Avoiding US dealer markups

Foreign tonearms are okay to buy direct. But don't expect any after-purchase help from the U.S.A. importer. You're on your own!

Paying full price for a tonearm is worthwhile if you have a dealer---such as the late Brooks Berdan, or his son Brian (owner of Audio Element in Pasadena, California)---who charges full retail, but for that price includes expert mounting, aligning, adjusting, etc. And when you buy a cartridge from either (bought in the case of Brooks, who passed away years ago), the price includes not just mounting and fully aligning, but running in the cartridge for a number of hours---to relax its suspension---and then aligning again. Well worth paying full price for imo!

what are you missing?

if you have your friend in the UK buy it or even have it shipped there, they will pay the 20% VAT for Europe, which will negate any savings. the only way to avoid it is if it’s sold for export.

so do the math.

and every manufacturer has their own distribution rules and levels of enforcement. but it does not hurt to explore the possibilities....except it can put you sideways with the USA distributor. for every action there is a reaction. 

@mikelavigne good points. In this case, the VAT is listed as included in the local dealer's price, but maybe there is something additional based on overseas shipping. Anyway thanks to everyone for the insights here. 

I wish every person that ever thought a retailer of any kind made too much money could magically own their own business for awhile. Pay a few employees, plus the rent, the insurance, the taxes at every damn level, etc, etc.

there are parallel posts on this and other forums, bemoaning the loss and lack of availability of brick and mortar retailers, can’t hear this, can’t try that, can't see the other, gotta shell out money, then risk no lik-eee...

then there is this...

like so many outcomes in our world, our lives, we get what we ask for, often times