On 20 Mar 2008, at 13:24, Flemming Richter Mikkelsen wrote:

On 3/19/08, thomasg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
...
you have to pay the 19% even if you import by yourself (the 19% are also on
the shipping fees).

That is not correct (at least here in Norway we do NOT pay VAT for the
shipping fees)

Conversely, in the UK we do. I guess it depends where the importer is based.

To add my two pennies to this conversation, I don't like getting the shaft any more than anyone else does - here in "Rip Off Britain" we seem to get it worse than most Europeans (for instance I may consider buying an ATX server case from Germany, as it may well be cheaper, even with the currency exchange & shipping, than buying locally).

But we must remember that an importer has to tie his own money up in stock (money that could otherwise be earning interest for him) and gamble with the currency exchange rates. If he buys when the dollar is at 1:X and the exchange rate changes disfavourably to 1:Y, then he has to swallow the difference on all his existing stock. A reseller generally provides customer convenience - it's easy to order online from someone local - support and so on, and has to make a profit (otherwise he might as well go close his business and go work for someone else).

I can't believe that ZZZZ Phones will be the only place to buy a Moko, so if you don't like it, go shop somewhere else. Maybe if we find in 6 months time that there's no way to buy in Europe without paying 50% more than the dollar price, that's a time to complain, but IMO it's a bit early for whinging.

Stroller.

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