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Price comparisons. US to Europe
- Thread starter Weeguy
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grandM
macrumors 68000
OEM should also look at market share and gross. Apple's share is considerably lower in the EU. Price is a part of the product. Take the base iPad. That does sell. Why?
Because the quality is not sold at a price too high. People were waiting for the iPhone SE or were buying the 7. This is a price issue. They want to buy an apple device.
Game on, clearly, even though I tried to call it quits and back quietly out of the room there are a few folks that either don't like Brits or simply can't look at a reasonable opinion and see both sides of an argument. We Europeans are not stupid and yes we can calculate tax and yes, we do know that the US produces prices without including tax so here goes.
US price without tax is 1699 (no tax) that equates to 1406 Euro's. Let's put 25% tax onto the US price and we add approx 424 USD thus giving us a new price of 2123 USD. That converts to 1756 Euro's but guess what, the 24"iMac is selling here in France for 1899 Euro's. So what you might say, were all loaded over here anyway. That's a price difference of close to 150 Euro's or 172 USD. Not chump change in any language and notice I've stayed with Euro's as there are clearly a couple of anti Brits on this thread. Just sayin'
US price without tax is 1699 (no tax) that equates to 1406 Euro's. Let's put 25% tax onto the US price and we add approx 424 USD thus giving us a new price of 2123 USD. That converts to 1756 Euro's but guess what, the 24"iMac is selling here in France for 1899 Euro's. So what you might say, were all loaded over here anyway. That's a price difference of close to 150 Euro's or 172 USD. Not chump change in any language and notice I've stayed with Euro's as there are clearly a couple of anti Brits on this thread. Just sayin'
Leon1das
macrumors 6502
Relax G-man... no one is against the Brits, another European here (I mean, real continental European) - upper comment was flagging your self-centered look on the world - in terms of driving on the left side. yes it works for you although 98.5% world population drives on the right side... similarly - Apple can take any approach which works for them in the sea of other OEMs...
No worries - no charge for this analogy...
On your price comparison and difference of 150 eur Us vs EU - you forgot to dial in 1y additional warranty you get in Europe...
Finally I am a customer - not Apple employee.
I would love to get any Apple device with a huge price cut - but above explanations I provided helped me to realize there is no actual US-EU price difference and I will continue to buy from EU retailers...
In case **** happens - I love the flexibility of shipping back / refund fast...
grandM
macrumors 68000
Apple products are sturdy enough. There is a price difference which is probably filling some deep pockets. I love apple but the products are expensive overseas. If I were the traveling type I'd go to the States and pick them up. I would even do it to show those importers the middle finger.
Let's face it, if you really want to justify price differences you will find a way. If it's not tax (myth busted) or transport costs (nothing is transported in the US, it arrives by magic) it might as well be warranty whinges. If the product is consistantly good (and I happen to agree that it is) there is little need to worry about the cost of a "possible" warranty claim down the road. It's not just Apple, it's most things coming from the US. Find a book in the US and if it costs $4.50 there it will cost €4.50 here, find something nice on Amazon from the states and again the dollar price will almost always be matched, Dollar for Pound or Euro from a European seller. It's nothing new, we've been ripped off for years and whether it's the retailer at this end of the chain or the multinational who is price setting it's all the same, they're ALL at it. On the warranty front, my faithful 27" Mac is a late 2012 version that's never given a day of trouble so I doubt Apple has to spend much in the way of warranty claims over a longer European or British warranty period. Just sayin'
Indeed. There is no longer warranty in the UK, it’s 1 year. If you ignore tax then UK prices are around 14% higher for no reason. It’s not only Apple.
In addition, I have some american friends and can tell you that salaries are higher in the US if you ignore major cities which skew the usual reports/comparisons, they have a higher standard of living, higher wages and cheaper prices. That’s just the way it is.
In addition, I have some american friends and can tell you that salaries are higher in the US if you ignore major cities which skew the usual reports/comparisons, they have a higher standard of living, higher wages and cheaper prices. That’s just the way it is.
grandM
macrumors 68000
Oh, most likely. Or Apple is just grabbing additional revenue. Or there's a bunch of indirect overhead cost differences we have no clue about - staff, buildings, storage, marketing, transportation or even stuff like in-country taxation of revenue... Discussing cost differences is largely just a fanciful speculation that has nothing to do with anything.
When pricing products, cost is seldom the driving factor for well-differentiated non-commodity products.
Instead they're priced at the level that is expected to generate the desired sales volume and maximize revenue. That doesn't necessarily mean gaining market share - there's some cachet to exclusivity.
Folks can choose to buy the product or they can choose not to.
And since you can easily find discounts by visiting your friendly neighborhood dealer, the €1.899,- is quickly much closer to €1.600,- including VAT. Retail is one thing, what you actually pay in the end is another. 🤷♂️
In my experience by going to an authorised reseller you can get around 7% off retail, so half the price differential. So, no it’s not worth flying to the US to buy new kit. If you’re going anyway then the choice is yours.
Tenkaykev
macrumors 6502
Marshall73
macrumors 68030
In the UK it is best to wait 2-3 months after launch then pick up Apple MacBooks or desktops from Curry’s when they discount them. They have had between £50-£110 off depending on the model of M1 notebooks.
Spudlicious
macrumors 6502a
To add my ingredient to the brew, let me mention currency valuation. If we look at official exchange rates then yes, Apple is scoring bigger margins from we Brits. (As a business, why wouldn’t they if the market will pay their prices?) But if the real value of currency is in what a given unit will buy then it becomes apparent that the pound Sterling is lower than the official exchange rate, probably very close to parity with the US dollar. You can apply my parity notion to a whole range of goods in US and UK stores and find it holds good with some exceptions. I will argue that the exceptions prove the rule.
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
The reason we drive on the left dates back to Roman times where horsemen were predominantly right handed and were able to fight on the preferred side. Roman soldiers used to March on the left and Britain’s first roads were built by the Roman’s. This was centuries before cars were invented and i can assure you we don’t drive on the left just to be awkward to other Europeans lol. Having driven a lot in other parts of Europe, I think we do rather well with our road systems here.
The way I deal with Apples high prices is to buy the products I want, rather than the ones that cost more for the sake of it. Some people are locked in the mentality where they have to have the latest and greatest but often over look the fact mid tier models essentially do the same thing and give Apple less of your money.
The price difference is $200, not $600:
US Price does NOT include sales tax, that gets added on afterwards. This means that we can safely add the UK sales tax (of 18%) to the USD price of $1699 to make it a fair comparison, since UK prices do include tax:
$1699 * 1.18 = $2004,82, rounded to $2000
$2000 in GBP = £1.441,45 <- this is the price you would pay if you bought it with the US price and then payed UK tax on top.
200 is still quite a lot but much less than the 600 you suggested
edit just realised this thread is long and people have already calculated this oops haha
While the UK price is higher, it is is not $600 more and i am sure you are aware of that. Your conversion price of £1224 would need 20 percent VAT added to it which would bring the price up to £1468. Don't blame Apple for that.
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
Hmmm... Interesting.
Who built Italy's first roads?
😀
I would imagine it was the Romans too, so that begs the question; why did they change it? Everybody became left handed in the following centuries?? Lol
Yes I did. My original post did not take into account the lack of tax in the US pricing and I messed up with my $600 moan but having fixed it and as you rightly say, 200 is no small amount. Multiply that by the number of new iMacs ordered from Europe come the 30th and its a nice little earner for the boys over the pond. My new Mac mini arrives tomorrow. 🙂
Italy changed from driving on the left to the right in the 1920's. Some countries are much more recent. Sweden for example only changed in 1967.
That had to be something, given all the stuff that's dependent on left vs right driving. Signage, road markings, traffic signals, bus doors, etc.
Leon1das
macrumors 6502
I am against price differences - I wrote that already as a consumer...
I also said - The cheaper I get it - the better....
I even got my M1 MBP from a retailer with additional 100eur discount as the box had a tiny scratch...
As I already had an M1 MBA (full price, 512Gb) - I returned it to the other big retailer.
I have 0 remorse when my financial interest is at stake, as I know that profit marging of these things incorporate any returns in advance...
My point was - post with a rant on price differences will not gonna change anything.
Apple is primarily hardware company - and taken bit-by-bit, price difference US-EU can be justified (warranty, EU tax in the price - vs US tax not in the price etc)...
Another poster said UK switched to 1y warranty - in that case its a real bummer... but then thread should be named UK vs US price difference.
Bad examples are software companies who charge differently US vs RoW - for a product which has no real warranty issues. Yes - its Microsoft and their Office365 package...
Oh, and I dont care for a change for a better product in a horizon of next 5y for sure.
This is my first Mac, and I plan for it to last...
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