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Would you pay $1070 for an iPhone?

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A guy sold one of his kidneys for an iPad. Don't see a reason not to do it for an iPhone. Clearly kidneys more worth than an iPhone in India. A guy had his thumbs made smaller just to be able to use an iPhone. You see people are paying way more for an iPhone than 10000$ get it! P.s. would give you 200$ for your kidneys!
 
Mr.C said:
That's not going to get you a sim free unlocked phone. It's not a fair comparison with the prices being discussed in this thread being for unlocked contract free phones.
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I know, but I'm just mentioning the highest that I would pay for an iPhone. Just because the OP needs an unlocked 64GB iPhone, it doesn't mean I do.

But you're right. And my answer is still no. If I needed an unlocked 64GB iPhone, I wouldn't pay that much for an iPhone.
 
I know from experience of owning my own business and imports/exports that the price is going to vary from country to country and are due mostly to the following.
1. Customs duties / tariffs are figured into the final price in each country.

Every country has different import tariffs/duties depending on where the item is manufactured and the classification of the item; some countries may not have any tariff/duties and others may be as high as 10-15%.

2. Warranty requirements:
Some countries like the USA have little or no consumer protection as far as warranty coverage goes. Here in the USA, a product can have no warranty or up to a year or more; however some countries require manufactured goods to have a minimum warranty. I know that in the UK and I think most of the EU, they require a 2 year warranty. That 2 year warranty needs to be paid for, so it's figured into the final cost of the phone in that country.

I learned this when looking into importing a grey market Canon camera a few years back, the USA models had a 1 year warranty and the EU Canon cameras had the 2 year required warranty.
Also on the grey market stuff that the fellow before me just mentioned, it could be true that Apple will not warranty USA sold phones in other countries or vis-versa (perhaps if you can prove that you are the original purchaser they would) as this is how Canon is with their Cameras as well.
 
Yep. did already. its on its way.
am i happy about it ? well....not so much but it is what it is. Im in the US and wanted an unlocked phone due to travel to europe. I wanted the 64GB so i can carry my music in lossless so my good headphones actually can shine.
with apple care and tax/shipping it ends up being about that.
It is a lot of money but the way I look at it is that the iPhone is THE device I use the most EVERY day. without fail that thing is my link to the outside information world as well as a handy reminder, music player, reader, emailer, surfer...and many more things. I use it more than my macbook air. so in that sense it was worth it. might just sell my unlocked 4 to recoup some of the cost.
 
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I would pay a few thousand dollars

Perhaps $6,000 for an iPhone that belonged to Jony Ive or Steve Jobs

Of course, wiped clean.


A bit cliche or sad but these guys are geniuses so i would pay to own and frame one of their iPhones. If one did come up for action, of course i would be outbid in a second.

As for the the pricing in India, well, that sucks.
 
Dangerous Theory said:
64GB iP4S is $1090 in the UK...so even a third world country gets a better deal.
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India has a Formula 1 Grand Prix Circuit which USA doesn't! :p

India also has a GDP of 8.5% when all of Europe, MiddleEast, Uncle Sam etc are taking a warm dump bath!

So keep that third world ***** far away from where it doesn't stink.
 
mkrishnan said:
With Apple finally selling off-contract phones in the US, I'm surprised this doesn't create a larger grey market....
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One of the big problems with buying things from the Us is that they get caught at customs and we're stung with the duty and get on them anyway. In NZ it is anything of over $400 Nz in value, which means I either have to get whatever I am buying marked down as cheaper, which screws me for collecting insurance if it gets lost, or it gets pinged coming through customs and I pay the duty. Plus I am getting stung on the shipping.

I do buy a lot of stuff from the Us when the $ is good, but I keep it to under $400 or else there is no advantage to me

There is also the problem of electrics being different voltage etc to. Not a problem for apple iPhones, but if I didn't already own apple goods and have NZ plug chargers, that would also add an extra cost to it all.

I can't vouch for other countries import taxes etc, but as far as I know, the pricing difference is due to that, not due to apple deciding that a certain market can pay more for the product. They also need to take into account fluctuating exchange rates when they set the prices for overseas currency

US 64gb iPhone 4s unlocked is $849 (us)
NZ 64gb iphone 4s unlocked is $1010 (us) we pay 15% GST in NZ so that would be $151.50c

It's only a few dollars price difference all up. I am curious now how much an iPhone 4s costs over the counter in the US, I know each state has certain sales taxes that are added to items bought within that state. Would $849 be the over the counter price if you walked into your local store?
 
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TuiSong said:
US 64gb iPhone 4s unlocked is $849 (us)
NZ 64gb iphone 4s unlocked is $1010 (us) we pay 15% GST in NZ so that would be $151.50c

It's only a few dollars price difference all up. I am curious now how much an iPhone 4s costs over the counter in the US, I know each state has certain sales taxes that are added to items bought within that state. Would $849 be the over the counter price if you walked into your local store?
Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, it's $849 + tax in the US. The NZ price, excluding GST, is US$876 so the price difference is really quite small.
 
wordoflife said:
I know, but I'm just mentioning the highest that I would pay for an iPhone. Just because the OP needs an unlocked 64GB iPhone, it doesn't mean I do.

But you're right. And my answer is still no. If I needed an unlocked 64GB iPhone, I wouldn't pay that much for an iPhone.
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How much do you pay for it over the term of your contract? I think it's really weird how americans talk about their phone being free or only costing them $200.. it's like there is this whole area of blindness associated with what it actually costs in terms of the ongoing payments.

It's far cheaper for me to buy my phone outright and then buy prepay for data and calls as I want/need it I usually spend between $10 and $20 a month. I can definitely state that every single 'cheap' or 'free' phone contract that I have seen has ended up with the buyer paying well over and above retail price on the phone and contract combined. Perhaps it is cheaper in the Us? but from what I have seen of peoples comments I don't think so.

Meanwhile I am free to change my carrier at the drop of a hat. If my current one is not providing me the service I require then I take my phone number and go to someone else.
 
Dangerous Theory said:
64GB iP4S is $1090 in the UK...so even a third world country gets a better deal.
Click to expand...

LOL by "third world country," I hope you're not referring to India, which has the 3rd highest GDP by PPP basis (behind only US and China), beating many "first world countries" by trillions of dollars. ;)


wordoflife said:
I know, but I'm just mentioning the highest that I would pay for an iPhone. Just because the OP needs an unlocked 64GB iPhone, it doesn't mean I do.
Click to expand...

Just FYI, I'm American and got the 32GB AT&T contract iPhone... no way I can pay $1000 up front! Would much rather pay it over the course of a year or two in a data plan (which I heavily use). :)

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rikscha said:
A guy sold one of his kidneys for an iPad. Don't see a reason not to do it for an iPhone.
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I heard about that. That's really sad and shocking to me. I mean... I guess he's a true fan, but wow... selling a body part for tablet or phone is just beyond me! :confused:
 
colbertnation said:
The interesting part about this though, is that currently, in pre-order stage, the 64 GB model (both black and white) at $1070 is sold out. Of all the models, the 64 GB seems to be the most popular there.
Click to expand...

Wow, how is the 64 GB model sold out and not the 16/32? Now that country is obviously rich lol. It doesn't look like the carriers subsidize over there... at least the website doesn't have a link/price point for contract iPhones.

But, personally, I would only dole out that much cash if I had a need for an unlocked iPhone, which at this point in time I don't.
 
colbertnation said:
Would much rather pay it over the course of a year or two in a data plan (which I heavily use). :)
Click to expand...

Over here we often have deals where we can pick up three years interest free and no deposit, for purchasing computers, furnishings whatever we want. If I couldn't afford to drop the total cost of the phone upfront, I would definitely be looking at arranging a hire purchase deal with a store, rather than signing myself into a contract with a carrier.
 
There are more things to consider than assuming it's Apple charging the additional costs. I'm not sure what the tariffs and import duties are but in my industry, it can add 50-100% to the cost. Local taxes are also a big factor. Some charge luxury taxes as high as 85%.
 
The 64gb off-contract phone in the US isnt that much cheaper, after taxes.

Most states have a sales tax of around 10% or less.

Add in the sales tax to the 64gb iphone and it would be close to $1000.
 
AIP5 said:
Wow, how is the 64 GB model sold out and not the 16/32?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. Do people store a lot of content on their phones in India? Or were there just fewer available units??

To the OP, what are the demographics of typical iPhone owners there?

just curious :)
 
TuiSong said:
How much do you pay for it over the term of your contract? I think it's really weird how americans talk about their phone being free or only costing them $200.. it's like there is this whole area of blindness associated with what it actually costs in terms of the ongoing payments.

It's far cheaper for me to buy my phone outright and then buy prepay for data and calls as I want/need it I usually spend between $10 and $20 a month. I can definitely state that every single 'cheap' or 'free' phone contract that I have seen has ended up with the buyer paying well over and above retail price on the phone and contract combined. Perhaps it is cheaper in the Us? but from what I have seen of peoples comments I don't think so.

Meanwhile I am free to change my carrier at the drop of a hat. If my current one is not providing me the service I require then I take my phone number and go to someone else.
Click to expand...

In the US, you pay the same monthly fee whether you bring your own device or if you buy a subsidized device from a carrier. Because of that, it's a no-brainer to buy a subsidized device if you know you you'll be sticking to that carrier for a while. Not to mention, most carriers here are incompatible with each other so unless you travel internationally frequently, you don't need an unlocked device.
 
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trek360 said:
To the OP, what are the demographics of typical iPhone owners there?

just curious :)
Click to expand...

I'm an American/live in America, so I might not be the right person to answer this question. But based on my recent business and vacation related travels there, iPhone has certainly been gaining popularity. It's obviously not as common as it is in some parts of America, but a day doesn't go by in India without one spotting an iPhone in someone's hands (usually jailbroken).

Maybe an Indian/someone who lives in India can better answer this question. :)
 
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