As a European user, the main reason for me not to upgrade my HE is because of the added price of customs. Not only is the hardware more expensive for overseas, but taxes can get ridiculous and price out the HE for some.
At least for my country (Portugal), and I believe the rest of the EU, customs are factored according to Price + Shipping, so it can balloon easily. You can't avoid these taxes, and I would never ask Hubitat to label it a "gift", so as to avoid these fees, as that is illegal. However, to reduce the overall cost of purchasing a Hubitat, I'd like to float an idea to the community and the HE Team.
What if there was a membership for overseas customers, where we would pay a fee for admission, in exchange for a reduced price on Hardware, thus effectively reducing the cost of the hardware itself?
Here is a practical example:
Currently, I would buy an EU C-8, costing me 150$ (full price). Then, shipping would be added to that, let's say 30$. Customs would then calculate my taxes based on those two points, and I would land somewhere around 230$ as the final price for one C-8.
What if we could join "Hubitat's EU/Asia/UK Club" for a "symbolic fee" of 160$, and each subscription would give me the right to buy 1 piece of Hardware at a discounted price of... say 20$ with free shipping to the respective region? (Extra points for regional pricing)
For Portugal, since taxes start with objects priced above 22€ (IIRC), it would exempt me from any additional payments, and save me quite a bit in the process.
I think this would benefit current overseas users immensely, whilst possibly casting a wider net for potential worldwide customers, and would be completely legal.
What does the community think about this solution?
- Yes
- No
0 voters
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