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Why are skis so expensive in the US? - by: MCImes

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As you may know im trolling the interwebs for a Fenn Bluefin or XT. In my searching I looked up Fenn boats for sale in south Africa just for kicks. Doing the $ to Rand conversion, for a brand new Hybrid Vac XT Double, I estimate that costs about $1800 USD. The comparable US price is $3800ish.

I understand there are import duties, shipping costs, and dealer margin, but that really adds up to $2000 more? I know it only costs about $4000usd to ship a container across the sea. I assume you can fit 30-40, probably more skis in a container, so on the high side that only adds a couple hundred dollars to the retail price. I have no idea what import duties are, but im sure they're not 50%. I know dealers probably want a decent margin, as its a low volume business, but even at 50% dealer margin that still puts the price in the low $3000's...

What am I missing here? How does a ski go from <$2000 domestically in SA to $4000 in the US? Its not just fenn - the going rate for a 12kg ski in the US is close to $4k regardless of mfg.

I'm quite sure it would turn into a shitshow trying to organize, but has anyone attempted a group buy? If you could find even 10 people to split a shipping container cost it would still be much cheaper than buying domestically from a dealer. Especially with many boats coming from (low cost) China, I dont understand how they get marked up so much.

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