obviously am pretty naive to the whole thing.

You said "Let me put it this way to you..." but I don't see what you're saying there.

I'm basically saying that I cannot find a simple answer to your question considering I bought a Polar for anywhere $15-nearly $30 less than it would cost in Europe. Which is odd because the board WAS so much cheaper in the US

[Bloody Matt]

The price of a Polar, deck in sweden is in todays exchange rate $85,91.

cheaper skate shoes are about $100 and the more expensive ones $150, DC's used to have the worst prices, a webshop had nick dompierres shoe for about $240

a set of stf's are $79 and a set of indys are $86

Wow. Do you mail order stuff into Sweden from other parts of Europe then or will it just get taxed when it enters the country anyway? I guess it's a tax issue?

Yeah, it is Polar I'm referring to. Buying a board here that is by DLX or NHS would only be about 5-10EUR more, which doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe this is an issue with what the shops where I am want to charge, but my feeling of curiosity lies in why a European company wouldn't want to keep their prices lower than imported American boards instead of pretty much matching the price point. Seems like that would only benefit everyone on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I shouldn't be making these assumptions publicly, as I obviously am pretty naive to the whole thing.

You said "Let me put it this way to you..." but I don't see what you're saying there.

I'm basically saying that I cannot find a simple answer to your question considering I bought a Polar for anywhere $15-nearly $30 less than it would cost in Europe. Which is odd because the board WAS so much cheaper in the US

Ahhhh. Yeah, sorry I see what you're saying. No way of knowing really (unless it's taxes).

Hopefully I can scrape together some spending money when I head back to North America next month so I can stock up on some things.

[oyolar]

The price of a Polar, deck in sweden is in todays exchange rate $85,91.

cheaper skate shoes are about $100 and the more expensive ones $150, DC's used to have the worst prices, a webshop had nick dompierres shoe for about $240

a set of stf's are $79 and a set of indys are $86

That is fucking absurd. It literally makes no sense.

[Frank]

there are a lot of other reasons involved in the pricing. for example, not every shop gets the same discount from the various distributions.  sometimes it's the distributor that tries to cash in and raises the prices, maybe tries to market a certain brand to other people than the initial core audience.

i heard the german distro for huf has really unreasonable prices, that would explain why literally no skateshop carries huf product in germany, only some douchey hipster stores sell them along with the latest car crash of a colorway-air max 1s. the dude who complained about it to me said he'd have to sell a cap for 70? to have the same margin on huf like on for example a branded new era cap which costs about 40-50? retail in germany.

if you live in europe and you're low on cash it's always helpful to lookup mailorders from neighbouring countries. i live in germany and
couldn't find a pair of hufs anywhere, but i found a nice pair of mortons on sale for 50? in an austrian webshop. i think there are some uk mailorders that ship internationally. i'm pretty sure there was talk about that in the sale gear thread.

if you are able to buy goods directly from the company/manufacturer that's also a good way to save money.

[Wh0l3]

Almost everything is more expensive in Europe. My pops tried to get a BMW in Germany recently and it was a good $10,000 more than it is in the states. I imagine it's high taxes and decent wages for workers that are at fault.

[RoedGroed]

Almost everything is more expensive in Europe. My pops tried to get a BMW in Germany recently and it was a good $10,000 more than it is in the states. I imagine it's high taxes and decent wages for workers that are at fault.

And in Denmark we try to buy our cars in Germany since its so unbelievable cheap compared to our prices. Taxes on cars are at least 200%. Its all working out all right though - the more poluting the car is, the more expensive it gets.

The gear here is pretty expensive as well. I remember the Osiris D3 being around 1299,- DKR, which is aproximatly 180 Euros.

[Deekay]

The price of a Polar, deck in sweden is in todays exchange rate $85,91.

cheaper skate shoes are about $100 and the more expensive ones $150, DC's used to have the worst prices, a webshop had nick dompierres shoe for about $240

a set of stf's are $79 and a set of indys are $86

Wow. Do you mail order stuff into Sweden from other parts of Europe then or will it just get taxed when it enters the country anyway? I guess it's a tax issue?

Yeah, it is Polar I'm referring to. Buying a board here that is by DLX or NHS would only be about 5-10EUR more, which doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe this is an issue with what the shops where I am want to charge, but my feeling of curiosity lies in why a European company wouldn't want to keep their prices lower than imported American boards instead of pretty much matching the price point. Seems like that would only benefit everyone on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I shouldn't be making these assumptions publicly, as I obviously am pretty naive to the whole thing.

You said "Let me put it this way to you..." but I don't see what you're saying there.

I'm basically saying that I cannot find a simple answer to your question considering I bought a Polar for anywhere $15-nearly $30 less than it would cost in Europe. Which is odd because the board WAS so much cheaper in the US

Ahhhh. Yeah, sorry I see what you're saying. No way of knowing really (unless it's taxes).

Hopefully I can scrape together some spending money when I head back to North America next month so I can stock up on some things.

It is mainly a tax issue, but there are other factors as well. Most countries in Europe (except for Norway for example) is a part of the european union. All countries involved has the same import tax and everything, so we can import from wherever inside Europe basically without getting any added taxes. If you order from the US though, you get 25% + 3-8% (I think the +3-8% or whatever varies from country to country) import tax added which fucks everything up for you unless you order alot so that the shipping cost makes you save a little money.

There are a few countries inside the European Union though that has decent prices and wont give you the added tax, for example Denmark and England. I guess that has something to do with the things someone wrote about before, they have a better economy and circulation on the market or something. The boards are like 20$ cheaper there though and the shipping isn't really higher, so that can benefit you if you feel like ordering from either of those countries, I buy shoes from England sometimes.

And as to why local brands don't sell their boards alot cheaper. They still have to pay the same tax, which is 25% here. They're ahead a little bit on shipping prices and everything, but they are usually a little cheaper as well. A local brand here is 15-20$ cheaper than an American brand board. As a company owner here, you get F U C K E D with taxes on your earnings as well. I have my own company and its just ridiculous.

They might still be able to have slightly lower prices anyway, but if they would make it lower, it would be too big of a difference against the other brands. First of all, that kind of makes your company look cheap, and secondly, shops and other suppliers aren't usually too stoked about it since the shops might loose other brands and they dont wanna depend on one...

[Bloody Matt]

The price of a Polar, deck in sweden is in todays exchange rate $85,91.

cheaper skate shoes are about $100 and the more expensive ones $150, DC's used to have the worst prices, a webshop had nick dompierres shoe for about $240

a set of stf's are $79 and a set of indys are $86

Wow. Do you mail order stuff into Sweden from other parts of Europe then or will it just get taxed when it enters the country anyway? I guess it's a tax issue?

Yeah, it is Polar I'm referring to. Buying a board here that is by DLX or NHS would only be about 5-10EUR more, which doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe this is an issue with what the shops where I am want to charge, but my feeling of curiosity lies in why a European company wouldn't want to keep their prices lower than imported American boards instead of pretty much matching the price point. Seems like that would only benefit everyone on this side of the Atlantic. Maybe I shouldn't be making these assumptions publicly, as I obviously am pretty naive to the whole thing.

You said "Let me put it this way to you..." but I don't see what you're saying there.

I'm basically saying that I cannot find a simple answer to your question considering I bought a Polar for anywhere $15-nearly $30 less than it would cost in Europe. Which is odd because the board WAS so much cheaper in the US

Ahhhh. Yeah, sorry I see what you're saying. No way of knowing really (unless it's taxes).

Hopefully I can scrape together some spending money when I head back to North America next month so I can stock up on some things.

It is mainly a tax issue, but there are other factors as well. Most countries in Europe (except for Norway for example) is a part of the european union. All countries involved has the same import tax and everything, so we can import from wherever inside Europe basically without getting any added taxes. If you order from the US though, you get 25% + 3-8% (I think the +3-8% or whatever varies from country to country) import tax added which fucks everything up for you unless you order alot so that the shipping cost makes you save a little money.

There are a few countries inside the European Union though that has decent prices and wont give you the added tax, for example Denmark and England. I guess that has something to do with the things someone wrote about before, they have a better economy and circulation on the market or something. The boards are like 20$ cheaper there though and the shipping isn't really higher, so that can benefit you if you feel like ordering from either of those countries, I buy shoes from England sometimes.

And as to why local brands don't sell their boards alot cheaper. They still have to pay the same tax, which is 25% here. They're ahead a little bit on shipping prices and everything, but they are usually a little cheaper as well. A local brand here is 15-20$ cheaper than an American brand board. As a company owner here, you get F U C K E D with taxes on your earnings as well. I have my own company and its just ridiculous.

They might still be able to have slightly lower prices anyway, but if they would make it lower, it would be too big of a difference against the other brands. First of all, that kind of makes your company look cheap, and secondly, shops and other suppliers aren't usually too stoked about it since the shops might loose other brands and they dont wanna depend on one...

I'm self-employed and just started working out of the black (uhh... what's up German government) and I'm somewhat concerned about what I'll have to save from my earnings for when tax time roles around. In regard to income tax and other taxes here everyone says things like "Ja, aber dis is why Germany is not like Greece" or Spain or whoever is having a hard time in Europe's economy right now. I understand that this is probably true, but at the same time some of the taxes over here are bizarre to me. I am now paying my "tv tax" for the radio I have in my apartment. I didn't even claim our two computers and smart phones which we would be paying a monthly tax on to subsidize public broadcasting in Germany.

I'm sort of over living here, to be honest.

[Dutch]

from the looks of it try to stay under a 150 euro's and there should be no tax at all if you import to germany, from 150euro up you pay 19%tax and a customs fee

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Germany/

[Deekay]

from the looks of it try to stay under a 150 euro's and there should be no tax at all if you import to germany, from 150euro up you pay 19%tax and a customs fee

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Germany/

150 euro? Thats really high.. We have the same rule in Sweden but its like 50 here

[Dutch]

from the looks of it try to stay under a 150 euro's and there should be no tax at all if you import to germany, from 150euro up you pay 19%tax and a customs fee

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Germany/

150 euro? Thats really high.. We have the same rule in Sweden but its like 50 here

its also 150 here in holland, just 50 in sweden.. damn

just checked that site again but for sweden... they say its also 150, maybe its the same all over europe now
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Sweden/

[Deekay]

from the looks of it try to stay under a 150 euro's and there should be no tax at all if you import to germany, from 150euro up you pay 19%tax and a customs fee

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Germany/

150 euro? Thats really high.. We have the same rule in Sweden but its like 50 here

its also 150 here in holland, just 50 in sweden.. damn

just checked that site again but for sweden... they say its also 150, maybe its the same all over europe now
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Sweden/

It should be the same everywhere inside the EU, yea.. Thats weird though, I get packages all the time and I pay taxes on them even if theyre 100 euro. Im getting fucking scammed

[TomTom]

A lot is as Pica said import Tax, freight and so on,..
if you're in germany stick with MOB, Radio, UBER, Trap and so on, those brands got great quality and decent prices.

[Bloody Matt]

Hey thanks for the tips, people.

[Spike Hawke]

UK pricing isn't nearly as high, thanks to the Pound. But getting boards direct from a little company in the US plus shipping works out cheaper for the shop I work in rather than useing a UK Dist company. It all probably has a lot to do with the exchange rate.

[oldeath]

from the looks of it try to stay under a 150 euro's and there should be no tax at all if you import to germany, from 150euro up you pay 19%tax and a customs fee

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Germany/

150 euro? Thats really high.. We have the same rule in Sweden but its like 50 here

its also 150 here in holland, just 50 in sweden.. damn

just checked that site again but for sweden... they say its also 150, maybe its the same all over europe now
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-Sweden/

It should be the same everywhere inside the EU, yea.. Thats weird though, I get packages all the time and I pay taxes on them even if theyre 100 euro. Im getting fucking scammed

House of Decay?

[pandarelated]

i just wrote this hugh thing.. explaining what i know about pricing. i live in nyc. and its really freaking hot out. and the power just popped off in my place for a sec. and i lost the whole thing.
basically it was this. 1 board = 17$ (usd).. misc (time packaging storage) 2$, shipping.. 17$ per board. (if 5 or more are ordered at once). some cash over cost for me. some cash over me for the shop = what you pay.
sooo

for me to make 4$ a board. for the shop to make 10$ (usd) a board. between manufacturing, shipping, importing / exporting.
shelf price would be about 60 euro. on the cheapest end!!!. thats ME making 4$ (about 2 euro.) and the shop 10$. both #s are really barely worth doing it for. if you seriously need the full break down. ask and ill try to write that fucking thing again.

bigger companies costs are much lower. but cause they are big names, they can charge your shop more, and/or make them buy more just cause of the name.