Why is Dynaudio so much cheaper in Europe?

Keep in mind that aside from strength of the dollar and the costs associated with importing large speakers, the people in Europe will pay a pretty steep VAT which is significantly higher then sales tax in the States.

Shipping and taxes. Look at how much magicos and Wilson's cost on Europe.

Would one even bother giving their go-to dealer an opportunity to match the price, or is that just moot?

Dynaudio is made in EU.

There's no simple answer to your question other than its a large item to ship and its a fragile item to ship. That costs tons of money. Each item is insured by the manufacturer.

It's not like a tooth brush made in China where you can dump tons of them into a container on a ship. These speakers are flown in and carefully handled. Can you imagine how few Dynaudio speakers are sold each day in the U.S. alone?

Dealers don't keep them in stock or at least mine doesn't. Who can afford to? So what happens? Does the distributor keep them in a warehouse or do they ship from the manufacturer? I can find out but I don't care.

Yes, the money savings could be substantial but I don't want to work around my local brick and mortar because he's my friend. You guys that are never happy (audiophiles) are the ones that have to worry about it. I'll keep gear for upwards of a decade and I have a nice store to work with. If I have an issue with my gear, I drive 10 miles and dump it off. It's not my problem.