Myprotein price difference

Gaz

I sent an email to myprotein about there new site and pricing etc. Got the below responce >>

Thank you for contacting Myprotein.com®.

With the introduction of the new website for your country, unfortunately we can no longer offer access to the UK Myprotein site. This is due to a number of reasons including technology limitations and the legal requirement for us to comply with your country’s product supply laws.

Our systems will recognise your IP address to direct you to the correct website for your location. Once there you have access to much lower shipping fees, Euro currency prices and local language content.

As a consequence of having to adhere to European laws when selling products for distribution to countries outside of the UK, local taxation, instead of UK VAT charges, must be applied which has resulted in changes in pricing. There is also an exchange rate conversion and tolerance that we also have to build into the new Euro pricing.

The new Irish website offers prices in Euros and reduced shipping rates. However, we do appreciate your concerns regarding the new price differentials and we have agreed to review the new Euro prices based on the latest information available, such as current exchange rates, as soon as possible. With exchange rates changing dramatically right now we understand the need to pay additional attention to our European pricing and how this affects you.

We hope you understand the reasons behind these changes and we look forward to your continued and loyal support.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

How come the likes of Amazon dont have this problem ??

I think they have just lost me as a customer, shame really considering I was very happy for 2 years

kingQuez

Gaz wrote: »

How come the likes of Amazon dont have this problem ??

They do; if you've bought things covered by vat from amazon.co.uk the price will be adjusted at the final page of payment (note that there is no vat on books).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=502576

rubadub

kingQuez wrote: »

They do; if you've bought things covered by vat from amazon.co.uk the price will be adjusted at the final page of payment (note that there is no vat on books).

Yes but with amazon there is no difference in the pre-VAT price, so customers are in effect paying the same to them, they can moan to the government about the VAT they must pay them via amazon. From what other posters are saying the pre-VAT price is invariably higher on the Irish site.

e.g. if amazon sold whey (advertised as a supplement) and it was £100, then it would cost you £100 in the UK, but if added to your checkout and you had an Irish address it would be £121, and you could pay in sterling, or use amazons euro exchange rate on that particular day. Amazons exchange rate is up to date and pretty good, but you are usually better off paying in sterling and taking the banks exchange rate. If I was an online retailer I would have looked at what the big boys are doing, like amazon, I would have also checked out local forums to see what people like or dislike. On this forum you will see loads of threads moaning about play doing crap like this, and prasing amazon for not doing it.

I would have no problem if myprotein followed amazons method. It makes far more sense and is far more explicit as to why there is a price difference. What myprotein have chosen to do is just enraging customers as this euro pricing is just masking a big increase in Pre VAT price. Why would you go to the bother of trying to determine euro prices and factor in flucuations etc when you have a massive customer base who paid sterling in the past, and presumably would have no problem paying sterling now, esp. if it is going to end up cheaper.

If amazon/myprotein were smart they would advertise the whey simply as the dairy product it is -a food- with no mention of sport, it seems there would be no VAT due here then.

Khannie

rubadub wrote: »

If amazon/myprotein were smart they would advertise the whey simply as the dairy product it is -a food- with no mention of sport, it seems there would be no VAT due here then.

This I don't get. I just can't understand it.

john_cappa

I think the funniest bit is how they keep claim they have reduced shipping rates (even though they went up on current exchange rate value)

Thanks MP.

If you set the price at 5 euro a kilo now I wouldnt buy off you ever again.

rustynutz

Is there any good alternative sites we can use?

Khannie

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056056193

deadlybuzzman

maybe Im wrong but I thought Vat couldnt be charged twice i.e. in both the exporting and importing country? because if it can only be charged once only the exchange rate could effect the price allthat much

Triangla

I got same response from myprotein after I browsed the UK site and logged into buy and got Irish site and prices.
Difference for recovery xs was 18% dearer and hurricane xs was 30% dearer.
The answer about vat and exchange rate was bs as they would be using the same financial formula across the board surely resulting in same price difference.
Really annoyed at them, especially as I know I'll prob end up having to buy from the f**ckers.
Shame as I thought they were a good value company.
Going to get smaller order this time, source something cheaper and just forget about them. Actually even if I source something even a little dearer I'll take it, not accepting their bs. This customer has a long memory!

Fizman

Decided to look up MyProtein tonight as I'm in need of some supplementary replenishments. Just noticed the price difference! Christ. Beef Jerky £1.99 on the UK site (XE rate - €2.27). Price on the Irish site = €2.99. GTFO if you think I'm paying that (I'd normally buy 25+ of them). Has anybody on here ordered from them recently? Is there much difference in postage etc?

Khannie

There's a whole thread about it and competitors somewhere. I bought about 100 euro worth of gear off bulkpowders.co.uk on Friday. Wont be going near myprotein again (probably not even if they sort out their pricing because I really hate paddy tax like that).

john_cappa

Khannie wrote: »

Wont be going near myprotein again (probably not even if they sort out their pricing because I really hate paddy tax like that).

This x 2416242

My protein released the following statement the other day on muscletalk with an official announcement to follow......

Hi


This is a very key point and we believe some companies will have been trading over the threshold for a while and they will have a shock when they have to repay all of the VAT owed and in some countries a 100% fine of the VAT owed! We are talking 100's of 1000's of Euro's potentially... The threshold of circa £26,000 gross within a year is very small indeed!


With the current financial climate (especially in certain Euro countries) the VAT inspectors are very pro-active and have UK law to demand monies are returned as any UK VAT bill (tax law is very powerful on reclaiming money).


We of course only focus on our business interests only, but any competitor who offers better pricing by charging UK VAT rates for any length of time will be doing so for a short period at best, if for a long period the VAT owed and fines could be crippling for any small-medium sized business. Currently it isn't a level playing field, hence why our new pricing looks more expensive.


However, what we do offer now is a full local service in Ireland, Germany, Italy, France & Spain with local currency, local tax paid, customer services by telephone with a fluent customer services representative to deal with your enquiry or order in each language, a local telephone number so no more internal dialling, very low shipping rates (i.e. 5 Euros to Germany), improved payment methods & local easy returns. This all does have a overhead cost attached, but we now offer a much better service to each country.


We hope this explains this a little more and we will be releasing an official follow-on statement later this week with some news and hopefully positive actions to show we are listening to all the feedback we have received.


Myprotein

Link below and more discussion
http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/MP-10-DISCOUNT-m4181152-p3.aspx

I dont want a local number to dial at an extra cost....whats wrong with the old way....all these things that they are coming up with now for them to save face and justify the price increases! Boycott them as they tried to rob everyone! Look at the German prices lol! they are higher than ours even though their Vat rate is lower than ours!

Perhaps we could have accepted the price increase if they had given some notice and actually breakdown explaining the prices increase....but no....we got two sentences saying something about local tax laws. The reason they cant give the breakdown is that they don't know them selves......lol

Jarren

An update




3rd November 2010








Important Price Information

Dear ......

In response to all the customer feedback received, we have been working hard to review your pricing over the past few weeks. First of all, we would like to thank you for your patience during this time. The review has been split into two parts to ensure we pass on any changes to you as soon as possible:

1. Exchange rate adjustments
2. Local VAT rate applications

We are pleased to announce that in the next couple of weeks, we will be implementing new pricing based on a revised exchange rate. The new prices will more accurately reflect the current exchange rate whilst allowing for fluctuations.

In terms of the VAT review, our work is still ongoing due to the complexity of the VAT laws in your country. We will continue to work closely with our appointed tax professionals in your country to achieve the right solution as soon as possible. Please know that Myprotein will not profit from any VAT changes, the sole purpose is to ensure we're compliant with the law.


YOUR MP POINTS

One point which has been raised by many customers is that our current points system is unfair in not converting your points from GBP to Euros. We have listened to your feedback and we will also be revising the MP points system using an appropriate exchange rate, which will ensure you're suitably rewarded for your loyalty. This will also take place in the next couple of weeks.

Please also remember that we have doubled the points you receive for each new customer you recommend to us. Right now, you receive 10 points for every Euro your referred friend spends on their first order. Remember to pass on your MP Referral Code to your friends and colleagues.

MYPROTEIN IN EUROPE

The launch of Myprotein in Europe offers a number of key improvements:

- Dedicated customer service representatives for each country
- Local language website with Euro pricing
- A local telephone number to avoid international dialling costs
- Incredibly low delivery rates of only €4.95 to Ireland
- Improved payment options
- Hassle-free returns

Your current pricing already has these new services already built in. Plus the imminent price rises in the UK, due to increasing costs globally of raw materials such as whey, have already been factored in to your pricing. This means you will not see a price increase when the UK website price rises are implemented this later this month.

Rest assured we are 100% committed to providing the very best sports nutrition products at the lowest prices in your country. Myprotein has been built on providing customers with premium quality, great tasting products that offer exceptional value for money. This ethos remains at the core of our business and we will not change in our approach.

MP

Jimmy Bottlehead

I just checked the prices after the email today, was expecting them to match the .co.uk site, but there's still about €4 in the difference for True Whey alone. I'm seriously ticked off over this, yes our VAT is higher, but not by THAT much.

Seems another order to Belfast is on the books...

Mellor

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I just checked the prices after the email today, was expecting them to match the .co.uk site, but there's still about €4 in the difference for True Whey alone. I'm seriously ticked off over this, yes our VAT is higher, but not by THAT much.

Seems another order to Belfast is on the books...

Using impact blend, as i can't see True Whey...


UK 40.99 pounds - 49.26 euro (via XE.com)
IE 54.69 euro

So the irish one has VAT @ 21%
Is the UK one charged at 0% (as its food), or 17% (which is going up to 20% next year, ours will prob jump to a nice even 25%)