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TheNextBigThing

macrumors member
Feb 28, 2012
77
0
Pearl of the Orient
Here in Asia, prices of Apple products are so high. I mean, excluding the taxes, the premium is still high.
Great price disparity across countries is one of the reasons why GS3 sells more than the iPhone5 here in Asia.
Apple should fix this.
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
Ever see the ridiculous mains connectors the Brit's use?

An industrial size plug like that, not benefitting from economies of scale (in design, test, manufacturing, logistics, documentation and certification) deserves a price penalty... The rest is probably due to having to be delivered in RHD vehicles.

lol the british wall plug is indeed redic in size. the first time i saw it i was like dafug?
 

GermanyChris

macrumors 601
Jul 3, 2011
4,185
5
Here
I think you will find that in Norway, Apple doesn't accept US dollars.

And you'll probably find that all the consumer protection laws in Norway don't come for free.




Do you promise to never, ever again say "Apple only gives one year warranty but is by law required to give more"?

No I'll say they should give three to everyone for the existing US cost structure.
 

CJM

macrumors 68000
May 7, 2005
1,535
1,054
U.K.
lol the british wall plug is indeed redic in size. the first time i saw it i was like dafug?

I agree with you, to be honest. And stepping on them is a total bitch, too. Worse than Lego, or a thumb-tack.
 

Tiger8

macrumors 68020
May 23, 2011
2,479
649
Look, Australia --

Just because you've figured out how to sell a steak for $9 at Outback doesn't give you the right to go telling other people how to price things.

Actually, not half as bad as well. very eatable!
 

rmwebs

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2007
3,140
0
Ever see the ridiculous mains connectors the Brit's use?

An industrial size plug like that, not benefitting from economies of scale (in design, test, manufacturing, logistics, documentation and certification) deserves a price penalty... The rest is probably due to having to be delivered in RHD vehicles.

You know there's a reason it's so chunky (other than to make it hurt like crap when you step on one!). Look it up. You'll quickly realize that the EU and US plugs are terribly designed ;)

Really they all need redesigning. Apple did its best to make the UK one as small as possible but the pins are still massive. Ditch the god awful US and EU ones and use the idea of the UK one in a smaller form factor.
 

numbersyx

macrumors 65816
Sep 29, 2006
1,155
100
As for the UK - 10% more is MORE than justified. It's much more expensive to do business here in the UK than the US.

Also, they need to account for worst-case scenario currency fluctuations - having prices go up and down based on current exchange rates would be impractical.

Where do you get that analysis from? More expensive to do business where? In London over NYC? Is it more expensive to do business in Norwich than Boston? Makes no sense. Apple price it at the price they can sell it for and UK purchasers will buy at.
 

OllyW

Moderator
Staff member
Oct 11, 2005
17,196
6,799
The Black Country, England
Ever see the ridiculous mains connectors the Brit's use?

An industrial size plug like that, not benefitting from economies of scale (in design, test, manufacturing, logistics, documentation and certification) deserves a price penalty... The rest is probably due to having to be delivered in RHD vehicles.

As it's been in use since 1947 I think the development work has already been done. :p
 

theluggage

macrumors 604
Jul 29, 2011
7,487
7,337
they should start asking why almost any book costs twice as much in Oz. It's sad that they don't seem to have noticed.
Yeah - I bought a paperback at Brisbane airport a few years back and nearly fainted - but it was that or 18 hours on a plane with only the duty free catalogue. However, it was much better made than a UK or US paperback (even 'trade paperbacks' aka 'Swindlebacks') - lovely thick, high-china paper, crisp black print, well bound... Not sure that this is typical.

<irony>I'm sure that this issue has gone away with ebooks since the cost of printing is no longer relevant.</irony>
 

wxman2003

Suspended
Apr 12, 2011
2,580
294
So before taxes, the iMac costs $18 more in AU than what it does in the US. I think the people of AU need to tell their government to quit wasting taxpayers money chasing illusions.
 

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
Read it again. No cues it was sarcastic. Sarcasm isn't always easy to convey in textual form - maybe you should look that up.
Due to my brain's functionality, understanding sarcasm is not a natural strong point. Learning about it for several decades, including 2 decades married to an extremely sarcastic woman, has made me an expert. (note, that was a fact, not a complaint)

So here, no need to look anything up:
When an internet comment appears absolutely ridiculous* to you, try reading it as sarcastic before you respond. Analyze it from that aspect, if it makes more sense as sarcasm, it probably is. When you respond, you will likely fit in better to the group/forum with the assumption of sarcasm. And if it wasn't sarcasm, you should have ample opportunity to "go off" on the guy in subsequent posts. IE: "What, that was NOT sarcasm?! You nutjob, you are...."


* This is a hidden cue, btw.
 

spacepower7

macrumors 68000
May 6, 2004
1,509
1
Shipping

When people talk about Australia VS USA in distance they are missing the point.

If Apple books (random numbers to explain an example) 50% (USA) or 5% (Australia) of the capacity or a boat or plane, they are going to get different rates by the shipping company. That means by shipping more products to the USA, the cost of shipping is less per product than shipping to Australia.

The greater the volume you ship to a single place, the larger the discount. Same if I buy HDMI cables from Monoprice, I get a discount if I 5 cables vs 1.

Also consider that different countries had different import taxes, and different port and airport taxes.

If you live in the UK, there is a good chance that your iDevice went through 1 or 2 other countries after it left China. Therefore FedEx charges more because it has to pay airport fees in other countries before it lands in the UK.

Shipping is just one of many variable costs when running an International company.
 

apple-win

macrumors regular
Dec 4, 2012
226
0
iMac base model price in China

According to Apple Store on-line.

21.5" iMac base model in China
Price = RMB 9688 = USD 1554.43

21.5" iMac base model in the USA
Price = USD 1299

iMac out-the-door price from Foxconn in China is more expensive than USA price. I guess the shipping cost from China to USA must be free.
 

TheHateMachine

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2012
846
1,354
Apple has to cover the giant losses of equipment in Ausland due to cane toad infestations somehow...
 

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
The Australian government have every right to try and protect their consumers against price gouging.

Other countries should do the same IMO.

Unsure why above comments think otherwise?

Even digital delivered content?

1) A clear pissing contest. The government could make it's own study and calculations and figure this out. Too lazy?

2) Running a business with freight, duty, exchange rates, distribution, advertising, stores, customer service, OSX updates etc. is not a one day affair. Usually it is based on averages by experience rating, so in bad times it doesn't effect the bottom line negatively.

3) Free enterprise. If an Australian consumer is willing to pay for Apple products let them. There are alternatives, because it doesn't have to be Apple.
Therefore (alternatives) is is not gauging!

4) Whenever government gets involved in business it is rarely for the better.
As some of the calculations show the differences are miniscule.

Why should anybody be allowed to dictate to a company what a fair profit margin is? The consumer decides!

To all the complainers in Australia, buy that cheaper Apple item via a friend
in the US with US dollars, ship it from here and watch how you local price is a bargain after you have to pay for currency fluctuation, transportation and duty etc.
 

Nunyabinez

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2010
1,758
2,230
Provo, UT
Due to my brain's functionality, understanding sarcasm is not a natural strong point. Learning about it for several decades, including 2 decades married to an extremely sarcastic woman, has made me an expert. (note, that was a fact, not a complaint)

So here, no need to look anything up:
When an internet comment appears absolutely ridiculous* to you, try reading it as sarcastic before you respond. Analyze it from that aspect, if it makes more sense as sarcasm, it probably is. When you respond, you will likely fit in better to the group/forum with the assumption of sarcasm. And if it wasn't sarcasm, you should have ample opportunity to "go off" on the guy in subsequent posts. IE: "What, that was NOT sarcasm?! You nutjob, you are...."


* This is a hidden cue, btw.

This is all I could think of.

sheldon-sarcasm.png


Or this.

BBT-Sarcasm.jpg
 

Diode

macrumors 68020
Apr 15, 2004
2,443
125
Washington DC
Base 27'' iMac comes with a price tag of 1,879.00 € in Germany. Thats 1,578.99 € before tax or 2,110.53 US$. A 17.3% premium and nobody is complaining.

You and everyone else seem to forget about duty taxes. Germany I think has a 14% duty tax for electronic goods intended for sale. Throw in other fees and costs for importing and I'm sure the price makes some sense.
 
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