08:38 pm CDT Oct 17, 2009
HumanEdgeTech (HET) have been exporting worldwide for years. Selling to France, Korea or Kazakhstan is no stranger to the international (and well-traveled) crew than if you ordered from Minnesota.
FedEx and other companies have truly revolutionized deliveries; HET can ship from US one day and have the gear delivered in Nepal or China within 2-3 days. Custom is simple and most often handled by the shipping company.
The US economy and the US dollar are hitting rock bottom. With that, great deals are to be made by global climbers, explorers and travelers.
Europeans pay 40-60% above US prices
A quick Google search on October 17 of satellite phones in UK, France, Germany and US showed that Europeans pay 40-60% above US prices.
Thuraya SG-2520 went for €1099 in Germany and €1070 in France. ₤999 was the cheapest found in Britain.
Thuraya SG-2520 sells for $1095 at HumanEdgeTech. The Oct 16 exchange was $1:60 for a British Pound and $1.50 for a Euro. A savvy buyer grabbing the opportunity will make a $500 - $600 profit on Thuraya SG-2520 if he/she gets it from the US.
Shipping, import tax and VAT
About 50% of sales at HumanEdgeTech are on export, most to Canada and UK. Shipping to most European cities normally takes 2 days (FedEx) and costs around $60 for a satellite phone. There is usually no or a very low import tax to EU countries and VAT is typically 15-20%.
VAT is the value added tax that has to be applied to all items sold in most European countries. If you buy the product in Europe, VAT will be added at the point of sale (in the store etc). If you order and ship from US, VAT will be added in the customs.
VAT and tax can be avoided completely or in part if
- your purchase is below a certain value,
- you buy in person in US,
- and personally bring the items back home with you.
Check this with your country's custom authorities; it's an idea if you plan an overseas trip anyway.
Some buyers want their packages marked down in value, labeled as gifts etc. It's illegal and the custom folks are smarter than you think: the gear is likely to get stuck for months (until you pay the VAT), or be rejected (returned to sender) altogether.
30% off on Everest permit
There's lots of money to be saved on a single satellite phone. But most expeditions spend much more than that. The expedition average on sat comm gear is $3000 to $6000, so the savings can easily shoot up to $1500-3000.
That's a spare sat phone at no charge or up to a third of the permit cost to climb Mount Everest! Similar savings can be done on airtime, power, and most other hardware.
And there's more...
As for software, for those using Contact - a software customized entirely for transmissions over satellite - the cost of airtime can be cut in half compared to regular emails and updates made over sat phone to homepages or social media.
HET performs Contact speed tests with regular intervals. Latest (one month ago) a transfer test was made over Wideye BGAN, the most popular high speed modem used by explorers today.
A 2MB file was uploaded first through CONTACT, then to Facebook and finally over email. It's easy to imagine that a 2MB file would require 2 MB of data to be transferred. Fact is that the transfers vary significantly due to log-in procedures, confirmations and other technicalities.
CONTACT is built on a straight file transfer and the 2MB file required 2MB exactly. A Facebook update of the same file required 4.1MB and an email 4.8MB.
The language thing
"In the last year, Canadian and British customers have realized the strong advantage of American purchases, some actually combining a vacation trip to New York or Florida with a pick up of their gear," said Tom Sjogren, CTO at HumanEdgeTech.
"Sales from Nordic countries are up as well, but surprisingly few orders are still placed from countries such as Germany, France or Spain in spite of the huge savings. Perhaps it's a language thing. Hopefully this market will come around as there's nothing to fear; HET's know-how, service and support are global."
How can prices be so low in US?
So how can prices be so low in the US? The currency alone is not the complete answer.
Competition is by tradition higher in the US, and the margins are therefore lower. This brings down the prices in the first place, but the weak (and probably undervalued dollar) now adds to this.
HumanEdgeTech is a unique, no-nonsense virtual expedition tech warehouse for satellite communications and edge technology. Created by explorers for explorers, the store is user-friendly with no-hassle pricing, expedition-tested gear, expedition-ready hardware, fast delivery and payments. HumanEdgeTech.com accepts most international credit cards, and delivers worldwide within 72 hours. For technical and import advice email team@humanedgetech, call 212-966-1928 or order direct at HumanEdgeTech.com.
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