Why is everything more expensive in Europe ?

[doc_bean]

Okay, this is something that constantly bothers me when I see a price on the internet in US dollars. Why do we Europeans have to pay so much more than the Americans ? I realize we have more taxes, but sales tax is about 20% here, the Euro is about 40% more 'valuable' than the dollar, so even accounting for the extra taxes and the extra transport costs (well, everything's coming from Asia anyway so it shouldn't be that much more) it still doesn't explain why we have to pay so much more for books, cd's, games and pretty much everything else. It used to be that you just looked at a price in USD and than thought the cost here would be the same figure but then in Euro's. However, lately, this doesn't even apply anymore !

Is it our higher wages ? Does the money go purely to the retailers ? Is there some sort of insidious plan to make us all poor ? Or doesn't the market work like we'd expect it to, at all ?

</rant>

[Duke Malcolm]

Think of us in Britain! We have more expensive stuff than Europe...
People travel to Europe for cheap things...

Taxes, inflation, etc...

[Fragony]

Bigger market so retailers can buy bigger batches. And lower taxes of course

[Louis VI the Fat]

The US has a more inventive enterprising population, a fiercely competititive market, less regulation, more capitalistic incentive
Oustanding European economic accomplishments, leading to a high wage, high prices economy.

[English assassin]

To help keep the Americans at home

Oh, wait, I know this one. Because of the EU.

[caravel]

Think of us in Britain! We have more expensive stuff than Europe...
People travel to Europe for cheap things...

Taxes, inflation, etc...

Too true... it annoys me that people in the US can get broadband for something like $10 per month! In the UK we're paying between £15 - £20 per month which is something like $27 - $36 per month. They also get their games, CD's and DVD alot cheaper, and of course their petrol is cheaper.

[doc_bean]

Personally, i'd like to blame it on two things

1. the complete idiocy of the European consumer

Take for a instance a chain store like Free record shop, which despite its name sells cd's at over 20€ a piece. This chain of stores is ever expanding, despite the fact that those same cd's are often available for 15-16€ in a smaller shop. Those small shops have a hard time surviving, go figure.
Something that really pissed my off were the Fnac stores here once had a 'campaign' to lower the sales tax on cd's: they put little stickers on cd's: with 6% sales tax this cd would only cost blablabla". Ironically, the first time I saw this, I had just been to a different store that sold the same cd at a price below what their lower-tax-price would be... The Fnac chain is doing great afaik.

2. retailer monopolies

I already mentioned two chains, Fnac and Free Record Shop who sell cd's at insane prices yet do well. Of course, there are still some smaller cd stores left that sell them at a lower price, at least in the cities and town where those haven't been bought out by the chains yet. Now games, they're a different matter. Even if you don't live in a big city, your choice of game stores will be pretty limited: besides the two chains mentioned, you have Bart Smit, which is basically a children's store with only limited stock, and Game Mania, yet another chain (overpriced, but less so) and the big convience stores (limited stock of course). there are no independent game shops that i know of, so while there might be some, there won't be many. Now recently, Game Mania has been bought by Free Record Shop, this can only lead to more raping of the average consumer. I've seen a PSP being offered at 300€ in a Free Record Shop, while it was being sold for 250€ a year or so ago. Things aren't looking good...

[Alexanderofmacedon]

I don't know, but have fun paying more.

[solypsist]

all that free healthcare doesnt pay itself.

[Proletariat]

Too true... it annoys me that people in the US can get broadband for something like $10 per month! In the UK we're paying between £15 - £20 per month which is something like $27 - $36 per month.

I pay $60 a month for cable internet right outside of the nation's capitol, and so does anyone else I've talked to. Where did you hear about $10 a month?

[Pindar]

I pay $60 a month for cable internet right outside of the nation's capitol, and so does anyone else I've talked to. Where did you hear about $10 a month?

My broadband in Orange County CA is $22 a month.

[Proletariat]

Hm, between your gas prices and mine it may be a wash, though.