[Ian Curtis]

I have found a company in the US that sells pressure washer kit and read that it is cheaper to buy from the US now than in the UK. Is this true does anyonne know? I just want a machine that can blast the hell out of slabs and decking nothing special. Thanks.

[WCE]

What the hype is about is it is cheaper to buy goods from the US at the mo due to the exchange rate. Weak dollar means that you get more for your sterling. with the euro it is currently the other way round. Strong euro means we pay more. You may find though that shipping etc pushes the price up and the true cost the same as uk if not more. Check out macro if you got a card they have a good deal on a pressure washer (see high soffit post)

[rah]

It may also be liable to import tax. Another thought, would you be able to purchase spares easily in case of a break down.

Rob.

[Londoner]

A lot of items really are cheaper in the USA for reasons that I have never fully understood. Its not just the exchange rate although that helps a lot.
We used to buy a lot of stuff from America. A few years ago my friend bought a Nikon camera in New York and the savings paid for his flight and accomodation.

And yes you are liable to import duty. But a lot of the time they can't be bothered.

[mick hay]

A lot of the lads get them from merril fox in the states, good washers and good prices.

I'm looking at tech clean in the uk, yes bit more money, but, can go down on a friday, see a demo, spare parts, next day etc.

Horses for courses!! 

[WCE]

A lot of items really are cheaper in the USA for reasons that I have never fully understood. Its not just the exchange rate although that helps a lot.
We used to buy a lot of stuff from America. A few years ago my friend bought a Nikon camera in New York and the savings paid for his flight and accomodation.

And yes you are liable to import duty. But a lot of the time they can't be bothered.

Could this be to do with scale of economy? The US is a lot bigger than the UK and therefore the distributors can bulk buy on a much larger scale therefore pushing unit cost down? Also more competition so keener prices?

[clean]

Not really a "window cleaning" issue 
there is a pressure washing section you know 

[Nathanael Jones]

I got a really good machine from www.merrillfoxenterprises.com a year ago,.. still going strong, no problems at all. The import duty is only 2%,.. you have to pay VAT (If you're registered you claim it straight back).

I saved at least 40% on the price locally, even after the shipping and import costs,.. and Merrill was really good to deal with,.. great advice and great service.

The machine arrived in just 5 days too!

[Londoner]

A lot of items really are cheaper in the USA for reasons that I have never fully understood. Its not just the exchange rate although that helps a lot.
We used to buy a lot of stuff from America. A few years ago my friend bought a Nikon camera in New York and the savings paid for his flight and accomodation.

And yes you are liable to import duty. But a lot of the time they can't be bothered.

Could this be to do with scale of economy? The US is a lot bigger than the UK and therefore the distributors can bulk buy on a much larger scale therefore pushing unit cost down? Also more competition so keener prices?

I really don't know why some items are so dear in Europe because its not only America that is so much cheaper, a lot of stuff is cheaper in Australia and New Zealand as well.

The classic examples are clothes, food, cars, white goods, electrical goods, sports gear etc. A lot of it is branded names so you know you are comparing like with like.

The only thing I found that was dearer was a mobile phone.

I wonder what their prices are like for window cleaning gear ( just to bring it back onto a window cleaning basis)

Most of the RO units appear to be American and Rackusens (spelling?) is the big US supplier for most WC items. Might be fun to have a look.

[Pat Purcell]

In my opinion , there are a few reasons things are for the most part less expensive in the US
VAT is a big one, sales tax is anywher between 0 an 8% depending on what state you are in and there is no sales tax on most internet sales, also there is no tax on any item that you can eat or wear under $250
Petrol prices, even with the huge rise in petrol prices it is still a lot less expensive to transport goods here in the US
Volume, due to the large amount of people each retailer needs to make less money of each consumer in order to remain viable
in the case of pressure washers, I read somewhere that our 110v electricity is not as good for running motors as your 220v so we use mostly petrol driven motors , greater demand , greater supply cheaper prices

[niceandclean]

I got a really good machine from www.merrillfoxenterprises.com a year ago,.. still going strong, no problems at all. The import duty is only 2%,.. you have to pay VAT (If you're registered you claim it straight back).

I saved at least 40% on the price locally, even after the shipping and import costs,.. and Merrill was really good to deal with,.. great advice and great service.

The machine arrived in just 5 days too!

Same here, had no problems with Merrill, great service and advice, and above all so much cheaper than the U.K for exactly the same product!