UK -v- US price

[EssexHebridean]

Looking at the preview information for the Versa, I notice that the US price is all bar a cent 200USD. The UK price though is shown as £200 - again less a penny or so. Why are we in the UK being charged proportionately SO much more than the US for this device? 

[N8teGee]

The American price you are referring to is for the standard Versa which lacks the NFC chip (fitbit pay). In the US it is $230 for the special edition version with the NFC chip, there are two versions available there.

In the UK there is only one version available which is £199.99, but this version is equivalent to the US special edition ($230). Hope that makes sense? 

[EssexHebridean]

$230USD is definitely NOT equal to £199 in any currency converter I can find!  

[N8teGee]

Maybe not, but it's certainly better then the straight $299 to £299 conversion we got on the Ionic when it was released. As with most things, the US generally seems to get a better deal. Is it fair, of course not. 

[EditaAlta]

Europe has 2 years warranty and US only one year, maybe that's why there is such a price difference.

[SunsetRunner]

There’s always someone, every time a piece of tech gets released globally, from it Fitbit or any other company, that complains about price disparity. This is a global market, with differing taxes and yes, as pointed out above, warranties, amongst other things.

Prices will not be the same on a simple currency conversion.

[N8teGee]

@SunsetRunner Good point, I don't think the US price includes sales tax, well I think that was at least the case with the Ionic. So once you add tax to the price there really isn't too much in it. 

[sonjacm]

In Catalonia there are going to be 2 editions: 199.95€ y 229,95€. Also more expensive than in USA

[Julia_G]

As others have pointed out:

1. The US quoted price does not include sales tax (up to about 10%), while the UK price  does include VAT (20%! )

2. The comparable US version is more expensive than the headline price, because the UK version includes the NFC chip, whereas the basic US version does not

3. In the UK we get a two year warranty standard, whereas in the US the warranty is only 1 year.

I am in the US often, and could easily buy one there, but considering all these factors, I would still, I think, buy one in the UK (especially if I cared about the NFC chip).  I think the UK deal is pretty comparable (given that these devices take a lot of wear and tear, the 2 year warranty is probably worth the extra approx -- my very rough back of envelope calculations -- £20ish we might pay...)

[EssexHebridean]

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@EditaAltawrote:

Europe has 2 years warranty and US only one year, maybe that's why there is such a price difference.

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I'll take that as a reasonable reason for the disparity - and yes the extra year of warranty is probably well worth paying some extra for.  I'd not realised that FitBit offered a 2 year warranty as standard so thanks for the information! 

As for "there's always someone who complains" - yes - and so there should be as in the UK we routinely get charged more for all things tech, automotive and in many other areas than our neighbours in Europe and those across the pond and elsewhere do. Whyever should we accept that lying down? It is after all largely as a result of people accepting it as "Just the ways things are" that means the situation is now the standard! 

[ErickFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone -- Fitbit prices its products uniquely in each region.

[EssexHebridean]

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@ErickFitbitwrote:

Hey everyone -- Fitbit prices its products uniquely in each region.

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Unsure why this has been marked as "The accepted Solution" - it certainly doesn't deal with the original question which was WHY this should be the case. 

There was an earlier answer involving the additional year's warranty which gave a far more reasoned and comprehensive reply, but wasn't posted by a member of the "FitBit Team" so I guess that didn't toe the party line enough to be marked... 

[Weds.Child]

Accepted by whom? The fact that Fitbit nominates its own prices is an undeniable statement of fact... the question was why? Answers to that question might be...

Because Fitbit thinks that UK customers will pay an extra $72 for an item.

Because UK customers won't notice that other European customers are charged 199.95 Euros for the same deal (two year warranty, some higher VAT rates).

or more likely...

We set the prices so suck it up, we have no interest in treating UK customers fairly.

[EssexHebridean]

Well said @Weds.Child - thank you for cutting to the chase! And you're right - the Euros -v- Pounds Sterling prices underline my point even more. 

This is the reason why I pretty much ALWAYS buy tech items a while after they've been released, and only after looking around to screw the price as low as I possibly can. 

[NDmom06]

I am sitting in the USA & yet Fitbit's store link takes me to a site that gives the prices in British pound sterling! What gives???!!!

[Julia_G]

Hi, @NDmom06, for some reason -- perhaps because you were previously in the UK -- your shopping settings are for the UK.  That is very easy to fix.  When you are on the Fitbit store website, just check the small print in the bottom right hand corner of the web page.  There you can click and change your country.

I hope this helps.  Let us know if you need more help -- there is always someone here!

[Draze]

Us warranty does not help, Better Business Bureau does.