Lots of assumptions here regarding relative pricing of the Cube vs. Multiflex, some unfairly calling AS greedy, others think that Koreans are happier with less profit, etc., etc., but what everyone is ignoring is the difference of the distribution channels. I'll bet you AS ex-factory price is less than what PhotoClam is charging for their product, selling them direct on e-bay. The Cubes $2400 retail price includes, the cost of the item + shipping and import duties to the distributor + distributor markup = new cost + shipping to dealer + dealer markup = MSRP. I bet you that Cube's ex-factory price is in the $800-$900 range and that is more than fair! At this price they probably make around $300 gross per head and how many cubes do you think that they can sell a year? AS is anything but greedy. In reality PotoClamp is the greedy party here selling their product @ $1200 a pop, a good deal would be $600-$700 considering their direct sales policy.
Hey guys,
I'm not offended - here's a smiley!
David may have definitive knowledge of A/S distribution channels, costs, etc.
The following are all his figures. He says the Cube's ex-factory price is $900, and their gross margin is $300. So A/S makes a reasonable return, given that they have invested substantially in engineering the product. So, the distribution channel eats up $2400 - $900 i.e. $1500. Shipping a single Cube, assuming a shipping weight of 1.5kg by Fedex from France to New York is $185. That leaves $1315 for customs, the distributor and the dealer. AFAIK, customs duties in the US are very low, unlike in the EU. But, assuming EU rates at roughly 25% of landed cost, the duty on $1085 is $271, pushing up the distributor's cost to $1356. The distributor and dealer then divvy up the remaining $1044.
If someone could corroborate these figures?
Cheers,
Kumar
PS: PhotoClam isn't charging $1200. I believe their price is $985 plus shipping. And like A/S, they're free to set their prices, whether they're fair or not.
EDIT: And if someone could post the price of the Cube in the EU or even in France itself, where shipping would be much lower, and I believe there would be no customs duties, but of course there's VAT.
In the UK, at RobertWhite, the price is 1455 GBPounds, ~$2153 plus 15% UK sales tax = surprise! $2476, pretty close to B&H's price of $2399.95!
Does anyone know who is A/S' US distributor? I did a google search but found no precise information.