I have never bought anything from the UK because I didn't know how to convert the currency, but I discovered a site that had an automatic currency converter, and after trying it I discovered that an item that sells here for around $35.00 (Richard Sanders Super Cards) is sold in the UK for about 27 of that currency, but when you use the converter it comes to about $50.00 in American dollars. I was a little surprised, but I think I have learned a lesson.

Anybody have any idea where the extra expense comes into play?

Hi:

I don't believe there is extra expense; the US Dollar is quite weak in Europe right now. I understand that many Europeans are vacationing in the USA now because they can get so much for their money.

I remember about 20 years ago, the Dollar was very weak against the Japanese Yen, and there was this paddle set of Tenyo's that I wanted. It was a Jumping Gems/Hotrod type - just plastic and fake diamonds, etc. I remember the set was over $100.00 for 7 or 9 little paddles! Needless to say, I did not buy.

Ron

OK, so if I see an effect on the UK site that I want to purchase, how do I know exactly how much US dough I have to send them? I used the currency converter that was on the Alakazam web site, and other than that, I have no idea how to figure out the correct amount to send.

Help...

The UK site will most likely use some legitimate, recognized currency conversion company. You won't know exactly unless they have the converter on their site, or at least let you know who they're using to convert the funds. The converter on the Alakazam site should be very close to (if not exact) the price you'll pay at another site.

In any case, unless the item is only available overseas, you're much better off purchasing it in the states.

Ron

That is what I was saying in the first place! But the high price I quoted was from the converter on their own site.

The reason that they cost more in the UK is not only the exchange rate, but also VAT. They have a Value Added Tax. This is a national sales tax. Technically, as a US citizen, you don't have to pay it, but unless they are enrolled in a VAT refund program, you don't have a chance to get it back. Between that, and the duty they pay to import the deck, you get bitten twice.

When I look at $ I see it at around 60% so you should look at just under double.

I was explaining to a american air force guy that in the UK a pack of 20 smokes is £5, In $ this worked out to $9.20 I don't think anyone in USA would pay 10 bucks for 20 smokes.

England is a rip off country that has many taxes and all of them high.

So I'm back to square one. My suspicions were correct. (sigh)

It also sounds like they don't have an "income tax", which means they earn 30-50% more money? Is this the case?

I wish the US would move towards a national sales tax and do away with income tax ... we would all save billions in unnessacary paperwork.

JoeJoe

I don't think that's true JoeJoe. I've heard England's income tax is a lot higher than ours.

Here you are boys..just to keep you informed...No Income Tax? I wish.........

How much Income Tax do you have to pay?
Tax allowances


Not all your income is taxed. Everyone who lives in the UK has a personal allowance, which is the amount of income you are allowed to earn each year tax-free.


This tax year (2005-2006), the basic personal allowance – or tax-free amount – is £4,895. You may be entitled to a higher personal allowance if you are 65 or over. There is also an extra allowance if you are certified blind.
Tax rates

Once your tax allowance has been taken into account, the amount of tax you pay is calculated using different tax rates and a series of tax bands. For the tax year 2005-2006 the Income Tax you pay is:

10 per cent on taxable income up to £2,090
22 per cent on taxable income between £2,091 and £32,400
40 per cent on taxable income over £32,40


Howard

Up until the advent of the internet we were more or less a captured market so companies could sell anything to us for whatever price they wished. It is still similar today only we can now buy our stuff off the internet from other places around the world for cheaper.

An example of this would be electronics. The playstation 2 when it first came out was selling for something like $299 american dollars. If you used a currency converter to see how much $299 was in pounds sterling it would be something like £170. So all of us Brits thought, wooohoooo can't wait for the playstation 2 to be released over here for that price. And when it was released guess how much it was? That's right £299 ($450 aprox.). They didn't bother converting it just banged the same price but changed the dollar symbol to a pound symbol.

I don't suggest you buy anything from the UK if your in the states unless you really need it and can't get it from anywhere. Try canada their dollar is even weaker than yours so you may get a bargain there.

If anyone needs a good converter then try this site. I use it all the time when I'm planning my purchases from the States and it's pretty much spot on each time. http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

Thanks much!

The UK is the tax capital of the world. What we are left with at the end of the day is about £2000 from a £20k salary.
We work like 10 months for the taxman and the other two are for us.
Uk sux. Sux our money and then makes us wait for the services we are entitled too. If they are not building crap like the dome then they are spending it on administration.