Apple Raises Prices in Europe and Canada as U.S. Dollar Remains Strong

[mlody]

Price increases are never good thing, but US also pays a lot for some goods that are much cheaper in Europe.
Case and point, I am looking for a Miele Vacuum. In the US, the model I am interested in costs $949, plus about %10 tax, yet in Europe same model of vacuum is about $300.
so there is minor disparity between Apple prices between US and Europe, but somehow it is OK to pay 3x more for a vacuum in the US vs. equivalent model in Europe.
The point is, people get screwed up price wise everywhere in the world, and US is not immune to that either.

 

[oldmacs]

Hahhawhat a joke Apple. Respect the Australian tax system and contribute to company tax instead of dodging around it and then I might come round to the idea of price rises.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

£1,599 for a Retina iMac is a great price. I just wish they didn't ask for an extra £160 to upgrade to an SSD.

Fusion Drive should be standard all-but the low end 21.5 iMac. There's no excuse, really... 2015's calling.

 

[geronimo789]

This is the right takeaway/analysis of the situation in my opinion. The price increases are simply Apple maintaining its profit margins amid currency fluctuations that are not within its control. It lowered prices in Canada and Europe back in 2011 when the U.S. dollar was struggling, so it goes both ways.

There may have been a correction, but prices have been very segnificantly higher for a very, very long time. Seems to me they are only bothering to offer 'fair' prices when it is to their advantage.

I just checked my local Apple website, and prices are simply stupid high. I mean, for the same price as the entry level MBP you could get a laptop from the pro/elite line from most other brands.

 

[CausticSoda]

The UAE is a good place to be for this sort of thing. The AED is pegged to the USD, and there is no sales tax. That said, the cost still ends up being about 10% more than the US list price (which excludes tax), so presumably Apple shove on an extra percentage here just for additional profiteering. I'm not expecting any great sympathy in the grand scheme of things, but it does make a mockery of Apple's claim to charge uniform prices globally, and that any differences are due to currency fluctuations and/or sales tax.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

Let's take a closer look at those differences.

NYC excl. Tax: $1999,- = €1792,19
Netherlands excl. Tax: €1858,68

That's actually pretty close. Looks like Apple has built in a safety margin to allow the euro to drop even further against the dollar.

It's the insane European taxes that kill the prices for us. We can only hope that when TTIP arrives, we can freely import electronics from the US...

 

[Allthings-I]

Even with VAT added for NYC, for example, the price is still cheaper in the U.S.

Everything in the US is always going to be cheaper, especially when company's Home is in the US.

Also because US Tax is not as high as rest of the world when it comes to consumer goods, but then you also have to factor in a long list of ups and downs, currency fluctuations, wages etc etc.

overall, the prices are in line with what the USD is trading at, if you do a quick google reference check, in some places its in favor of consumer still while in others its in favor of Apple.

If they don't adjust pricing according to currency fluctuations then they would be loosing lots of money.

 

[DaveP]

In march, they raised the prices of different products than today. The desktop Macs stayed the same then, now their prices are being adapted too.

If you do the maths, you'll get to quite similar numbers, except Apple won't sell something for odd numbers like 2237,43 € obviously.

For example, the 15" Retina MBP base model:

• US price: 1999 $ (excluding VAT), stayed the same for almost 2 years
• In mid 2014, 1 €*was about 1.3 $ then, so 1999 $ / 1.3 = 1.537.69 €, plus VAT for example in germany 19 %, so 1537.69 € / 0.81 = 1898.38 €, now that's still a 100 € less than the actual price of 1999 €, but that difference is 5 %.
• In march 2015, 1 €*was less than 1.05 $, so 1999 $ / 1.05 = 1903.81 €, plus 19 % german VAT that's 1903.81 € / 0.81 = 2.350,38 €. With an actual price of 2249 € in march, the 15" MBP base model was even 100 € cheaper for german customers.
• Today, 1 €*is about 1.13 $, so 1999 $ / 1.13 = 1769.03 €, plus VAT 1769.03 € / 0.81 = 2183.99 €, while the entry price of the new model remains 2249 €. As you see, there's always fluctuation, sometimes in favor of Apple and sometimes in the customer's favor.

This sort of rational analysis is not permitted. Let's just stick to the script... OMG! Rip Off! Unfair! Robber Barons! Capitalist Pigs!

 

[Ramvolter]

The only Mac that i could have considered buying next is 200€ more....yeah, good bye Apple, it was fun as long as it lasted. Back to Windows -->

 

[paolo-]

The CPU isn't much faster because the revision was to reduce power consumption. The battery life is much better now. The CPU's integrated graphics are also scoring much higher on benchmarks. I still think the 13" model is usually the better laptop to get.

The CPU in the new 15" MBP is still Hasswell based - the exact same as the 2014 model which was really just a slight frequency bump on the late 2013 model. I don't think battery life has been improved much. The original rMBP touted 8hr, the new ones are rated at 9hr... Sure, the iGPU is better than the 2012 and early 2013 models giving better battery life in some cases but the iGPU still doesn't match the performance of the gt650m dGPU in those models. Sure, Intel is to blame for being late on Broadwell but I doubt Apple is paying as much as it was for the same processors it was buying two years ago.

SSD prices have halved, HiDPI panel production has rampped up... It's hard to imagine Apple isn't fattening up their margins. At least for me, at the current Canadian prices, a Mac isn't worth it.

 

[Narcaz]

Yeah, the value of the rMBP is getting terrible - even in US pricing. The original 15" rMBP, one of the first computers with a HiDPI display and fairly early in the SSD game was 2199$ US in 2012. Now the 2015 model, has a CPU that benchmarks a measly 15% higher, doubled the RAM, faster SSD and the new trackpad for 1999$ US. Let's not forget they even removed the dGPU from the base model.

Unlike the 2012 the competition really stepped up their game. I mean i can get a comparable 15'' Asus Ultrabook with 4k IPS display, 2,26kg Intel 4720HQ 3,5GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB+128GB SSD and a Geforce 960M for 1599€. The rMBP offers a lot more (OSX, better battery life, better touchpad, pci-e ssd, thunderbolt), but that's probably not enough for everyone. Quiet tough to justify the 1200€ price difference these days. I am still enjoying my 15 rMBP, but i don't see me buying another one soon.

 

[cube]

in march, they raised the prices of different products than today. The desktop macs stayed the same then, now their prices are being adapted too.

If you do the maths, you'll get to quite similar numbers, except apple won't sell something for odd numbers like 2237,43 € obviously.

For example, the 15" retina mbp base model:

• us price: 1999 $ (excluding vat), stayed the same for almost 2 years
• in mid 2014, 1 €*was about 1.3 $ then, so 1999 $ / 1.3 = 1.537.69 €, plus vat for example in germany 19 %, so 1537.69 € / 0.81 = 1898.38 €, now that's still a 100 € less than the actual price of 1999 €, but that difference is 5 %.
• in march 2015, 1 €*was less than 1.05 $, so 1999 $ / 1.05 = 1903.81 €, plus 19 % german vat that's 1903.81 € / 0.81 = 2.350,38 €. With an actual price of 2249 € in march, the 15" mbp base model was even 100 € cheaper for german customers.
• today, 1 €*is about 1.13 $, so 1999 $ / 1.13 = 1769.03 €, plus vat 1769.03 € / 0.81 = 2183.99 €, while the entry price of the new model remains 2249 €. As you see, there's always fluctuation, sometimes in favor of apple and sometimes in the customer's favor.

1 * 1.19 = 1.19
1 / (1 - 0.19) = 1.234567901

1.19 - 0.19 = 1
1.19 * (1 - 0.19) = 0.9639
1 / 1.19 = 0.840336134
1.19 * 0.840336134 = 1

 

[DaveP]

I also don't what Apple pays in duties to import into various countries, if anything, which is different than sales or value added taxes.

 

[MrUNIMOG]

Even with VAT added for NYC, for example, the price is still cheaper in the U.S.

That's a great example you picked there, in NY (NYC probably too?) the default VAT is 7 %...

As I said, in most EU states VAT is about 20 %.

 

[576316]

Fusion Drive should be standard all-but the low end 21.5 iMac. There's no excuse, really... 2015's calling.

This. It's beyond me that they'd still include a standard hard drive in a £1,599 computer. Like you say, Fusion Drive should be a standard. But as I said, I really don't need the storage so I'd love the base model to have an option of a 1Tb Fusion Drive or a 256GB SSD, at no extra cost.

 

[LordVic]

When the $US was weak. did Apple lower prices in Canada so that it would be on par? no.

now that the $US is stronger, Apple raises prices excusing the conversions?

it's a money grab.

As of right now, the iPhone 6 unlocked retails for $839.00. With tax, (13%), to get into the cheapest iPhone 6, its now costing $950.

umm. wayyyy too rich for my blood.

That new Macbook, $1,549, with tax, $1,750.00
Cheapest MacAir 11", 1099, with tax $1,241.00
Cheapest macmini, 599, with tax $676.00
Cheapest mac pro, 3499, with tax, 3953.87

hitting a price point where it's just not acceptable any more.

 

[Even Longer]

And Apple is in financial troubles yet again...

1. Greenpeace is demanding its share for placing Apple on top of green energy hill.

2. Space ship turned out to be the landed money sink.

3. 18k gold watch doesn't sell

Poor . Saving huge amount taxes in Europe is legit, but as soon the buck exchange got not in their favour, - customers are who being taxed.

"It's not easy being green..."
Kermit the frog

 

[MrUNIMOG]

1 * 1.19 = 1.19
1 / (1 - 0.19) = 1.234567901

1.19 - 0.19 = 1
1.19 * (1 - 0.19) = 0.9639
1 / 1.19 = 0.840336134
1.19 * 0.840336134 = 1

If you're trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me, then you're wrong.

The 19 % VAT in germany I mentioned are 19 % of the gross price, which already includes the VAT, not of the net price.

That means, according to the math you did (correctly), that the german VAT is actually 23.45 % of the net price. Which means that my calculations were correct.

 

[bushido]

People will complain but it's to be expected due to the nature of currency fluctuations and Apple's desires to keep price points fixed for as long as possible.

but europeans arent making more money all of the sudden. this is insane

 

[peterh988]

The U.K is safe... for now.

Oh right, the prices were already ridiculous.

Well, as it's announced today we're experiencing deflation for the first time since 1960, things should actually get cheaper, shouldn't they?

Shouldn't they?

Sorry, I'll get my coat.........

 

[Imory]

This probably means that they'll also increase the prices of iPhones when they launch 6S in September

No, it most likely won't since they increased the prices of unlocked iPhones in March with $100.

 

[LordVic]

but europeans arent making more money all of the sudden. this is insane

Ding Ding Ding.

So around the world, Apple is raising the prices of their products 20-30% to account for dollar fluctuations of local markets in comparison to their usa home prices

WHAT THIS doesn't take into account is that, despite dollar fluctuations in the USA, the local markets aren't suddenly 20-30% richer.

Because the US dollar recovered, my Canadian income didn't suddenly go up 30%.

that means, Those in foreign markets to Apple (non USA), their purchasing power of Apple products actually goes down 20-30%.

I don't personally give a flying fudge that the US $ has improved. it has no bearing over the income / costs in Canada, especially for tech products that aren't even manufactured in North America.

 

[brentsg]

This means nothing to consumers in the UK - all comparable products will include VAT. It feels like the sort of stunt that would work well politically in the US.

The fact that it means nothing is exactly why they are doing it. Many EU consumers will make a quick comparison to USA pricing on similar devices and wonder why it's so much higher. The fact that we don't have a VAT here, and that sales tax is added on after purchase explains much of it.

 

[cube]

If you're trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me, then you're wrong.

The 19 % VAT in germany I mentioned are 19 % of the gross price, which already includes the VAT, not of the net price.

That means, according to the math you did (correctly), that the german VAT is actually 23.45 % of the net price. Which means that my calculations were correct.

The gross price already includes the VAT, but the percentage is applied to the net and added, as usual. The gross is calculated from the net, not the reverse (well, sellers will do the reciprocal calculation to show a nice number, but not customs).

 

[blanka]

It happens because Apple can get away with it. Usually the EU dictates worldwide prices as biggest economy. Inflation is like 0 right now, even with the much stronger dollar. TV's, computers, camera's... no significant price changes due to the dollar.