Britain invented the World Wide Web, well an Englishman anyway. Yes it is different to the international network, I believe the American army came up with that?
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Apple, Microsoft and Adobe Required to Explain High Pricing in Australia
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Britain invented the World Wide Web, well an Englishman anyway. Yes it is different to the international network, I believe the American army came up with that?
A very good example of how poorly currency exchange rates are understood. The pricing affect you are seeing is because of the high Australian dollar, not despite it. Of course everything is going to looks cheaper overseas. And do you know how you take advantage of the strong Australian dollar? Travel. Spend your strong currency elsewhere. When your national currency is strong, the world is on sale -- but you have to go there, because those prices will not be brought to you. Sorry if that's inconvenient, but this is the way it works. This is the way it has always worked.
USD does not look weak to me, USD buying power is very strong compared to Chinese RMB buying power, for the same iMac.
USA customers pay less to buy an iMac shipped from China to their home (free shipping), versus Chinese pay more to buy an iMac made in China.
Life in the USA is wonderful, isn't it?
Good for Australia, a country which cares a little about its consumers.
Why don't I see more articles about Europe? where 1$=1EUR in Apple's mind, and it's not just Apple which is doing this, most global companies have this policy.
And don't tell me that cr*p about VAT. It's still not the same price, and, in U.S., there are states where's a free-of-tax day.
Why don't I see more articles about Europe? where 1$=1EUR in Apple's mind, and it's not just Apple which is doing this, most global companies have this policy.
And don't tell me that cr*p about VAT. It's still not the same price, and, in U.S., there are states where's a free-of-tax day.
Shipping is not the issue, and the Chinese currency is also a poor example, since it is pegged to the USD. Further the Chinese government actively discourages consumption. This is a big trade issue between China and the rest of the world.
Check out this chart of the exchange rates between the USD and the AD since 2000.
Attachments
It's the price of actually taking care of citizens. Even as a temporary worker under a visa you would have gotten free healthcare. In the US I was hit by a car and my medical bills, even with insurance, were enough to bankrupt some people; it's like we're still barbarians.
If the good people of Australia are unhappy with the pricing, they should refrain from buying it. When Apple realizes their products aren't selling well, they will look into the reasons and adjust their strategy.
This is the essence of the free market. To turn towards your government to investigate pricing (with the intent to bring that pricing down) is blatant theft. No different than the mafia taking a cut of your earnings for the 'privilege' of letting you do business in their neighborhood.
It is entirely up to consumers and producers to determine an equilibrium market price. Interfering in voluntary transactions among consenting parties is the exact reason we (as a planet) are in such economic ruin...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective_theory_of_value
http://learnliberty.org/content/unintended-consequences-price-controls
Who is John Galt?
This is the essence of the free market. To turn towards your government to investigate pricing (with the intent to bring that pricing down) is blatant theft. No different than the mafia taking a cut of your earnings for the 'privilege' of letting you do business in their neighborhood.
It is entirely up to consumers and producers to determine an equilibrium market price. Interfering in voluntary transactions among consenting parties is the exact reason we (as a planet) are in such economic ruin...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective_theory_of_value
http://learnliberty.org/content/unintended-consequences-price-controls
Who is John Galt?
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?)!!
IIRC Brazil has large tariffs. It's why Apple is starting to make products for your market in Brazil, so that they can sell them without the markup.
Everyone is saying " but this country is paying more and they don't complain "
Well it's good that Australia is complaining as the other country's don't have the balls to, they are happy to pay whatever their told to.... like good obedient citizens.
I'm sure if Americans had to pay more than the rest of the world .... Well they would proberly just declare war on them lol
Well it's good that Australia is complaining as the other country's don't have the balls to, they are happy to pay whatever their told to.... like good obedient citizens.
I'm sure if Americans had to pay more than the rest of the world .... Well they would proberly just declare war on them lol
Shenzhen - Sydney = 4587 Miles
Shenzhen - Los Angeles = 6888 Miles
So further you ship the cheaper it is
He is right though.. Australia is not as big of a market which is why that the prices are also high.
This is also part of the problem. Apple adjusts prices in markets when the currency exchange rate has maintained a level for a certain period of time. They don't change it constantly. The Aussie dollar has been getting stronger and stronger against the $US, and Apple has adjusted over time, but they don't do it daily, weekly or even monthly.
If they were to lower prices only to have the Aussie dollar weaken significantly, all of a sudden they would be losing margin and be forced to raise prices, something everyone hates.
From an ABC documentary on one of the factories Apple uses in China
"the entry-level salary of just £180 per month is so low that it would take more than two months salary to pay for the cheapest iPad.
Even if the lowest earners do the maximum available overtime of 80 hours per month, they still do not earn enough to pay tax."
Some joke.
I think Apple sets the price of iMac in China and the USA. It has nothing to do with Chinese government actively discourages consumption. I would say Chinese government encourage consumption so that they don't need to depend on US market in the future.
Indeed, the current Apple customers in China are doing much better than average US customers financially. Apple brand is kind of Gucci and LV to those rich Chinese customers.
Dumb
It's an election year in Australia, and the current government is on the nose, so it has to look like it cares when it actually doesn't, and take a stick to big business in this type of way. It is an incredibly wasteful government, racking up a $300 billion dollar deficit in just 5 years. As reported, once you take taxes out, the difference is a piddling 3%. iTunes music is another thing, but the Australian music industry bartered for a higher slice of the pie, making songs far more expensive than in the US, but this has never really been explained.
We've had a fuel inquiry that came to nothing, and an inquiry into grocery prices, that led to nothing. Again, a stupid government pretending to do something, so take it as a diversion in an election year, and this government will be thrown out on its ear later this year.
It's an election year in Australia, and the current government is on the nose, so it has to look like it cares when it actually doesn't, and take a stick to big business in this type of way. It is an incredibly wasteful government, racking up a $300 billion dollar deficit in just 5 years. As reported, once you take taxes out, the difference is a piddling 3%. iTunes music is another thing, but the Australian music industry bartered for a higher slice of the pie, making songs far more expensive than in the US, but this has never really been explained.
We've had a fuel inquiry that came to nothing, and an inquiry into grocery prices, that led to nothing. Again, a stupid government pretending to do something, so take it as a diversion in an election year, and this government will be thrown out on its ear later this year.
Australia has a pretty high median income, and they're not a country of hundreds of millions of people. They're isolated in a fairly big ocean with not a lot of importing. Of course their prices are going to be higher. Some of it may be simply because companies can charge more because the people there have a very high average wage, some of it is definitely because shipping costs are higher. A lot of it is actually taxes.