Not quite so PhilP,  Qobuz GBP pricing is a lower number,  but its loaded with poor FEX tho'

Qobuz is cheaper than HDT (USA),  & I don't see HDT getting a foothold in UK with the way they are priced. 

Also on pricing,  if you have a choice of CD quality 16/44 only,  better get a real CD & rip it to whatever format you want.  

JJ Cale "Naturally"

Amazon CD  = £5.79 & free delivery

Qobuz 16/44 = £7.27

Mike, 

Ok, I was going by the prices I saw for the Joni Mitchell and Doug MacLeod hi-res downloads that I mentioned earlier.  On Qobuz desktop "Buy this album" for the Joni Mitchell showed euros 14.69 and when I selected that option and went to the checkout it showed £14.69. The same happened for the DM album.

I agree with the rest of your post though. You can get the JJ Cale CD even cheaper £3.31 + £1.26 postage.

Regards,

Philip

Phil

Go to the Qobuz French site, change the language to English and buy there in €, it has never converted to £ for me. If you are blocked customer support will release immediately on request.

As regards HD Tracks, I will continue to buy in $ on the US site as long as it lets me. The restrictions appear the same.

Thanks Camlan, that's another very helpful suggestion from you.  I will have to add you to my 'follow' list Best regards, Philip

Hmmm... I spoke too soon.  I just tried the Qobuz France site and a pop-up appeared asking me if I was actually in the UK.  I ignored this and selected English as my language.  I then selected the Joni Mitchell album for Hi-Res download euros 15.99 (so Mike-B was correct that the euro price is numerically slightly higher than the UK price).  Then a pop-up appeared saying that "... the price displayed on the album page may be different to the price displayed here which is the price you will pay. Please verify that this is acceptable"  The price - £14.69

15.99 euros at the current exchange rate is £12.69 so the album costs UK customers around £2 (16%) more than euro customers.

I don't get that. I have just taken Shadows and Light all the way to payment and all in €. I bought Blue and Hejira previously in €.

Are you registered on the French or British site?

I reckon registration is the answer. My account has a Tricolor next to it and my address is London, France! You couldn't make it up.

Try registering again on the French site

Yes, I think it must be my registration.  I'm registered in the UK and it shows a Union Jack. I've tried accessing the French site via iMac and ipad and it catches me both ways.  I will try registering on the French site a bit later and let you know whether that works.  Thanks, Philip

Now for another rant!

i'm not sure how VAT is relevant to HD Tracks UK. To collect VAT on behalf of the UK Government you need a UK VAT registration number (there is none quoted on the website) and the VAT needs to be specified on the invoice. Since I have absolutely no intention of paying their inflated UK prices, can anybody tell me if this is the case.

Camlan,

the more I look into this the more confusing it gets.  See, for example, the following article on Which? Tech Daily: 

http://blogs.which.co.uk/techn...y-photoshop-netflix/

In my view, that article is wrong in respect of the rate of VAT. Anyone who sells more than £70k worth of goods into the UK in a year is obliged to register for VAT in the UK and to charge and pay UK VAT, no matter where his business is located. When comparing UK and US prices, the full UK VAT must be factored in, and also bear in mind that US Sales Taxes will be applied to US purchasers depending on what State the reside in. These taxes are not included in HD Tracks US site.

That said, we are being screwed..........!

There is no obligation to become VAT registered until their income reaches a minimum level (currently £81K). But there are incentives for business to become VAT registered well below this. 

£81k a year would be less than 100 download sales a week!

So it's logical to assume they are either VAT registered or soon will be. The website doesn't give any info on this but does anyones? Companies are not obliged to display their VAT registration details, only to include their registration number (and VAT charged) on receipts/invoices.

Unfortunately there is nothing new there, it's been going on for many many years and it isn't the same  for UK goods in the USA. I remember when I was I was in California in the 1976 being amazed that British built Jaguar cars were much cheaper there than back in the UK. Why we always seem to be shafted I don't know. I can understand with 'hard' goods because of shipping and Customs charges you expect the prices to be a bit higher but with digital downloads, where there is no physical product, it sounds like daylight robbery. And as for Qubuz charging the UK customers more than elsewhere in Europe, it's surely illegal and should be challenged.

This is something of a minefield in my view. I'm not sure I agree with the view that anybody selling goods into the UK has to be VAT registered. For example, for a number of years I bought CDs from CD Universe in the States which were shipped to the UK. If I got caught, which I didn't often, then I Paid Duty but not VAT. what is the difference with HDtracks? And moreover, and this is the main point, what sanction has the UK government got anyway. Give me one bit of evidence that HDtracks are collecting UK VAT and I will change my view but I bet they are not at present.

In relation to Qobuz in the EU, they can charge what they like in any EU jurisdiction, and we can do anything we can to get the cheapest price - so snooks to them!

And moreover and since I am on a roll, I can go to the US site and buy the remastered Led Zep 2 and download it to the UK with no VAT. That is surely selling to the UK with no VAT.

I smell a (VAT) rat!

You're right. They don't have to be unless they chose to be or their sales exceed the VAT registration threshold. It's not a minefield. HMRC are unambiguous to a fault both in their guidelines and policing of them. 

On imported goods, HMRC applies surcharges  of import duty plus VAT or VAT free, depending on country of origin, value of goods and type of goods. Having said that, one could be forgiven for supposing they make up the charges as they go along. A further element is the sheer volume of goods that needs to be policed and interpretation of situations by customs officials. Some you win, some you lose, some are charged correctly, some are not and some you get for free. Of course, downloads avoid all this. For now.