Price Fixing - Legal?

[oilydan]

So, after a little research I have decided I want to buy an LG 55LM8600 3D LED Television.

$2,300 from just about anywhere in the States, with free delivery in the US. Good ol' Dubai, cheap electronics and all that, must be a bargain here.....

I check Carrefour AED11,999

Plug-Ins AED11,999

LG Importer AED11,999

I see a pattern forming here.... The guy in Plug-ins told me that the importer fixes the price that everyone sells at.

Now, bear in mind that this 22.5kg TV would cost me AED8,500 and AED1,700 to ship. Add 5% tax and you have a smidge over AED10,600.

Bear in mind that the shipping I'm looking at here is a one-off Aramex Shop&Ship affair, all the retailers do this in bulk giving a massive saving on their price.

Dubai - Why so fecking expensive??

[Reffio]

Agree it must be price fixing. I've been looking at new cameras and had decided on a Canon 600D. When i mentioned to the guy in the first shop that I was going to shop around for prices, I was told he could guarantee I wouldn't get a different price anywhere else. Didn't believe him until an hour later when (in the dubai mall at least) I'd seen it for myself.

[shirt]

i feel your pain. i have just paid 190AED for a bloody oil seal from jeep. it is $10.99 in the US. i don't believe the price fixing for one minute, they just all price at RRP and don't grasp the concept of salesmanship.

also the other week i bought a waterproof/shockproof camera for work. same price everywhere, noone would throw in any extras to sweeten the deal and the one i ended up buying was ex display as it was the last one. did i get a discount? did i chuff.

have you looked in harman house? i bought by 46" samsung from them and prices were a tad lower than elsewhere. they also threw in some decent leads and a pair of headphones i wanted FOC. there's also the home audio place by al makhtoum bridge, they stock some large panels and were pretty keen on speaker prices last time i mosied in.

[shirt]

Reffio said:

Agree it must be price fixing. I've been looking at new cameras and had decided on a Canon 600D. When i mentioned to the guy in the first shop that I was going to shop around for prices, I was told he could guarantee I wouldn't get a different price anywhere else. Didn't believe him until an hour later when (in the dubai mall at least) I'd seen it for myself.

for anything portable, best to wait til you are next in the EU and get the VAT back on an already discounted price. i'm looking at a fuji x series. the x10 is £270 in the UK [with VAT back] versus £420 here. the x100 is £516 vs £980!!!

[Reffio]

It's funny you mention the x10 actually as we had decided we probably wouldn't use a full slr that much and the x10 gets a
lot of good press as one of the best compacts. Another look in the dubai mall (near to me) yesterday and lo and behold, every shop had it priced at 2499 dibs!

As you say think i'll wait unitl my next trip back to the UK and go down the VAT back route.

[shirt]

i've had slr's and all the gear before and just not that into photography enough to use them. on holiday they are just too bulky and a pain to carry around imo. plus the OH is a pro photographer and she reckons i should get the x100 but that's prob. so she can steal it!

[Reffio]

Isn't the x100 about a 1000gbp though? I think at that price I'd go for the sony nex7 although having said that your OH will know what she's speaking about so i'm guessing the x100 is the better option.

[shirt]

they were introduced at around a grand aye, but as the uk has a competitive marketplace and multiple import channels [on topic for a second!] they are going for around £640 inc VAT. i think the x10 would suit be better though as it has the zoom function.

[dxbtiger]

Reffio said:

Agree it must be price fixing. I've been looking at new cameras and had decided on a Canon 600D. When i mentioned to the guy in the first shop that I was going to shop around for prices, I was told he could guarantee I wouldn't get a different price anywhere else. Didn't believe him until an hour later when (in the dubai mall at least) I'd seen it for myself.

Perfecta Electronics, Bur Dubai.

Grey imports yes but worth a drive down.

I took a mate there last Tues, he picked up a 550D body for 2200AED.

[sidenote] what is it about the 600 that would make you choose one over the 550? same thing bar the tilting screen isn't in?[/sidenote]

I bought a new driver (golf club) 2 months ago and yes, that was the same price in every pro shop.

[dictys]

If buying any Apple stuff, the cheapest is actually the Apple online store rather than any of the local retailers, free delivery to your office as well.

When I asked why their prices were so much higher than Apple's own the answere was "that is our profit margin".

[shirt]

agreed. i bought a mac mini and accesories with UK keyboard etc. from the apple.ae store cheaper than buying in store with 4 weeks faster delivery.

in the shop [istyle] i asked how much it'd be with the upgraded processor. the guy stood in front of me and went on the apple store, then quoted me a price a few hunddred dhs more than was displayed on screen.

[mcbook]

dictys said:

If buying any Apple stuff, the cheapest is actually the Apple online store rather than any of the local retailers, free delivery to your office as well.

When I asked why their prices were so much higher than Apple's own the answere was "that is our profit margin".

Way cheaper than both the Apple store and iStyle are the (grey) Apple resellers down in Bur Dubai. There's a small shopping centre beside Spinneys on Mankhool Road that is full of computer shops - have a look there. I bought an iMac for 20% less than the Apple Store.

On the issue of general prices in Dubai, it's a real mixed bag: some things are way more expensive and others are quite similar to UK. Retailers must be laughing with super-low staff costs and no real price competition.

[dxbtiger]

I was very surprised when I went to Japan, they get absolutely fleeced compared to us, even on stuff that is made there.

I don't think we have it bad here, especially as above if you are prepared to go down the grey import route.

[oilydan]

Well, I bought a TV.

Could not get any shop to budge on price or freebies. Carrefour in MCC even said that they cannot because otherwise EMax would complain? WTF.

I bought from EMax so I could use my air Miles for discount - down to RRP

Almost worth the whole experience to see the look on the sales guy's face when I asked:

"If I buy this TV will you take me out to dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Yes, I like to be taken out for dinner and a bottle of wine before I get screwed"

"......"