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Apple Bumps UK Prices as VAT Rises
- Thread starter MacRumors
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For some items it does appear that Apple have absorbed the VAT increase.
The battery charger remains at £25, the same price it was before.
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC500B/A
Google's cache from the 3rd (and my receipt 😉 ) confirm the original £25 price point:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...y+charger+uk&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari
The battery charger remains at £25, the same price it was before.
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC500B/A
Google's cache from the 3rd (and my receipt 😉 ) confirm the original £25 price point:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...y+charger+uk&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari
Ouch. $14 billion (to use the word correctly). What's that in relation to US GDP? Around 100% isn't it?
jonnysods
macrumors G3
Man that is painful.... the taxes I mean.
It is amazing how many things just get passed down to the consumer. The worst thing yet is, the UK residents are going to feel the pinch from all sectors of people trying to pass down their extra costs to the end user.
Consumption taxes suck. I know because I live in Canada, one of the most tax-ridden countries in the world!
...but it's a great country!
It is amazing how many things just get passed down to the consumer. The worst thing yet is, the UK residents are going to feel the pinch from all sectors of people trying to pass down their extra costs to the end user.
Consumption taxes suck. I know because I live in Canada, one of the most tax-ridden countries in the world!
...but it's a great country!
I've never seen a Mac in Poundland.
However, as with inflation, you get one less pencil, one less biscuit, etc.
Some seem not to know, but VAT is applied not only at the retail level but at every stage of production and shipping that adds value to a product. In a sense, a large portion of the VAT is hidden. Retail is just a portion of the VAT.
takao
macrumors 68040
anybody remember the uproar when Apple increasing prices when germany raised their VAT by 1% ? oh wait... they didn't
in reality though it's always entertaining how apple takes advantage of currency exchange in their favour for years ... and the few european customers just swallow it up (guess why apple sales have never been as great in the EU as in the US)
a few years ago i followed the austrian/germany prices compared to US prices over 2 years and on average the prices were around 19,5% higher pre-tax (lowest: 7,5% highest: 37%) when the euro-dollars was around 1.30-1.40
and that was before the euro hit 1.60 to the dollar.. i suspect during that phase apple was quite happy with the extra money for doing nothing.. because i can guarentee if the euro goes below 1 against the dollar: apple price increase the next day
well i don't care about the apple mac business any more unless i can't think of any other place to put my money ... my mother just bought a high resolution 17" hp notebook with an i5, blu ray etc. for way less than an white macbook with it's horribly outdated hardware
as predicted by many apple is transforming into media and gadget company
in reality though it's always entertaining how apple takes advantage of currency exchange in their favour for years ... and the few european customers just swallow it up (guess why apple sales have never been as great in the EU as in the US)
a few years ago i followed the austrian/germany prices compared to US prices over 2 years and on average the prices were around 19,5% higher pre-tax (lowest: 7,5% highest: 37%) when the euro-dollars was around 1.30-1.40
and that was before the euro hit 1.60 to the dollar.. i suspect during that phase apple was quite happy with the extra money for doing nothing.. because i can guarentee if the euro goes below 1 against the dollar: apple price increase the next day
well i don't care about the apple mac business any more unless i can't think of any other place to put my money ... my mother just bought a high resolution 17" hp notebook with an i5, blu ray etc. for way less than an white macbook with it's horribly outdated hardware
as predicted by many apple is transforming into media and gadget company
The businesses that produce and ship the items are normally VAT registered, meaning they can claim back the VAT paid on everything required to make or deliver the product itself. It's the end purchaser, the consumer, who foots the bill. For everyone else in the chain VAT is just another cashflow account.
Yeah, but carriers look cool. 😀
The £8000 was from the newspapers so not the best source of good intel I grant you. Being a Eton schooled multi-millionaire like the Chancellor is I'm sure it was money he fiddled from his expenses anyway. lol
And I will admit to a touch of jealousy on my part as it taken me the best part of the last year to save up, equip and train myself for my £2000 snowboard holiday a week on Saturday (including the lessons and cost of the gear).
Now if Apple started designing and selling snowboards...... I'd be boned!!
To be fair, Apple did lower their prices when the VAT went down to 15% in 2008, so its only reasonable. Most companies in Britain will put prices up, Apple arent alone.
Toblerone are taking one of the bits of the bar out for those size packs.
Confectionery companies downsizing to beat VAT rise Guardian Dec 2010
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
If VAT works anyway like the Canadian GST+PSTs, Retail is the only portion that matters. Here at least it works like this :
- Manufacturer buys goods + GST+PST to make a product. They get their GST+PST refunded on those goods.
- Distributor buys said product + GST+PST from manufacturer. They get tehir GST+PST refunded on that product.
- Retailer buys said product + GST+PST from distributor. They get their GST+PST refunded on that product.
- Consumer buys said product + GST+PST.
Who paid the most taxes ? The consumer who bought at retail. We are in fact about the only ones paying these damn sales taxes. Companies get every bit of tax they get charged refunded as long as it was "business expenses".
Sure, but how much do you pay for health insurance yearly?
And how much does it cover when you do get sick (and I mean really sick, like cancer and disease requiring surgery or treatment with recombinant antibodies costing around USD 10-20 000/dose and so forth)? I get all that for "free" if/when the time comes, without it bankrupting me and my family and without an insurance company telling me that they don't want to cover more treatment. Good luck to you all, but I'll pay the 20 % (or 25 % where I live) for free health care and education gladly. How much does a medical degree cost in the US? Mine cost me: USD 0. 😉
Waragainstsleep
macrumors 6502a
Prices for most things are advertised with VAT in the UK since virtually everyone has to pay it and those who don't (businesses) are generally not going to complain when their purchases come in lower than expected.
Its not illegal to advertise without VAT (Computers are traditionally an area where this happens a lot), its just that it really pisses people off when they think they are paying so much and then the price gets hiked another 20% at the checkout. Its their fault, but that doesn't matter to most consumers. They are still gonna get pissed off.
Its fine to argue that Apple shouldn't have to absorb the costs of other countries tax increases, or rather it would be if they didn't already factor in massive price buffers against changes in the exchange rates. Its stupid for anyone who keeps track of Apple to expect them to absorb costs when they have an apparent excuse not to.
Take the Apple TV. $99 in the US right now which equates to £63.31 at current exchange rate. Add the new 20% VAT and you get to £75.97. It retailed yesterday at £99 Which means Apple have added a whopping 33% "buffer profit" on top in case the dollar suddenly tanks against sterling. And they still saw fit to bump the price of this product by the extra £2 for the VAT increase. THIS is why savvy UK consumers get pissed off with Apple. We expect to pay higher prices than we would for PCs, just like you do in the states. Its fine. But to add an extra third just in case the exchange rates change? Whats wrong with just waiting for them to change and adjusting the prices IF they do? How about you review the prices every month or two? I personally would prefer that to having to pay an extra 10-30% premium on top of our already ridiculous, overtaxed prices.
Lets also bear in mind that most Apple products are making margins in the region of 50% to begin with, making their exchange rate buffer even less forgivable.
The exchange buffer drops as you spend more, but its still over 10% on a MacBook, and around 7% on a stock Mac Pro.
Its not illegal to advertise without VAT (Computers are traditionally an area where this happens a lot), its just that it really pisses people off when they think they are paying so much and then the price gets hiked another 20% at the checkout. Its their fault, but that doesn't matter to most consumers. They are still gonna get pissed off.
Its fine to argue that Apple shouldn't have to absorb the costs of other countries tax increases, or rather it would be if they didn't already factor in massive price buffers against changes in the exchange rates. Its stupid for anyone who keeps track of Apple to expect them to absorb costs when they have an apparent excuse not to.
Take the Apple TV. $99 in the US right now which equates to £63.31 at current exchange rate. Add the new 20% VAT and you get to £75.97. It retailed yesterday at £99 Which means Apple have added a whopping 33% "buffer profit" on top in case the dollar suddenly tanks against sterling. And they still saw fit to bump the price of this product by the extra £2 for the VAT increase. THIS is why savvy UK consumers get pissed off with Apple. We expect to pay higher prices than we would for PCs, just like you do in the states. Its fine. But to add an extra third just in case the exchange rates change? Whats wrong with just waiting for them to change and adjusting the prices IF they do? How about you review the prices every month or two? I personally would prefer that to having to pay an extra 10-30% premium on top of our already ridiculous, overtaxed prices.
Lets also bear in mind that most Apple products are making margins in the region of 50% to begin with, making their exchange rate buffer even less forgivable.
The exchange buffer drops as you spend more, but its still over 10% on a MacBook, and around 7% on a stock Mac Pro.
At least the sign writing industry will see an increase of their capitalisation....
Always a silver lining if you look for it.
powers74
macrumors 68000
smart!
It's a tax.... With Value Added!..... Now THAT'S a good idea!
It'll be the same here eventually. But I guess I would too.
My Uncle's a (former) Brit, so I get direct exposure to British humor - That cracked me up!
It's a tax.... With Value Added!..... Now THAT'S a good idea!
It'll be the same here eventually. But I guess I would too.
My Uncle's a (former) Brit, so I get direct exposure to British humor - That cracked me up!
iGary
Guest
nylonsteel
macrumors 68000
Interesting to see how this plays out - will the market still pay a premium for the coolest yet pricey tech products - sort of the BMW pricing model
Phil A.
Moderator emeritus
You've done your maths wrong and they're actually making even more: The 2.5% increase is on the VAT, not on the whole amount so you have to calculate the VAT exclusive price at 17.5% (divide by 1.175) and then add the new vat at 20% (multiply by 1.2). Alternatively, just multiple the old VAT inclusive price by 1.021: The 2.5% VAT increase equates to 2.1% on the old price
At the old price of £25, the VAT exclusive price was £21.28 (rounded to the nearest penny).
If you add the new VAT rate of 20% to the VAT exclusive price you get a total of £25.54, so they're actually making an extra 46p, not 38p 🙂
This is the biggest issue I have with the VAT rise - there will be plenty of companies doing exactly this and shoving a bit extra on their prices and blaming it on "The VAT increase" so the government gets the bad publicity...
I'd say Apple have nothing to worry about amongst their own consumers. The sector of the market they target aren't really feeling the effects of the downturn at all. Low interest rates on mortgages mean that a large section of people are actually much better off month to month than they were two to three years ago. Even when the public sector cuts really kick in at the beginning of April it's still not going to hit the Mac/iPhone purchasers that much.
Just another example of Western society becoming increasingly divided really.
Popeye206
macrumors 68040
Keep in mind... other manufactures will do the same. It's not Apple doing this, it's a change in the VAT causing them to have to adjust. So it will be all relative to the old prices.
If those shops don't change their signage and raise their prices, I'm gonna do them under the Trade Description Act.