1st Jan UK VAT increase and how it affects Mac Prices

[Damiantmc]

Hi everyone,

I've tried searching on here and on the web in general and can't seem to find a answer specific to macs.

Essentially I'm torn, I want a 13" MBPU but I don't need one, I'd like to just see if/what updates happen in the first quarter of next year before buying. The only issue I have is, when the VAT increases again will the Macbook pro prices go up?
When VAT originally came down everyone dropped there prices accordingly and most places still have prices on products that reflect that (example the T-mobile pulse handset, £137.01) the strange price cause when VAT increases again it should work out about right again at £139.99 roughly. My only question is, With the Macbook pro I like being £899, is that likely to go up with the VAT or stay the same? as I won't wait if it is going up cause I'd rather the extra being in my pocket than the governments.

Thanks

Damian

 

[stridemat]

Yeah they will increase by 2.5% unless Apple decided to swallow the VAT increase (not likely)

 

[Umbongo]

Yeah they will increase by 2.5% unless Apple decided to swallow the VAT increase (not likely)

You're looking at it wrong. The price already takes in to consideration the VAT changes, they would be the prices they are now whether we had had the temporary 15% rate or not. Currently Apple are making a small amount more than they will from the 1st of January.

Apple are about marketing an image and a price of £918.54, when compared to £899, is not conductive with how they do things.

 

[yetanotherdave]

Yeah they will increase by 2.5% unless Apple decided to swallow the VAT increase (not likely)

unless apple decided to not drop prices with the vat decrease and pocket the extra 2.5% for the last year or so.

 

[Queso]

Apple's margin on UK pricing has increased in dollar terms over the past few months, as the Pound has risen from May's ~$1.45 to today's ~$1.65. This gives them the leeway to swallow the 2.5% increase.

 

[OllyW]

You're looking at it wrong. The price already takes in to consideration the VAT changes, they would be the prices they are now whether we had had the temporary 15% rate or not. Currently Apple are making a small amount more than they will from the 1st of January.

Apple are about marketing an image and a price of £918.54, when compared to £899, is not conductive with how they do things.

They dropped the prices last year when the 15% rate came in.

Why do you think they won't increase the prices again when it goes back to 17.5%?

 

[Damiantmc]

Thanks for the answers,

I hope they will stay the same price, I'm not a heavy user its mainly web browsing and photoshop so I don't need the extra power if there is a refresh but its nice having the newest, but not nice enough to pay extra for

Wasn't the white Macbook £704 at one point because of the VAT drop and then it slowly rose back up to round prices (749, 799 etc)?

Thanks again

Damian

 

[jambobowron]

They dropped the prices last year when the 15% rate came in.

Why do you think they won't increase the prices again when it goes back to 17.5%?

ermmm no i'm pretty sure they stayed the same and the increased the price by however much (excluding VAT)... just to make it the price including VAT the same

so they most probably put them up when VAT returns back to 17.5%

 

[OllyW]

ermmm no i'm pretty sure they stayed the same and the increased the price by however much (excluding VAT)... just to make it the price including VAT the same

so they most probably put them up when VAT returns back to 17.5%

Sorry, you are wrong. They changed their prices on 1st December last year.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/8352/1154/store.apple.com/Catalog/uk/Images/vat_rate_change.html

 

[BlizzardBomb]

Apple's margin on UK pricing has increased in dollar terms over the past few months, as the Pound has risen from May's ~$1.45 to today's ~$1.65. This gives them the leeway to swallow the 2.5% increase.

This is Apple we're talking about though...

 

[Umbongo]

They dropped the prices last year when the 15% rate came in.

Why do you think they won't increase the prices again when it goes back to 17.5%?

They had to drop the retail price. The alternative would have been bad PR and resulted in a 2% price increase for all business customers. Technically they didn't change their prices, they just applied the correct rate of VAT. All their main products have been replaced since then at nice neat price points. Do you think Apple are going to change all their prices and marketing? That was a cost they got hit with the first time, they can avoid it by just lowering the price excluding VAT when Jan 1st rolls around. Apple essentially just made an extra 2% profit on all products released since January 1st.

 

[BA Baracus]

I think the standard rate VAT increase to 17.5% on 1 January 2010 is the least of your worries, fiscal experts are reporting that the rate may increase to at LEAST 20% post-general election next year!!! Damn you pesky bankers.

If you can afford it, now is the time to make big financial purchases.

Cheers.

 

[VespR]

A couple of people have nailed it. The prices will be the same, or they'll shoot up and look disjointed, like they were when they lowered the VAT with pounds and pennies all over the place, and in week or two they'll just readjust everything so it's back to 1349 etc..

 

[OllyW]

A couple of people have nailed it. The prices will be the same, or they'll shoot up and look disjointed, like they were when they lowered the VAT with pounds and pennies all over the place, and in week or two they'll just readjust everything so it's back to 1349 etc..

They rounded everything to the nearest pound when it went down to 15%.

 

[nick9191]

(£899/115)*117.5 = £918.54 = £919

Price of baseline MacBook Pro after Jan 1st.

If you take off VAT that is currently worth $1280. So if you hold on until Arrandale the prices might drop to reflect the better exchange rate. But then who knows, the exchange rate when the Unibody white MacBook came out was better than when the last non Unibody white MacBook came out, yet the price went up £50. So who knows what Apple will do.

 

[ipodftw]

its going back up noooo, o well it was only temporary

first iv heard of this!

 

[Damiantmc]

I now see what the world see's, not knowing is worse than knowing and not liking

I hate not knowing, between not knowing if/when apple will update again and the VAT increase affect I have no idea when or what to buy

Bad times, bad apple, bad goverment...

Damian