'Cost for various things worldwide' thread

[TauCeti]

I often find it interesting, how different costs and rates for products and services are all over the world. Perhaps posting some figures for everyday-items and services is amusing. I suggest, we convert all costs to USD.

Let me start with some figures from germany here:

- beer is the same price like fuel for cars. About 1.30$/liter (thats 4.70$ per gallon). Good beer is double price

- short range telephone call is 0.008 $ / minute
- long range telefone call is 0.008 - 0.02 $ / minute (depending on time of day)
- phone call from germany to USA is also about 0.03$/minute. So a 24h-call to USA is about 43$ ;)

- ADSL internet flatrate is between 20 and 25 $ / month

- Levis 501 about 65$ (prices vary)

- Visiting cinema: about 6-7 $

- electricity 0.11$/kWh, (heating) gas and oil about 0.04$/kWh

- driving 20 km/h (12 mph) too fast on a highway: 35$

[TauCeti]

Shame on me. Posted wrong price for beer. Fellow germans will never forgive me *g*

_Good_ beer is about the same price as fuel, cheap beer is only 0.60$/liter.

[xilman]

Originally posted by TauCeti
I often find it interesting, how different costs and rates for products and services are all over the world. Perhaps posting some figures for everyday-items and services is amusing. I suggest, we convert all costs to USD.

Unfortunately, currency conversion factors are time-dependent, so converting to USD is at best an approximation. A good enough approximation, perhaps, but it needs to be kept in mind.
Over the last year or so, the GBP has been worth anything between 1.4 and 1.7 USD, for example. The EUR has also varied significantly against the USD.

Prices in any particular currency are also time-dependent and in a very non-uniform manner. Here in the UK, an average house has gone up in price over the last five years much more than the price of an average car or an average consumer PC.

Paul

[mephisto]

OK, here are some prices from Norway.

Conversion rate to USD is currently NOK 7.00=$1, anything between 5.5 and 8.5 can be considered normal.
Keep in mind that costs in dollars can easily change +/-20% within a couple of months.

Beer:
$14/liter - normal bar/pub (NOK 100)
$8.60/liter - cheapest places (NOK 60)
$6.50/liter - supermarket (NOK 45)

Petrol:
$1.43/liter (NOK 10)

Electricity:
$0.15/kWh - all-time high, this winter
$0.06/kWh - current best 1-year fixed rate
We use electricity for everything, including heating (no gas, little oil)

ADSL flat rate:
$47/month - 700kbps (NOK 330)

Cinema:
$8.60 (NOK 60)

21 km/h too fast on highway:
$430, or 11 days in jail (NOK 3000)

Phone: no idea, I've been using cellphone exclusively for the past six years or so.

Germany is apparently cheaper :)

[TauCeti]

it is sooo embarrasing for me. 1 EUR currently is about 1.18$ and guess what: I did the conversion wrong on some figures.

So beer (in the correction *sigh*) and highway was ok, but the rest was too low.

- ADSL internet flatrate is between 30 and 35 $ / month
- Levis 501 about 88$ (prices vary)
- Visiting cinema: about 10$
- electricity 0.15$/kWh, (heating) gas and oil about 0.05$/kWh

Ok, i will start bumping my head forcefully against the wall now and never post again on monday mornings not quite awake, hehe

Tau

[QuintLeo]

"Levis 501 about 88$ (prices vary)"

I've long wondered how Levi Strauss and Company stays in business.

Now I know.


*WINCE!!!!*


501's over here are more like $25ish, IIRC - and good inexpensive jeans (like Wrangler's "Rustler" brand) can be found on sale for $10-$15 pretty much any time.

[eepiccolo]

America, JCPenny, Levi 501, $42

JCPenny Online, Levi 501

[Xyzzy]

501 @ Levi Outlet Store...

http://www.primeoutlets.com/cntrdefault.asp?cntrid=1033

$34.99

[TauCeti]

I know that it is possible to order some less expensive jeans on the web (if they deliver to germany at all), but the normal price in germany for levis jeans is extremly high.

Another example:

Take the (in my opinion) world's best portable headphones - the Koss Porta Pro. They cost 32.29$ at amazon.com

Try to buy them in germany! amazon.de (afaik the _cheapest_ in germany) charges 70.80$(!). Well, at least not the 102$ i had to pay some month ago for them.

[eepiccolo]

Are prices like that because of trade embargoes? Or is there something else going on?

[TauCeti]

Originally posted by eepiccolo
Are prices like that because of trade embargoes? Or is there something else going on?

Well, in most cases i dont think so.

Basically, globalization seems to work much better for large companies then for countries and their citizens.

Look at germany: There are no more periphrases: the country is in deep shit. Large companies stop paying taxes because they 'virtually' earn their money in low-tax countries. German engineering is the laughing stock of europe. Two of the largest german companies totally fucked up a government contract regarding tax-collection for lorries using the german highways and the government "forgot" to make clear in the contract that the companies have to pay for it if they don't hit the deadline.

In 20 years german government will have to pay your descendants a bonus if they convince you to commit suicide because there is noone left to pay your retirement pension.

And i forgot: in germany the shops are forced to close at certain times and all german booksellers are forced by law to charge the same prices for all books :) Well, at least on the moral side it is quite liberal here: both chancelor and foreig minister keep wedding a new wife every few years and both the mayors of Berlin and Hamburg are homosexual and the idiot who tried to blackmail the Hamburg mayor with this realized (too late) that everyone just says "so what" to those inconsequential personal preferences


Of course: annoying things exist everywhere and basically i am content to live in germany - but the last years showed that we are close to a point, where it will be very hard to climb our way back from the deep pit.

Errr... what happened? I think this post is way off the original subject. Could not help it