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If you buy from Apple. If you buy it from Hermes, or PC World, or <insert an your preferred retailer here> then it's them.

And you can indeed buy a Hermes AW directly from Apple. It's only one out of many factors as to why electronics (not just Apple products) are more expensive across the board in the UK. As others have mentioned, many other factors come into play to affect this.
 
Lots of products are more expensive in the UK than the US. It's not just Apple. There are multiple reasons. For instance, minimum wages are higher in the UK. I believe you need to pay anyone over 24 a "living wage" which is about $13/hour. Real estate costs more in the UK than in most of the US. There are additional labor regulations (it's more difficult to fire people, you need to give more sick leave and vacation time, etc.). All these things add up.

I understand what you are saying. But Apple products all come from the same country of manufacture. Why should we, in the UK, pay more than someone in the US?
Wages, health care, price of real estate have nothing to do with the price of an AW or iPhone IMHO.
 
I understand what you are saying. But Apple products all come from the same country of manufacture. Why should we, in the UK, pay more than someone in the US?
Wages, health care, price of real estate have nothing to do with the price of an AW or iPhone IMHO.

Not directly. There are other factors including shipping (distribution is smaller scale in smaller countries, not to mention gas being more expensive there), hidden taxes and red tapes that make operating in European countries more expensive, and less competition due to fewer retail stores. This affects all manufacturers, not just Apple.
 
I understand what you are saying. But Apple products all come from the same country of manufacture. Why should we, in the UK, pay more than someone in the US?
Wages, health care, price of real estate have nothing to do with the price of an AW or iPhone IMHO.
Because factors other than cost go into the price of a product. There is supply and demand, as well. The U.S. is a much bigger market for Apple both in real terms and percentage of the market. We pay more for Champagne in the U.S. than you do in the UK for the opposite reason. You buy lots more of it than we do at any price level, and so if Champagne houses want to make money here, they find that the ideal level is to sell it at a higher price even at the cost of a little bit of volume.

You pay a LOT less than we do for cellular data services and prescription drugs.
 
Not directly. There are other factors including shipping (distribution is smaller scale in smaller countries, not to mention gas being more expensive there), hidden taxes and red tapes that make operating in European countries more expensive, and less competition due to fewer retail stores. This affects all manufacturers, not just Apple.

OK.. But the UK is tiny compared to the US so I do not think gas could be a factor. Not sure what the hidden taxes are? Or the red tape?
 
Because factors other than cost go into the price of a product. There is supply and demand, as well. The U.S. is a much bigger market for Apple both in real terms and percentage of the market. We pay more for Champagne in the U.S. than you do in the UK for the opposite reason. You buy lots more of it than we do at any price level, and so if Champagne houses want to make money here, they find that the ideal level is to sell it at a higher price even at the cost of a little bit of volume.

You pay a LOT less than we do for cellular data services and prescription drugs.

How much do you in the US pay for cellular data on average? And prescription drugs? I am not challenging you...just genuinely interested in the differences in prices!
 
How much do you in the US pay for cellular data on average? And prescription drugs? I am not challenging you...just genuinely interested in the differences in prices!
I pay $100 / month for unlimited LTE for both my wife and myself via T-Mobile. That comes with free international data roaming as well.

As for Prescription prices... it is really hard to say since everyone has differing insurance coverage. The insurance companies gladly pay exorbitant fees for the drug prices (keeping them high) because they know that lower drug prices would mean many people would choose lesser insurance options.

In my case, my employer and I share the cost of my health insurance. The types of prescription drugs I buy at my age are very very cheap under this coverage. $5 out of pocket at most for common things. Of course.... like I said, behind the scenes, my insurance is paying huge amounts for this. For someone paying cash the price would be much higher.
 
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OK.. But the UK is tiny compared to the US so I do not think gas could be a factor. Not sure what the hidden taxes are? Or the red tape?

It doesn't have anything to do with the size of the country. Most other developed countries smaller or larger are the same in that consumer items as well as services cost more. The cost of doing business here in the UK is overall higher. Taxes are higher at all levels and not just V.A.T. It also has to do with currency exchange values and and in this case how weak or strong the $ is against the £. There are many factors involved. I'm not justifying or condoning it but explaining the reality of the situation. I use to live in the U.S. I was there for 12 years and enjoyed paying lower prices on stuff and having been back in the U.K. for 15 years now I still can't get use to paying higher prices but it's a fact of life here unfortunately.
 
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I pay $100 / month for unlimited LTE for both my wife and myself via T-Mobile. That comes with free international data roaming as well.

As for Prescription prices... it is really hard to say since everyone has differing insurance coverage. The insurance companies gladly pay exorbitant fees for the drug prices (keeping them high) because they know that lower drug prices would mean many people would choose lesser insurance options.

In my case, my employer and I share the cost of my health insurance. The types of prescription drugs I buy at my age are very very cheap under this coverage. $5 out of pocket at most for common things. Of course.... like I said, behind the scenes, my insurance is paying huge amounts for this. For someone paying cash the price would be much higher.

Yes, your cell phone is more expensive than my husbands and mine. We pay $12.5 per prescription item regardless of what it is.....except for elastic stockings which, for some reason, are twice as expensive. If you need drugs regularly, you can buy a season ticket which reduces the cost. All this is under the National Health Service which is free to all in the UK. Well, not really free as it is paid for by taxes....but I mean you do not pay a monthly premium.
 
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