Digital BW, The Print

While I am at it let's not forget to mention the Common Agricultural Policy:
a whole 40% of "Europe's" expected 875Bn Euro 2007-13 budget to be spent on
subsidising inefficient farmers (previously as much as 70% of budget).
That's some Euro350Bn folks!  No Europe isn't inefficient is it?  The French
would reply "Non!".  And no Italian should be allowed to by an Epson printer
(or anything other than a cappuccino) until they have paid down their
national debt....  :-)




> From: Steve Kale <stevekale@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 09:31:06 +0100
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Epson 4800 - UK Price
> 
> I think the bottom line is that UK/European customers don't complain enough.
> They just pay.
> 
> I tried to get one sent from the US directly but guys like Inkjet Goodies
> said they weren't allowed to ship offshore.
> 
> So the price we pay here is a result of 1. No complaining and being prepared
> to pay the price, 2. Taxes (the US has such a stupid sales tax regime that
> means that people don't pay any consumption tax on anything that can be
> shipped across a state border), 3. Inefficient retailing - we still buy off
> local suppliers rather than EU-wide suppliers that could, firstly, command
> EU-wide distribution contracts from Epson and, secondly, run lower margins
> due to greater throughput.  Epson has likely hedged it's dollar forex risk
> for a period of time and so can absorb a fall in the dollar and remember it
> is dollar-yen they care about not dollar-euro.  (Watch US import prices jump
> massively when companies' (notably European companies') hedging rolls off
> and they decide they can't absorb the margin hit anymore, eg Hahnemuhle
> paper prices. That time is getting closer.)  Epson is enjoying a boost to
> its margins from sales to Europe as a result of the yen-euro.  We just pay,
> pay, pay...and nobody squeals.  So blame apathy, inefficiency and while
> you're at it the French and Germans for stupidly slowing/watering down the
> Services Directive and derailing future efficiency gains.  Many in Europe
> deserve to pay more...for their own stupidity.
> 
> So shop around my friends and always complain about price.  Steve, thanks
> for posting the link to a more competitive supplier.
>