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If Apple could make higher profits by charging higher prices, they would be doing so already.

If they raise prices, they will reduce volume. At some point, price and volume come into balance to produce the highest possible total profits.

Apple is ALREADY at that point. If Apple could have charged more, they would already have done so. But they know that they are getting the highest possible price already, and that any increase will decrease profits.

So there is little reason to believe that Apple has any real ability to raise their prices. No company that uses rational pricing strategies charges any less than what the market will bear. Apple does NOT leave money on the table currently, and there is no reason to believe that they could raise prices without lowering profits.

Again - if it were possible for Apple to raise prices, than they would have done so already.

Agreed, Apple should just pull out of Australia. :D.

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i wish the USA had two year warranty.-

Nothing is free. It would just mean you pay more for your computer.
 
Run of the mill news. Only country name changes every few months.

Here are few standard posts.

1) Apple should buy Australia.
2) Apple should charge more for their products in Australia.
3) Australians should buy AppleCare+.
4) Why Australia has Consumer Protection Laws?
5) Why can't Australia be like USA, a free market economy.
...
 
I don't think anyone is arguing it shouldn't cost more. But... Some people, myself included, would rather pay less for a 1 year warranty and have the option of paying more for a 2 year warranty than simply being forced to pay more.

I don't think it should cost more. Apple makes enough profit to give a 3 yr warranty on all their products as standard without raising the prices. It's not like we are talking about cheap tat, Apple computers cost a lot of money. Apple already makes a healthy profit, they are just ripping us off with these extended warranties.
 
It's too bad Australia doesn't let the free market work without interference. If people value a longer warranty, they will buy computers that have them and those that don't will lose out in the marketplace. It's Econ 101.

Also in "Econ 101" is the revelation that the free market doesn't work if people have imperfect information.

Consumers can't factor in "unknowns" into their purchases. That's the whole point of consumer protection laws.

When you enter the "contract" to purchase the goods, there need to be some unwritten expectations that are self-evident. For example, if you buy a new car from a dealership, you should be able to expect that it is roadworthy... even if you don't explicitly ask to see the engineer's reports.

If you go buy a TV or computer, you (consciously or not) factor into your purchasing decision a certain "expected life span"... which would, at a minimum, be two years for this class of goods.

If the goods don't last that long, then the seller hasn't held up their end of the contract, and there must be some action that consumers can take under that contract. Otherwise, it just encourages shady business practices where sub-standard products are sold to unwary consumers... the antithesis of what is needed in a properly functioning market.

The whole point of consumer protection laws is to remove some of the "unknowns" from the market to make the free market work more smoothly, and get closer to the ideal market based on "perfect information" that people learn about in Econ 101.
 
Where's the:
  • "Die Australia Die"
  • "Apple should just take some of it's war chest and buy Australia"
  • etc (you know the usual nonsense typically shared when anything goes against Apple... even something like this where it's a win for our fellow consumers).

And isn't this about the usual point in this kind of thread where someone posts that Samsung is probably behind this?

I own a lot of Apple stuff, but good for a country looking out for its citizens over the biggest corporation in the world. It's not like 1 extra year of warranty will break Apple.
 
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I see your point, but they don't reduce your rights (I'm not sticking up for extended warranties)- usually there is some small print along the lines of 'this does not affect your statutory rights' (ie, the warranty can say what it likes but the law will always override it)....

They do, for example you pay the extra $$ for an extended warranty, they can simply pay you out for the purchase price, you do not get a pro rata refund on the remaining extended warranty, likewise if they give you a new item, the warranty is non transferable.

So in effect your loss of rights is the loss of the extra money, you have no right to claim any of it back, it is gone.
 
What is wrong with people here. This should be a case of saying 'Nice one Aussies, wish my country had the common sense to do the same!'

Instead you're all rooting for price hikes to penalise a country that protects its consumers.

Muppets!
 
So if someone bought a Mac in Australia. A year later he flew to UK to work for 6 months and his Mac broke, would the person be covered by 2 years warranty or by 1 year warranty (assuming no Apple Care)?

Normally you should get in the European Union also 2 years of warranty because it's a European law. So if they don't want to help you in the first 2 years, you should contact a consumer organisation or threaten with a lawsuit yourself.
 
Run of the mill news. Only country name changes every few months.

Here are few standard posts.

1) Apple should buy Australia.
2) Apple should charge more for their products in Australia.
3) Australians should buy AppleCare+.
4) Why Australia has Consumer Protection Laws?
5) Why can't Australia be like USA, a free market economy.
...

Sorry..... how many trillions of dollars did the US government use to bail out the US free market economy ?
And lets not get into all of the protections the US government has in place to protect its farmers, along with all the subsidies they get.

If you want to hold up the US as a free market, then I want to hold up China as a Democracy.
 
How far are you willing to go with that? Should businesses be able to sell foods contaminated with dangerous pesticides for cheap? Car tires that might blow out under normal use? With no warranty of merchantability or suitability for any particular purpose?

Caveat Emptor ruled for centuries, but pretty much every country in the world has pared back on that, for many good reasons.

Contaminated food is a feature. And tires that blow up is also a feature. Clearly it's part of the auto-recycling function.
 
I 100% agree. Prices will be adjust accordingly.

No they won't.
Apple supposedly has some of the most reliable hardware out there, yet their warranties are the among the worst.
The additional cost to Apple will be close to nil because of their reliability.
 

Unsurprisingly you're entirely ignorant on this matter. Australian currency was valued much lower for a number of years relative to both the dollar and euro. It also wasn't entirely stable. The issue of higher pricing wasn't just on software. It included things like movies and other things that involved licensed content. These companies have seemingly relied upon that to extract higher profits even though AUD has been fairly comparable in value to USD for some time, often exceeding it. It's good for them. It's not as great for those of us in the US that liked to travel there frequently.
 
Way to miss the point Macrumors!

Getting a little tired there Apple: you want me to believe you sell superior products and want quite a lot of money for it, yet your warranty scheme does imply quality products if you don't even want to proudly announce two years of warranty.
 
I don't think it should cost more. Apple makes enough profit to give a 3 yr warranty on all their products as standard without raising the prices.

If they did that they wouldn't have enough profit to sustain it. A big part of why they have that money is that many folks don't have issues in the first year that require replacing anything.
 
If apple is as premium as everyone here thinks it is, then they shouldn't be worried as their products rarely fail, right?
 
..and in a separate new release Apple will raise prices on products in Australia.

No they won't - and nor should they.

If apple have confidence in their quality built product, people won't need to claim warranty.

What the article doesn't mention is how people were told the warranty was only 12 months when it really is 24 months, and they were sold extended warranty.

That's outright theft.

I'm sure all the fan boys will find a way to justify it though.

.
 
Amazing how people think this won't or shouldn't cause the price to go up. This and taxes and increased cost of business is why Apple products cost more in other countries. Make the cost of doing business more expensive, and the prices have to go up. If you legislate that prices cannot go up, Apple can stop simply selling products in that country if it no longer becomes profitable to do so. Apple is not a charity or public utility.


If you want a longer warranty just buy AppleCare. If not then deal with what they offer as standard.


I swear if Mac's were $250 more expensive, and the 3 year warranty was built in but they offered a $250 discount to bump it down to a 1 year warranty a bunch of people would do it. Instead they demand it all for 'free' or act like it won't cost Apple anything extra to have an unpaid for longer than standard warranty.

Nothing is 'free'. Your governments can mandate all this but you guys end up paying more for it.

With that said...IF there is a standard by law 2 year warranty than that is what Apple should be telling people, and not selling people an extra 2 years of warranty when 1 of those years is already included by law.
 
Sorry if this is a silly question but I got AppleCare with my new iMac at the start of the year, does this now mean I now have 4 years cover?
 
A similar page exists on the NZ site (NZ's Consumer Guarantees Act is similar) but I don't know whether that page is new or not.

Not sure how long the page has been up, But Apple have always been at the mercy of the NZ Consumer Guarantees Act.

Did you notice the wording...

Claims within 12 months are through Apple
Claims over 12 months are through the seller
 

Try thinking before posting.
What warranty is there on software ?..... too hard?.. I'll make it easy for you, none.
So the rort on software was simply because those companies believed they could rip the public off. More to the point, they believed that "free trade" also meant the the Australian public should NOT be allowed to buy stuff from overseas where is was cheaper.
 
Sorry if this is a silly question but I got AppleCare with my new iMac at the start of the year, does this now mean I now have 4 years cover?

You were always covered by the Australian Consumer Guarantees Act regardless of what Apple had on their website.
 
Not sure how long the page has been up, But Apple have always been at the mercy of the NZ Consumer Guarantees Act.

Did you notice the wording...

Claims within 12 months are through Apple
Claims over 12 months are through the seller

ROTFLMAO.... It took a number of visits into the Noel Leemings store armed with the consumer guarantees act with the relevant sections highlighted to get... nowhere... the sales droid their had the responsibility but not the authority to do anything, she ended up yelling at me in the shop a number of times as a wound her up more and more, showing her clearly the law said I had to deal with the place of purchase.

They then tried to bill me for the cost of having it checked by the local authorised service agents, told them I did not send it there, so no, which cause her voice to go up an octave!

Finally Head Office range me asking me to deal with Apple, I said no, I didnt buy it from Apple which produced some more but but but.....

Eventually talked to Apple in Singapore, told them I was a Mac consultant for the local Uni and the president for the local Mac users group so I kinda knew what I was taking about when I said the Motherboard was dead, 2 minutes later they confirmed a new motherboard was on its way, and 2 days alter the MacBook was all repaired free of charge.

Apple: Excellent
Noel Leemings: Bad
Consumer Guarantees act: Brilliant
 
What is wrong with people here. This should be a case of saying 'Nice one Aussies, wish my country had the common sense to do the same!'

Instead you're all rooting for price hikes to penalise a country that protects its consumers.

Muppets!

You're 100% right. That's why you can never talk sense to a fan boy.
Some of the comments in this thread are bewildering.

.
 
Telephone contracts have long been 2 years, as they are in most countries around the globe. The deficit is that if a phone handset develops faults after 1 year but before the contract is up, then that consumer is left with another cash outlay or a significant downtime without a phone. Both are unsatisfactory. If you consider that many Apple products cost MORE than whitegoods in this country which come with 10 year warranties, why is it so outrageous to expect the same from Apple? Apple claims to make high end products, so then the warranties should be high end and support the claim.

In terms of Australia being poo pooed for holding Apple and other companies to account for their marketing claims, remember that in the US there is the ability to buy something and simply take it back if you change your mind. We can't do that. Where do all of those used products go? Prices should be higher in the US. However if the Australian government is prepared to stick up for the consumer and for what is very fair and reasonable, then it has to be a good thing. Again, if I can buy an oven for $300 with a 2 year REPLACEMENT warranty, then why can't Apple do the same thing for items which cost more than 3 times that amount.

A 2 year warranty is definitely appropriate for claimed high end goods.
 
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