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The price history going quite far back was a game changer for me when shopping from Digitec/Galaxus. They don't have everything like Amazon, but the quality and

The price history going quite far back was a game changer for me when shopping from Digitec/Galaxus. They don't have everything like Amazon, but the quality and the experience are on a whole different levels. Few levels above, actually.

chaostheory 4y ago
> They don't have everything like Amazon They didn’t seem to reach Day 2 yet either. If Bezos and company weren’t being either disingenuous or delusional, Amazon has reached day two years ago.
- primax 4y ago
  It's day 5. They've reached Oracle levels of bureaucracy and disregard for the customer.
moffkalast 4y ago
The pricing is on another level as well.
- lclc 4y ago
  Electronics are actually cheaper in Switzerland than in most countries, thanks to low VAT.
  - eterevsky 4y ago
    I don't think so. It might be a bit cheaper than in other European countries, but it's probably more expensive than in the US.
  - ornornor 4y ago
    Not quite true, once you vos der VAT on these is 7% in CH but 20+% in the EU. Things should therefore be at least 13% cheaper in CH but they aren’t because reasons.
    - karolist 4y ago
      But they are. At the risk of getting into specifics, all electronics I buy here are cheaper than in surrounding EU countries, the 256 GB version iPhone 14 Pro is cheaper than 128 base model in the EU, the Ultra watch is 850 at Apple store Switzerland (799 digitec), 999 at apple.de. Yes you can find rare counter examples, but I love Switzerland as a tech nerd, especially since CHF reached parity with EUR.
      - ornornor 4y ago
        The best deal (although it’s a lot of hassle depending where you live) is to order things to Germany, go pick it up, get your papers stamped to get the 20% VAT back. Then pay 7% tax if worth over 300.- or no tax if less. But it takes time and isn’t always worth the hassle.
    - saiya-jin 4y ago
      Most of electronics truly are, if they are sold officially here, even if eshop margins are a bit higher. And its closer to 8% on non-essential items (food, books) where its below 3%. That's how you do VAT, compared to all EU countries around who screw their population left and right because they have big public debts and getting worse, while employing armies of unemployable bureaucrats who do almost nothing and have ridiculous safety and social nets. The world could learn a thing or two on how Swiss run things in general and especially government stuff, but the problem is this is not transferable elsewhere, people are simply... different to be polite.
    - herbst 4y ago
      People always get that wrong. Switzerland is more expensive when human labor is involved, cheaper or same as surrounding countries when not. However that extra money also ends up with the labor, so it's a good thing for everyone. Best example is a Brezel. A fresh Brezel is like $4, but a buttered one (done by human) $8-$9. Not the butter is expensive. Humans just get proper money for their work.
- huhtenberg 4y ago
  Believe it or not, but theirs are the lowest prices in Switzerland.
  - moffkalast 4y ago
    Oh I believe it. But that's kind of like being the poorest billionaire, you're still a billionaire. With the EEA being what it is, I'm really surprised they can keep afloat since ordering from literally anywhere else ought to be cheaper just by labour costs involved alone. These days even Amazon.de doesn't get many of my orders anymore since they're reselling the exact same crap Aliexpress has for a quarter of the price.
    - rafram 4y ago
      I’m not sure what point you’re making. How is that issue related to labor in Europe? Amazon US is all white-label Aliexpress stuff too, but the minimum wage here is literally $7.25 an hour, many states have zero sales tax, and there’s no VAT.
      - moffkalast 4y ago
        Even if you're selling the same item you need to pay local rates for importing, handling, stock storage, etc. which are highly dependant on labour prices and real estate costs. As such if you're trying to sell to anyone who's not in the same purchasing power range or higher (aka literally nobody when it comes to Switzerland) you'll run into problems as you can't compete with vendors operating at lower costs in those countries. It's just basic arithmetic. That's what makes Switzerland one of the worst places one could manufacture and/or stock things and China one of the best. Exploitation of the poor is the optimal business choice, after all it's the very foundation upon which capitalism itself is built.
    - lupex 4y ago
      They are also expanding in EEA: Germany, France, Italy for sure. I don't know about other markets.
- lm28469 4y ago
  Stop a minute and think about the potential causes, it might be good for your wallet but bad for everything else
- LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
  Yes. Clicked around for a few things because I remembered their german branch from a few years, nothing has changed. At least not for the few parts I checked today.

chaostheory 4y ago

> They don't have everything like Amazon They didn’t seem to reach Day 2 yet either. If Bezos and company weren’t being either disingenuous or delusional, Amazon has reached day two years ago.

primax 4y ago
It's day 5. They've reached Oracle levels of bureaucracy and disregard for the customer.

moffkalast 4y ago

The pricing is on another level as well.

lclc 4y ago
Electronics are actually cheaper in Switzerland than in most countries, thanks to low VAT.
- eterevsky 4y ago
  I don't think so. It might be a bit cheaper than in other European countries, but it's probably more expensive than in the US.
- ornornor 4y ago
  Not quite true, once you vos der VAT on these is 7% in CH but 20+% in the EU. Things should therefore be at least 13% cheaper in CH but they aren’t because reasons.
  - karolist 4y ago
    But they are. At the risk of getting into specifics, all electronics I buy here are cheaper than in surrounding EU countries, the 256 GB version iPhone 14 Pro is cheaper than 128 base model in the EU, the Ultra watch is 850 at Apple store Switzerland (799 digitec), 999 at apple.de. Yes you can find rare counter examples, but I love Switzerland as a tech nerd, especially since CHF reached parity with EUR.
    - ornornor 4y ago
      The best deal (although it’s a lot of hassle depending where you live) is to order things to Germany, go pick it up, get your papers stamped to get the 20% VAT back. Then pay 7% tax if worth over 300.- or no tax if less. But it takes time and isn’t always worth the hassle.
  - saiya-jin 4y ago
    Most of electronics truly are, if they are sold officially here, even if eshop margins are a bit higher. And its closer to 8% on non-essential items (food, books) where its below 3%. That's how you do VAT, compared to all EU countries around who screw their population left and right because they have big public debts and getting worse, while employing armies of unemployable bureaucrats who do almost nothing and have ridiculous safety and social nets. The world could learn a thing or two on how Swiss run things in general and especially government stuff, but the problem is this is not transferable elsewhere, people are simply... different to be polite.
  - herbst 4y ago
    People always get that wrong. Switzerland is more expensive when human labor is involved, cheaper or same as surrounding countries when not. However that extra money also ends up with the labor, so it's a good thing for everyone. Best example is a Brezel. A fresh Brezel is like $4, but a buttered one (done by human) $8-$9. Not the butter is expensive. Humans just get proper money for their work.
huhtenberg 4y ago
Believe it or not, but theirs are the lowest prices in Switzerland.
- moffkalast 4y ago
  Oh I believe it. But that's kind of like being the poorest billionaire, you're still a billionaire. With the EEA being what it is, I'm really surprised they can keep afloat since ordering from literally anywhere else ought to be cheaper just by labour costs involved alone. These days even Amazon.de doesn't get many of my orders anymore since they're reselling the exact same crap Aliexpress has for a quarter of the price.
  - rafram 4y ago
    I’m not sure what point you’re making. How is that issue related to labor in Europe? Amazon US is all white-label Aliexpress stuff too, but the minimum wage here is literally $7.25 an hour, many states have zero sales tax, and there’s no VAT.
    - moffkalast 4y ago
      Even if you're selling the same item you need to pay local rates for importing, handling, stock storage, etc. which are highly dependant on labour prices and real estate costs. As such if you're trying to sell to anyone who's not in the same purchasing power range or higher (aka literally nobody when it comes to Switzerland) you'll run into problems as you can't compete with vendors operating at lower costs in those countries. It's just basic arithmetic. That's what makes Switzerland one of the worst places one could manufacture and/or stock things and China one of the best. Exploitation of the poor is the optimal business choice, after all it's the very foundation upon which capitalism itself is built.
  - lupex 4y ago
    They are also expanding in EEA: Germany, France, Italy for sure. I don't know about other markets.
lm28469 4y ago
Stop a minute and think about the potential causes, it might be good for your wallet but bad for everything else
LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
Yes. Clicked around for a few things because I remembered their german branch from a few years, nothing has changed. At least not for the few parts I checked today.