I know not everyone has the option of buying in another country, but as a Canadian who lives close to the US border, I'm always watching the Apple Canada and Apple USA store prices.
I'm glad to see the new iMac prices and iLife/iWork suite reflect current US/Canadian currency exchange rates. However, when I look at other products like the MacBook/MBP or .Mac, I'm shocked to still find final price mark-ups that far exceed exchange rate/in-country taxes.
I can understand the argument that less populated countries buy less Apple products so it's about economies of scale (cost to setup support infrastructure etc), but how do you explain the .Mac markup, shouldn't it be the same worldwide?
Anyone read about Australia's iPod index to monitor currency valuation of the Aussie$ vs American$ - some of you may remember the Big Mac index.
Any other non-US residents have a gripe over how much a premium you have to pay for Apple products in your country?
I'm glad to see the new iMac prices and iLife/iWork suite reflect current US/Canadian currency exchange rates. However, when I look at other products like the MacBook/MBP or .Mac, I'm shocked to still find final price mark-ups that far exceed exchange rate/in-country taxes.
I can understand the argument that less populated countries buy less Apple products so it's about economies of scale (cost to setup support infrastructure etc), but how do you explain the .Mac markup, shouldn't it be the same worldwide?
Anyone read about Australia's iPod index to monitor currency valuation of the Aussie$ vs American$ - some of you may remember the Big Mac index.
Any other non-US residents have a gripe over how much a premium you have to pay for Apple products in your country?