http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-sales-tax-rates-2016
Ok let's add more facts to the argument. Even in states with no state taxes, they still allow local taxes. And no, a "majority" of the states do not have less than 5% sales tax.
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iPhones Too Expensive in India, Says Apple CEO Tim Cook
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http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-sales-tax-rates-2016
Ok let's add more facts to the argument. Even in states with no state taxes, they still allow local taxes. And no, a "majority" of the states do not have less than 5% sales tax.
More facts: Even with that factored in, that still represents much higher pricing in other countries around the world.
If you refer www.sale-tax.com, the average state rate of tax from all states is 5.05%.
I’m referring to Apple's lowest pricing for comparison of all countries at http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone6s
There is really no need to fight over a couple percent here and there. If you want to know how expensive an iphone is relative to the US price, just look up the study the deutsche bank did on that topic.
A 5 second google search came up with this:
A 5 second google search came up with this:
This is the good ole US of A. Land of the free, home of the incessantly taxed. This is where 0% tax rate doesn't really mean 0% tax rate, thanks to a novel idea called state and local taxes. Viewed from that reality, 3 states have 0% tax rate, 6 are between 3-5.6%, and the rest run from 6% to a high of 11.5% (Illinois). With state an local taxes, 22 states can hit you for more than 8%. So the majority aren't less than 5%. True it's harder to calculate, but you can't include taxes from different countries and not include at least some of the taxes on the US price. Well you can but the comparison would be inaccurate. If you're not including US tax, you shouldn't include tax in other countries. As I said before, other countries to get hit over the head pretty hard. Just not as hard as your huge font would indicate. BTW, what's up with that font size? Visual impairment? Not being insensitive, genuinely curious.
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1 Year Warranty, and no Apple Care for iPhone. Apple BR sells Apple Care for every other product, even for iPod Touch, but not for iPhone...
I don't think you understand how consumer goods tax are applied. You pay a combined State Tax and Local Tax on consumer goods. Only giving the average State Tax isn't an accurate reflection of what consumers pay for an iPhone. When you factor State Tax and Local Tax, the average American payed 8.57% tax on consumer goods in Q3 2015.
Comparing tax free rates in the U.S. is not representative of what the majority of Americans are paying for consumer goods and in turn an unfair comparison when drawn to other nations.
Edit: Source, ONESOURCE Indirect Tax (Q3 2015): Sales Tax & VAT Rate Report
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You're arguing two different points here. Do you think everyone should have a computer (ie, a laptop/desktop/netbook) or that everyone should be able to afford an iPhone?
I agree that ideally everyone should have a computer, and hopefully even internet access. That's a stretch but it would be nice since there are more important things that people need in 3rd world countries. I disagree that everyone has the right to have the best computer available, for many reasons.
I disagree that everyone has the right to own an iPhone. There are plenty of phones available that are cheaper than an iPhone, or you can get a used iPhone if you can't afford a new phone. Also if you think people should have an iPhone for the educational value, I would also disagree. There was just an article on this site that said iPad were being pulled and replaced with MacBooks because students weren't using the iPads for education purposes.
Everything in Brasil that is imported is nearly double the price as elsewhere simply due to the government's excessive taxation which is necessarily due to the high level of corruption. Lot of people want a slice of everything at every level.
I'm simply arguing that we should be exposed to great things. A phone device is for many people the only way they access internet and educational resources. Great things do not need to cost as much as the iPhone does especially considering how inexpensive it is to manufacture it.
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You are trying to fool someone, but not me.
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Even with what you are asserting, this still represents much higher prices in countries outside of the US.
Apple has long held that it won’t compete for market share by reducing its prices. They want to remain a luxury brand and don’t want their products to become commodities like those of Dell and other bargain-priced brands. Unfortunately, Apple can’t have their cake (high margins) and eat it too (more market share). In time, as phone brands and features become indistinguishable, the iPhone will become a commodity much like the iPod did. It’s no wonder Apple is exploring other product categories where they can continue their business model.
Actually, there is a one year warranty for iPhone in Brasil as a minimum:
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ios-warranty-brazilian-portuguese.html
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/statutoryrights.html
Yes but the margin narrows when you factor the iPhone costs the average American $704.61 (Q3 2015) instead of $649.
Cook already know this even before he went to India. That's why they have this so called Certified Pre-Owned iPhones. This is a target market for India that that's the reason he traveled over there. He want to assure to the government that we are not dumping out old stuff in their country. But rather a certified pre-owned not just a used phone, this is like new folks and certified only 1 or 2 year old phone but certified. 
[doublepost=1464099947][/doublepost]Brazil in many cases has a 40 to 50% import tax. Many global companies overcome this by building assembly plants in Brazil. It encourages companies to invest in Brazil. India has many similar taxes.
IIRC, the law here requires only a 90-day warranty, but it's kind of "normal" for companies extend it to a full year (for reputation reasons, IMHO).
But I still wish they would sell Apple Care for iPhone... Oh well..
[QUOTE="smacrumon, post: 22931374, member: 1013029”]...computer devices are huge educational resources. [/QUOTE]
I agree that personal computers have that potential. I would even agree that PCs are more efficient and cost-effective than books. Of course, computers and smartphones are only as good as the Internet access they have. But lets not kid ourselves. Apple is pursuing consumers, not scholars. And consumers use their iDevices for frivolous tasks and entertainment mostly. They aren't indispensable nor a human necessity.
I agree that personal computers have that potential. I would even agree that PCs are more efficient and cost-effective than books. Of course, computers and smartphones are only as good as the Internet access they have. But lets not kid ourselves. Apple is pursuing consumers, not scholars. And consumers use their iDevices for frivolous tasks and entertainment mostly. They aren't indispensable nor a human necessity.
Apple products are just too expensive, its part of the reason my purchases are being limited to every 5 years or more. My iPhone 6s 64 GB would cost about USD $1,200, while the MacBook Pro would easily go for USD $2,500 here in Jamaica. Worst, these are not the top end models. The brand name is part of this too. Consider myself privileged to own them, although I am not a part of the 1%. At least I am making back the money I spent on them and they are putting food on the table. This is part of what it should mean to own these devices, not just because its associated with luxury and its a trendy brand to have.
It takes people paying the premium for expensive phones for the technology to develop and become cheaper. That's true in every market. Low end cars now have features available for years on high-end vehicles because the technology developed and became more affordable. Same goes for phones. As I said, you can get an Android phone for $200 off contract if you need a phone.
Apple uses the profits they make on the phone to come up the next best thing. In 2015 they spent 8 Billion on R&D, and I'd bet some of that comes from the profits of their products.
I’m referring to Apple's lowest pricing for each comparison at http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone6s. There isn't enough space to list all 50 states here. The comparisons of other countries I gave included tax and without tax in those countries.
That's not correct, actually US state taxes http://www.sale-tax.com :
0 - 0.9% - 5 states
2 - 2.9% - 1 state
4 - 4.9% - 11 states
5 - 5.9% - 8 states
6 - 6.9% - 19 states
7 - 7.9% - 6 states
The font doesn't appear huge this end. I prefer Arial instead of Veranda.
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The iPhone costs insanely little to make, Apple is artificially inflating retail prices.
8 Billion on R&D and what did they get for it? An ugly 6/6s with antenna bands and a protruding camera with buggy software that bricks devices.
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Thanks for your experience. An iPhone should work and be covered by the manufacturer for at the very least the duration of the phone contract, for example 2 years and more. Apple should be supporting their products for much longer that just 1 year especially at the retail pricing that they command.
Well they sold over 180 million iPhone 6 models in 3 quarters, so I'd say they did something right.
How about the cost to build iOS? The cost to buy the machines that make the iPhone parts? Shipping costs? Are the Apple stores going to build themselves? You want them to go buy a company to help them with maps, or siri, or w/e, where does that $$ come from? Want to bet they pay licensing fees to use some of the technology in the phone... yep. How about the programmers who develop Xcode and Swift, are they free? What about the people who work in Apple Support and their retail stores?
Oh, and one more time... 8 billion on R&D. Or is that iPhone 7 going to design itself?
Yes. But you must also factor in import duties which is added into the cost of the phone. BMWs are more expensive here than in Germany because it's treated as an import (even though they are made here)
Sure those things do cost $, but just not to the extent you are expressing. iPhone 7 and iOS 10 would have to be completely different beasts for R&D to be justified like that. Time will tell if that R&D was well worth it. In the 1990s it was shown to be not.
So you want them to warranty their phone longer than any other manufacturer that charges similar prices? How does that make sense.