Apple, Microsoft and Adobe Required to Explain High Pricing in Australia

I'm so glad that the people are holding these people accountable. I hope all three of them go down! I've had quite enough big business silliness thank you.
 
Who is John Galt?

Funny, I thought the U.S. government would be the first ones to start living out the scenarios depicted in the movie Atlas Shrugged.
 
"Why do we price this way? Because that is what the market will bear."

:rolleyes:


What are the import taxes for foreign products?

Is this an election year?


I'm confident there is a lot more to blame on Australian rules (not its people) for the pricing structure.
 
As the others have said, we in Europe pay a lot more than the Aussies and nobody complains. The base iMac (21,5") costs 1.513 USD in Romania (without tax [24%]) compared to 1.299 in the US. There is no official Apple store here, only resellers, every one of them adds a premium price (about 100$), so we basically pay twice. Still, nobody complains.
 
It's all bread and circuses.

THe Australian Communist/Labour Party is all about control, whilst throwing a bone to their base (in this case, the cost of downloading the latest crappy noises through iTunes).

The cost of hardware doesn't really come into it, with the exception of iPods, since their base doesn't fit the Apple market - but they do like some noise.
 
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apple_iBoy said:
If Australia doesn't like it, maybe Australia should develop it's own home-grown talent and compete.

Is this the same government that recently banned A-frame ladders? Now it has a panel that can require companies to show up to publicly defend their (arguably reasonable) pricing or face "legal consequences?"

This is not like gouging on gasoline or milk during a hurricane. This is an iMac.
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Yeah - Despite living in a country where Apple products are priced high as well, I think that a company selling luxury items should be able to sell them at any price they want.
 
Really?

I Australia a 27" iMac costs 2,056.11 USD in Norway it costs 2,724.15 USD so i dont see the problem :confused: :eek:
 
aidler said:
Base 27'' iMac comes with a price tag of 1,879.00 € in Germany. Thats 1,578.99 € before tax or 2,110.53 US$. A 17.3% premium and nobody is complaining.
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cuz we germans r idiots and just take everything as it is without complaining. so sick of our "i cant change anythibg so why bother" philosophy.

gema, gez .. *cough cough*
 
Damn! Never realised that after taxes here in England it still was 10% more! I do think that Apple, as long as they aren't colluding with everyone to keep all of their prices high, can charge what they want, even though it's annoying for us consumers when we know it's cheaper elsewhere but that isn't illegal?

I think Aussies should get more upset at the (from what I hear) ridiculous price of video games!!!
 
Number 41 said:
Look, Australia --

Just because you've figured out how to sell a steak for $9 at Outback doesn't give you the right to go telling other people how to price things.
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You'd be pissed if the ARM license fee from the UK company shot up for US only companies wouldnt you. :rolleyes:

It's only fair that unless there actually is a need to price items higher (e.g to cover shipping, import duties, etc) then there really is no excuse for any company to be charging at such noticeably higher prices.

In the UK we pay around 10% more for Apple products (after tax). That's not much on something like a mouse or keyboard, but on a mac thats a crazy amount more.
 
Hey! Leave whingeing to the Poms!

As a Pom, I resent the Aussies trying to expropriate our national pastime. Anyway, if they must whinge, they should start asking why almost any book costs twice as much in Oz. It's sad that they don't seem to have noticed.

And Macs are cheaper in Oz than the UK. Now I've really got something to whinge about!
 
rmwebs said:
You'd be pissed if the ARM license fee from the UK company shot up for US only companies wouldnt you. :rolleyes:

It's only fair that unless there actually is a need to price items higher (e.g to cover shipping, import duties, etc) then there really is no excuse for any company to be charging at such noticeably higher prices.
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A reason isn't needed though. They can charge what they wish or risk sales.
 
Brian Y said:
Petrol is laughable, fuel duty and VAT make up 64% of the price. So for every £1 (exc tax) of fuel, you'll have to pay £1.57, which will require earnings of £2.01 before tax (at the same 22% rate) - over double.
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Everyone brings up the cost of fuel in the UK. However, given how much duty is in the cost and the fact that we have some of the cheapest fuel within Europe here in the UK, the question should be asked of the retailers and oil companies as to why, without the same duty rates, fuel costs as much as it does elsewhere in Europe?

To add, most people pay 22% income tax and 12.3% National Insurance. Anyone lucky enough to earn more than £32K p.a. pays 40% income tax.

Bottom line..want the services, you have to pay the tax.
 
i just registered here to say that in Brazil we are paying so much more than everyone else.

Examples:

Mac Mini in the (US) $599 / (BR) $1250
13 inch
MacBook Pro i7 dual core in the (US) $1499 / (BR) $3000
MacBook Pro Retina i5 in the (US) $1699 / (BR) $3500
15 inch
MacBook Pro i7 quad core with retina in the (US) $2799 / (BR) $6250

(values in dollars)

ps: i'm aware that we have gov taxes too but yeah, tell me about pricing but wait.. we get free shipping (cuz who would have money for that when you are already paying twice the value of the product right?)!! :)
 
dukebound85 said:
A reason isn't needed though. They can charge what they wish or risk sales.
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Sure they can. They should still have to explain it though. If there is a real reason (like I said, higher import duties or something) then thats completely acceptable, otherwise it's not right (IMO of course).
 
Apple97 said:
I Australia a 27" iMac costs 2,056.11 USD in Norway it costs 2,724.15 USD so i dont see the problem :confused: :eek:
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The problem is it shouldn't cost more than in the US plus tax..I'll give 2% for transportation costs. Thats not what happening here or in the EU Apple is gouging period. If you throw Adobe and MS into the mix which have very minimal distribution costs the problem compounds.
 
danckwerts said:
As a Pom, I resent the Aussies trying to expropriate our national pastime. Anyway, if they must whinge, they should start asking why almost any book costs twice as much in Oz. It's sad that they don't seem to have noticed.

And Macs are cheaper in Oz than the UK. Now I've really got something to whinge about!
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Hey, you exported Poms to Oz (me included), thereby spreading "the Whinge" around the globe.

As for books (with words in them) .. hahahahahahahaha!
 
Ever see the ridiculous mains connectors the Brit's use?

An industrial size plug like that, not benefitting from economies of scale (in design, test, manufacturing, logistics, documentation and certification) deserves a price penalty... The rest is probably due to having to be delivered in RHD vehicles.
 
keviig said:
27" base iMac Norwegian price before taxes (25%): $2141...
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I think you will find that in Norway, Apple doesn't accept US dollars.

And you'll probably find that all the consumer protection laws in Norway don't come for free.


GermanyChris said:
The problem is it shouldn't cost more than in the US plus tax..I'll give 2% for transportation costs. Thats not what happening here or in the EU Apple is gouging period. If you throw Adobe and MS into the mix which have very minimal distribution costs the problem compounds.
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Do you promise to never, ever again say "Apple only gives one year warranty but is by law required to give more"?
 
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