Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
b_s-wilk wrote: Go to amazon.fr and search on plume waterman. Let me know if it works. In France you're likely to get more returns at Kelkoo, same search terms, http://tinyurl.com/ylyt7qr. Many of the items are in Amazon marketplace, but many are elsewhere too. Try http://www.touslesprix.com/papeterie/cherche-stylo-plume-waterman.html What's the difference between the 800€ pen and the 10€ pen besides price? Thanks for help. To answer your question in the last sentence, a $10 fountain pen probably is ugly and may not write well. The nib is made of base metal, usually is offered in one width, and probably uses pre-filled ink cartridges (that I don't like, since I write so much). Ink flow is problematical. An expensive pen is made for a presentation gift or for a jewelry collection. One example (not the most expensive) is the Caran d'Anche Harmony pen priced at $6800 http://www.joonpens.com/Caran%20d%27Ache_Harmony%20Limited%20Edition_pens I do not buy such expensive pens since I can't afford them, so I can't say how they might feel in the hand or how they might write. Other expensive pens might have a gold body, a jeweled body, or simply a famous designer name attached to it. One intermediate-priced pen that I have is the Montblanc model 149, once called the Diplomat but now called the Meisterstuck pen. The current cost is just under $800. http://www.joonpens.com/Montblanc_Meisterstuck%20Collection_pens It is fat like a cigar, has a gold nib with platinum overlay, and does not use ink cartridges. I own the earlier Diplomat, which has a higher content gold nib than the Meisterstuck -- meaning my nib is more flexible. It does not write so well -- the nib is a bit scratchy altho the ink flow is good if the right brand of ink is selected. I carried the Montblanc in my shirt pocket for 10 years but I began to worry that I would loose it so now it stays at home, used infrequently. Plus, Montblanc has one of the worst repair policies among all pens. Since I want a good writing pen at a modest price, I settled on the Waterman Phileas pen with a medium nib. Selling for about $35 overseas with shipping, or about $69 domestically with shipping, it is reasonably attractive, uses either a pre-filled ink cartridge or is refillable, comes in several colors of plastic, has a gold-plated nib, and most samples write well with Waterman ink. A few do not measure up to my standards but the price is such that I can throw that few away. I have other brands of pens as well, and I like the older ones. I have have several Shaeffer snorkel pens with life-time warranties that I like very much but these are subject today of being subject to failure, and there are no repair parts available except for cannibalizing other snorkel pens for parts. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 22:27:51 -0400, betty wrote: car made elsewhere. [I've gone totally foreign and drive a still new MINI Cooper, and I want one of those. I was going to trade in my Pinto as a Clunker, but it turns out that it's too old and too fuel efficient to qualify. Maybe after the Archer is paid for. . . -- R:\katan - SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Eric S. Sande wrote: Toyota is a publicly held company with profits that go to its shareholders who may be anywhere in the world. Yeah, I own some of that stock. But last time I checked Japan was a free democracy. What's their Ticker Symbol? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Toyota is a publicly held company with profits that go to its shareholders who may be anywhere in the world. Yeah, I own some of that stock. But last time I checked Japan was a free democracy. What's their Ticker Symbol? Find it on most financial sites: TM http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=tm http://www.google.com/finance?q=tm * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Sorry, but that's just wrong. Wild caught Alaska salmon isn't sent to China for processing. It's processed in Alaska or onboard a processor ship. And if the companies are mostly Chinese, they still have to be 51% American owned. I used to work up there in the industry and still have a few friends who own small fleets of fishing boats and do the yearly salmon catch. I will concede that once certain fish are caught and processed to a point, they are then sent back to either China or Japan and further processed into other fake fish. This is called surimi which is basically jellofied (for lack of a better word) pollock. They make fake crab and shrimp out of this stuff. And like fish sticks and hot dogs, you don't want to know what goes in it. Jeff Miles jmile...@charter.net Join my Mafia http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/status_invite.php?from=550968726 On Oct 8, 2009, at 2:07 AM, Roger D. Parish wrote: At 9:54 PM -0500 10/7/09, Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote: [snip] The only thing that is domestically produced in large quantities is food stuffs. But most of that has foreign nationals working in large quantities at the plants. Or, in the case of wild-caught Alaskan salmon, it is sent to China for processing! You have to read the labels verry carefully. -- Roger Lovettsville, VA * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http:// www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
I started this thread by asking how to find fountain pen stores in France. For many products made overseas, an importer will make an agreement with the manufacturer to be the sole importer of that product. This means that a contract is struck: the manufacturer agrees not to sell its product to any person or group within the importer's region, and the importer agrees to take on some part of the cost of importation (such as, warranting the product within the region, or assembling parts, or quality-control inspection and correction at no cost to the manufacturer). As a result of the contract, the importer has a monopoly on sales of that product and can charge a price that is unrelated to the cost of manufacture, up to the maximum price that the market will bear. In some cases (such as the Waterman fountain pen made in France that I sought), it is cheaper to buy the product in another country and ship it to the US than it is to buy the product at either a local or a web store that must abide by the importer's restriction: no discount from list price is permitted upon penalty of being denied supply of the product. In effect, the old fair trade price fixing scheme has been revived by contract. Finding stores in other countries via the web that are outside the monopoly contract is a way that consumers can bypass unnatural elevation of prices. This is why I asked for a way to find overseas fountain pen web stores. Thank you for suggesting that there are regional Googles to search. ( To be fair, there are some products for which the maximum price that the market will bear is a narrow range of prices and for other products there is a much wider range. In the case of a fountain pen, these are sold for as little as $10 and as much as $20,000 each, with a surprising lot being in the $2000 to $5000 range. This creates confusion in consumers as to a reasonable price of a fountain pen. If one wants a good serviceable pen but not a presentation item or a jewelry item, how much should it cost? Unknown except for those, like me, who use a fountain pen exclusively and has tried many makes and brands and learned from experience.) * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Go to amazon.fr and search on plume waterman. Let me know if it works. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Go to amazon.fr and search on plume waterman. Let me know if it works. In France you're likely to get more returns at Kelkoo, same search terms, http://tinyurl.com/ylyt7qr. Many of the items are in Amazon marketplace, but many are elsewhere too. Try http://www.touslesprix.com/papeterie/cherche-stylo-plume-waterman.html What's the difference between the 800€ pen and the 10€ pen besides price? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
A Toyota manufactured in Kentucky is an American product. But where do Vincent's and Toyota's profits go? That's right, not to China or the US. I'm not saying that what you mention doesn't happen, although I'd be interested to hear a quick list of the companies you describe. If you had a choice, and in the categories I've mentioned you do, would you not rather spend your money with an American company that had all domestic manufacturing, assuming that it was a world class product? If I have any alternative, I'll not buy a Chinese product. In case you haven't noticed they are practicing economic warfare against most of the world. And they are winning. You're walking a find line here. I don't know about Vincent's but Toyota is a publicly held company with profits that go to its shareholders who may be anywhere in the world. This summer my dad wanted to buy a quality new American compact car made in America. He bought a Ford Focus. It turned out to be a very nice car, but it has less US content than a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, also made in the US of US and foreign parts. My husband chose to buy a Honda and have our money go to US workers instead of some American badged car made elsewhere. [I've gone totally foreign and drive a still new MINI Cooper, and don't regret all the smiles at all.] I really try hard to find products made in the US of US parts when I can find and afford them. Gets harder all the time. Maybe when the gummint stops borrowing so much money to pay for unnecessary wars--some $2 trillion or more so far for Iraq [twice] and Afghanistan, in addition to Grenada, Nicaragua, Panama, etc in the '80s--we can repay our debt and not have to depend on the Chinese to hold our bonds and notes. Meanwhile, change the corporate tax loopholes to that companies aren't rewarded for off-shoring our manufacturing jobs, and are rewarded for keeping them here. Do you have an all US made computer? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Do you have an all US made computer? No, because that's not possible right now. My point is that there are still areas where it is possible, at least mostly. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Toyota is a publicly held company with profits that go to its shareholders who may be anywhere in the world. Yeah, I own some of that stock. But last time I checked Japan was a free democracy. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
The only thing that is domestically produced in large quantities is food stuffs. And historically the best wages come from manufacturing jobs, not agricultural or service sectors. Unless you have outsourced the manufacturing: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118677584137994489.html * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Historically but times change. Manufacturing will not stay where it becomes expensive. It is labor intense. If you can marry the labor force with the resources you will have manufacturing. As times change and manufacturing changes you will see shifts in where manufacturing is located. My wife is from Northern Ontario and it is a mining area, underground. That is labor intense, but you cannot move it as that is where the minerals are located. Any town, state or country that becomes captivated by any type of income producing work, will one day find themselves abandoned when someone finds they can do it cheaper, better, or different somewhere else. When America realizes that it lives in an international economy and needs to find new areas to generate income it will be able to survive. By thew way money laundering is not one of those income producing areas. Stewart At 10:18 PM 10/7/2009, you wrote: And historically the best wages come from manufacturing jobs, not agricultural or service sectors. Unless you have outsourced the manufacturing: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118677584137994489.html * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Any town, state or country that becomes captivated by any type of income producing work, will one day find themselves abandoned when someone finds they can do it cheaper, better, or different somewhere else. I agree generally but if it can be done better and differently, cheaper doesn't matter. That's why companies that are world class can survive. Even with higher labor costs. I'll be honest, most high end audio companies don't even try to compete with mass production. Most of them are small, private operations anyway. People are willing to pay more for the handcrafting, quality and support. If some of these folks sell 1000 units a year they can be successful. Sort of like buying a Randall knife, it only costs $350 but you have to wait five years to get it. If you want it now you'll pay $800. An example of economics in action: scarcity drives demand. But only if the product is noticeably superior. America CAN'T compete in the just acceptable category. Not and pay good wages. We CAN compete in the best in class category. In my opinion that is where we need to be in manufacturing. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
What you are describing is becoming a niche manufacturer, and that is fine, but understand it will also have to be supported by other industries. It reminds me of the merchants in town here. They rail against Walmart all the time. Meanwhile one of them sells high end men's clothes (pants start at $70) and complain about no customers or their clients being stolen by Walmart. Get real Forget about competing toe to toe with any big box store. Find out what they do not do well, and do it better. (Computers shops that actually fix computers and keep a person data etc. instead of replace components and do not know who you are.) We have two small grocery stores in town here. (population 13K) They both make money and stay open. They compete against Walmart in a few areas, brands that the local store does not carry, and custom meats. They also tend to have more local produce. It is close so we do a lot of in between shopping there. If we need a lot of groceries we travel 20+ miles to a large grocery store in the next town. (Or we bug our kids to pick stuff up for us at the commissary - two of my children are commissary eligible.) But the whole idea is, find niche areas and do it. Your saturation level is going to be much smaller but it is doable. Look at Ferrari's, Masserati's, these are specialty cars manufactured in low numbers and hand made. (Of course we have Salon) Stewart At 11:18 PM 10/7/2009, you wrote: I agree generally but if it can be done better and differently, cheaper doesn't matter. That's why companies that are world class can survive. Even with higher labor costs. I'll be honest, most high end audio companies don't even try to compete with mass production. Most of them are small, private operations anyway. People are willing to pay more for the handcrafting, quality and support. If some of these folks sell 1000 units a year they can be successful. Sort of like buying a Randall knife, it only costs $350 but you have to wait five years to get it. If you want it now you'll pay $800. An example of economics in action: scarcity drives demand. But only if the product is noticeably superior. America CAN'T compete in the just acceptable category. Not and pay good wages. We CAN compete in the best in class category. In my opinion that is where we need to be in manufacturing. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
But that's not going to happen. Not as long as we have Wall Marts out there. What is the one complaint most have against Macs? I even go to Wall Mart 4-5 times/year because certain name brand items and the only canned cat food my cat will eat is cheap there. However, I do believe some products can survive if they can keep the image of being the best. Examples would be SubZero refrigerators, Wolf stoves, Nikon cameras, and of course Macs. Jeff Miles jmile...@charter.net Join my Mafia http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/status_invite.php?from=550968726 On Oct 7, 2009, at 9:18 PM, Eric S. Sande wrote: Any town, state or country that becomes captivated by any type of income producing work, will one day find themselves abandoned when someone finds they can do it cheaper, better, or different somewhere else. I agree generally but if it can be done better and differently, cheaper doesn't matter. That's why companies that are world class can survive. Even with higher labor costs. I'll be honest, most high end audio companies don't even try to compete with mass production. Most of them are small, private operations anyway. People are willing to pay more for the handcrafting, quality and support. If some of these folks sell 1000 units a year they can be successful. Sort of like buying a Randall knife, it only costs $350 but you have to wait five years to get it. If you want it now you'll pay $800. An example of economics in action: scarcity drives demand. But only if the product is noticeably superior. America CAN'T compete in the just acceptable category. Not and pay good wages. We CAN compete in the best in class category. In my opinion that is where we need to be in manufacturing. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http:// www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
I believe this is a pretty biased statement. I've bought some really great looking American junk. And I've bought some very long lasting Chinese products. I think it's company based and not nationality based when it comes to the quality of a product. Maydoff(sp) comes to mind. Regardless of the origin of the product, wouldn't you want to know you're making the best? That is unless your a soulless crook. For many, despite where they live, pride is still a factor. Jeff Miles jmile...@charter.net Join my Mafia http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/status_invite.php?from=550968726 On Oct 3, 2009, at 10:06 PM, Eric S. Sande wrote: Besides when you order from China, you have to figure out if it's the real thing, No you don't. It's guaranteed to be junk, even if it's designed and supervised by European engineers. I'm guessing that won't be a popular statement. But I KNOW that Americans can do it better. Our audio products are better, our bicycle products are better. The only problem is that they are expensive because we actually pay good wages and don't use slaves (anymore). * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http:// www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
High end electronics are not made in the USA they are more appropriately assembled in the US. Not always. Magnepan for example buys raw materials in the US and fabricates in-house. Even the resistors, inductors, and capacitors in the crossovers are US made. White Bear Lake, Minnesota. McIntosh (Binhamton, NY) and Cary (Cary, NC) also fabricate in-house. In Canada, Bryston Ltd (Ontario) does much the same, and offers a 20 year transferable warranty to boot. These aren't assemblers, they are factories, as in manufacturing facilities. These companies have been in business for a long time--37, 60, 20, and 35 years respectively. These companies (and others) have international reputations for quality craftsmanship and state of the art performance. This was formerly true of quite a few US industries, audio is one of the few survivors. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
On Oct 5, 2009, at 4:28 AM, Jeff Miles wrote: Regardless of the origin of the product, wouldn't you want to know you're making the best? That is unless your a soulless crook. For many, despite where they live, pride is still a factor. Pride is still a factor and it gives me joy to see it. Many times I have opened a white-box that I bought for the lowest possible price and discovered a useful unique feature. Someone had thought about how the product was being used and took the trouble to be helpful. They did not have to do it. Since the feature was not advertised they got no benefit from their extra effort, but they did it anyway. This is a human, not a national trait. Of late the USA has had more than its share of soulless crooks. Notice how they howl as they are now being called to account. Got to clean house! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Eric S. Sande escribió: Besides when you order from China, you have to figure out if it's the real thing, No you don't. It's guaranteed to be junk, even if it's designed and supervised by European engineers. I'm guessing that won't be a popular statement. But I KNOW that Americans can do it better. Our audio products are better, our bicycle products are better. The only problem is that they are expensive because we actually pay good wages and don't use slaves (anymore). The original question was about buying foreign products from foreign web sites. When I buy US made products, if I can find them, I either buy directly from the manufacturer or find them locally. There are plenty of excellent products that aren't made in the US. It would be better to find more excellent products that are made in the US. We need more manufacturing here. Americans are very good conscientious workers. US made products aren't much more expensive than those from southeast Asia, but the profits are higher on imports. I'd rather pay more for a quality product, but when it's something that's not made in the US any more, I don't have much choice. There are more slaves in the United States than 150 years ago. Many are in manufacturing, but most are women in sex trade. It's not as bad as before the Civil War, as a percentage of population, but some recent estimates are at least 1 million. They sew our clothing in L.A. and NYC, they're farm workers in Florida and California, they worked on the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina, they're au pairs. You may have seen or met them. I don't think slaves make high end electronics in the US, but I don't know for sure. Do you? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
On Oct 4, 2009, at 11:04 PM, b_s-wilk wrote: We need more manufacturing here. Americans are very good conscientious workers. It is not the workers that are the problem, it is the managers. It is the managers who decide that they can fatten their bonuses by making crappy products. They can rip off their companies so quickly for enough $ to be set for life. What happens afterwards they do not care. E.g., stay away from hamburgers: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?ref=health * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
High end electronics are not made in the USA they are more appropriately assembled in the US. Putting together a flat screen TV? Flat Screens are all made in the east. (Orient) Remember Curtis Mathis? All they did was assemble electronics from parts made by other manufacturers. Most of the electronic components that are used in high end equipment is all made overseas shipped here and then assembled. The difference that may come in is that the components used may be subject to additional testing and Quality Control before being used in the end product. What may pass QA for another manufacturer would be rejected by the high end folks. So there is your final difference. Stewart At 10:04 PM 10/4/2009, you wrote: The original question was about buying foreign products from foreign web sites. When I buy US made products, if I can find them, I either buy directly from the manufacturer or find them locally. There are plenty of excellent products that aren't made in the US. It would be better to find more excellent products that are made in the US. We need more manufacturing here. Americans are very good conscientious workers. US made products aren't much more expensive than those from southeast Asia, but the profits are higher on imports. I'd rather pay more for a quality product, but when it's something that's not made in the US any more, I don't have much choice. There are more slaves in the United States than 150 years ago. Many are in manufacturing, but most are women in sex trade. It's not as bad as before the Civil War, as a percentage of population, but some recent estimates are at least 1 million. They sew our clothing in L.A. and NYC, they're farm workers in Florida and California, they worked on the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina, they're au pairs. You may have seen or met them. I don't think slaves make high end electronics in the US, but I don't know for sure. Do you? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
I don't think they do that in Europe, at least, not in France. I'm pretty familiar with what US audio equipment goes for in Japan and Australia. It's a 20-30% percent markup over US list, that it gets bought says something for the quality of the product. Of course it's all high end specialty stuff, expensive even here. Actually it's cheaper to order higher end electronics through Hong Kong, as long as you can find out where they're made--i.e., which factories. Western brands are made side by side with Chinese and Japanese brands, all in China. Since I was looking for Shortwave radios and receivers, I only looked for the same items with different trademarks. For the shortwaves, Eton/Grundig are made along with Tecsun. Kaito and Degen are almost identical, Sangean makes some items for Radio Shack and C. Crane. My Tecsun was identical to the Eton radio for less than half the price. Adding the shipping and insurance still came to about $40 less than the Eton. BUT I had to make tiny labels to cover the Chinese characters with ones I could read. I bought the Kaito for US market instead of the Degen and don't have to deal with labels or AC adapter/chargers that are almost impossible to find [220v--110v]. Bigger receivers are also cheaper shipped through Hong Kong, but prices in Hong Kong itself aren't very good. Small stuff I order from HK. I'd rather pay more and buy bigger items here. Keeps some money here, and is more convenient if anything goes wrong. Besides when you order from China, you have to figure out if it's the real thing, like the Nokia N79 I'm considering, or if it's made by Nokla [NOKLA]. Not too much of a problem with fakes ordering from Western Europe. BTW, the Australian dollar is 20-30% less than the US$. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Which one did you order and from who? What do you want to buy? I've had good luck with several eBay stores. The last order I made at Meritline had half shipped from the US [blank DVDs and DVD-RW] and half from Hong Kong [card readers, SIM card, etc]. I've used other HK vendors too and all have been good so far. Cavan just ordered some shoes from the UK, and bought a custom made suit from another UK vendor--it fits perfectly. Never bought pens, though. I usually try to find people I know who are taking trips to places where I want to buy something. I have a friend who's on holiday in Barcelona this month, so I gave him a very short wish list, and will repay with cash and a gift when he gets back. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
BTW, the Australian dollar is 20-30% less than the US$. Your point being? I think we're talking about two different things. High end audio consists of, well, high end products. McIntosh, Magnepan, Benchmark, Bryston, stuff like that. It doesn't matter what dollar scale you use, as long as it is equivalent. The fact is that in real terms (correcting for exchange rate) it is more (way more) expensive to buy a Cary preamp in Perth Australia than it is to buy one in Alexandria VA. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Besides when you order from China, you have to figure out if it's the real thing, No you don't. It's guaranteed to be junk, even if it's designed and supervised by European engineers. I'm guessing that won't be a popular statement. But I KNOW that Americans can do it better. Our audio products are better, our bicycle products are better. The only problem is that they are expensive because we actually pay good wages and don't use slaves (anymore). * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
I am not an expert, but I have seen articles. France is one of those countries that have started to limit sales of items within their country to recognized brands. (Or something similar) They have sued Ebay for allowing sellers to feature trademarked items from French Companies. Also what you are buying is called gray market items. Gray market means it is not illegal, but that it is in a gray area and the warranty (if there is one) is not necessarily valid. This might be an explanation or it could be totally off the wall. Take it with the big load of salt I offer it. Stewart At 07:12 PM 10/2/2009, you wrote: Below is a Background section -- it explains only my motivation for my question, so skip it to the actual question following unless you like to read stuff. BACKGROUND = I am a devotee of the fountain pen since my second grade in public school. Write a lot, tried many brands models of all prices, settled on a moderately-priced pen made in France. Since I write so much, I keep 6 to 8 pens in rotation so that I don't have to fill ink from a bottle so often. Problem is, I lose pens fairly frequently (I believe in my house but maybe not), so I have to buy more. Recently I found that my favorite web store increased the price by 1/3. Turns out, the sole U.S. importer has demanded that all stores, including web store, can't offer the pen lower than its list price. I found an eBay store in France that offers both a Buy It Now price and an auction for that pen. The Buy It Now price with both shipping insurance is about half price of the U.S. stores. The auction price is a bit less. But before finding the eBay store, I searched on Google for stores in France, Germany, Italy. Of course, I used the advanced search to specify the domain but there were very few stores listed on Google. My eBay store (a large one) from which I bought my pen was not found on Google. Why does Google not list links to overseas stores? BTW, there are a lot of examples of many different kinds of merchandise that are artificially increased in price because of exclusive contracts for importation into the U.S. by a domestic company. So far as I know, buying from an overseas company via the web is not a violation of any exclusive contract by a U.S. company. END BACKGROUND Finding web stores sellers from other countries on Google search in the U.S. produces unsatisfactory results for me. Specifying the Google search domain from other countries has proved for me to produce a limited number of links. Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally? From Google, or from other web searches? Is there a way to access a web search that is primarily directed to an overseas country? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * Rev. Stewart A. Marshall mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org Ozark, AL SL 82 * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Finding web stores sellers from other countries on Google search in the U.S. produces unsatisfactory results for me. Specifying the Google search domain from other countries has proved for me to produce a limited number of links. Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally? From Google, or from other web searches? Is there a way to access a web search that is primarily directed to an overseas country? I shop at overseas stores from links as Yahoo Shopping since my email is in Europe anyway [Spain]. Yahoo France, http://m.fr.yahoo.com/, has links to Kelkoo where I found '1 116 offres chez 74 marchands' http://shopping.kelkoo.fr/ctl/do/search?siteSearchQuery=stylo+plumefromform=true eBay France has 4 pages of pens when I search stylo plume http://annonces.ebay.fr/. Not nearly as good as Kelkoo where pens range from 1,04€ to 2300€. Don't know which brand you like, though. Can you read/speak French? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally? Not really. It has to do with tariffs and trade, generally. High ticket items (I don't know if that's your situation) always cost more if they're imports and don't have production cost/volume advantages versus the receiving market. US high end products cost more in foreign markets than they do here. Foreign high end products cost more here than they do there. Chinese stuff does well everywhere because all of it has been commoditized, subsidized, and deregulated to the point that they don't worry about issues of quality or reliabilty. They don't have to. There is no pride but there is volume. Who would ever have thought that we'd see a Communist government with a nakedly capitalistic economic system. :-) * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally? Not really. It has to do with tariffs and trade, generally. Foreign exchange and VAT make a difference too. The dollar is down against the Euro, after going up in the Spring. Makes a difference when the Euro was $1.30 and now it's pushing $1.50 [$1.46 today]. Depends on if the merchant bothers to remove the VAT, which can reduce the price by more than 10%, but the sliding dollar makes up for that. I just ordered some electronics items from Hong Kong--free shipping. That's a big change from when I bought my shortwave from HK and paid US$18 shipping and insurance. There's a Customs Declaration on the package, filled in with gift and the value of the items--less than half of what I paid, maybe even less if it's in Hong Kong dollars. I don't think they do that in Europe, at least, not in France. Is the cost of pens plus shipping less than buying them from a US vendor? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
Which one did you order and from who? Stewart At 11:23 PM 10/2/2009, you wrote: Question: Is there a good way of finding web stores internationally? Not really. It has to do with tariffs and trade, generally. Foreign exchange and VAT make a difference too. The dollar is down against the Euro, after going up in the Spring. Makes a difference when the Euro was $1.30 and now it's pushing $1.50 [$1.46 today]. Depends on if the merchant bothers to remove the VAT, which can reduce the price by more than 10%, but the sliding dollar makes up for that. I just ordered some electronics items from Hong Kong--free shipping. That's a big change from when I bought my shortwave from HK and paid US$18 shipping and insurance. There's a Customs Declaration on the package, filled in with gift and the value of the items--less than half of what I paid, maybe even less if it's in Hong Kong dollars. I don't think they do that in Europe, at least, not in France. Is the cost of pens plus shipping less than buying them from a US vendor? * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * Rev. Stewart A. Marshall mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org Ozark, AL SL 82 * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] Finding web stores overseas
I don't think they do that in Europe, at least, not in France. I'm pretty familiar with what US audio equipment goes for in Japan and Australia. It's a 20-30% percent markup over US list, that it gets bought says something for the quality of the product. Of course it's all high end specialty stuff, expensive even here. Yeah, the exchange rate is a factor, Canadian dollars were at par with US dollars at one point recently, still pretty close. So this may not be the ideal point at which to buy a Bryston amplifier? No, you know you have to have it. Or a pen, forsooth. :-) * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
