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All this talk of exchange rates would be relevant if Macs were built and assembled in the USA. What are the rates like with Taiwan/China?

Do you think Apple buys stuff from China providers in Yuans? Nop, but the Yuan/U$S relation is important because it keeps Apple providers costs down. If anybody is being screwed by Apple/Apple providers are the chinese workers that do their job for relatively "nothing".
 
Actually, no. What happens: The Brits usually translate their Pound based prices to US prices, forgetting that US prices don't include VAT, and they moan. When the British Pound goes up, and the British price is unchanged, they see this as "price is going up" even though nobody is ever charged US dollars in Britain. If the UK price goes down to adjust for the good exchange rate, they don't notice it because "price in dollars stayed the same". But when the pound goes down, and UK prices are not changed, nobody looks at the US price. And if UK prices are adjusted up as a result, nobody says "price in dollars stayed the same", they all say that the UK price went up.

Not only is that giant paragraph really confusing to read, but did you read my post? Factoring out VAT, it was still far more expensive in the UK before. VAT is not 30% last time I checked ;)
 
If you want a computer that runs Mac OS, you can only buy one made by Apple.

But, you don't need the Mac OS. There are certainly a lot of other operating systems to choose from and they can all accomplish the same tasks.

I still don't understand how you think Apple has no competition.

Please explain.
 
But, you don't need the Mac OS. There are certainly a lot of other operating systems to choose from and they can all accomplish the same tasks.

I still don't understand how you think Apple has no competition.

Please explain.

What would be more entertaining would be to hear your explanation of how Apple has competition. Granted there are other OSes out there but that wasn't what OllyW was saying...
 
These figures are rough, and not verified but still:


Average wage in UK (2005) : £22,411

Median wage in USA (2005) : $28,567

At £949 the baseline iMac costs 4.23% of an average wage in the UK

At $1299 (including 8% or so sales tax) the baseline iMac costs 4.55% of the median income in the USA.

This excludes cost of living, which is much higher in the UK, but it's interesting nonetheless.

4.55% of the UK average wage would put the price at £1,019, so psychologically, that is what our American counterparts have to acknowledge when considering a Macintosh computer.



Perhaps the real issue here, is that a good exchange rate has meant we in the UK have been shielded from Apple's really high prices to just being 'quite high', and now the exchange rate is roughly where it means average salary is more equal-ish between the countries (£22,411 * 1.4 = $31,375), we UK folk are maybe slightly aghast at the pricing of Apple.

From where I can see, there is no logical reason that Apple must base their prices on currency fluctuations, since it doesn't seem to have transpired into the rest of the computer market, which recognises the necessity of lower profit margins in a recession to maintain stock movement, and cash flow. Moreover, Apple does not sell products that are imported by someone else, it controls the whole process, unlike HP / Dell etc...


However, Apple's capital structure is unheard of in the rest of the industry, and by keeping prices high, they restrict their customers to those who will be happy to pay over-the-odds time and time again.

Good business strategy? Yes, and very much so, especially through a recession; it is an excellent opportunity for Apple to assess how their computers will sell in the worst of circumstances. If sales drop dramatically, Apple can lower prices, and everyone will be cheering cheap Macs (which ironically, will probably be about the same price as they were before the increase). If sales drop only slightly, Apple can laugh all the way to the bank.

Good for those looking for a cheap Mac? No, but I understand everyone's frustration. We live in a free market economy, and your own economic position is important in determining the makeup of the computer industry. Unfortunately, you shape the market by purchasing the alternative product (Dell etc...), and while Apple will take a hit from those NOT purchasing what they once would have, ultimately, you also suffer from the lack of Mac OS X. Those who go down the h@ckintosh route are too small a % to be significant, and always will be.


In truth, I think the fuss over prices is really over-stated by vocal people on this forum. For the majority of customers, a Mac is an unknown option, and for those aware, many will realise (even before the price increase) that it represents a more expensive option, part-for-part, than a Windows computer.

Once again, we return to the ease of use and lack of problems that result from purchasing a Macintosh computer. Personally, I value that day-in day-out reliability and stability, to the point where price is not a factor, within reason.

I needed a small, portable laptop with firewire, and my reaction was, "How much does Apple want for it?". I considered £719 very good value for me, as it will provide 1000 days or so of amazingly stable computing.

Not everyone is in the same boat, and that's good, it keeps Apple on their toes ;)


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_average_salary
 
It doesn't really matter, Apple can and do charge what they like, fair or not.

However I can purchase what I like and will not now be purchasing a 24" iMac and will instead buy a generic PC which will be a lot cheaper and more powerful. Turn it into a hackintosh and Apple will be seeing nothing of my money.

I've converted a lot of people over the last few years to Apple but couldn't justify it now, especially seeing as Windows 7 looks great and is just around the corner. I hope Apple see the light or long-term this could turn out bad for them.

I think a lot of people feel the same way, but Windows 7 is not all its cracked up to be. You'll miss your mac...
 
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