Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Depending on the value of the device, if it was actually noticed by customs(they tend to miss them via certain routes), and if it actually comes into the duty zone. Also loose electronic components are without duty on import usually. Atleast for small orders.

I'm talking for within the EU. Yes the law allows for customs agents to actually stop you anywhere inside the EU zone. Not that they do this since it makes a bit to much of a logistical nightmare. I'm guessing this is one of those laws that are there if they actually need to pin something extra on a person. Not to mention there's nowhere near enough to actually handle such street duty.

As far as I'm concerned I don't mind paying VAT or duty on things I buy/import. I don't have to like it but I won't go to many lenghts to avoid it.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Mine was actually a scenario hypothesis, I'm not going to the USA, but was curious to know the answer.
Thx for answering.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Because we are *****s and electronic companies know that.
Oh, and we even have to pay for the Vaseline if we don't want it to hurt too much ;)

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

My question still stands:

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?

Is it all VAT? Some other tax? Like if the units are made in China, does the EU throw on import tariffs that the US doesn't? Does Nokia actually make more profit? Really, if anyone knows, I'm curious.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

As I said, they know that we're going to buy their stuff even with higher prices, and since everybody is doing the same, we either buy at those prices or don't buy any gadget at all.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Apart from the VAT difference there may also be a warranty difference between most EU countries and the US. In the Netherlands you basically are entitled to compensation or replacement if anything sold to you doesn't have the lifetime you could reasonably expect from it, regardless of what the manufacturer says about warranty.

More specific to Nokia: The UK website shows a 2 year warranty for mobile phones, the US website shows a 1 year warranty(pdf). This additional warranty of course comes at a cost.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

How do you mean 'so much more'? Nokia said it'd be sold for 500 EUR + VAT. That is 600 EUR. Which is what it costs at Nokia store. If you buy it elsewhere you can find it cheaper (as I have linked to earlier) because they buy in bulk. The price difference between those is about 40-70 EUR as I calculated. Which is 10-20% more, but not 37%, and its nomrla stuff costs more in Europe. I didn't invent that, but othere corporations like Apple and Dell do that too.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

If I buy a car from US I pay:

1) S&H.
2) Clearance fee (neglectable).
3) Import tax.
4) VAT (19%).
5) Environment tax.

The latter counts for new cars bought in NL too, and also imported cars from EU, because it triggers when one would get license plate. The tax differs a lot based on how bad the car is for environment. There are even cities in Germany where driving a SUV is illegal, or where you need special permissions.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

The US price from Nokia's own store is the equivalent of 437 EUR ($649), not 500 EUR (which would be about $740). So I'm still curious where the 60+ EUR comes from -- are you saying that Nokia, Apple, and Dell can all just apply higher markups in Europe? What a funny notion of competition!

But besides that, you're saying that the VAT is about 99 EUR in Germany and 149 EUR in France?

(BTW, are you Dutch to begin with? You seem to have an American way of expressing yourself.) (Neither offense nor compliment intended!)

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Could be, but Nokia said on that Nokia Summit on 3 September it'd cost 500 EUR + taxes.

That it'd cost then 600 EUR is no surprise because taxes is 19%.

That it costs less in USA (even after taking into account taxes) is no surprise either because other corporations like the ones I gave example of do the same.

Is that fair? I have no idea. It doesn't seem fair indeed however importing with S&H and all that nonsense added up does not warrant to buy it overseas. I found that lately usually buying from UK is cheaper than in EU (NL/DE) because the GBP is low. Also, computer parts have been traditionally cheaper in DE than NL. Not fair either perhaps, but it is as it is...

The VAT is in France 0,6% higher than in Germany or Netherlands. I have no idea why mentioned price difference exists.

Yes, I am (south-)Dutch, prefer British English over American English, and have no idea what an American way of expressing implies. :D