The new Kindle light will be sold in the US at $79 (or roughly £50.50).
The new Kindle light will be sold in the UK at £89 (or roughly $139.20).
I am eagerly awaiting the Euro prices (which I expect to be pitched at roughly 1:1 with US dollar prices).
But I am genuinely mystified: why would this piece of crap apparently cost nearly double in the UK what it's being dumped for in the US? How is this evidence that there is anything like a free market? Or are Amazon just consumer gougers?
4 comments:
Yes, but a Kindle is a BOOK (or so they'd like you to believe!) and books have for generations been sold in this country for the same figure in pounds as in the USA in dollars. And we have been fool enough to buy them.
I have myself generally (where possible) bought books in the US and the price plus carriage is almost always less than 2/3 the British ditto. It's worth the trouble. (Some US sellers have "shipping" depots in the EU, so it's quite fast too.)
All it needs is for all of us to do this for a few weeks (or equally not to buy anything at all) and the problem will be solved.
Just as printers are sold cheap so the manufacturers make the real money on the toner or inkjet cartridges, the Kindle (and Nook and other competitors) are now being discounted themselves with the prospect of making money by selling products for them (eBooks) and/or running ads on them. Perhaps the British publishing industry has been dragging its feet in providing electronic versions of its product to Amazon, so Amazon is less assured of making back the money spent in developing the hardware in the British market as compared to the US market (or fewer ad opportunities have presented themselves so far).
Of course, it may be as simple as some middle management-type's irrational dislike of Britons (or a belief that they're all suckers willing to overpay?)...
To answer your question: why would this piece of crap apparently cost nearly double in the UK what it's being dumped for in the US?
The US version at the prices you've mentioned are supported with adverts (on screensaver, etc). The non-ad version is priced closer to the UK price.
The UK version doesn't have adverts.
I don't think that's right (though I stand to be corrected) -- I chose the only model that is being offered in both countries. There are variations which are not currently available in the UK and I discounted those. Though I am so crap it's entirely possible I made a mistake. Point me at the pages showing the two different models in the two countries and I will eat an enormous portion of humble pie!
Post a Comment