ELI5: Why is GBP pricing equal to USD pricing?

[iamgigglz]

Ok, not always, but take the Corsair Air 5400 as an example. £240 here, $230 on Newegg. With the insane US import tarriffs and 1 GBP supposedly worth 1.3x as much as 1 USD, how is this possible?
Please fix my very simplistic world view.

 

[Sinbad2000]

Ok, not always, but take the Corsair Air 5400 as an example. £240 here, $230 on Newegg. With the insane US import tarriffs and 1 GBP supposedly worth 1.3x as much as 1 USD, how is this possible?
Please fix my very simplistic world view.

The Holy Profit declares it must be so.

(but it might also be the 20% vat?)

 

[Skilid]

20% VAT. US prices exclude taxes.

Sometimes there an additional "screw you" on top.

 

[iamgigglz]

Aah ok, forgot their pricing excludes tax, AND their tax is only 7.25% (at worst), so we're not being tarriffed but we are being taxed. The pricing is still too close to make complete sense to me but the tax goes a long way in explaining it.

 

[deviation]

Illuminati /thread

 

[dave28]

Google says something like, even though the pound is technically worth more than the dollar, that is overshadowed by the dollar`s dominance in global trade and its status as the world`s reserve currency.
What really grinds my gears is that their youth are driving around in huge V8 cars and our youth are driving around in noddy cars with 1 litre engines.

 

[iamgigglz]

Google says...

I used to google stuff like this but the internet has turned into a mess of automatically generated content, AI or otherwise, that I can't really trust for answering questions like this. I need a person who understands the global economy better than I do.

What really grinds my gears is that their youth are driving around in huge V8 cars and our youth are driving around in noddy cars with 1 litre engines.

If I wanted to keep my 18yr old out of trouble I'd stick him in a huge V8. No chance he'll be driving to the local pub - car won't fit down the road and nowhere to park.

 

[deviation]

If I wanted to keep my 18yr old out of trouble I'd stick him in a huge V8. No chance he'll be driving to the local pub - car won't fit down the road and nowhere to park.

Exactly, he'll be enjoying doing burnouts for 3 blocks and having a fast car too much to care about downing stella and beating his GF
V8 FTW!

 

[jigger]

Market size is one reason. The others would be our exit from the customs union and US tariffs. In a nutshell, mostly because of Reform and MAGA.

 

[DD_Crash]

Always has been like this.

 

[DD_Crash]

Google says something like, even though the pound is technically worth more than the dollar, that is overshadowed by the dollar`s dominance in global trade and its status as the world`s reserve currency.
What really grinds my gears is that their youth are driving around in huge V8 cars and our youth are driving around in noddy cars with 1 litre engines.

Relatively speaking in the late sixties US you could buy a 302 (5 litre) Mustang cheaper than a 1600GT Capri and it would be cheaper to run. It used to annoy me somewhat.

 

[Thekwango]

greed. don't ever forget greed. retailers aren't your friend, they're there to separate you from your hard earned.

 

[Vestas]

Aah ok, forgot their pricing excludes tax, AND their tax is only 7.25% (at worst)

You're forgetting that there's state and local sales taxes in the USA. California for example is 7.25% state tax and 0-9.5% local tax (depending on what it is/which county you're in). Average sales tax on IT products is around 13% in CA.

Edit - also most states now have laws which allow local taxes to be applied to interstate transactions, which wasn't the norm until Amazon etc. That means it doesn't matter where in the USA its shipped from, you're paying state+local where you live.

 

[malachi]

Most of these companies are US companies.

If we had hardware manufactured in the UK by UK companies then we wouldn't have this problem. But here we are

 

[fraps]

Even taking off our 20% VAT, it’s £200 or $266 USD. We pay 15.7% more. Similar thing with the new Razer Deathadder V4. £170 here and $170 in the USA. $188.53 taking off VAT. A slightly less egregious 11% more but still significant nonetheless.
All these items are made in China so can’t see how shipping costs play into it. Also the USA has tariffs on China so it seems like the UK and Europe subsidise the American Consumer. Frustrating.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Also the USA has tariffs on China so it seems like the UK and Europe subsidise the American Consumer. Frustrating.

100% this is the case.

 

[Millwall.FC]

Most of these companies are US companies.

If we had hardware manufactured in the UK by UK companies then we wouldn't have this problem. But here we are

Even so theyre not made in the US and would be subject to tarrifs too, thats why the customs angle dosent explain the difference

 

[Grim5]

Ok, not always, but take the Corsair Air 5400 as an example. £240 here, $230 on Newegg. With the insane US import tarriffs and 1 GBP supposedly worth 1.3x as much as 1 USD, how is this possible?
Please fix my very simplistic world view.

Because stuff is made in China, and it's expensive to ship to Britain. Also taxes are much higher in the UK which inflates prices