I am completely dissapointed by the way apple is setting prices in Europe this year... it all began with mb air 2012 introduction - in US prices fell down (base model 2012 cheaper than base model 2011), here in europe, prices rose... same happens now with iphone, in us prices are stable, here prices are rising.. probably same will happen with desktop line.. asking myself, does really apple think we are totally dumb here in Europe? Why are we being treated as second rate customers?
lets say the tax are 10% in USA (based on what you said) :
MacMini 2.3 i7 = $799 +10% = $878.9 = €686.1
in Europe (Germany) MacMini cost €829
why should i pay €143 extra for the same machine...
and its nothing compare the difference for the 12 core MacPro (€637)...
I agree, Europe is being ripped off big time (especially in Germany).
Lets take the entry level 13" Air.
In US its 1199$. Convert it to euro and its 934€.
Now in Estonia its 1279€(tax included). When I deduce the tax(20%) it's 1024€.
The price of the cheapest entry level MBP 13 in the Finnish Apple Store is approximately the same as the price of the cheapest MBP 13 with retina screen in US store.
You don't have to buy at the
official Apple store!
For example:
In Russian offical stores, Apple products cost up to
2x times more expensive than in USA!
But, in grey stores (unofficial stores: completely legal, but importing from USA without Apple's permission)
- just about
5%-15% more expensive (Apple tax deducted
)
And this price difference is relatively small and acceptable - because these kind companies spend money
to deliver the products from USA, also on staff & storage & rent, and also need to make some profit.
The cheapest price
* could be found with a local market prices online tool:
market.yandex.ru
Type the model number, search, and you would be really glad to see the results!
Source: my personal experience.
* By
"cheapest price", I mean
"cheapest price from a store which has many (at least, 100) positive reviews
(4-5 stars from 5; of course, this rating does not include the reviews affected by delivery, because they are affected by a quality of delivery company service)
I believe, in every European country the situation is similar.
Just do some research, and you will save a lot!