https://www.amazon.de/stores/page/2C5080B9-DA98-4774-A247-B3DD96F95D5B?channel=PCG_DBO_T

Here the official Bosch Oven store... many steam ovens are in the hundreds without tax.... here in the US the prices just double?

In many cases, they're manufactured there, so if you're buying them in the U.S., they've been imported (which comes with a hefty tariff that is built into the appliance price). The import tariff for cars is considerably lower, and some of those companies have North American assembly plants for cars sold to the U.S. market. (To that end, Bosch makes some of their lower end models in the U.S. too, and those models cost less.)

Thx for your input artemis78, But let's take their Mercedes GLC300, which is made in Germany or Finnland... but it's way cheaper in the USA and their best seller... that's where I don't get why Bosch / Miele seems more expensive in the US.

No idea how pricing and margins for cars compares to those for appliances, but I can imagine they may be quite different, so not especially comparable. (Also, it looks like the GLC300 for the U.S. market is made in India, so that may well be subject to a difference cost structure than for imports of cars manufactured in Europe--no clue.) What you'd want to compare is whether all appliances made in Germany cost more in the U.S., or whether that's a decision by some brands to charge more while others don't. (It may have to do with the costly tariffs on appliances, or it may simply have to do with how much people are willing to pay in the U.S. vs. in Germany.)

The manufacturers are aiming for an "upscale" (aka "exclusive", "snobby") market and price their products accordingly. They want to signal to consumers that their products are superior to mass-market products from manufacturers such as GE Appliances/Frigidaire/LG and use higher prices as part of that strategy. The result: higher margins.

Many manufacturers offer products under several brands they target at different audiences. Examples:

• GE Appliances: GE, Profile, Cafe, Monogram
• BSH: Borsch, Thermador, Gaggenau
• LG: LG, Signature, SKS.

Often manufacturers will market virtually the same product under several brands. Consumers can end up spending a lot extra for a small change in appearance...and label on the door.

Most Bosch appliances sold in North America are made in North Carolina and Tennessee. So I don't think it is the tariffs that are driving up the price.

This Neff coffee machine looks exactly the same like many of the Thermador ones. The display and the buttons look exactly the same.

https://www.johnlewis.com/neff-c17ks61n0-built-in-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-stainless-steel/p1931539

Again, half price in the UK? UK left European Union.... So I really don't understand why US appliances get such mark-ups.

@wdccruise thanks for sharing, I don't think GE is cheap either, although it has been a US brand and mostly US built...

If BSH needs to maintain a luxury image in the US thus the mark-up, then I don't understand why luxury cars don't do that? Like the Mercedes E class, it's the taxi car in Europe, doesn't have the mark-ups in the US, and we view it as luxury car?

Mercedes E class starts at $60K, which is expensive for a U.S. car, so that's why it's considered a luxury car. I'd guess the vast majority of buyers have absolutely no idea (and don't care) how much it costs in other countries and whether or not they're getting a deal in the American market. Car ownership is generally much more expensive in Europe than in the U.S., which is reflected in prices.

Interesting that Bosch has transitioned full to U.S. manufacturing for the American market--they used to make some of the higher end models overseas and the lower end/higher volume models in the U.S. So those prices may be totally separate based on manufacturing costs in each market. Again, though--they charge what the market will bear. If people stop buying Bosch, they'll presumably either drop the price or leave the U.S. market. It is what it is. Fortunately there are plenty of cheaper options out there if you can't stomach the markups, though.

"So I really don't understand why US appliances get such mark-ups."

Because they can, it is their business model and it works for them. he way to combat it is to not buy their products. If enough decide that they will either lower their margins or go out of business, which will give the next guys the opportunity to raise their margins.

Yes to what @millworkman wrote. The fundamental and immutable Law of Supply and Demand. People want Made-in-Germany appliances, and are willing to pay more for them. If people were not willing to pay more for them, the manufacturers would set the price to whatever people would be willing to pay for them. If that price is too low to allow profit, the manufacturer would stop making them, or stop selling them in the U.S. market.

Bosch is likely not making windfall profits in the U.S. Their profit margin in the U.S. division is likely similar to their European division. There are different costs associated with doing business in the U.S. than there is in Germany. It is likely that it just costs more to make and sell appliances in the U.S. than it does in Germany. This is not unusual, many countries have different labor, regulatory, import, and litigation practices which can drastically change the cost to produce similar products in countries with similar cost of living structures. These costs can vary by industry.

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It is possible that Bosch is using a prestige pricing model in the U.S. but it is just not that likely. The U.S. market is rather small for Bosch, even Asia Pacific dwarfs the U.S. market, so I just don't think Bosch is prestige pricing such a small market.

My beloved Mocca Master (coffee maker) is only 150 euros in my homeland, but here it is $350ish and considered a splurge for a drip coffee maker. Neatherlands has to make them differently for the US market, we don't use 220 for small appliances like they do.

@bry911: "It is possible that Bosch is using a prestige pricing model in the U.S. but it is just not that likely."

BSH jacks up the prices for its Thermador and Gaggenau brand products while leaving the more pedestrian Bosch brand products cheaper. For example, these two refrigerators are nearly identical:

• Bosch B36CT80SNS 800 Series 36 Inch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator ($3400)
• Thermador T36FT810NS Masterpiece Series 36 Inch Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator ($5000)