Why so expensive?

[nicktechtalk]

Hi all! Recently I have been interested in Numatic vacuums, and as most of you know they are not that common in the US. I so far have a Henry and a George which I got for under $300 each. Why are they so much more expensive in the USA? My local vac shop can order them for about $250 at their price which means retail is pretty much double that. I even found one on eBay (link below) for $1,000! I love my Henry and George I think they are great at what they do, but prices just seem outrageous compared to the UK.

Any comments appreciated!
Nick

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NaceCare-NS...687491&hash=item4b13483810:g:u8sAAOSwol5YwDlg

 

[human]

In reading your post, I think you may have come close to answering your own question. They don't import that many of them to North America and thus the economies of scale simply aren't there. I'm assuming the North American versions are set up at the factory for 110v, which means they're making those in small runs to satisfy a relatively small market. This all adds up to higher unit cost. Since they're selling less, they have to charge more to make it worth their while.

 

[tolivac]

Try to see if you can find a commercial-janitorial supply place-they sometimes carry Henry/Numatic products at more reasonable prices than home vac dealers.In the US it seems like Numatic machines are marketed to the commercial market more than the home markets.

 

[n0oxy]

numatic and other vacuums

I got my Henry from evacuumstore.com so you might check there and see how their prices are. Centralvacuumstores.com also sells the numatic products. These are also sold under the nacecare brand, and cleaningstuff.net sells those versions, I think they are the same machines without the smiling face on the front. Numatic is not the only brand that is more expensive here than in other countries. Supposedly Miele and Sebo vacuums are more expensive here than in Europe. Again, it may be that they are also making fewer of the machines for North America so they need to recover the cost. Also, I'm not sure what the import fees are. While they are more expensive, Numatic, Sebo and Miele are very good quality machines that should last a long time.
Mike