Are local prices cheaper in AU vs. UK?

[rogerwilco]

G'day,

I'm relocating to UK in a few weeks. And, I'm about ready to buy another bike.
The natural instinct is that bikes will be cheaper in UK, right? Y'know, because of the great Aussie gouge...
Well, it doesn't seem that way, and now I'm really confused.

For example, searching around some of the usual australian sources, I could find last years model of Scott CR1 Comp with 105 for about $1600, no trouble.
The same bike, same year, from various British LBS's was 1600 quid, which is about AU$2700.

I did the same experiment with a few other bikes, similar result.
Is this just a strong British Pound, or am I completely missing something here?
I know it's not as simple as just converting to AUD... but it's a good enough proxy.

If it's cheaper here, then I'll buy something beforehand, and check it in as sporting equipment on my flight over.

Maybe it's just a matter of finding the right LBS in UK to find the right prices?

[il padrone]

If you buy a complete bike from the UK and have it sent to you in Aus, they will take their 20% VAT off its price. This will probably more than cover any shipping cost, and I don't think any duty is levied on complete bikes on arrival. You might be charged GST (?)

If you buy the same bike in the UK, you pay their price including VAT of 20%.

[rogerwilco]

Thanks il padrone.

Yep, I think the limit for imported goods is now $1000, so I would get charged GST incoming.
Even after a 20% VAT discount, it still seems cheaper to purchase in AU, which is why I'm so confused. Seems the wrong way around.

[Top_Bhoy]

I recently found that the cost of the commuting flat bar bikes I had been looking at were similarly priced when doing direct conversion comparisons using the current exchange rates; 6-9 months ago that definitely wasn't the case. It should be noted also that in addition to having a guaranteed warranty, the Aus bikes come come with other inducements such as a 2 month check and an annual service; it may not be the case with overseas bikes.

[il padrone]

Things are changing. Three and a half years ago when I bought my Rohloff hub it cost me $1120 delivered from Germany. At the time the same hub would have cost me $2100 locally. Now, surprisingly, the prices have dropped. $1300 for the basic Rohloff hub bought locally, probably about $1400 or so for the same model I bought. Who would have thought it, local prices dropping, when the dollar has fallen over that time

The merits of a bit of international competition to liven up the Australian distribution monopoly

[Homo Suburbiensis]

If you buy a complete bike from the UK and have it sent to you in Aus, they will take their 20% VAT off its price. This will probably more than cover any shipping cost, and I don't think any duty is levied on complete bikes on arrival. You might be charged GST (?)

If you buy the same bike in the UK, you pay their price including VAT of 20%.

If I am not mistaken the OP means something like this
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 975/66538/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
vs
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bik ... 891/66589/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In australia the same bike has a RRP of $2699 whereas in UK it is £1899 (equal to AU$3422)

I have noticed this, that bikes are significantly cheaper in Australia.

[rogerwilco]

Yep, that's what I'm talking about.
On the face of it, it seems like bikes are now cheaper to buy in Australia.

After all is said and done, I'll probably just buy a old 2nd hand banger for my time in UK and sell it on when I leave.
Fussing around with bikes when relocating seems like a hassle, and having a 'nice' bike in London is probably a liability!

[Top_Bhoy]

Yep, that's what I'm talking about.
On the face of it, it seems like bikes are now cheaper to buy in Australia.

After all is said and done, I'll probably just buy a old 2nd hand banger for my time in UK and sell it on when I leave.
Fussing around with bikes when relocating seems like a hassle, and having a 'nice' bike in London is probably a liability!

Sensible plan. Unless you were to bring it back as part of your personal luggage allowance, the cost of freighting a single bike back to Oz would be prohibitive. Not worth it unless you've a top end bike you simply can't part with.

[Duck!]

This is a tad outdated now, but about 4 years ago a colleague of mine spent 18 months working in a shop in London. In general whole bikes are roughly similarly priced, but components are considerably cheaper over there. Curiously, various bike brands don't always occupy the same step in the ranks as they do here. Giant, typically market leaders in the value stakes here due to sheer volume has a lower presence and slightly premium status over there, while others such as Bianchi are more generic sellers.

[toolonglegs]

Depends what you are doing / how long you are staying etc ... but under the Bike to Work scheme you can save 40% of the RRP in the UK.
Bikes go missing pretty damn quick in the UK... if you have a nice bike then ride it and leave it inside your house... get a s==tbox for commuting unless you have very secure lockup at work ( that includes wheels, set post etc ).

[pez2014]

Just out of curiosity what part of England you moving to?

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

[simonn]

Depends what you are doing / how long you are staying etc ... but under the Bike to Work scheme you can save 40% of the RRP in the UK.
Bikes go missing pretty damn quick in the UK... if you have a nice bike then ride it and leave it inside your house... get a s==tbox for commuting unless you have very secure lockup at work ( that includes wheels, set post etc ).

+1

Note: "very secure".

VERY SECURE

One more time:

VERY SECURE

My brother lives in central London. They have "secure" underground parking with cctv aplenty. Thieves has attempted to steal his motorbike several times - padlocks through disc holes, heavy chain locking it to the building etc.

[Xplora]

I reckon it would be explainable by virtue of the business model. We have much fewer bikes sold in AU, so we are asked to pay more because the distro can't secure a good discount. When end of year comes, and new models hit the floor, the distributor has much fewer people to push the clearance bikes onto, so they have to cut their prices more.

Too few people for cheap bikes at the start of the cycle, too few people to buy expensive bikes at the end of the cycle.

[Homo Suburbiensis]

I reckon it would be explainable by virtue of the business model. We have much fewer bikes sold in AU, so we are asked to pay more because the distro can't secure a good discount. When end of year comes, and new models hit the floor, the distributor has much fewer people to push the clearance bikes onto, so they have to cut their prices more.

Too few people for cheap bikes at the start of the cycle, too few people to buy expensive bikes at the end of the cycle.

But it is the RRP of bikes in australia that are soooo much cheaper. We are paying less. Here is another random example just found of the net. Different brand (Trek)

Trek 5.2
http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/ro ... ompact_uk/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.trekbikes.com/au/en/bikes/ro ... 2_compact/#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Same bike, but in UK it costs AU $5074 (2800 pounds) compared to in australia $3800

Complete bikes are significantly cheaper in australia.

[Xplora]

Redo the maths...

2800 pounds less 20% VAT is 2300 pounds. (this is REALLY important for the maths, because 17% of the total cost is a tax we avoid buying in Oz)
Allow for 66c exchange rate, I get 3500 bucks.
3500 bucks plus GST is 3850. That's pretty much the same price in my eyes?

[Homo Suburbiensis]

Don't know what exchange rate you're using...

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=2800 ... gbp+to+aud" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

=4157.93

then +10% = $4573

Still if you are comparing local prices to local prices (which is what the OP has said) i.e.buying a bike from an Australian LBS in australia or a bike from a British LBS in UK, you should be comparing the price you pay to the price you pay which includes both VAT and GST.