The Oculus Rift pre-order bundle is selling for €699 in select EU countries, or just about $750—a hefty $150 more than the US price of $599. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey shot off a round of tweets this morning defending the inflated price.
In a response to a tweet asking for clarification on the larger price tag for international customers, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey cites foreign taxes and customs fees for the international fluctuation in price.
@PalmerLuckey All the international prices are essentially the converted US price+required taxes, customs fees, etc.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) January 6, 2016
With VAT topping out at 25 percent in some European countries, the price hike may be entirely justified, but is hard on Eurozone and non-Eurozone wallets just the same. According to the Oculus store front, the quoted price tag does not include include tax and shipping, which may be the source of ambiguity on the final price.
Oculus has yet to provide a full breakdown of VAT and other applied import fees.
Luckey defends the global price fluctuation:
@AllocDK @oculus @brendaniribe Blame your country, not us.
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) January 6, 2016
See Also: Oculus Rift Pre-orders Available Now
The Rift is officially being sold in the following European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Oculus says they’ll “continue to add more countries over time and will update the community when additional countries can purchase the Oculus Rift.”
