It's not just the shipping costs. You also have to take into account that manufacturers (or in the case of the less costly products, logo owners) limit warranties by region and may charge different prices in different regions to cover the additional cost of shipping and handling that is incurred if they have to return defective units after repair. Let's look at a real cost because the US price does not include sales tax whereas European prices include both duty and VAT. People also think that duty and VAT add 25% before shipping and forget to add the VAT on the shipping cost.
Let's say you buy a $1,000 telescope from the US and shipping & insurance costs $100:
Telescope $1000
Duty $42
Shipping $100
VAT on $1142 is $239.82
Total cost $1381.42
So that would be the cost to you. Now let's say that the scope is part of a grouped shipment to a vendor. The vendor gets the scope at 20% less than the net price to the US customer (i.e. marks up 25%) and the net proportion of the shipping and insurance we can assign to that individual item is $25.
Telescope $750
Duty $31.50
Shipping $25
Cost $806.50
25% Vendor markup $201.625
Subtotal $1008.13
VAT on $1008.13 is $211.71
Total Cost $1219.83
Remember that I've used some arbitrary figures, specifically the markup by US vendors and the cost of shipping and insurance. If the vendor markups were the same and you comply with duty and VAT requirements it should literally cost less to buy a scope here from a vendor who orders large grouped shipments from the manufacturer than to buy it from a US vendor and ship it over as an individual item.
We know that things do not cost less here, so what's happening? One possibiility is that the vendor's markup here is more than that of the US vendor. Another is that the vendor is compelled to order from a distributor, which adds another markup and another shipping cost, both of which will also have VAT applied. It's also possible, as I mentioned earlier, that the manufacturer charges the non-US vendor more than the US vendor to start with in order to cover additional warranty support costs.
Are the biggest variables the markups and do they make the biggest difference where a non-US vendor has to purchase stock through a distributor but a US vendor can buy direct from the logo owner? Yes, if the product is built in the US, but what if it's not?
Every telescope I've bought except the Coronado PST came in a fancy box that had another box inside it and on that box was the slogan "Made In China". The biggest variable may in fact be the company logo, whether it's "Meade", "Celestron" or something else.
Bottom line? A US company logo adds no actual value and in many cases they buy an instrument from the original manufacturer (OEM) as designed by that source with their logo and finish added. The original manufacturer is technically capable of applying the same level of quality control to instruments that they market themselves because it's already part of the package they sell to the likes of Celestron, Meade or Orion. So, in the case of OEM designed telescopes, we would be better off if the vendors who sell to us purchased products directly from the OEM.
That's why (for example) a 102mm Mak branded by Telescope Service costs less than a 102mm Mak with a similar fit from a big name brand. If the telescope you are interested in has the same specification and a similar fit to instruments available from several other brand names it's likely to be this kind of product. Want to save money? Buy the own brand product from a reputable vendor and skip the logo middleman.
John
Better that old people should die of talk than to have young people die in war.
