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Apple financial success secret - some iMac components are overpriced up to 13 times!!

bawbac said:
Apple 27" Thunderbolt monitor: $999
Aftermarket 27" IPS 2560x2440 monitor: $350

*The aftermarket monitor uses the same LG panel.

:)
Click to expand...

Really? Please show me where you get a 27 high resolution IPS screen for $350? I've seen some for as low as $600, but never $350. I've seen 1920 x 1080 27" screens for $350, but not hi-rez.

Further, as already pointed out in this thread, ALL PC manufacturers charge an arm and a leg for their basic upgrades to their PC's.

Heck, here's a basic Dell Latitude that they "only" let you upgrade to 8GB of RAM and they want $175 for that upgrade:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...en&s=soho&cs=ussoho1&model_id=latitude-e5420&
So double that and you are at $350 (and many of Dell's models won't even allow you to upgrade past 4GB).


Or here's a real "bargain" on a *****ty HP. It only costs you $120 to go from 4 to 8GB of RAm:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...p/psg/notebooks/Everyday_computing/g6t_series

Point being, all PC manufacturers make their money by people blindly buying their upgrades. Look at that Dell Latitude up there, if you want to upgrade from the base 320GB drive to the 500GB, they want $80! You can practically get a whole second hard drive for that (prior to the flood you definitely could).

Yes Apple charges a lot for their RAM upgrades. It is true. But RAM is one thing that Apple allows you to do on your own without voiding your warranty. Troll else where my friend, troll else where.
 
paulrbeers said:
Really? Please show me where you get a 27 high resolution IPS screen for $350? I've seen some for as low as $600, but never $350. I've seen 1920 x 1080 27" screens for $350, but not hi-rez.
Click to expand...
These monitors have been disassembled and been confirmed to use the same EXACT panel as the 27" Thunderbolt monitor. $350 for the DVI-I dual link model and about $500 if you want VGA, HDMI & Display Port.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1225919/yamakasi-catleap-monitor-club

*You can get 27" 1920x1080 monitors for about $250 now.
 
So what? It's been proven that Apple RAM is 13 times faster any holds more memory anyway.
 
Puevlo said:
So what? It's been proven that Apple RAM is 13 times faster any holds more memory anyway.
Click to expand...

By Who? RAM is RAM.. Just because Apple charges more doesn't make it better...... outlandish claims like this need proof.
 
[/IMG]
DigitalFreedom said:
It has come to my attention that Apple charges just INCREDIBLE price for the memory upgrade of iMacs.
If you visit the Apple online store, you'll see Apple wants $600 for memory upgrade from 4 Gb to 16 Gb.
i.e. 12 Gb of memory costs $600.

If you visit Amazon or NewEgg, you'll be able to buy a compatible and proven Corsair 4 Gb stick for $22.

Apple assembles iMacs in China, and they purchase memory in bulk there (Apple install Chinese memory), so we can freely assume they order it for $15 for 4 Gb.

Total price for 12 Gb will be $45

So, Apple sells $45 memory for $600, making $555 of profit!

If you divide $600/$45 you'll see Apple prices are more than 13 times (!!!!) higher than real prices.

So are you still amazed they are world's most financially successful company?
Click to expand...

Yes, but apple have to sell thier memory at a high price because no one ever takes up apples solutions in thier BTO options when it comes to memory! iReckon that a small percentage that buy thier macs online would actually go down the route of upgrading memory from apple! SSDs? more understandable. apple don't overcharge so much for that area and most people would not like to pull out most of thier mac components out just to add an SSD, correct me if i'm wrong.
 
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bawbac said:
These monitors have been disassembled and been confirmed to use the same EXACT panel as the 27" Thunderbolt monitor. $350 for the DVI-I dual link model and about $500 if you want VGA, HDMI & Display Port.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1225919/yamakasi-catleap-monitor-club

*You can get 27" 1920x1080 monitors for about $250 now.
Click to expand...

Really? Could you at least provide an example of a monitor you can actually buy at a respectable and well-known retailer, with warranty etc. and not a mythical device you can only buy on ebay from a Korean?
 
leman said:
Really? Could you at least provide an example of a monitor you can actually buy at a respectable and well-known retailer, with warranty etc. and not a mythical device you can only buy on ebay from a Korean?
Click to expand...

I will have to agree with this. I was expecting something like a hot deal on the Dell panel or something. I might buy one just to see what I think of it, but this is very suspect and basically no warranty (and what appears to be a rather large variation on each model) really doesn't give me a lot of confidence.
 
Apple sets the prices for upgrades at time of release of a product and keeps the price steady throughout the product's release. It's usually not that bad a ripoff when released, but it appears inflated towards the end of the cycle after prices have dropped for components for nearly a year. Price stability is important IMO to keep residual values high. I can live with that knowing I can sell my iMacs and upgrade for very little $.
 
leman said:
Really? Could you at least provide an example of a monitor you can actually buy at a respectable and well-known retailer, with warranty etc. and not a mythical device you can only buy on ebay from a Korean?
Click to expand...

Anyone can _offer_ a monitor that is better than Apple's monitor for $350 on eBay, payment through Western Union. The problem is actually getting one _delivered_ for that money.
 
Hi - Glad to see this discussion.:)
I am not sure where to buy [canadian] ram for my much liked:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.8 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM81.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.30f1

Any recommendations? I am a mac newby last few years, a senior who surfs a bit and has iphoto and hopes to work on my travel video in imovie if I ever get iFamily in shape for my kids
Thanks for your tips
Jim
dabbling: g4 powerbook I recovered from coffee spill usiing to scan old 2 by 2 in slides, G3 awesome plastic thingy I retrieved from the dump

Apple fanboy said:
Not exactly news. Everyone here knows
to buy ram elsewhere. If you want a
cheaper machine with cheap components
buy a PC. But add on the repairs, anti virus
software and work out if it's still cheaper.
Especially as you will only get a couple of
years from your OS before Microsoft make
you pay a few hundred quid to upgrade. Then
your machine has no resale value. Apple is
a choice. If you don't like the company move
on.
Click to expand...
 
Kootenay,

Just go to crucial.com. Pick your computer and it's done. Been using Crucial for over 10 years. Never a problem.
 
leman said:
Really? Could you at least provide an example of a monitor you can actually buy at a respectable and well-known retailer, with warranty etc. and not a mythical device you can only buy on ebay from a Korean?
Click to expand...
Mythical means it doesn't exist. :D
The monitor DOES exist & have received favorable reviews/feedback.
I just proved my statement.
Apple over charges about 4x the retail price in Korea's for a comparable monitor.
I assume if the manufacturer is letting it go for $250 to a consumer, they must being paying less than a $100 to manufacturer & package the monitor. (*Most manufacturers will sell at 3-4x the cost required to make it)


paulrbeers said:
I will have to agree with this. I was expecting something like a hot deal on the Dell panel or something. I might buy one just to see what I think of it, but this is very suspect and basically no warranty (and what appears to be a rather large variation on each model) really doesn't give me a lot of confidence.
Click to expand...

The Yamakasi Catleap is the one reported to be the best.

1. It has a warranty. If you want an extended warranty, you can get a 3 year for $100 through ebay/Squaretrade. They will fix or replace,

2. You can buy the monitor directly from the manufacturer but the shipping cost is more and arrival takes longer. People have done it and have found the ebay route to be quicker.

http://www.witechit.co.kr/

3. Most of the sellers on ebay will give you a 30 return window. It's noted their terms.
Full refund for defects. If you are unsatisfied with the unit, you pay for shipping back.

The fact of the matter is, we now know that these 27" panels used by Apple are dirt cheap and apple is charging 4x the cost. (If you read the thread at overclock, the cost of the most from the manufacturer is about $250 and the sellers are adding $100 for shipping+margin).
 
Last edited:
bawbac said:
Apple 27" Thunderbolt monitor: $999
Aftermarket 27" IPS 2560x2440 monitor: $350

*The aftermarket monitor uses the same LG panel.

:)
Click to expand...

Does it include Camera, speakers, microphone, charger and an whole array of ports that can operate at their full potential and not be bogged down by USB 2, which pretty much all hubs on monitors are connected through? Dont think so
 
thejadedmonkey said:
To be fair - and ask anyone, I'm a Dell fanboy much more so than an Apple fanboy - Dell charges $340 for a 16gb upgrade, and that's coming from 8gb's already. $600 to go from 4gb to 16 sounds about accurate, even compared to PC prices.
Click to expand...

All oems charge a lot for ram upgrades. I'm not sure where it originated.

bawbac said:
Apple 27" Thunderbolt monitor: $999
Aftermarket 27" IPS 2560x2440 monitor: $350

*The aftermarket monitor uses the same LG panel.

:)
Click to expand...

Look up the price of an Eizo with a comparable panel. If any of you knew a thing about display design, you'd realize that there is more to it than this. Now with that said, the thunderbolt display, especially with only a year warranty standard is a somewhat weak value, but it's not the same thing with a different label.
 
DigitalFreedom said:
It has come to my attention that Apple charges just INCREDIBLE price for the memory upgrade of iMacs.
If you visit the Apple online store, you'll see Apple wants $600 for memory upgrade from 4 Gb to 16 Gb.
i.e. 12 Gb of memory costs $600.

If you visit Amazon or NewEgg, you'll be able to buy a compatible and proven Corsair 4 Gb stick for $22.

Apple assembles iMacs in China, and they purchase memory in bulk there (Apple install Chinese memory), so we can freely assume they order it for $15 for 4 Gb.

Total price for 12 Gb will be $45

So, Apple sells $45 memory for $600, making $555 of profit!

If you divide $600/$45 you'll see Apple prices are more than 13 times (!!!!) higher than real prices.

So are you still amazed they are world's most financially successful company?
Click to expand...

There's TONS of people who DON'T buy ram from Apple too... could you imagine if they did?
 
gnasher729 said:
What about a link in English language to a place where you can buy this monitor.
Click to expand...
I can't help if your linguistics and reading are restricted to just the English language.

----------
dejo said:
You have an independent source for this claim?
Click to expand...

It's in that overclock thread I posted.
Also, if you search for Yamakasi catleap, you'll find various sources have confirmed that Apple uses a specific LG IPS panel for their Thunderbolt monitor, which is the same ones that these Korean monitors are using.
 
bawbac said:
It's in that overclock thread I posted.
Also, if you search for Yamakasi catleap, you'll find various sources have confirmed that Apple uses a specific LG IPS panel for their Thunderbolt monitor, which is the same ones that these Korean monitors are using.
Click to expand...

You made the claim. It's your responsibility to back them up with sources.
 
bawbac said:
I can't help if your linguistics and reading are restricted to just the English language.
Click to expand...

Alternatively, what about a website in German, Dutch, French, Spanish, or even Latin...

And one that actually offers this monitor for sale.
 
gnasher729 said:
Alternatively, what about a website in German, Dutch, French, Spanish, or even Latin...

And one that actually offers this monitor for sale.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned(posted), people have purchased from the manufacturer directly.
You just need to call them & they will get you in touch with their sales department.
 
This is Apple's way of saying, "I really prefer NOT to customize a product for you. It is much easier, more efficient, and yields better quality if I can just crank out the same 3 or 4 product variants all day long from my factory. However, if you really want customization, I will do it, but I am going to make it worth my while."
 
Buying ram from Apple is like buying Popcorn at the cinema, you're gonna get ****ing ripped off!
 
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