Cheapness of materials in Spain

[Tom Stanworth]

I was amazed to discover that both Kodak, Agfa and Ilford darkroom chems were so much cheaper here than in the UK (not that the Agfa or Kodak will be about for long), which in the case of Ilford is where they are made. In some cases the price was about 70% (euro for a pound) but in other a quarter or so! I paid €3.50 for 1L or Ilford wetting agent, about €3.5 for 1L of Agfa fix etc etc. This is just plain nuts esp as the store was small and had a small stock of darkroom stuff. If a small provincial store in Spain can do it at this price, just makes you realise how we get ripped off in the UK!!! Even the film was as cheap as the cheapest online bulk mailorder from the UK!!!

Madness...

OH, BTW they had a few large bottles of Rodinal too.....snigger.

Tom

[BarryWilkinson]

Hello Tom,

Another possible example...

I was checking the price of Kodak 3.8l Dektol Powder Yesterday.

At Silverprint in London it is £16.74 for a pack.

At Fotoimpex in Berlin it is Euro 9.28 (£6.40) for the same pack.

Has Fotoimpex has made a mistake?

Barry

[eumenius]

Well, the prices in Russia are maybe the same like in Spain - a 0.5l Rodinal costs US $7, Ilfotol - $5, Ilfotec-HC is $24. That's the "pricey high-lifecost" overflated UK economy, I think. If the prices there are so very high, it's indeed a ripping of the customers for nothing. Maybe that gives more money to, say, Iraq campaign? I don't know

[Ole]

That's the "pricey high-lifecost" overflated UK economy, I think.

Must be, since Norway is even more expensive

[firecracker]

If a small provincial store in Spain can do it at this price, just makes you realise how we get ripped off in the UK!!! Even the film was as cheap as the cheapest online bulk mailorder from the UK!!!

That could be also a matter of the marketing as well. In case of Japan, foreign imports (from Europe and the U.S.) are always treated as luxurious goods.

[Bob F.]

Well, the prices in Russia are maybe the same like in Spain - a 0.5l Rodinal costs US $7, Ilfotol - $5, Ilfotec-HC is $24. That's the "pricey high-lifecost" overflated UK economy, I think. If the prices there are so very high, it's indeed a ripping of the customers for nothing. Maybe that gives more money to, say, Iraq campaign? I don't know

Sorry to inject a note of reality, but the UK military consumes around 7% of total taxation revenue, the rest being spent on a whole raft of items such as the National Health Service (by far the largest consumer), education, social security payments of a multitude of types, police, the army of bureaucrats in Whitehall and elsewhere, local development aid, overseas aid etc, etc, etc....

Cheers, Bob.

P.S. Annually, Russia spends nearly twice as much (around $65 billion) as the UK (approx $38 billion) on its military. Mind you, that still makes the UK the 5th largest military spender in the world - gotta keep those rebellious colonies in check & you never know when the French might decide to invade - maintaining those Martello towers costs a fortune...

[leeturner]

It's not just on film and equipment that we get ripped off in the UK. When living in South Africa I could buy items made in the EU cheaper than what they sell for in the UK. This is after high shipping costs, import duty and tariffs. Sony UK have now stopped offering cheaper electronic goods to internet stores in order to protect the stores such as Comet etc., but in mainland Europe the policy is not in place. We also pay more for iTunes than the rest of Europe. This is a software product with no distribution, shipping costs etc.

Lets not get started on fuel...

[Dave Miller]

To those readers outside of the UK maybe an explanation regarding the underlying nature of this thread is due.
It is a national pastime, second only to the mind destroying affliction of watching football, to rundown our country, to try and disassociate the Great from Britain.
Actually some of us quite like it here.

[leeturner]

Dave, my reply is not aimed at running down Britain but specifically at the manufacturers, distributors and retailers policy of marking goods up because we will pay.

In fact I argue quite vociforously with people that if you've never lived in a country with private medical care, no social security, only private schools, high murder rate etc. then you don't appreciate how good the United Kingdom is to live in.

[Dave Miller]

Lee, your phase “because we will pay” is the nub of the matter. I don’t think that having paid for goods we should then complain that they cost too much. The answer is simply either to accept the price as the market rate, or refuse the offer, and source your supplies elsewhere. In these days of internet shopping, it matters little where you purchase from; providing of course you factor shipping and taxes into the equation. This has unfortunatly sounded the death knell for the local shop, such as that which Tom found in Spain, but since we are now so hooked on price issues, that was inevitable.
That argument apart, my post was aimed at helping our overseas friends understand the British psychic for self denegation.