Global economics

Posted on December 16, 2003 @ 17:37 in General

There is some logic in this post, but it might just be my own kind of logic, so let me give you the parameters of the problem up front. I've been meaning to buy a digital camera for a long time and the Canon Digital Ixus 400 is just what I want. Also, I happen to have a 500 US dollar cheque sitting on my desk, so it would seem there'd be a solution, right? Now for the problems that've kept me from actually buying that camera so far:

If I want to cash a US bank cheque in the Netherlands, I pay a commission of about 10 to 15 euro. That's not too bad, but the exchange rate for the dollar has plummeted, so at the moment I only get about €390 for those $500. I have no idea if those rates are going to get better or worse, but the cheque is only valid for 180 days, so I have another 5 months left to cash it.

I was about to cash the cheque anyway, because last week I saw that the electronics superstore around the corner had dropped the price on the Ixus 400 from €499 to €444. I figured I'd chip in €50 myself and just get it over with. Today, however, the price for the camera had bounced up to €479. Huh? A new price every week? This crappy price policy put me off enough to not buy the camera right now. Okay, so there are a number of online stores that sell the camera for €420 and up, but I'd rather pay a bit more to get it from a) a brick-and-mortar store that you can go to in person if there's something wrong, or b) an online store I actually trust because it gives you more contact information than just an e-mail address.

Now, what's really annoying is that if I were in the US, $500 would be $500, and the Ixus 400 is selling for about $400. $400 is only €330, but that's really just hypothetical, because you need to add shipping and import tax, and I'd be buying from an overseas e-tailer, which isn't the best idea in case something's wrong with the camera. Psychologically though, buying the camera here with the money from the dollar cheque, I feel I'm getting screwed over twice by global economics. First, I'm getting 100 euros less than I have dollars because of the exchange rate, which wouldn't be that bad if the price for the camera was priced equivalently lower in euros, but the opposite appears true, because not only is the camera somewhat cheaper in the US, converted to euros the camera is about €150 cheaper in the US than here...

So, I still haven't got a camera, because I'm thinking either the electronics superstore will eventually drop the price again, or the exchange rate will get better so I get more euros for those dollars, but I could be wrong on both counts, or it could just take too long. So now I feel screwed for a third time, for still not having the camera. Damn global economics!

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    Posted by Clancy on December 20, 2003 @ 00:39

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