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thomas pars
Joined: 29 Jan 2009
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 Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:29 am Post subject: korea: Expensive & exclusive |
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Why are Western products 50-75 % more expensive than in the states? Can anyone explain that to me? Wanted to buy some vitamins. In the states 10 dollars. Here 35. Wanted to buy an ipod. 299 In the States. Here 399. Wanted to buy a bike In the states 600. Here that same bike is 1600!!!!!!
What I dont understand is that the rate appears pretty arbitrary. Is this protectionism? I would buy the Korean made version if it weren't sooo inferior. I mean I would rather buy the Trek mountain bike as opposed to the Lespo.
Getting really tired of getting ripped offed here. |
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SHANE02
Joined: 04 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:54 am Post subject: |
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| Yes it's protectionisim. Not much you can do about it if you live in Korea sorry. |
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Ilsanman
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Bucheon, Korea
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:04 am Post subject: |
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Some of it is tariffs and/or import costs. Others are just merchants overcharging because they can.
Take heart; Koreans get ripped off too. They are just too spineless to stand up and refuse to buy these 바가지 prices. |
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Snake Doctor
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:19 am Post subject: |
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If they didn't protect their domestic products with exorbitantly high prices for imported goods, they might just start making decent products that can compete.
Why was Japan able to break the mold on this one in terms of quality? Back in the 60's and 70's, Japanese products were known for their inferior quality. Same as Korea. But then something happened. Japan changed their brand image and started making outstanding products. Why can't Korea follow suit? |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 5:15 am Post subject: Re: korea: Expensive & exclusive |
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| thomas pars wrote: |
Why are Western products 50-75 % more expensive than in the states? Can anyone explain that to me? Wanted to buy some vitamins. In the states 10 dollars. Here 35. Wanted to buy an ipod. 299 In the States. Here 399. Wanted to buy a bike In the states 600. Here that same bike is 1600!!!!!!
What I dont understand is that the rate appears pretty arbitrary. Is this protectionism? I would buy the Korean made version if it weren't sooo inferior. I mean I would rather buy the Trek mountain bike as opposed to the Lespo.
Getting really tired of getting ripped offed here. |
Reminds me of the 7 dollar bottles of soju back in the states. Do I believe soju is better than a bottle of Absolut Vodka? Hell no but if you DEMAND that imported product, of course you are going to pay for it.
I think protectionism is part of it in some ways, but in other ways I believe more of it has to do with "prestige" pricing. Many companies and distribution dealers charge more for foreign products and products exported to foreign markets because people generally believe that a higher price equals higher quality. Many such companies are just positioning their products for the market of consumers they want to attract, which in many cases are people that have the money to spend on imported products because they believe it adds to their status.
For example..the current import duty for whiskey in Korea is 20% of value, yet the prices you see in stores for whiskey are often times 100-200 percent of the value. Why the huge difference you may ask? Because the retailers and the companies themselves are manipulating the price to segment the market. If it were cheaper, every Joe Blow college kid would be drinking it, thereby lowering the mystique for the product. While I don't know all that much about bikes, I would guess this may be a likely reason why the TREK bike you may prefer costs a substantial bit more than back home, and even with shipping and import charges, the price is a substantial bit higher.
I would like to give you the data for the import duties of bikes, but the HS code for them is broken down into parts,(pedal, seat, braking system, etc) and there is no code that I could find for fully assembled bikes. That makes me wonder if the country is importing the parts, and performing the assembly here in country, which would only further increase the retail value. (I only did a quick search but that info may be out there somewhere)
I can tell you that according to US Commercial Services, Korea levies a 10% tariff on EVERYTHING imported from the US, and then on top of that adds another 10% to 20% tariff on items that is considers "luxury" items and other "durable" goods.(Agricultural goods get it in the bunghole ALOT more than that) Even with those tariffs, the difference in price for the bike is astonishing. |
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oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| Snake Doctor wrote: |
If they didn't protect their domestic products with exorbitantly high prices for imported goods, they might just start making decent products that can compete.
Why was Japan able to break the mold on this one in terms of quality? Back in the 60's and 70's, Japanese products were known for their inferior quality. Same as Korea. But then something happened. Japan changed their brand image and started making outstanding products. Why can't Korea follow suit? |
a Korean car received "car of the year", Samsung and LG make some of the best flat screen tvs and computers. Cowen and Iriver make awesome mp3/media players. I'd say they are breaking the mold as we speak. |
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Snake Doctor
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:13 am Post subject: |
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| oskinny1 wrote: |
| Snake Doctor wrote: |
If they didn't protect their domestic products with exorbitantly high prices for imported goods, they might just start making decent products that can compete.
Why was Japan able to break the mold on this one in terms of quality? Back in the 60's and 70's, Japanese products were known for their inferior quality. Same as Korea. But then something happened. Japan changed their brand image and started making outstanding products. Why can't Korea follow suit? |
a Korean car received "car of the year", Samsung and LG make some of the best flat screen tvs and computers. Cowen and Iriver make awesome mp3/media players. I'd say they are breaking the mold as we speak. |
That's a very good point oskinny! I concur on those items.  |
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alphakennyone
Joined: 01 Aug 2005
Location: city heights
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:31 am Post subject: |
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| Snake Doctor wrote: |
| oskinny1 wrote: |
| Snake Doctor wrote: |
If they didn't protect their domestic products with exorbitantly high prices for imported goods, they might just start making decent products that can compete.
Why was Japan able to break the mold on this one in terms of quality? Back in the 60's and 70's, Japanese products were known for their inferior quality. Same as Korea. But then something happened. Japan changed their brand image and started making outstanding products. Why can't Korea follow suit? |
a Korean car received "car of the year", Samsung and LG make some of the best flat screen tvs and computers. Cowen and Iriver make awesome mp3/media players. I'd say they are breaking the mold as we speak. |
That's a very good point oskinny! I concur on those items. |
Yet it also proves the point. Many of those items, though "made in Korea," are found cheaper in the States. |
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shinramyun
Joined: 31 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Samsung HDTVs tend to be cheaper than Sony Bravia HDTV when both TVs has same components and technology. |
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OnTheOtherSide
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Good for Korea. They are boosting their local economy in this way. The US needs to take a lesson from this, maybe then the US economy and job market would be more decent.
The OP is just sour because he has to pay more to get his western stuff. But I think every country SHOULD be doing this. It's a good thing for them. |
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bossface
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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ur right on the vitamins and the bike. the ipod, however, when weighing in exchange rates and taxes (a US ipod at $299 will cost another $20-$30 in tax, a k ipod has the VAT already factored into the price) is pretty much a wash. apple products tend to cost about the same in both places, and when the won is really rough (1400+) apple products tend to be cheaper in K, at least based on dollars.
its all hit and miss, i suppose. 4,000 won for a sit down lunch (with no tip)? 2500 won smokes? 18,000 won for a half hour taxi ride across town? awesome. 180,000 won levis? 60,000 won shitty fan that will break in few months? not so much |
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markhan
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Snake Doctor wrote: |
If they didn't protect their domestic products with exorbitantly high prices for imported goods, they might just start making decent products that can compete.
Why was Japan able to break the mold on this one in terms of quality? Back in the 60's and 70's, Japanese products were known for their inferior quality. Same as Korea. But then something happened. Japan changed their brand image and started making outstanding products. Why can't Korea follow suit? |
I assume you don't keep track of economic news.
Japan, sadly, has been declining in terms of brand power for the last decade or so (just check out their GNP per person). I am shocked at how some brands such as Panasonic, Aiwa, Sharp, and even Sony (PS3 is downright disaster when you consider how dominant PS2 was) lost so much clout in such a short time. Korean companies such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, SK, POSCO, have done exceedingly well in the last decade. Many attribute that Japanese, unlike said Korean companies, have failed to shift from analog to digital phase accordingly. Japanese are good at, generally speaking, improving products incrementally, but when the whole paradigm shifts, given their cautious nature, they are very slow to adapt. In this regard, Korean and Chinese have upper hand against Japanese. |
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Sergio Stefanuto
Joined: 14 May 2009
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| OnTheOtherSide wrote: |
| But I think every country SHOULD be doing this. It's a good thing for them. |
No, it isn't good for them. Import tarrifs of amount X means the buyer has X less than would otherwise be available in the absence of a tarrif to spend on other things, or save. With no tarrif, and with X left over in consequence, buyers could help employment in any number of industries in Korea. |
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fermentation
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| A jar of Nutella here is around 4000won, where in the States, you can get a jar twice that size for the same price. Makes me sad. |
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tacitus14
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:16 am Post subject: |
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No it isn't good for Korean industries. Technology industries are based on innovation not copying and Korean protectionism insures that technology manufacturing industries are proped up by the market of Korean consumers ready to buy copies of technologies invented elsewhere. Korea has no real tech industry. They just have companies that copy existing technology. Until this mentality changes Korea will never compete with the big boys. Koreans might make cell phones with touch screens and good cameras, but all of that was first created somewhere else and while the west is using blackberries you can't think of using one here Samsung comes up with a cheap copy.
In the long run it's just bad business and the economy won't benefit from protectionism. It will stay mired in quasi development. Protectionism only works for developing economies. |
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