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Jealous of American musicians

marcL

By marcL
in The Coffee House

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marcL

marcL

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I am jealous of American musicians. They have really good prices for hard- and software. E.g. the Ampeg RB-112 is $399 in many U.S. shops, here in Sweden prices are $535 (foreign shops active in Sweden) up to about $650 in "real" Swedish shops/sites. This is only an example, it's with almost everything like that. And since the EU defined that all products bought via internet are taxed in the country of the buyer and since our mail company (almost federal) has decided a very high fee on imports it got less interesting to order things from abroad, even in the EU! Terrible! It reminds me absolutely of the Soviet Union!

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Bapu

Bapu

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I just sold an item from the US to someone in France. After getting a good price from me he had to pay unexpected 'extra' import fees. Still a good price (way better than 50% of retail). I declared it as a gift but I did (mistakenly?) declare a value of the item on the customs report. I thought I needed to do that to declare insurance value to the carrier. Looks like I did not.

I'll probably not sell outside the US much anymore unless the buyer agrees to an any unexpected/unforeseen import fees.

 

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Jeremy Oakes

Jeremy Oakes

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Yes its a pain here in France. I’ve bought a few things from the US (X-Plane software, sheet music books, a coffee mug for the missus) and each time, if the shipping company was Fed-Ex a month or so after receiving the item a tax bill turns up for the TVA (value added tax). To the extent of being ridiculous on the coffee cup. 

Personally, I now limit my buying to items from a company in one of the European countries, you pay tax at point of purchase at the importing country’s rate. That is if i buy from Thomann (based in Germany) something for xyz Euros, then they’ll add on French TVA and invoice me. They then pass on the tax to France. I hope.......

But you still get better deals from the US of A. I’ve never tried e-Bay.

J

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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I sell software add-ons for Band-in-a-Box. In the 1990s I had to send physical floppy disks out of the US.

I would list the price of the floppy disk for customs and not the information on it to lower the price my customers had to pay.

My lawyer said that was legal.

Now it's all direct download, so there are no import duty fees to pay.

I bought an electronics device from India and had to pay import duty for that.

As they say, death and taxes.

Notes

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Jeremy Oakes

Jeremy Oakes

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22 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

Now it's all direct download, so there are no import duty fees to 

Hmm, no. I buy from a  US site they identify which country i live in from my IP address and lo and behold. VAT a la française.. 
I guess i could use a VPN ...........

J

Edited by Jeremy Oakes
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Wibbles

Wibbles

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3 hours ago, marled said:

It depends on the seller, some fulfill the EU tax demand, some do not!

I imagine those that don't might be in breach of the trade agreements between the US and the EU - unless there are certain exemptions.

How the UK fits in with this is anybody's guess. And then there's Northern Ireland ...

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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In the state of Florida, direct download software is not taxed. As long as nothing physical is purchased, it's considered a service.

I put 'tax free' in my shopping cart, so I doubt that anyone overseas would have to pay import duty. But I guess that's up to the shopping cart company, who is supposed to take care of things for me.

Notes

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Glenn Stanton

Glenn Stanton

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yeah, the value-added tax schemes are probably the most corrupt/evil by any measure. basically the government applies the VAT to every step, so it's often 35-40% by the time a consumer gets it - with most "built-in" by wholesalers and distributors. and because many of the VAT layers are not readily seen by the buying public, the governments adjust them all the time (you can guess which direction). this not only cause a competitive hit on the markets but effectively devalues the currencies involved. (as a disclaimer had the professional experience of building systems and as a result too much info on VAT schemes...)

so for anyone thinking in the US that VAT is the way to go to "simplify" taxes, just say NO.

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Brian Walton

Brian Walton

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On 4/6/2021 at 3:03 PM, marled said:

I am jealous of American musicians. They have really good prices for hard- and software. E.g. the Ampeg RB-112 is $399 in many U.S. shops, here in Sweden prices are $535 (foreign shops active in Sweden) up to about $650 in "real" Swedish shops/sites. This is only an example, it's with almost everything like that. And since the EU defined that all products bought via internet are taxed in the country of the buyer and since our mail company (almost federal) has decided a very high fee on imports it got less interesting to order things from abroad, even in the EU! Terrible! It reminds me absolutely of the Soviet Union!

 

If musical hardware/software is the biggest expense to be concerned about, Sweeden must be some kind of utopia.  ?

 

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marcL

marcL

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8 hours ago, Brian Walton said:

 

If musical hardware/software is the biggest expense to be concerned about, Sweeden must be some kind of utopia.  ?

 

No it's not the only concern at all! But musical hardware/software is music related, thus it is not banished on this forum. In contrast politics, taxes, safeness, law is actually not music related! ?

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Doc H

Doc H

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On 4/6/2021 at 2:03 PM, marled said:

I am jealous of American musicians. They have really good prices for hard- and software. E.g. the Ampeg RB-112 is $399 in many U.S. shops, here in Sweden prices are $535 (foreign shops active in Sweden) up to about $650 in "real" Swedish shops/sites. This is only an example, it's with almost everything like that. And since the EU defined that all products bought via internet are taxed in the country of the buyer and since our mail company (almost federal) has decided a very high fee on imports it got less interesting to order things from abroad, even in the EU! Terrible! It reminds me absolutely of the Soviet Union!

A friend of mine in Denmark wanted me to buy a Stratocaster for him in the States and then send it to him as individual parts over a few months to avoid the VAT. Then he figured out that he could get in trouble for that. What is with the reporting of shipments by the postal service in Scandinavian countries? It’s horrible! I did get a co-worker an iPhone in the States and brought it to her (Denmark). Customs at the Copenhagen airport is a bit lax with small stuff. I doubt they would have been as understanding of a Strat. 
 

But just how many € or Kro. does a government really need?

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Notes_Norton

Notes_Norton

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8 hours ago, Doc H said:

<...snip...>

But just how many € or Kro. does a government really need?

If you ask them, the answer is always "More."

When I worked on cruise ships, I was advised to keep a receipt copy for all my gear that was made outside the USA to avoid paying import duty taxes for it when we jumped ship.

They didn't question me, but I know others who had to pay because they didn't.

I was prepared though.

 

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