Prices.... are most annoying...

On Oct 12, 7:53 pm, "Dave Joll" <d....RemoveThis@bother.trying> wrote:

> There's the same problem in New Zealand with books. A new mass
> market paperback generally costs between NZ$20 and NZ$25. That's
> somewhere in the vicinity of US$15 - US$19.

Versus $16 - $20 NZ for buying a book from Amazon
(depending on now many items there are in the order
to spread the shipment cost over)

I like my smiley parcels


Deidre
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"

> treyvin RemoveThis @idirect.ca wrote:

>> Price is $7.99US or $10.99 Canadian... but the Canadian dollar is now
>> worth $1.024+ US so the price for the book should be LESS than $7.99
>> if the prices were to be equal.

> Dang. I've heard of gouging "rich USAans", but this is the first case
> I've heard of companies trying to gouge the non-USAans and let the USAans
> off cheap!

There's the same problem in New Zealand with books. A new mass
market paperback generally costs between NZ$20 and NZ$25. That's
somewhere in the vicinity of US$15 - US$19.
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:33:04 -0700, "m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"
<"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"@earthlink.net> wrote:

>
>That's just... weird. Shipping costs can't be *that* much
>higher, can they? Pay the truck driver a little more to sit at a
>border for a while... nope, not that much difference.
>
>Dang. I've heard of gouging "rich USAans", but this is the first
>case I've heard of companies trying to gouge the non-USAans and
>let the USAans off cheap!
>
>Buy on-line, from a US supplier?

Shipping costs when buying from Amazon are often close to the cost of
the book - shipping to Australia or NZ.
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

"John Oliver" wrote...
>
> Shipping costs when buying from Amazon are often close to the cost of
> the book - shipping to Australia or NZ.

and Israel. In my recent order from amazon (which should arrive any day now),
2 Trilogies & 1 graphic novel cost about $43 and the shipping cost about $20

To add insult to injury, the customs authority here calculates the order total, not just
the cost of the books, when determining the import tax one has to pay.
One cal apeal, but the apeal process automatically adds 2 months to how long
you wait for the books.
--
Ron

(who wonders if there's an alt.books.amazon.s*cks out there)
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

The taxes where I do business changed a while back, so I have to
charge/pay sales tax on shipping as well as item cost. They're getting
a nice, big, extra hunk of cash out of it.

Healer Althaia

On Oct 12, 4:41 am, "Talashar" <Talas....RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:

> To add insult to injury, the customs authority here calculates the order total, not just
> the cost of the books, when determining the import tax one has to pay.
> One cal apeal, but the apeal process automatically adds 2 months to how long
> you wait for the books.
> --
> Ron
>
> (who wonders if there's an alt.books.amazon.s*cks out there)
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

On 10/12/2007 2:33 AM, Healer Althaia wrote:
> The taxes where I do business changed a while back, so I have to
> charge/pay sales tax on shipping as well as item cost. They're getting
> a nice, big, extra hunk of cash out of it.
>
> Healer Althaia
>
> On Oct 12, 4:41 am, "Talashar" <Talas....DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> To add insult to injury, the customs authority here calculates the order total, not just
>> the cost of the books, when determining the import tax one has to pay.
>> One cal apeal, but the apeal process automatically adds 2 months to how long
>> you wait for the books.
>> --
>> Ron
>>
>> (who wonders if there's an alt.books.amazon.s*cks out there)
>
>
All this reminds me of a chapter in _The Lark and the Wren_, where Rune
and her mentor discuss the whys, wherefores, and abuses of government
and taxation.

Pity none of the PTB read that chapter.

--
victoreia
Goddess of Dark Chocolate
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

victoreia wrote:
> On 10/12/2007 2:33 AM, Healer Althaia wrote:
>> The taxes where I do business changed a while back, so I have to
>> charge/pay sales tax on shipping as well as item cost. They're getting
>> a nice, big, extra hunk of cash out of it.
>>
>> Healer Althaia
>>
>> On Oct 12, 4:41 am, "Talashar" <Talas....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> To add insult to injury, the customs authority here calculates the
>>> order total, not just
>>> the cost of the books, when determining the import tax one has to pay.
>>> One cal apeal, but the apeal process automatically adds 2 months to
>>> how long
>>> you wait for the books.
>>> --
>>> Ron
>>>
>>> (who wonders if there's an alt.books.amazon.s*cks out there)
>>
>>
> All this reminds me of a chapter in _The Lark and the Wren_, where Rune
> and her mentor discuss the whys, wherefores, and abuses of government
> and taxation.
>
> Pity none of the PTB read that chapter.
>


Oh, they'd just get more Ideas from it, if they had.

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

On Oct 12, 10:41 pm, "Talashar" <Talas....DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:

> To add insult to injury, the customs authority here calculates the order total, not just
> the cost of the books, when determining the import tax one has to pay.
> One cal apeal, but the apeal process automatically adds 2 months to how long
> you wait for the books.
> --
> Ron
>
> (who wonders if there's an alt.books.amazon.s*cks out there)

We're luckier in New Zealand. While shipment costs are included
in the taxable total, they don't charge tax unless that total
translates to over $400 NZ.

Reduces paperwork for everyone.

Deidre
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

> Today I was across the street at the local bookstore and found that
> Aerie is finally on the shelves...
>
> Price is $7.99US or $10.99 Canadian... but the Canadian dollar is now
> worth $1.024+ US so the price for the book should be LESS than $7.99
> if the prices were to be equal.
>
> The bookstore has a sign up by the cash register explaining that the
> prices are set by the book publishers weeks in advance of the book
> actually arriving on the shelves so there will be some disparity, but
> the difference in value of the currencies was only about 6% 4 months
> ago, or a third of a year ago, and how much lead time do they really
> need? The percentage difference in price is 37.55% if the currencies
> are at par, and is NOW 40.85% since the Canadian dollar is worth more.
> Any wonder why Canadians are refusing to buy in Canada?
>
> Incidentally, someone tried to pay the U.S. price that is marked on
> the book using U.S. dollars and a store here in Ontario refused to
> take the U.S. currency... since they have to pay the distributor in
> Canadian dollars.
>
> We are tired of companies with hands in our pockets trying to extract
> more from us than they can get from purchasers in the U.S. so we
> simply are NOT buying here in Canada... I need to buy a new camera and
> the price differences range from 22-49% on every camera I have looked
> at, between the best price from a reputable U.S. store and the best
> price from a reputable Canadian store. So where do you think I am
> going to go to buy the camera?
>
> FWIW, I am ANGRY...
>
> Treyvin.... Hick...

I figure one or the other countries (or both) taxes the items to protect
local book growers. Similar to USA taxing foreign sugar so Murakin sugar
farmers don't face as much competition.

Either that or They must be trying (very trying?) to offset the cost of
prescription meds!

--
I'm glad my Mom named me Aaron,
That's what everybody calls me.

Hemidemisemideity of Anonymous Eponymity
Patron Saint of Hair Color Changing
Currently: Light Reddish Brown (Hydrience #41),
with various colored highlights & lowlights.
Holder of a provisional pedant licens/ce
(limited to the area of physical sciens/ce)
Member of ABMLNCSC - Base singer, very base
"Mommy, make daddy stop singing".

I dye my hair so much my driver's license
has a color wheel. Nancy Mura
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:58:04 GMT, Aaron <kemtek.1 RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote:

>I figure one or the other countries (or both) taxes the items to protect
>local book growers. Similar to USA taxing foreign sugar so Murakin sugar
>farmers don't face as much competition.
>
>Either that or They must be trying (very trying?) to offset the cost of
>prescription meds!

One of my very favoritest things about the UK ... no duty on books
coming home to the US.

The Bookwurm
--
Goddess of Libraries ™,
Pedant in Chief
Keeper of the BotRoM
Sister Hand Grenade of Sweet Reason
Believer, Church of the Cosmic Muffin
<spam trapped - remove the fish from address>
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying... 

On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:58:04 GMT, Aaron <kemtek.1.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote:

>I figure one or the other countries (or both) taxes the items to protect
>local book growers. Similar to USA taxing foreign sugar so Murakin sugar
>farmers don't face as much competition.

Cute, but no... since the same thing occurs on all books by Harlequin,
which is owned by Torstar, the Toronto corporation that owns ALL of
the various brands they produce world-wide. They print the Harlequins
and Silouette books in both the U.S. and Canada and all of them have
this sort of price discrepancy.

Switching to cameras, which come out of Asia, the same applies. My son
just purchased a FujiFilm S8000fd camera for me from Beach Camera in
New Jersey on Monday. It's already on its way via FedEx to Utah. Cost
was US$329.00 all in. The lowest price I could find in Canada was
$437.75 plus 14% GST and PST plus $15 shipping plus 6% GST and that is
well over $500 for the same camera. I just purchased a U.S. money
order and paid $.9985 for the U.S. dollar, so the actual Canadian
dollar cost was UNDER that US$329 [by 49 cents] and the effective
price difference is over 50%... FujiFilm Canada will recognise the
FujiFilm U.S. warranty as long as the invoice and card are produced,
which will not be a problem. When I get the camera in November, and
return to Canada in December, I will have been out of Canada for more
than 7 days, so will have a $400 exemption from taxes...

Anyway, clearly here is another example where the prices are not quite
equal. The press release for this camera was issued in late July on
both sides of the border, when the U.S. dollar was about 6% higher
than the Canadian dollar, and even then the price was set at U.S.
$399.99 and Canadian $469.99 or a 17.5% difference.

BTW, I'll buy the book in the U.S. in late Novemeber, when I am down
there anyway

Treyvin... Have a drink on me... Hick!
=======================================================
Treyvin chirps -|- Be happy and let ME read your mind.

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Opinions expressed are my own. Copyright retained, for
what that is worth
If the material is considered illegal where you are, do
not read or retain it.
 >> Stay informed about: Prices.... are most annoying...