S
Simon Scott
Guest
This article strikes a chord with me, having seen how much less people on the continent or in the States pay for the same stuff that we buy. It rarely matter what the commodity is; cars, bikes, clothes, CDs, fishing gear, you name it, we invariably pay more for it.
A few years ago a friend of mine wanted to but a new bike, a Suzuki GSXR750. The official dealer in Northampton wanted ?9000 for one, a dealer in Brackley wanted ?6000 for an Italian-spec parallel import (exactly the same machine save for a km/h speedo and rh dip headlight) - and remember the parallel dealer had to buy the bike and import it before selling it for a rather thin margin. Needless to say, my friend saved himself 3 grand.
We hear the same old lame arguments trotted out about strong pounds and other bollocks like that, but it's up to us to use purchasing power, which is far easier now thanks to the EC and the internet. If enough people exercise their right to buy at a price they like, then the profit vultures in Britain will have to shape up or go out of business. Always ask for a deal, and be armed with a fall-back option of buying over the net or from someone else if a deal isn't offered. If we pay more than we need to, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.
A few years ago a friend of mine wanted to but a new bike, a Suzuki GSXR750. The official dealer in Northampton wanted ?9000 for one, a dealer in Brackley wanted ?6000 for an Italian-spec parallel import (exactly the same machine save for a km/h speedo and rh dip headlight) - and remember the parallel dealer had to buy the bike and import it before selling it for a rather thin margin. Needless to say, my friend saved himself 3 grand.
We hear the same old lame arguments trotted out about strong pounds and other bollocks like that, but it's up to us to use purchasing power, which is far easier now thanks to the EC and the internet. If enough people exercise their right to buy at a price they like, then the profit vultures in Britain will have to shape up or go out of business. Always ask for a deal, and be armed with a fall-back option of buying over the net or from someone else if a deal isn't offered. If we pay more than we need to, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.