Insane prices in Europe - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: mg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 04:57:35 pm
content: Hi there,I just wanted to buy Rigol 1052 as Dave suggested and Hakko FX-888.The soldering station goes for around ~80$ in US which is 55 Euros.The prices in Germany start from 150 Euros.The same goes for Rigol.400$ is something like 270Euros whereas in Germany I can get it for something like 550 Euros.Insane!Where do you buy your things in Europe?

author: Ernie Milko
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 05:18:40 pm
content: Second-hand.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 05:52:32 pm
content: Shop around. The more expensive the item, the more worth it is time invested in looking for a better price.

author: mg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 06:02:51 pm
content: Ive spent like 6-8hours looking around on internet looking for this soldering station. 2nd hand does not exists. I am not binded to germany only and ive been looking for one in denmark, and sweeden. It simply does not exist in any local store.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 06:33:43 pm
content: Quote from: mg on May 03, 2011, 04:57:35 pmWe stealing them ... or comes as giftsI have wrote all ready many topics about this issue.And seriously I feel the same like you, about it.I will give you an useful tip .Forget the web as easy shopping.Find some major distributors in your area , and use the phone to call them.Even today, very few distributors have in mind the Internet, as main way for sales,and they are not organized to deal with you , with e-shop sales.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 07:06:16 pm
content: Or go to their website, get the phone number and call them.This way I got a 10% discount on my last Agilent scope purchase.If I wouldn't call them and just buy the unit at the website, then no discount !

author: scrat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 11:01:05 pm
content: Why not this:http://www.progshop.com/shop/oscilloscopes/Rigol-DS1052E.html?Adding VAT that's 355 euro (free shipping in the EU). Not so bad!I paid mine about 40 euro less, after importing it from dealextreme and paying the taxes (practically loosing the 3-years warranty and waiting about two months for delivering)...BTW, tektronix scopes "same level" as the Rigol, in the sense the bandwidth and screen type (not DPO) are similar (but hey, that's Tek vs. Rigol!) are going for low prices:Farnell scopes low end. I've seen one of those, and it's a pretty instrument for the price.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2011, 11:36:40 pm
content: I have to admit I had never even heard of Hakko before I joined the eevforum. They seem to be very underrepresented here in Germany.There seems to be one company that imports them but the price is just ridiculous: 168,00 EUR. For that kind of money I wouldn't buy it, add another 50 EUR and you can get a Weller WS51, for example. As Hakko is so obscure here I imagine it could be hard to get tips for them, whereas you can get Weller tips in nearly every electronics shop.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2011, 04:20:30 am
content: The first I heard of Hakko was when AdaFruit started to stock them. I had heard of Metcal and Pace, but here in the UK Weller is the big name, with Antex covering the lower end of the market. I don't think I have seen a pro bench here that didn't have a Weller iron on it.This UK place does Hakko 888s for £80http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888pricelist.htmTo be honest though, no matter how good they are, they look like toys.Maybe it is just my age, but I wouldn't pay €300+ for a Rigol. That sort of money buys you a really nice reconditionedrealTektronix or similar machine. It won't have all the pushy-button-effects that look really sexy in reviews, and it will be a CRT not digital phosphor, but it will be a far far better scope with lower noise, higher resolution and better calibration.

author: mg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 04, 2011, 06:44:03 am
content: Quote from: DavidDLC on May 03, 2011, 07:06:16 pmI agree with that, 10% discount is better than nothing.The think however is that we are talking here about ~3x difference and adding 10% discount doesn't make sense for me.

author: mg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 04, 2011, 06:51:07 am
content: Quote from: david77 on May 03, 2011, 11:36:40 pmIn Germany it is 168 Euros, in Denmark I got a quote for 150 Euros, in UK you can get one for 90+VAT+Shipping = ~150Euros, in Sweden they told me that they will not send it anywhere else.I also don't think that spending ~150 Euros on it is worth it, but I would get one for a half of that price ~75 Euros.I will be soon in Anchorage (AL) and maybe I will get one there (probably shipping costs will be to high), and 100W voltage converter for 15 Euros.

author: flolic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2011, 07:05:31 am
content: Quote from: mg on May 03, 2011, 04:57:35 pmNowhere. I prefer buying from China for half of European price

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2011, 07:06:24 am
content: May I ask you why are you so set on this particular station? There are other good stations available.I would get one where it is easy to get spare parts especially tips in a few years time.What use is a soldering station when you may have to wait for replacement tips for weeks?You can get reasonable quality soldering stations in Germany from about 60,00 EUR, like the Zonghdi ZD-916 wich makes a good impression for the money or look at the Ersa Analog 60 or RDS80, they are both decent stations from a reputable manufacturer with good support.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2011, 08:39:00 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on May 03, 2011, 11:36:40 pmTry this shop:http://shop.wiltec.info/index.php/cat/c251_Hot-Air-Reworking.htmlTheir service is quite nice and shipping within Germany starts at 5.50 EUR (DHL).Also, Hakko tips are compatible (I guess they're the same even) with Aoyue tips. I guess they're the same thing, just a different name.PS: forgot to say, I bought my968 rework stationthere. They shipped with UPS for uh *searches invoice* 11 EUR to Finland. (did I say DHL sucks?)

author: johnmx
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2011, 09:05:28 pm
content: Quote from: scrat on May 03, 2011, 11:01:05 pmI made my order today in this store:1x DS1052E1x BXM80The best (cheapest) place to order is from these guys or from TekEquip. Get the special offer while it last. It ends at the end of the month.

author: bearman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2011, 10:36:49 pm
content: In regards to Hakko spare parts or any items that wear out.I learned a long time ago. Buy your spare parts up front with the unit you are buying.I bought a Hakko 936 and I included 4 of the most useful tips I would need along with the soldering station. I bought a couple pairs of other size tips I might use later also.All I have to do in the future is go into my inventory and grab a new one when I need it. No waiting for spares to ship. No fear of having a hard time finding spares once items get discontinued. You know stuff fails right in the middle of your hot project when you need a tool the most.I do the same for anything I buy, especially if they are not over the counter consumable items like batteries.I hurts a little up front when buying on a budget but you save in the long run.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2011, 07:34:39 am
content: Quote from: bearman on May 06, 2011, 10:36:49 pmAnd when you are my age you start to regret that cunning plan. Because you are sitting on all kinds of dubious spares and components even the most mad guys on eBay won't pay a single dollar for.

author: mg
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 09, 2011, 08:19:17 pm
content: Quote from: Neganur on May 05, 2011, 08:39:00 pmI bought the ("Hakko replacement") Aoyue 2900 (70W) with additional tip for 124 Euros.The same station in .us stands for 48 EUR.I also thought about getting the ERSA RDS80 (120 EUR) but after reading this:http://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/93174I decided not to.

author: Slobodan
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2011, 12:30:34 pm
content: I just bought/ordered Extech EX 330, and here, in Serbia, it's cost 5600 dinars, which is 56 Euros or80U.S. dollars. Compared to55U.S. dollars, which is the price in America. And that's the cheapest i could find.

author: xian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 05, 2011, 11:33:19 pm
content: Yap, it seems that here in Europe we are doomed to pay ridiculously high prices compared to the rest of the world.The only solution I could find is to order my stuff from china. Even with extremely high shipping price to Romania plus VAT and other taxes is still a lot cheaper then getting it locally. And if is under 50E most of the time I also don't have to pay the VAT because seems that anybody in china know to mark it as gift.Quote from: Slobodan on May 12, 2011, 12:30:34 pmI wanted one also, but finally I had to abandon the idea. You can not find any Extech at a decent price in Europe. Ordering one form ebay is also not a good idea because the high sipping. I think I will go with a UNI-T because I found some decent ones with free shipping.Also the shipping to Romania is a a pain. Probably it has the most expensive postal service in the world, even more expensive then International Space Station I think.Fortunately from china I always find something with free sipping.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2011, 11:50:24 pm
content: EXI-EX330 43EUR In Greece, plus there is currently 10% off discount, than the listed price ... for all Extech .Just call them for details.http://www.netscope.gr/ViewShopCategory.aspx?id=9707&PageNo=4&direction=1&OrderBy=8

author: logicnibble
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 06:31:16 pm
content: Kiriakos-GR,Do you know if "www.netscope.gr" sells for other countries in Europe?Those prices arte amizingly cheaper than in other stores like Conrad for example.Does anyone alse knows other sites in europe to buy cheap electronics components and equipment online?Thanks!

author: Morten I. Larsen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 11:47:54 am
content: I got a couple bench power supplies from Circuitspecialists.http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/triple-output-dc-bench-power-supply-lcd-display-csi-3005xiii-p-168.html2 x 0-30VDC, 5A and a fixed 5V, 3A.It also has a serial mode (0-60V, 5A) and a parallel mode ( 30V, 10A)The voltage readout is very accurate. (My pair of Fluke 87V agrees)€206.88 Inc VATAnd also a smaller 0-18VDC, 2A:http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/adjustable-dc-regulated-power-supply-csi-1802x-p-169.html€48.68 Inc VATI have been very pleased with both of them.I got my Rigol DS1052E from Tekequip.http://www.tekequip.com/digital-oscilloscope/rigol-ds1052e.htmlCurrently it is €299.00 (Free shipping within EU)

author: hisense999
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 02:34:13 pm
content: Quote from: flolic on May 04, 2011, 07:05:31 amIs something very important is cheap till you not pass the "duty free" value, after it you will get clue why in EU is so expensive - VAT magic, if you pay for something ~123EUR which will cost not more than ~100EUR then is not about greedy shop but about VAT - in more simple explaintation very high tax rate comparing to US and China where nobody care about pay of tax. So if you buy something from China and your "duty free in your country is for example value < 100$" then ordering something for 100$ you need to pay a VAT for it, of course packages from China usually are declared with funny values but buying with invoice for real value then always add 18-23% (depend of your country tax law) to price + other costs then you can get real comparision with local shops.B.R.

author: logicnibble
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 05:07:10 pm
content: Quote from: Morten I. Larsen on July 21, 2011, 11:47:54 amUnfortunately, neither sites have good digital multimeters to buy.I'd like to buy the EX330 from within Europe. Does anyone know where to buy it cheap and online?I've seen it onwww.conrad.deat ~63 Euros but I was looking for cheaper, aswww.netscope.grdoes: 43 Euros.

author: thilo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 09:02:24 pm
content: I've bought the Rigol 1052E from one of the official German distributors:http://www.batronix.com/versand/oszilloskope/Rigol-DS1052E.htmlThe price is reasonable if you assume $400 without taxes (and you have to pay those if you buy in US or someplace else).And for multimeters, check out voelkner.de they have the more reasonable prices in Germany.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 11:58:48 pm
content: Quote from: logicnibble on July 20, 2011, 06:31:16 pmWell some of their prices are with out VAT 23%.Still you can email them, and learn the details.mmylonas(at)netscope.gr

author: Pfex
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 08:56:30 am
content: Hi all.I have contacted a random supplier on Alibaba regarding the Hakko FX-888.They offered me the following prices:1x Hakko FX-888 @ 100$/piece10x Hakko FX-888 @ 80$/pieceIf you put 24% VAT and a ~30% margin on that you could sell them for around 100 Euro. + ~15-20 Euro to ship them around Europe.This is about what you find at the moment on ebay ... give or take ~10 Euro.Please keep in mid that virtually all US prices that you see do NOT include VAT and tax ... so that 80$ that you see for the Hakko FX-888 on Amazon might not be what you will actually end up paying.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 12:50:56 pm
content: Quote from: mg on May 03, 2011, 04:57:35 pmyou are lucky to live in Germany.... I live in Italy, and is more expansive than Germany, i can assure you...

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 01:11:18 pm
content: I adopted this strategy: get an "indirect" discount: go to your boss and ask if you can buy things with agency credential,and then when the things arrive, you give him money... This worked for me: i got a PLC OVER discounted by 60%.... +VAT (I hate VAT, should be abolished!)

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 05:27:12 pm
content: For some reason anything that is say $100.00 dollars in the US will be £100.00 pounds in the UK plus VAT and has been as long as I can remember and would appear to have nothing to do with import duties or where it is made. More to do with the costs of operating here in the UK and the greed of traders and local authorities who make the cost of trading so high.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 05:39:08 pm
content: here's my strategy : leave europe and move to the US. Worked great for me

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 06:11:07 pm
content: Quote from: Pfex on September 12, 2012, 08:56:30 amOn alibaba all bets are off that it's actually the real one with the mcu.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 06:32:57 pm
content: If you want the Hakko FX-888, probably the best would be to get it from Adafruit... it's 95$ there :https://www.adafruit.com/products/303Add about 40-50$ for shipping to Romania (or other EU countries), and maybe you'll pay 3-5% customs fees and 24% VAT in Romania if your customs officer isn't "friendly" or they send the package through DHL or some shipper that calculates the taxes in advance.Still better than 160-180 euro + 24% VAT, about the price on the local market. Sure, it's the 110v version but 110v to 220-240v converters are cheap.For the RIGOL, I guess you could try your luck with Dealextreme but I'd go for Batronix if you're in Europe:http://www.batronix.com/shop/oscilloscopes/Low-Cost-Oscilloscopes.html

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 07:34:57 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on September 12, 2012, 05:39:08 pmIf I only have a chance, don't you believe I leave this country?

author: senso
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2012, 10:35:10 pm
content: When I bought my Rigol I posted here that Batronix was having a discount on them, I got mine for 300€ with free shipping, the site is here:http://www.batronix.com/shop/oscilloscopes/Rigol-DS1052E.htmlIts even cheaper now, I recommend that shop and they are in Germany, so you might as well get free or pretty cheap shipping.As for the Hakko, I understand you, I also tried to buy one from the official Hakko distributor and when they told me it costs 150€ I fainted, but buying one from USA for 60-70€, and paying 20€ for shipping and then getting hit with huge customs fees, VAT and what-not, its better to buy it already from a shop in Europe, because it will have the same or a very identical final price.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2012, 12:19:32 am
content: Well, actually even if the euro stays the same i understand that many countries are hit with massive customs fees and VAT - am i right?But still doesn't even match up what's going on here and Oz, 200dollars for a station that is made in a neighbouring country with nothing special!I was like if it was 100$ it would be decent BUT HELL NO!You know the hakko mantra ... the further you go the cheaper it gets

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2012, 12:53:28 am
content: T4P, it depends...Here in Romania, the national post offices that handle packages from outside EU are VERY busy, so usually if they see packages coming from a person to another person, they just let it go after checking the contentsIf it's from a company, it's debatable, it depends on the mood and the value of the packages. If it's something worth 100-150$, at least in my town there's chances the customs officer won't bother to spend 15 minutes of his time filling forms to get me to pay a few dollars in customs fees.For electronics I would have to pay around 3% in customs fees and 24% vat... but there's exceptions. The law says that you don't pay customs fees if the value is below 45 euro, and also you don't pay customs fees if the products were ordered ONLINE and they're worth less than 150 euro... so yeah, you think the customs officer is going to try to prove the package was NOT ordered online?There's also a rule saying you don't pay VAT for packages worth less than 10 euro... so if there's no invoice in the package, you can just say that multimeter was 9.90 euroNow it's a whole different story with USPS or DHL ... USPS at least computes the VAT and customs fees (if the package is worth more than 150 euro) before they even talk to you so when they come you have to pay the fees to get the package.

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2012, 03:47:38 am
content: Japan prices are also quite insane. Some examplesSolder iron Hakko FX-888: $175Multimeter Fluke 87-5: $640Rigol DG1022 (20MHz arb func gen): $2150Rigol DG4102 (100MHz arb func gen): $2000But what's good about living in Japan is that mains is 100V and therefore possible order stuff from US. And the customs rarely require you to pay import taxes, and if they do it's only 5%.Anyway, move to US is good suggestion!

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2012, 03:14:22 pm
content: i always love the currency exchange rates when its about product prices us 500 usd europe 500 euro

author: marmad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2012, 12:33:57 pm
content: Quote from: mariush on September 13, 2012, 12:53:28 amRomania is a member of the EU, right? Digital oscilloscopes and many other test instruments made in China are duty free (doesn't matter about the price). The amount that you must pay is based on the TARIC code (9030 20 30 90 for Chinese DSO) and tariff which you can look up at the Taxation and Customs Union site (the link is a for Chinese-made osciloscope):http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/measures.jsp?Lang=en&SimDate=20121109&Area=CN&Taric=9030203090&LangDescr=enThe best thing is to do the research yourself, and then have the shipper put the correct TARIC code in the documentation (because customs officials are generally idiots). Of course, you still have to pay VAT on price + shipping if they check.Correction:Reading through TARIC documentation, I noticed this:"The TARIC DDS site allows searching for a product code based on its description. This function does not guarantee that a code retrieved in this way will be accepted by the Customs offices if used in a declaration."Basically, it says that your local Customs office may screw you over. I think the best thing to do, if thinking of importing an expensive measuring device with 0% duty tariff (and you're not worried about paying VAT), is to FIRST contact your Customs office with the TARIC code and get them to either/disagree with the published tariff in writing; in other words:"In order to obtain written classification information, it is advised to ask for a "Binding Tariff Information" (BTI) in the country of importation. Since it is the national customs authorities that are responsible for issuing binding tariff information, please send your request to the competent customs authorities of the Member State concerned. The names and addresses of these authorities can be found in the Official Journal of the EC C 126 of 23.05.2008, page 11."Quote from: elCap on September 13, 2012, 03:47:38 amThis used to matter more (I know from being an American living in Europe), but nowadays almost everything important operates from 100-240V / 50-60Hz.