Bromptons are cheaper to buy in Britain than the US ( e.g. S6-LX )
The US Importer is make a good markup !

US - CA : $2082 plus 9.25% = $2274 = £1380
UK: £1085 inc 15% VAT = $1788

The reverse markup also seems to hold for Tikit pricing
Again the Importer is taking a good cut.

UK: from £999 inc 15% = $1646
US: from $999 plus 9.25% = $1091 = £662


Here's a link to the UK import rates for complete bikes : 14% duty is normal, with the exception of additional 'anti-dumping' rates of 48.5% applied to Chinese sourced bikes - though you can buy up to 300 chinese frames per month at 1.2% duty.

u want some outrageous prices comparison? here are some comparison not including tax/vat:

Downtube price comparision:
listed on downtube (usa): http://www.downtube.com/ss-index.html
downtube full suspension 8 speed hub: $429 = £260

listed on velo chocolate (uk): http://www.velochocolate.co.uk/
downtube full suspension 8 speed hub: $725 = £439

Brompton price comparison:
listed on foldabikes (usa): http://www.foldabikes.com/PriceListHTML/npricelist.php
brompton m3l: $1018 = £616

listed on kinetics (uk): http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/html/m3l.shtml
brompton m3l: $1040 = £630

the funny thing is u can get a cheaper brompton (i.e ml3) in the usa than in the uk!!! and kinetic is not even located in london where rent or standard of living is high. it is located somewhere in the boondocks!

looks like uk government isn't playing fair. double standard. i feel sorry for u uk folks. im glad i dont live in the uk...that's for sure.

I find nothing wrong in protectionism at all.

Quite frankly, I think it's a smart thing what the UK are doing as we have closed thousands of manufacturing plants across the nation resulting in the loss of tens of millions of jobs nationwide. If we protected our bicycling industry, there would still be a Schwinn bicycle making cycles in Chicago.

The Brits are not stupid and didn't buy into this "Free Trade is Good for Jobs" nonsense that saw the loss of millions of jobs in this country. If they did, Brompton would have gone the way Sturmey Archer did long ago.

lol @ brits are not stupid. That's y they are paying $10/gallon in petro huh?

Why do you think I switched to using a Brompton and the train????

It was costing me £12 per day to drive my 16 mpg Toyota 4X4 to work and back (25 miles + tunnel tolls), whereas the train only costs £4 return each day with a monthly ticket. A saving of over £160 per month so my top spec Brompton has more than paid for itself..... plus I get the added benefit of some regular exercise.:thumb:

Oh, and we have tried protesting about the cost of fuel.... it didn’t do any good.:(

I don not want a reduction in UK petrol pricers. Yes I own a car. We need to encourage public transport and reduce congression. More bikes or sustainable transport. I have just move to York,a cycle freindly city. It is great to see electric bikes,pensioners cycling,cars giving space to cyclists,adaquate cycle storage. More of the same nationaly would be great.

Believe me that's y I got a folder too. Instead of taking the subway, I bike everywhere in nyc (at least I try most of the time) and my folder pay for itself in about 6 months.

And talking about protectism. What do u think when our gov't also hit the uk with a 15% tarriff tax in retailation to theirs? Guess, what the brompton doesn't look quite attractive to most us consumers anymore in term of prices. Sales goes down, production goes down, and guess what is next? Yeah that's right, job will be eliminated in the brompton factory.
And ur arguments is probably, most of the brits is buying brompton. But guess what, uk is a small island. The us market is 10 time bigger than uk. If the brompton sales ever goes down in the us, all I know is brompton will be in big trouble.

Instead of protesting, y don't u guys try to vote ur politicians out of the office. We did with ours, that's y obama is in the office.

Let me complete that final sentence for you;

Instead of protesting, y don't u guys try to vote ur politicians out of the office. We did with ours, that's y obama is in the office after two terms of George W Bush.

Let me complete my sentence for u. After 2 term of bush and the republicans party.

I own a big 4x4 and a sportscar and over the last 10 months I have only done 2,800 miles in the truck and 550 miles in the little car so that just 3,350 miles between them. I would normally cover 10.000 + miles per year..... so in effect I have cut my emissions down by 70% purely by using my folding bikes. I think this is more notable achievement than the typical family with the typical fairly economical family car who think they are being “green” but still insist on driving their children the short distance to and from school each day, clogging up our roads... no wonder British kids are fast catching up with their obese American cousins.