Nikon's 'no fault' USA warranty really is beyond our wildest dreams here in little old England. To think that Dennis bought a used EDG I for $750, sent it to Nikon for 'repair' of a small scratch on one ocular lens and, in return for a nominal fee of $10, was rewarded with a new EDG II worth c.$2,000. Incredible! On that basis, if you live in America you need never buy a new Nikon binocular because you just send in your present bin and they'll replace it with a new one. Flamin' hell, that's not a warranty, it's a ticket to Paradise! Why are Americans given such preferential treatment? If I seem bitter it's because I am...
And don't forget, the streets here are paved with gold! Well, Wall Street anyway.
It's not because we have more people. Western Europe has about 100 million more people than the US.
Perhaps it's because a greater portion of our population buys optics or a greater portion buys more than one bin. We got guys like Frank who have a one-a-day habit.
There are some Euro birders on BF who have "collections" of bins. However, members of BF bin forums are probably not representative of the birding population as a whole on either side of the pond. Most birders I know only own one or two bins, at most. Some also own a spotting scope.
I would take a gander that in the Great State of Pennsylvania, there are more hunters than birders, and that most have binoculars. Mostly cheap bins, Bushnells, Nikon Trailblazers, and the big spenders buy Monarchs. The real "I live to hunt" diehards buy Swaros. But by and large, birders seem to be willing to spend more $ (be it multiple bins or one big alpha purchase) because in birding, the view is not a means to the end, but the end in itself.
Most hunters have too much $ tied up in other hunting equipment, but even so, taken as a whole, they probably buy more bins than birders even when you add in the Franks and Toms.
Not sure how big hunting is in Europe. Swaros were originally designed for Euro hunters, so there must be a significant hunting population.
I guess when it comes down to it, it's about volume of sales whether its hunting or birding optics. Even when you take away the VAT, the base price of Nikons, Swaros, Zeiss, Leica, etc. is usually more in the UK than the US, which seems odd considering that Swaros, Zeiss, and Leica are made in Western Europe.
The US has a large number of big camera/optics stores in NYC, Chicago, LA, etc., they no doubt get volume discounts, and they can afford to pass on some of that savings to their customers. So we get the better prices and the better warranties.
I admit, it's not fair and don't blame you for being bitter. But as the Godfather would say, it's not personal, it's business.
Brock