I meant more that these forums are used by people to vent their complaints about Apple products.
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Apple is ripping us off
- Thread starter EatingApples
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I meant more that these forums are used by people to vent their complaints about Apple products.
Unfortunately Macrumors has become the home of countless Apple trolls who have nothing better to do with their lives than interrupt other people discussing Apple products or looking for help, and then calling them fanbois or apologists.
The entitlement generation...
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Ahhhh, gotcha. It's not something I partake of much, if at all really. I always make sure I know everything about a product before I make a purchasing decision. That way I know I'm buying the product I want.
But as you say, there's a good percentage of people who will just complain. I remember when it used to be that you only ever heard about the bad stuff. Because everyone else was happy and saw no need to spout on about their new toys.
I was probably going somewhere with that, but my morphine has kicked in and I've no idea how that was finishing.
Yes! In my Apple Store they could not figure it out either. They had to look online. But I actually like the keyboard, once you figure out the origami.
It goes both ways. There are as you mentioned blind fanboys and apologists that thinks Apple can do no wrong and they troll others who have legitimate concerns. If you dare make a thread questioning something that you think is negative, those fanboys get on here and run the thread into the ground.
I am a huge Apple fan and that is why I get annoyed when Apple tries to pull something that seems like a ripoff or something else that I don't agree with. It's the same as being a fan of anything. You hear people that are fans of certain sports teams get mad at the coach or mad at one of the players for some decision that is made. Why should Apple as a company be above any questioning or negative comments? The point of a forum is to have a civilized discussion where pros and cons are communicated. NOT to just respond with "if you don't like it don't buy it."
Want to know what other forum had similar types of blind fanboyism???? World of Warcraft. Look at it now. It went from having 12.5 million active customers to around 4 million now. Still a large number but not the "biggest". Right now Apple is the "biggest" computer company in world or at least valued that way. What helps to keep a company on the right track is feedback from loyal customers. What does nothing to help that company is blind fanboyism and derailing threads that bring up legitimate concerns.
Personally, I love Apple's ridiculous pricing that they have used on the iPad Pros. Otherwise, there would be no way that the price would have dropped so much in such a short time from release. We have never seen a $150 price drop on one of Apple's tablets in the first 6 months following a launch and now we do with Staples and Best Buy both doing price drops. Keep it up Apple! Way to go on pricing the tablets so bad that no one buys them and the prices are forced to go down hehe!
My main point though was if Apple is ripping people off by what they charge one should examine the margins on their every day products they use. Google the results. There are all sort of articles about markup of your daily life items; again that soda up to clothes or groceries, cars, all electronics etc etc. 100-4,000% markup.
One would be shocked to find that Apple has, in reality, a very low markup percentage versus items you touch daily on their products. In the scheme of dollars it appears at a glance to be a lot since its a few hundred dollars, but percentage of markup vs cost to make the item is very low.
I again point to the soda example. Average $.10 cost and sell it at the drive-through for $1.50. That's a 1,400% markup!
Apple's less than 100% markup (add in R&D, marketing and company costs portion), figure $300 cost to build (Air 2 16gb was $275 ad a few bucks for newer parts and the extra storage) and $599 price, is a drop in the bucket in comparison.
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While I do largely agree with you there, the one bit I don't is the "if you don't like it, don't buy it". I'm afraid that is exactly the solution. There is no other viable option, it's not as if you can call up Apple and tell them you think something is too expensive and they'll give you it cheaper. So you're left with, buy it or don't buy it.
There are definitely times when Apple takes far too much of a liberty when it comes to pricing. I do think the silicone case and cover are ridiculously overpriced for what they are, even for Apple. Of course there are other things too, it's hardly limited to one or two items for just one product.
It could also be argued that the 29W USB-C charger and cable for instance should have been the default pack-in with the 12.9" Pro. Instead in typical Apple fashion, they give us a woefully under powered charger which makes us want to spend more money to get the one we should have had in the first place.
Then there's things like the Magic Trackpad 2, ridiculously overpriced (yes I still bought it.) The list goes on and on with Apple, it's nothing new at all. It's just that compared to even 10 years ago there are far, far more Apple customers and therefore products in use today than there ever was, so there's a lot more complaining around. Especially from people who are relatively new to the Apple eco-system, just a theory of course. But I've been an Apple customer for a long time now and none of these prices surprise, or phase me at all.
Apple is just a company like all the others with one goal, to make money.
I think that the updates are worth the $100 price bump, but I don't like it and I don't think people would feel as badly if they had included 4GB of ram. It's just a never ending cycle until a cap is reached where people just don't care and don't want to pay for whatever they're offering. It's another $100 bump with every version until it's not sustainable anymore.
I'm in Canada so it's just as bad with our taxes. Just the 128GB LTE iPad came to $1333 after tax without a case or pencil for me. I'm hoping this will last me for a number of years, even into whatever software comes after iOS.
I think that the updates are worth the $100 price bump, but I don't like it and I don't think people would feel as badly if they had included 4GB of ram. It's just a never ending cycle until a cap is reached where people just don't care and don't want to pay for whatever they're offering. It's another $100 bump with every version until it's not sustainable anymore.
I'm in Canada so it's just as bad with our taxes. Just the 128GB LTE iPad came to $1333 after tax without a case or pencil for me. I'm hoping this will last me for a number of years, even into whatever software comes after iOS.
I broke down and bought the silicone back cover and Smart Cover. With my discount for working for AT&T, I think I paid $112 with tax for both. Not happy about spending that much, but this is the first and last case I'll buy for this iPad. Love the feel of the back.
What specific item do you know of that you can compare price wise?
Unless you are providing specific information, then there is no substance to back up your claims. What I and many other people agree about is that Apple has been pricing ram and memory as if it is still 2010 at the launch of the original iPad. Meanwhile, ram and memory are cheaper than they have ever been. For $250 I can buy a 1 TB SSD, yet Apple feels that going from 32gb to 12gb should call for a $150 increase in price. Pass the kool-aid Apple.
I agree. That's what I did. I ended up waiting until there was a decent sale on the 12.9 Pro... $150 off. THAT is when I bought one.
Sadly there was nothing they could do for me, so I took the $50 hit.
I will try to enjoy the tablet, it's just been psychologically tough, with the iPad price increase (not to mention mandatory accessory price when drawing is the main feature you are upgrading be for), poor Canadian exchange rate which doubled that increase, the ram disappointment, and now the trade-in value decrease.
it just sucks when the cycle you decide to upgrade ends up being a lot more expensive than it's been in the past.
I will try to enjoy the tablet, it's just been psychologically tough, with the iPad price increase (not to mention mandatory accessory price when drawing is the main feature you are upgrading be for), poor Canadian exchange rate which doubled that increase, the ram disappointment, and now the trade-in value decrease.
it just sucks when the cycle you decide to upgrade ends up being a lot more expensive than it's been in the past.
http://www.businessinsider.com/products-high-markups-2014-7
Google it, very simple. Thousands of results like this of every day item markups at 200-300% u to 4,000-6,000% markup.
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/28/ipad-air-2-component-costs/ 16gb Air 2 costs $275 materials and assembly, give it a few more bucks for more storage to 32gb and better screen; say $300. Sell for $599. Margin is very easy to calculate (roughly as that doesnt include marketing or R&D, but for comparison's sake).
Falls at the very BOTTOM of your daily goods for markup from cost to produce.
You can keep claiming no substance all you want but an iota of effort on your end would back up my claim. You can keep trolling and the personal attacks with drinking the kool-aid but facts are facts.
If you think Apple is ripping you off then you should feel that way about every item you touch and even more so when you are being marked up 4,000% on that bottle of water or 1400% on that soda in the drive-through.
You think that Dell or Lenovo laptopp cost them $1,200-1,500+ to produce? Or more like $300-500. How about that LCD 50-60+" TV you watch; you really think that costs $800-1,000 to build? More like $200-250 in parts, max. You trolls make it sounds like no one else marks up their items and only "evil Apple" does this..
Meanwhile, Apple is barely marking up their products 100%. So rip-off as the OP suggests? Not quite in comparison to every day items you touch. i would say there is an enormous list of retailers and producers ripping you off a lot more than Apple in terms of % profit per item, a/k/a markup.
People just dont whine and moan because it's not as much money overall in the transaction and its not hip to complain unless it's Apple; because reasonable people expect goods to be marked up and the producer to make a profit.
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My guess is that it is not backlit because that would eat up the battery and then people would complain that the battery sucks. Apple just can't win.
Come on now. You could turn it of if you wanted too. I do that on my surface. Certain things should be standard on a keyboard.
If memory serves, most of us got double the Air 2 storage (64GB) for £479 in the UK back in 2014; I certainly did'nt feel ripped off. I now have an idea of what I will pay for the next Air Pro + the Pencil, so no faffing nor sitting on the fence
I guess that's the difference for me. I've probably spent as much on Apple products over the past 9 years as I have on my car. However, I wouldn't consider myself an Apple fan. I have no brand loyalty. Apple gets my money solely because as of right now, their products and customer service meets my needs at a price I'm willing to pay. I have absolutely no qualms about jumping ship should that ever change. I firmly believe in voting with my wallet.
As for the folks always expecting tech to be immune from inflation and even keep getting cheaper in terms of nominal dollars... Most other hardware manufacturers have razor thin profit margins. That's why you get poor warranty support, poor customer service with exceedingly long hold times and/or strong foreign accents (typically Indian or Filipino), etc. It's not just wages themselves but US labor compliance that can get pretty expensive. Honestly, if iPads and iPhones were being manufactured in developed countries, I doubt a lot of people would be able to afford them. Another thing, I remember reading a financial report a couple years back that only Apple and Samsung were making money off smartphones. Other manufacturers were either breaking even or posting a loss. It's pretty common to hear of tech firms slashing their workforce in order to cut costs. To me, that doesn't seem sustainable. There's only so much "reorganization" and cost-cutting you can do until you'd have to declare bankruptcy. There's also a ripple effect on the economy with all those people who have lost their jobs. Honestly more worried about the economy than I am Apple's product pricing. That said, compensation for corporate executives even when companies are losing money are pretty appalling.
What amazes me thought is how people around here get their pom poms and megaphone and shout down anybody who dares question Apple's right to make a huge margin.
I'm sure oil, pharma and insurance companies wish their customers would be see happy to see them make a lot of money. Heck, Verizon or AT&T get lambasted if they raise a fee by $5....yet Apple gets praised for charging a premium.
I get people being Apple fans. But they seem to forget the somewhat natural adversarial relationship between consumers wanting to pay as little as possible and companies wanting to charge as much as possible that makes capitalism work.
