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Obviously, I am not someone versed in economics, but I am curious. For example, when it comes to video games, most newer games retail for $50-60 U.S, yet in Canada they are always $10-20 more. In Australia for example, a game that would cost $60 in the U.S is around $100 or so there. Why is that? Seems kind of ridiculous that you basically are asked to suck someone's **** as an Australian just to buy a video game compared to other countries.
Even when talking about equivalent costs (all in US Dollars instead of three different national currencies). there are added costs to marketing and selling (and supporting) products overseas, often into much smaller markets.
If you made a widget, it's very unlikely you could sell it in London or Sydney or even Calgary for the same price you sold it here.
Currency differences, VAT, import duties if any, supply chain costs (shipping, delivery, port charges etc), markup depending on if there is another whole sale vendor acting as an intermediary, mark up because they can etc..
USD at current exchange rates is 1.44 Australian dollars, so you'd expect the $60 game to be $85 in Australia. Then you have taxes. There's no federal sales tax, just state and local sales taxes. In the US we list the price pre-tax, just the custom here. Australia prices include VAT, so that's another $8.50, so up to around $95.
Gasoline: I paid $3.77 a gallon today. My parents can find it for $2.68 a gallon in Arizona.
When you see prices for items in the Mainland USA they are always cheaper then in Alaska or Hawaii and many times American Samoa and Porto Rico as well. Most of the time that has to do with the cost to ship items to those places.
Prices are local depending on what it cost to get the item to you.
Realize when you can sell a million copies of something in one place you have a cheaper cost to enter that market then in another place where only 10,000 copies are sold.
Internationally it depends on the value of money in a given area. Unless you are in the EU where they are for the most part using the same currency, everyone else has a different value. Does not always mean you paid less or more. For example you can also take the Dollar and trade for currency in another Nation and everything else being equal the cost of the item might be the same. An example of that is US and Canada.
Obviously, I am not someone versed in economics, but I am curious. For example, when it comes to video games, most newer games retail for $50-60 U.S, yet in Canada they are always $10-20 more. In Australia for example, a game that would cost $60 in the U.S is around $100 or so there. Why is that? Seems kind of ridiculous that you basically are asked to suck someone's **** as an Australian just to buy a video game compared to other countries.
And taxes ... A $30,000 Honda will cost you double that in Scandinavian countries because of taxes and fees.
Yes, but they also make WAY more and have massive social safety nets so you get a lot for your taxes. The biggest being that its nearly impossible to get laid off. The biggest risk to people in the USA is job loss and/or being economically forced into taking a McJob as a highly skilled person. Plus the time off. Because of their protections and safety nets, they don't have to work like dogs when they are at work either.
I have never heard of anyone in Scandinavia complain about taxes because they actually get tremendous value from their taxes.
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