Colin Smith wrote:
Sorry I totally dis-agree. You are taking a UK price and then converting it back to US$ and then saying that it is expensive.
I think you mean £69 ex VAT not $69.
Colin Smith wrote:
In the US a 64 inch silver PLM costs $59.95, in the UK that same PLM costs $69 ex VAT which is more or less $$ for Pound.
Now I will give you my calculation:-
PLM 64 silver
US Buy 59.95
UK Buy Price: 39.44 GBP
Markup 10.00 GBP
Freight component to ship from US 18GBP
Credit Card Fess about 2 GBP
Total = 69GBP ex VAT, but this does not include any customs duties.
The Chancellor Of The Exchequer makes more money out of it than we do maybe you should highlight your concerns to him.
I take it you would want us to sell a PLM at 45 GBP. That is all well and good in theory but in practice it is not possible unless you wish you share how you would make it happen.
Firstly I wasn't suggesting that you sell the PLM at 45 GBP although it would be nice (for me) if you did.
To answer your other question I would say start with your shipping costs. 18GBP for shipping a 64" PLM from the USA? That's not right. It should be part of a bulk shipment and overall costs should be much, lower.
BTW last night I saw on another forum that your company had given people that were placing orders estimated quotes for shipping within the UK of £57 for a Vagabond and an Einstein and £63 for a Vagabond, an Einstein and a PLM and a quote to someone in Finland who regularly buys equipment form the UK that was 10 times what he expected.
I know that these were estimates and I believe that you managed to sort that out (with some pointers from board members?) but shipping is just not that expensive. I really think that you need to look at this.
The other thing I would question is why certain items are coming to you from the USA and not directly from the factory in China. It may be okay to start off that way but once you get some traction and have an understanding of your volumes it may make sense to switch to direct importing for items that are not assembled/tested in the USA as long as this would give you a further discount with PCB.
For cheaper items this may make a difference but it may not be worth it in the end since it may also prove to be more hassle.
Credit card fees should probably be around £1.30 or less for the overall amount you charge for the PLM 64 (excluding shipping). Of course this will come down if you manage to reduce the total amount charged but If you are paying more than 1.6%, negotiate.
The real culprit here seems to be the amount that you have assigned for freight from the USA. I don't know if this is just an guesstimate or if this is an estimate from your chosen courier based on the size and weight of the items you are planning to ship.