I could list a hundred reasons for the disparity in prices between UK and EU, the most significant, in my opinion, are:
1) UK importers having margins which are, well, too much.
2) Shipping costs from EU to UK - some of this gear goes roadfreight which is very expensive.
3) Pricing differences set by the factory - not all countries buy at the same price.
I could go on, but I do agree that there is still too much of a price difference. UK shooters were robbed for years, until recent times when things changed and goods became more directly accessible by retailers. Have a look at the price disparity 5 or 10 years ago and you'll see its narrowed significantly.
As a retailer (or e-tailer) I'd prefer to be able to compete better with the Europeans, but it just isn't possible with the price we buy the stuff in at.
The margins we work to are small, as I'm sure many on this board will know. If we were obtaining huge margins, I'd be typing this from Orlando, instead of Omagh :glare: