Buying from the Internet

The Americans love buying over the Internet. They buy big ticket items, from cars, television etc in the UK they like buying small goods and cloths . They are all getting a bargin. Here in Ireland it's mixed. Why ? Well in America they skip local taxes. This could be a saving of 5% or higher. In the Uk the companies give free shipping for smaller or lighter goods. In Ireland our market is so small they can't afford to give free shipping. We are charged VAT ( value added tax ) which can be 23%. If we try to get products from America a lot of companies won't ship to Ireland. Shipping from the UK can be expensive. In both America & the UK you have the exchange rate problem as well. So we are the disadvantaged both ways.