Are bikes cheaper abroad?

Flâneur

Simple curiosity rather than need for advice. Ignoring duties and taxes which should be paid on arrival in the UK is it cheaper to buy bikes in countries such as USA/ France /Italy ?

Yours curiously

ugo.santalucia

France and Italy surely not cheaper... there are no import duties or taxes from within the EU

cycleclinic

Buy a bike in the U.S and you have to ship it and pay 20% VAT plus a 4% import duty I think. By the time you have done that it is not cheaper.

Business taxes in Italy and France and lack of internet retail in those countries certainly will not put downward pressure on prices like you see in the U.K or U.S.A

ugo.santalucia

Germany can be a good place though... some things are cheaper there... and some things are cheaper over here.

I normally don't buy big bulky expensive things from abroad, as sending them back can be a problem. I actually never buy big expensive things online and try to get a good deal from a shop instead, but that's probably because I try to buy "the latest thing" rather than "what's left on offer" and I find shops can have those before online retailers. When I bought my last frame (Genesis Fugio) it was not even on the manufacturer website, but I could order it via a shop and got a better deal than buying it online. Always worth a punt down at the local

Monty Dog

We have some pretty good internet bike dealers in the UK like Planet-X and Ribble in comparison to what's on offer abroad. The US is only cheaper if you can avoid customs / vat charges - e.g. bring one back personally. You can find good deals from German web dealers too. For branded products it's a bit trickier as distributors often impose price controls on dealers even though it's technically illegal in the EU. The cheapest way to build a bike is to source components direct from China or Taiwan via Ebay - but there are a few dodgy dealers to catch the unaware. Finally, avoid anything from Indonesia - it's complete scam central.

nicklouse

thecycleclinic wrote:

Buy a bike in the U.S and you have to ship it and pay 20% VAT plus a 4% import duty I think. By the time you have done that it is not cheaper.

Business taxes in Italy and France and lack of internet retail in those countries certainly will not put downward pressure on prices like you see in the U.K or U.S.A

nope a full bike is 15% bike parts are about 4.7% ( a full bike can also be a pile of parts to make a bike).

and it is cost and shipping plus import then vat on that total and there might be a handling chage from the carriers.

arran77

nicklouse wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

Buy a bike in the U.S and you have to ship it and pay 20% VAT plus a 4% import duty I think. By the time you have done that it is not cheaper.

Business taxes in Italy and France and lack of internet retail in those countries certainly will not put downward pressure on prices like you see in the U.K or U.S.A

nope a full bike is 15% bike parts are about 4.7% ( a full bike can also be a pile of parts to make a bike).

and it is cost and shipping plus import then vat on that total and there might be a handling chage from the carriers.

Especially if you use paisley freight

crankycrank

Also remember anything purchased here in the US will have a sales tax of 5% to 9% added depending on what city/state you buy it in and which is not charged if purchased from and sent to the UK.