Australian Pricing on Macbooks

[Angelis]

I cannot find a reasonable excuse as to why it's going to cost me $400 more to purchase my 512GB rMBP than it would cost to purchase it in the US.

Some people say currency exchange buffers, smaller population, GST, or other tax/levy related reasons, but the only thing that really makes sense is that we as Australians will pay this "Apple Tax" regardless, and so they rape us with it.

As it stands, I can't see a way to circumvent this without having either delivery or warranty concerns, and without being stamped with some sort of an import fee or tax for trying to purchase it from the US.

If anyone has experience with this, or a better explanation as to the why, then please shine a light on it.

Cheers.

 

[Sambo110]

If you can get education prices, it'll mostly be the same as the US.

Two reasons I can think of is US prices don't include tax, whereas ours do. Also, because the AUD is constantly changing, it's easier to do it how they do, than constantly change the prices when the AUD drops and rises.

 

[Angelis]

If you can get education prices, it'll mostly be the same as the US.

Two reasons I can think of is US prices don't include tax, whereas ours do. Also, because the AUD is constantly changing, it's easier to do it how they do, than constantly change the prices when the AUD drops and rises.

I checked out the educational pricing, and it shows that I'd save $220 dollars. That's not bad.

 

[brentsg]

If you can get education prices, it'll mostly be the same as the US.

Two reasons I can think of is US prices don't include tax, whereas ours do. Also, because the AUD is constantly changing, it's easier to do it how they do, than constantly change the prices when the AUD drops and rises.

I think this response is spot-on.

If I walk into the Apple store and purchase one, it'll cost me just short of 9% on top of the listed price. There's an extra $250 right there.

Edit: There might also be some differences in the warranty coverage that you receive. We tend to be on the short side in the USA.

 

[Sambo110]

I think this response is spot-on.

If I walk into the Apple store and purchase one, it'll cost me just short of 9% on top of the listed price. There's an extra $250 right there.

So with education pricing, I'll actually be getting it cheaper than non-students in the US. Sounds good!