The cheapest countries to buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring

The new Samsung Galaxy Ring is only available to pre-order in six countries, so far. Samsung will have good reasons for this limited availability — most likely because it’s a much more niche device than a phone. Still, there will be plenty of people outside of those regions who want to get their hands on the smart ring. If you want to know the cheapest place in the world to buy the Galaxy Ring, we have the answer for you right here.

What are the cheapest countries to buy the Galaxy Ring?

Having scanned the Samsung online stores of dozens of countries, it appears that you can only pre-order the Galaxy Ring in six places at the time of writing. The table below shows the local price of the ring in each country, along with the equivalent price in US dollars on the date of publication.

In US dollar terms, South Korea is the cheapest place in the world to buy the Samsung Galaxy Ring. The 499,400 Korean won retail price is equivalent to around $360, which is almost $40 less than the price of the device in the US. It’s also one of only two Asian countries where the ring is available, but that’s likely because South Korea is Samsung’s country of origin.

While America is in second place on the list, it’s worth noting that the US price doesn’t include sales tax. US residents purchasing the ring will probably end up paying closer to $440 or $450 by the time it is shipped. Non-Americans visiting the country can claim this tax back when they leave. That little tourist perk works for anyone who’s not in their country of residence, so Americans abroad should be able to get the Galaxy Ring for the prices in the table above. Some countries even have the sales tax built into the retail price, so you might even be able to claim back a portion of what you spend on the device at the airport.

The United Kingdom is the most expensive place to buy the Galaxy Ring, with the wearable costing the equivalent of $515 over there. It’s not much cheaper in the two other European countries that offer it, with Germany and France both charging $489.

If you see the device available for significantly less than the stated prices while on your travels, this should be a red flag. Straight cash discounts are unlikely at this stage, as the ring isn’t even on general sale until July 24. Most vendors worldwide are honest brokers, but there will be some offering you replicas or some other scam to encourage you to part with your money.

Should I buy the Galaxy Ring from another country?

This depends on where you live. For many tech fans across the globe, you have no choice but to buy the Galaxy Ring from another country. This does throw up some possible hurdles, such as the potential regionality of software and the difficulty of using a warranty from another country. These things are just details to people determined enough to buy the ring, but we encourage you to consider all the factors before you do.

It’s a different story when it comes to those who can pre-order it at home. For those lucky people, it’s probably easiest just to get it in your country. Even if there are savings to be made abroad, the cost of getting to another nation will far outstrip the marginal price variations in the table, and you might run into the same stumbling blocks mentioned above.

Besides, you may see discounts on the device sooner than you’d think, especially if sales figures don’t meet Samsng’s expectations. Even some of the most popular Galaxy devices usually get deals on them within months of launch, and there are big sales events like Black Friday in the not-too-distant future.

Why is the Galaxy Ring cheaper in some countries than in others?

Samsun incurs different costs in each region where it sells its products, such as import taxes, local shipping costs, and so forth. These are all taken into account when pricing its latest devices, so it makes sense that the Galaxy Ring would have a different retail price in each country. The profit margin that Samsung can extract from consumers in each nation will also be factored in.

Let’s not forget that we’ve also brought exchange rates into play here. As the global money markets fluctuate daily, the retail price of the Galaxy Ring, expressed in dollar terms, will change. It makes our little comparison easier, but it’ll also make the table above look different a month or a year from now.