# Price discrimiation?



## stlcat22 (Nov 19, 2006)

So I spent a day at the boat show down here in Miami and among the many brochures I picked up was a Sunsail price sheet. After pricing out a vacation by that sheet and also doing it online the prices came out to be close but not exactly the same. Which isn't very interesting, except that the online price was in pounds.  

I know that many things that are manufatured in Japan or China are nevertheless much more expensive in Europe than here in the US but I find it hard to believe that a bareboat charter company can manage the same discrimination given that both Americans and Europeans are coming to the same airport and getting on the very same boats,etc.

Am I missing something?


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

You're possibly missing the conversion rates and exchange factors, i.e. it may cost a firm $25 US to "convert" one check or deposit in another currency. (And similarly for others, vice-versa.)

Or, the printed flyers may have been printed a short three or four weeks ago when exchange rates were different, while the web site can be updated weekly or even daily with an automatic script. Or perhaps, your online site was targeted to a UK or EU audience and includes VAT or other taxes that must be charged when the sale is made "in" that locale.

Many merchants will simply absorb any loss when currency fluctuations make their printed materials obsolete. This isn't "discrimination" this is simply seeing two different lists, created at two different times, for two different purposes.


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## tigerregis (Nov 24, 2006)

This discrepancy is something that I have followed with interest after visiting the UK. I seriously believe that it is "what the market will bear". On a Brit site I frequent this subject came up Sat. The "learned" UK sailors were getting their gear on-line from the US. Even with shipping they were claiming half price vs. local chandleries. The pound/dollar difference does not seem to apply to boats/gear.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"Even with shipping they were claiming half price vs. local chandleries. " Now ask them, how many of them are properly declaring and paying customs import duties.<G>

Sometimes, flying beneath the radar is just flying beneath the radar, and that's left out of the comparison too.


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## tigerregis (Nov 24, 2006)

Hellosailor, it appears you don't know how efficient Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Branch is.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Prices in the UK are high for everything, particularly when compared to the US. But when it comes to yachting there really is a surcharge. I've just spent two days looking at medical kits and EPIRBS and it seems that prices really are identical - except for the $ and £ signs! So even with 17% C&E charges and shipping a larger item is cheaper when purchased abroad! Needless to say I'm buying my EPIRB in the US.

Then again, anyone who is surprised at price differences like this has never noticed the differences between two seats on the same flight - ratios are over 10x between discounted rates and full-fare.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

It reminds me of what happens in the computer store... if you price an external firewire hard drive in the PC section, and then go to the Macintosh section of the store and price the exact same drive, it is usually a bit more expensive in the Mac section, even though it is the exact same piece of hardware. This is because the stores have found that Mac owners will generally pay a bit more for hardware than PC owners will. This isn't so much the case as it used to be, but still happens enough to be funny.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Zanshin-
"Needless to say I'm buying my EPIRB in the US." Apparently there are complications based on where yo buy it and where you intend to be sailing, I've seen posts from other people that they need to pay reprogramming fees and have reregistration done depending on where their "home" crusiing grounds will be. I know, it makes no sense to me either, just passing on the loud complaints I have heard. Caveat emptor. Also, look ahead and ask what it will cost to have the battery replaced, usually at the 5-year point. Apparently there's a wide variation from one make to the next and some are sealed, requiring factory replacement. (Ways to gouge a captive audience.)


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Well, I just ordered an EPIRB, the common ACR Globlal Fix Cat II in the US for a boat located in the BVI based on comments in This thread. It is new so I won't re-register it but don't quite know how I'm going to register it, since I've not found any sites online apart from country specific ones (i.e. US, UK and German Coast Guards or equivalents). I'm hoping the documentation with the EPIRB will point me towards the correct registration authority.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Zan..you can register it here:
https://beaconregistration.noaa.gov/rgdb/Dispatch?page=RegisterNewBeacon


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Camaraderie - I got a "Sorry, the system is temporarily unavailable. Please contact NOAA" error - is it really a temporary glitch or a more permanent one?


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Zan...just tried my link and it brought me to the correct page. Can't proceed further as I do not have a beacon to register. Did you not get to the NOAA page or did you have a provblem with the page taking your data?
If the former...it works right now. If the lattter...I can't help & suggest contacting NOAA.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Odd, I still can't get there. Perhaps because I'm coming from a European IP address. My new EPIRB is "in the mail" right now, so I should be able to register it within a week - If I can't connect from here I'll have a friend in the US enter all the details.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Zan...the page is HTTPS so maybe the login location does restrict access. Here's the standard lead in page to that one which might get you there...

http://www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov/


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Link Problems*

Cam,
I had the same problem with the secure link that Zan had, and I'm in the U.S. After a bit of digging, this is what I found:

After going to the page via the non-secure portal, I bookmarked it then came back here. Both your link and my bookmark worked fine. I closed my browser, and restarted it, and neither the link or bookmark worked anymore. Checking cookies showed that noaa sets a session cookie for each page. If you clear them, you can't directly access the secure page. That's something on the noaa site, probably to combat some form of hijacking but who knows? My guess is that if the link keeps working for you, you probably don't have security on your browser set to dump cookies at the end of each session.

Not a big deal, just a little "gotcha" with secure links. Sorry to go off-topic, but I thought it might be of interest to people posting links. BTW, the above isn't true for all secure pages, some will link just fine. It seems to depend on the type of authentication the host server uses.


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## Zanshin (Aug 27, 2006)

Lurch - thanks for that update - I can now get to the page as well by traversing the site. Once I get my beacon I'll see about filling in the information.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Thanks Lurch...good catch!


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## yotphix (Aug 18, 2006)

On the topic of price discrimination, it is something that Canadians, sailors or otherwise are well familiar with. There are many reasons, packaging rules etc that things can cost more in Canada but one of the big ones is that Canadian retailers generally expect to get double what they paid for something and US retailers do not. Not such a big deal with things that cost 20.00 but makes a big difference on big ticket items. West Marine arriving in Canada shook things up a little bit and has somehwhat mitigated this, although even West raised prices shortly after arriving, when they realized that they could get more for certain items! (I worked there for a short time and saw the prices go up.)


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Yot...I know that Canada has very high import taxes at least on electronics which really goose up the price. Additionally there are much higher labor costs since hiring/firing and lots of personnel benefits related stuff is mandated. The result is higher retail prices. My former co. considered opening north of the border and rejected it due to costs...not competition. Guess there's a price to be paid for the social welfare programs. 

In the US...many retailers get double and more what they paid for an item. This is especially true in soft lines...clothing, apparel etc. but it is also true in any retail business where the items sold are not recognizable commodities and do not turn over on the shelf quickly...like marine hardware. 
So I guess what I'm saying is don't blame your retailers...blame your system if you must...but remember that there's no free lunch. If you paid US retail prices like I do...you'd also be paying $6-10K per year for health insurance and $35K for college etc. etc. etc.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Yotphix-
That's nothing new or unique to Canada. Even the top management at WalMart will tell you, on some items they're going to demand FULL PRICE from the customers.
You may walk in looking at the $49.95 microwaves on the end islands, but if you walk over to buy a phone socket...you'll pay 30% more than you would in a hardware store. Buy a computer or printer? Cheap, sure, but you'll pay the same $40 for a $4 cable that the office supply stores charge.
That's either "sharp marketing" from their point of view, or a rip-off from some customer points of view. Welcome to the modern day and age, where "demand pricing" or "market pricing" is the new term for "make hay while the sun shines".

In the US, up into the late 1970s, it was normal for tv and electronics retailers to charge double their cost on things. Sony, Nikon, typically there was a 40% profit margin and they sold near list price. Then came Crazy Eddie and a whole market collapsed with $1000 TV's selling for $660 instead. In the 80's many merchants figured out they could deflect price shopping by offering special models that never had the exact same features or colors as the next store--a practive that goes on today. Not just private labelling, but brand names with private model numbers.

Marketing is a many splendored thing. I just wish outright extortion and violence was allowed for the _customers _as well. I mean, it's only fair if both sides get to play by the same rules, right?

"See, you agreed to sell it to me for five thousand dollars. But, read my fine print, I didn't say what kind of dollars. I'm paying you in this other kind today."

Turnabout is fair play, right?


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