Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada?

Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Posted by Basslines (A) on August 12, 2015 at 12:03:36

Can anybody explain why Harbeth retail prices are so much lower in Canada? When you convert the Canadian dollars retail prices in to US$, the difference on some models is shocking! Assuming that the export price from Harbeth to the distributor is the same per model in UK Pounds, and given that;

(1) Canadian market is 10% the size of the U.S. market. The Canadian distributor is not buying more volume from Harbeth than the U.S. distributor.

(2) Customs duty on loudspeakers into Canada is higher at 6.5% vs 4.9% into the USA.

(3) The US$ is stronger against the UK Pound than the Canadian dollar.

(4) There is no preferential customs tariff on imports into Canada from the UK because Canada is a British commonwealth country.

Some examples, all Cherry for simplification;

HL Compact 7ES-3
U.S. Retail: US$3,795.00
CDN Retail: C$4,599.00
C$4,599.00 = US$3,538.00 at today's exchange rate.
Canadian retail price is 7% lower than US$ retail in US$.

Monitor 30.1
U.S. Retail: US$5,695.00
CDN Retail: C$5,299.00
C$5,299.00 = US$4,077.00 at today's exchange rate.
Canadian retail price is 28.4% lower than US$ retail in US$.

Super HL5plus
U.S. Retail: US$6,695.00
CDN Retail: C$6,299.00
C$6,299.00 = US$4,846.00 at today's exchange rate.
Canadian retail price is 27.6% lower than US$ retail in US$.

Monitor 40.1
U.S. Retail: US$12,895.00
CDN Retail: C$14,999.00
C$14,999.00 = US$11,540.00 at today's exchange rate.
Canadian retail price is 10.5% lower than US$ retail in US$.

No axe to grind with anybody here, just curious from an economic perspective.

Harbeth Canadian Retail Pricing (Open in New Window)

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Topic - Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Basslines 12:03:36 08/12/15 (14)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - RGA 20:21:29 08/22/15 (2)

RGA, you missed the point.......... - Basslines 08:47:07 08/24/15 (1)

RE: RGA, you missed the point.......... - Garg0yle 16:14:25 08/24/15 (0)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - pr-harbeth 04:30:42 08/17/15 (0)

There is no intrinsically correct "price." - Jaundiced Ear 23:28:25 08/13/15 (0)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Bill the K 17:50:36 08/13/15 (0)

At one time most British audio was cheaper in Canada - Jonesy 12:04:47 08/13/15 (0)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Sprezza Tura 15:33:30 08/12/15 (3)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - plugmein 04:56:47 08/13/15 (2)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Sprezza Tura 06:38:39 08/13/15 (1)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - defdum&blind 12:02:08 08/16/15 (0)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Awe-d-o-file 15:30:56 08/12/15 (1)

RE: Harbeth, why so cheap in Canada? - Pat D 15:20:56 08/13/15 (0)

Canada is colder, and therefore the units don't spoil as quickly - Edp 12:27:30 08/12/15 (0)

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