Please also clarify for us how "Apple" related jokes are actually NOT fruit, but are in fact pieces of technology.
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Apple, Microsoft and Adobe Required to Explain High Pricing in Australia
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Please also clarify for us how "Apple" related jokes are actually NOT fruit, but are in fact pieces of technology.
But typically, when the price of a good decreases, the number of units of that good that are sold increases. The increase in sales may more than offset the decrease in price.
Perhaps he would be, but if there were a sudden increase in demand in the U.S for ARM chips, his ire wouldn't be justified.You'd be pissed if the ARM license fee from the UK company shot up for US only companies wouldnt you.
Apple products are shipped from China, therefore they should be cheaper in Australia.
I was happy to see the original article note that when the VAT tax is excluded, the prices are pretty darn close to the same. This is a case where the politicians are just upset because it exposes the massive hidden tax on products in those countries. If the VAT was a separate line item on the receipt, it'd be clear that the prices on products are pretty darn close.
Worst case scenarios? The Aussie dollar has been stronger than the $US for two years......
Believe me, we have enough fat Aussies munching crap US chain fast food, regardless of the price.
Personally, I don't mind paying the extra to ensure responsible government, we've had one crazy bastard going wild with a gun in 40 years and this led to a national gun buy back to try and get rifles out of the system.
I wouldn't want to live in a country where a school massacre seems to be the norm and no-one wants to even consider calming down the gun ownership.
I'll pay the extra for my shiny ipod/iphone/iwhatever and be very happy where I am.
I don't know what case he's talking about, but I recall there was a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the right of a manufacturer to set a maximum price that retailers of its product could not exceed. Just thought I'd mention it.
Three words.....Tim, Berners and Lee....You'll find him under "Inventor of the World Wide Web" which incidentally he gave away free.
So it is in fact you sir, who is again welcome.
Not about our cars we don't! Oh and just so you know, Australia isn't European mate.
I'm not sure I follow? But I'll tell you they are absolutely price gouging us. Why should we pay $30 for an HD movie when in the US that movie is only $20, or maybe even $15! The same is true of any other digital content. We can pay up to twice as much "just because". It's ridiculous.
Though I don't think Apple is to blame for (some/all of) the digital content, as they may not get to choose the prices, such as for movies.
I agree. Apple makes $BILLIONS at least quarterly. They're making that money off yours (and my) back. If there is that much profit then why do they have to charge so much?
You are thinking of the minimum advertised price (MAP) case. But it has nothing to do with this. To my knowledge, Microsoft has been involved in only one Supreme Court case, and it was something to do with a patent (which they lost).
This article, and subsequently the whole thread, is off in the wrong direction. Sure Apple might be asked to provide a reason why their hardware is slightly more expensive in Australia than it is in the US. I'm sure they have a reason.
I'm also sure they DON'T have a reason for charging any more for iTunes digital media stuff. There are no shipping costs. I admit a small amount of discrepancy is acceptable due to exchange rates, but at the moment, that would account for less than 3% difference in price.
Honestly, I think Apple is pretty good. They only rip us off a little. Many other companies rip us off a whole lot more. I still think it is ridiculous that I can often get software shipped from the UK to Aus for half the cost of buying it here. Even with all the middlemen involved taking their cut.
EDIT: The idea that we can eat the cost difference, or get no cake holds no water either. If companies can make profits in the US and other places with low cost, they can do so in Aus too. And everywhere else in the world. They are hardly going to choose no profit over a small profit, from a particular market in protest of not getting a big one.
And stop whining about "But it's even more expensive in Country X! So stop complaining!". Maybe you should take some initiative and deal with company price gouging in your country.
I'm also sure they DON'T have a reason for charging any more for iTunes digital media stuff. There are no shipping costs. I admit a small amount of discrepancy is acceptable due to exchange rates, but at the moment, that would account for less than 3% difference in price.
Honestly, I think Apple is pretty good. They only rip us off a little. Many other companies rip us off a whole lot more. I still think it is ridiculous that I can often get software shipped from the UK to Aus for half the cost of buying it here. Even with all the middlemen involved taking their cut.
EDIT: The idea that we can eat the cost difference, or get no cake holds no water either. If companies can make profits in the US and other places with low cost, they can do so in Aus too. And everywhere else in the world. They are hardly going to choose no profit over a small profit, from a particular market in protest of not getting a big one.
And stop whining about "But it's even more expensive in Country X! So stop complaining!". Maybe you should take some initiative and deal with company price gouging in your country.
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Yes in Australia we may pay a little more for Apple hardware.
It's not the actual shipping that adds to the cost, it's as soon as hits the ground or is landed is where all the extra costs are. Our costs for fuel and labour are significantly higher than the U.S. I've just order a new iMac and are not complaining at the small premium that we pay.
This is more likely the Labour Government here in Australia trying to force some imported goods to reduce in price. But do you know what will happen if that actually occurs? They will quietly raise one of the many taxes that apply through the purchase and delivery chains so that we end up paying the same amount anyway.
The Australian Government might be better focussing on the huge cost we pay for imported vehicles. Recently I bought an American built vehicle that cost AU$80,000 that sells for about $42,000 in America. Even after factoring freight and compliance etc, doesn't make sense. A large component of pricing delta is taxes.
The Australian Labour government in regard to Apple pricies are simply trying to get a free hit for the upcoming election.
Oh, and why Fostors is such a successfull export beer for Australia is that nobody will drink that rubbish here.
It's not the actual shipping that adds to the cost, it's as soon as hits the ground or is landed is where all the extra costs are. Our costs for fuel and labour are significantly higher than the U.S. I've just order a new iMac and are not complaining at the small premium that we pay.
This is more likely the Labour Government here in Australia trying to force some imported goods to reduce in price. But do you know what will happen if that actually occurs? They will quietly raise one of the many taxes that apply through the purchase and delivery chains so that we end up paying the same amount anyway.
The Australian Government might be better focussing on the huge cost we pay for imported vehicles. Recently I bought an American built vehicle that cost AU$80,000 that sells for about $42,000 in America. Even after factoring freight and compliance etc, doesn't make sense. A large component of pricing delta is taxes.
The Australian Labour government in regard to Apple pricies are simply trying to get a free hit for the upcoming election.
Oh, and why Fostors is such a successfull export beer for Australia is that nobody will drink that rubbish here.
Can't believe how many posts this has gotten and yet it's clear NO ONE has actually read what is actually being investigated!
All this talk about hardware has NOTHING to do with the inquiry, for Apple's case it's all about iTunes and music costs, not even the AppStore is questioned, our investigation has concluded that Apple leads the way in pricing for everything but music!
So it's really nothing to do with Apple, the truth is it comes right down to the music industry ( oh wow, surprise there! ) and their strict licensing issues. It's all about digital content and geoblocking, in Adobe's case if you change the site from US to AU you'll pay $1,400 more for the EXACT same thing! Right down to the preferred US spelling over UK and exact same servers, support and costs to Adobe.
MS is the same with their office pricing, it's about the legal nature of using geological identification to charge difference amounts for the exact same service and software. As it seems this internet fad is going to keep growing and spreading we need to investigate why our currency has almost doubled in value compared to the US dollar and yet our tech prices failed to match this growth.
As this is about geotagging, it mean this investigation includes the high rip off prices of games, such as can be seen on steamprices steam
All this talk about hardware has NOTHING to do with the inquiry, for Apple's case it's all about iTunes and music costs, not even the AppStore is questioned, our investigation has concluded that Apple leads the way in pricing for everything but music!
So it's really nothing to do with Apple, the truth is it comes right down to the music industry ( oh wow, surprise there! ) and their strict licensing issues. It's all about digital content and geoblocking, in Adobe's case if you change the site from US to AU you'll pay $1,400 more for the EXACT same thing! Right down to the preferred US spelling over UK and exact same servers, support and costs to Adobe.
MS is the same with their office pricing, it's about the legal nature of using geological identification to charge difference amounts for the exact same service and software. As it seems this internet fad is going to keep growing and spreading we need to investigate why our currency has almost doubled in value compared to the US dollar and yet our tech prices failed to match this growth.
As this is about geotagging, it mean this investigation includes the high rip off prices of games, such as can be seen on steamprices steam
I suggest that they regulate their own distributors which are known for significant price hikes on anything imported before they bother with outside companies .
.Because in the UK at least, a track on iTunes is 79p to 99p and a full album is less then the full price of all tracks at the single price. It's cheap enough for the majority of people that earn money.
In regards to films, the pricing is pretty much the same as the competition like BlinkBox, plus we have Netflix or Love Film or Now TV.
Apps are a bit different I guess as the devs price those? Apple just takes it's 30%.
So not sure why we should complain about stuff that's cheap enough for the majority. Is the content cheaper in America? Yes but America has lots of things cheaper then anyone else.
This is completely incorrect. Legally they have to include GST (sales tax) in the stated price there.
http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac
It's not included in the US site, as sales tax isn't applied at a national level in the US. In California sales tax is roughly 10% depending on the county.
This would bring the base model to $1980. In either case Apple always uses 99.99 rounding on products over $1000. Australia does endure higher markups on a lot of things. This isn't one of them. The currency has been quite similar to US dollars for a long time.
I once dated an Aussie. I think on our third or fourth date I took her to the Outback.
...she said it made her feel like she was home again.
Nah. Not really. She thought it was funny as hell, though. And also incredibly tacky of me to take her there. But you know what? THAT'S HOW I ROLL!
I would have to agree with Erasmus. Apple hardware prices might only be 3% different but Microsoft and others are through the roof. Digital content price variation should be minimal. I cannot see the justification in US iTunes having an app for 99 cents and on the Aus iTunes Store it's $5.00.
Software/DVD/Music CD's is where the big difference is and this is why we see this discussion brought up all the time.
