Cheap hardware for all ;)

[TabrisDarkPeace]

US$ expected to fall March/April 2007:
http://money.uk.msn.com/Investing/Insight/Special_Features/Moneyweek/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1331883

On top of everything else happening around the same time frame.

Good news for consumers 'outside' of the US.


8)

 

[Pippero]

Not really.
It seems that for HW and consumer electronic companies, it's always:
1$ = 1€ = 1£

 

[Slobogob]

Right to the point. It´s a sad truth.

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

Man, you guys buying gear from the wrong places.

You need more 'business' mates who work in IT, and can get the hardware cheap. (Not ones who rip you off and say they can't go any lower).

8)

Buy in bulk with a large group of mates, leverage your purchasing power more. Make returns and testing easier.

Every transaction is potentially negotiable... it is customer service.

 

[DennyCraneBL]

Who can do that? Really, the little guy stuck in rural Europe has no chance of doing that ... the closest to a "technologically advanced" guy where I live is somebody who knows how to work a VCR ... the minute you ask him are Core 2 Duo, or a chipset - his tiny mind will blow.

We have no choice but to suffer at the wrath of tax after tax ... if only, like DVDs, you could easily import from the US ... we might get some value.

But honestly, the price difference between US and UK at the hardware I am looking at is so tiny ... it would cost a lot more to ship it here, plus the burden of trying to send it back to the US if it broke ... it just isn't worth the tiny cost.

Lets take the Core 2 Duo E6300:
At New Egg, Core 2 Duo E6300 retail costs USD 182.00, GBP 93.
At Ebuyer, Core 2 Duo E6300 retail costs USD 215.00, GBP 111.

The price difference is £18 ... its pretty small, thats with all the UK tax and everything.

It is worth knowing, the price difference gets larger as the product price rises.

But, heck, we earn more than our American Counterparts ... its understandable that we get charged more ... unless you are buying a whole PC, I doubt there would be value in trying to get parts from the US.

I don't think you could do it easily anyway.

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

I am an American. As an American I do not acknowledge anything outside of our borders. My understanding of the Earth is that it consists mostly of America and I think Canada might be on there somewhere. It is my constitutional right to be ignorant of the world. All this talk about "other countries" is infringing on my ignorance.

(end sarcastic rant against ignorant Americans)

 

[DennyCraneBL]

I am an American. As an American I do not acknowledge anything outside of our borders. My understanding of the Earth is that it consists mostly of America and I think Canada might be on there somewhere. It is my constitutional right to be ignorant of the world. All this talk about "other countries" is infringing on my ignorance.

(end sarcastic rant against ignorant Americans)

If I could pay $300/£150, for a Core 2 Duo E6600 - I'd be ignorant too!

Why acknowledge anybody else when you can get that damn good processor that that price?

 

[mr_fnord]

Meh. You pay more for everything so why should computer parts be any different? Scotch costs more in Scotland than in the US, ditto for beers; Guiness in Ireland, Boddingtons in England, etc.

 

[zornundo]

A falling US$ will make imports more expensive in the US. What computer hardware is built in the US anyways? :roll:

 

[diplomat696]

But, heck, we earn more than our American Counterparts ... its understandable that we get charged more ... unless you are buying a whole PC, I doubt there would be value in trying to get parts from the US.

Are you on crack? I have way more than doubled my income from the UK having been in the States for only 3 and a bit years. Plus when you purchase things in the US in general you pay the equivalent in $ to pounds so if you really think you can earn more money in the uk than america you might want to do a little more research.

 

[Sogarth]

I cant believe stuff is even cheaper in teh UK than in the Netherlands where i live. That processor costs me 184 euros at the best hardware store. That = 245 dollars at todays rate. Its so bloody unfair... I see other hardwares stores list it at 199euros and even 219 euros...

 

[Pintail]

I am an American. As an American I do not acknowledge anything outside of our borders. My understanding of the Earth is that it consists mostly of America and I think Canada might be on there somewhere. It is my constitutional right to be ignorant of the world. All this talk about "other countries" is infringing on my ignorance.

(end sarcastic rant against ignorant Americans)

Jeepers...you scared me until I read the last line of your post... 8O

I wonder if the Canadian $ will follow...I know it does to a point, but with differential trade rulings now, maybe we will see cheaper US imports...that would be great until our imports exceeded our exports, then we'll be in the same boat 8) :!:

 

[Slobogob]

Just make a hop across the german border to Wilhelmshafen. Mindfactory got those 6300 pretty cheap. 150, falling.

 

[melarcky]

Wonderful (sarcastacly) I'm an American living outside of the US and I have to Convert to Bulgarian Levs and I'm So pissed when I arrived here in 2004 and the $ was 1.76 Levs now its $1.50 now I know what is .26 but when you are trying to get PC parts and so on... and you are converting it does frustrating

 

[KTev]

One of the things that you can't forget is that sales tax and import taxes are cheap in the US. If you ship across state line you can avoid sales tax all together.

On a side note, the way international trade works any real drop in the dollar would benefit the US more then it would benefit anyone else.

 

[melarcky]

yes but when you are using $ in europe it doesn't help at all.

 

[KTev]

I wouldn't worry about it. That article is highly speculative. The reason the US can support the high trade deficits is due to a lot more then just carry trade. Expect a drop, but don't expect it to be much. If you look at other economic indicators like unemployment and GDP growth they suggest potential for a stronger dollar.

A very simplified version of economics is: $ drops => US exports get cheaper & imports more expensive => US manufacturing increases & Europe/world drops => unemployment in Europe/world raises & drops in the US(currently it is already close to 35 year lows) => either dollar raises or enough other currencies around the world need to drop to fix the situation.

This might sound very pro US but it is how capitalism is self balancing. The only real questions are: how long will the cycle take and how big will variations be. Current trends point to it being slow and mild.

 

[DennyCraneBL]

But, heck, we earn more than our American Counterparts ... its understandable that we get charged more ... unless you are buying a whole PC, I doubt there would be value in trying to get parts from the US.

Are you on crack? I have way more than doubled my income from the UK having been in the States for only 3 and a bit years. Plus when you purchase things in the US in general you pay the equivalent in $ to pounds so if you really think you can earn more money in the uk than america you might want to do a little more research.

Do you believe the average UK household could truly move to America and earn more money? No.

I'm sure the Land of Opportunity has a lot to offer you, but considering the average US household income is around £20,000 - I doubt they are earning more than us.

Pay the equivalent in $ to £, you mean the exchange rate? Or buy $200 for £200 - that would cost more.

The US minimum wage is almost half that of the UK.

 

[KTev]

But, heck, we earn more than our American Counterparts ... its understandable that we get charged more ... unless you are buying a whole PC, I doubt there would be value in trying to get parts from the US.

Are you on crack? I have way more than doubled my income from the UK having been in the States for only 3 and a bit years. Plus when you purchase things in the US in general you pay the equivalent in $ to pounds so if you really think you can earn more money in the uk than america you might want to do a little more research.

Do you believe the average UK household could truly move to America and earn more money? No.

I'm sure the Land of Opportunity has a lot to offer you, but considering the average US household income is around £20,000 - I doubt they are earning more than us.

Pay the equivalent in $ to £, you mean the exchange rate? Or buy $200 for £200 - that would cost more.

The US minimum wage is almost half that of the UK.

You are a little off: £25,000 is closer to the US average household income which is on par with UK. You won't find huge differences in most of the more developed countries.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Add in the fact there is no large tax and lower taxes across the board,not just purchases,shows a marginal difference

 

[killmess]

I cant believe stuff is even cheaper in teh UK than in the Netherlands where i live. That processor costs me 184 euros at the best hardware store. That = 245 dollars at todays rate. Its so bloody unfair... I see other hardwares stores list it at 199euros and even 219 euros...

In Argentina that CPU is u$s 232 in the best shop. 8O