Are we being ripped off?

falteringstar

Apple have always charged us the same amount in Euro as they do in dollar, i.e. they charge $1000 in the States and €1000 here.

However with the strong Euro and the weak Dollar are we being ripped off?

mikemac

Seriously ripped off!
But it's always been like this and always will be. That's Apple's pricing policy.

On the plus side, if you are planning on making some serious purchases, a trip to the US can pay for itself

babypink

remember the differing taxes!!

its not just apple - all manufacturers end up charging more in europe for the same product.

who is this

babypink wrote: »

remember the differing taxes!!

its not just apple - all manufacturers end up charging more in europe for the same product.

Yeah, but a euro in dollars, is numerically 41% larger. VAT in Ireland (highest in eurozone - and its usually same price for whole eurozone) is only 21%

Dont be at yourself

It's nuts. Luckily, I'm in Japan, and eligible for the education discount, so I'm saving my yens for a MacBook Pro! Should save 500 euro or so!

GUIGuy

Yes it's just a rip-off.... but that's capitalism, no complaints here. Shop elsewhere if you are unhappy.

Many companies try to justify rip-offs by saying costs are higher, but that's only telling a half truth really. Costs... what is a cost? The one most people think of is wages/social insurance costs, but that's the only major cost where Ireland would be higher than the US. There are many European countries where visible costs are lower... yet Apple and many others still locate in 'high cost' Ireland. Why is this? Because they gain from FAR lower corporate tax rates in Ireland. Some States in the US charge 40%... Ireland 12.5% thats a huge difference and it alone means that the cost of doing business here is in fact lower. Then throw in fact that profits from IP are tax free in Ireland (again can be 40% in the US) and it means that American companies like Apple who run their Euro operations from Ireland have a far greater profitability per customer from Europeans than Americans. So costs are lower and profits are higher and throw in currency differences and each extra Euro is $1.43 to the Yanks... so that makes adding extra margin here is irresistable for them.

im...LOST

If you were gonna get a top spec Macbook Pro of something here than why not go to America and buy one there for the same price!

It's a free holiday pretty much, although the chances of actually doing that are slim to none....

nanook

im...LOST wrote: »

If you were gonna get a top spec Macbook Pro of something here than why not go to America and buy one there for the same price!

It's a free holiday pretty much, although the chances of actually doing that are slim to none....

2 problems here,

Warranty and Customs.

You may be lucky but if something goes wrong what is the warranty like, and if you get stopped on the way back with your american mac, have you factored in the taxes/vat etc

Loomis

falteringstar wrote: »

Apple have always charged us the same amount in Euro as they do in dollar, i.e. they charge $1000 in the States and €1000 here.

However with the strong Euro and the weak Dollar are we being ripped off?

Thank you!
This is why I'm holding off buying the iPod Touch til I'm in the states in December. It's $299/$399 for the 8GB/16GB but €299/€399. Basically I'll be able to buy the 16GB in America cheaper than what it would cost to buy the 8GB here. That is ridiculous. It's €110 cheaper there than here. That's over 1/3 the price ffs

Ham'nd'egger

GUIGuy wrote: »

Yes it's just a rip-off.... but that's capitalism, no complaints here. Shop elsewhere if you are unhappy.

Many companies try to justify rip-offs by saying costs are higher, but that's only telling a half truth really. Costs... what is a cost? The one most people think of is wages/social insurance costs, but that's the only major cost where Ireland would be higher than the US. There are many European countries where visible costs are lower... yet Apple and many others still locate in 'high cost' Ireland. Why is this? Because they gain from FAR lower corporate tax rates in Ireland. Some States in the US charge 40%... Ireland 12.5% thats a huge difference and it alone means that the cost of doing business here is in fact lower. Then throw in fact that profits from IP are tax free in Ireland (again can be 40% in the US) and it means that American companies like Apple who run their Euro operations from Ireland have a far greater profitability per customer from Europeans than Americans. So costs are lower and profits are higher and throw in currency differences and each extra Euro is $1.43 to the Yanks... so that makes adding extra margin here is irresistable for them.

I think you are getting a little bit off the point, GUI, though you are right; corporate taxes are pretty liberal for companies here so they will settle here and try make good profits and cuts when they can.

With most consumer produce in any market, cost of carriage is often the single highest factor in the cost paid by the consumer. The vast majority of Apples computers are built in the far east and are flown over and securely delivered to either a retail point or house. Apple products are also fancily boxed, which adds to the costs. In addition, one major issue that we need to allow for is the fact that on any MAC, you are buying a complete product that is researched and designed far more thoroughly than a similarly specced PC so therein is extra costings to add to the final price. If Microsoft built PC's as well, you can be assured that the prices would be somewhat higher than what the average Windows machine costs today.

Druid

Just a small point on warranty, I recently got an extended applecare from the states for my MBP and I believe that laptops bought in the USA should be fine as they are 'mobile devices' so the warranty is world-wide. I cant find the exact bit in the T&C online but for the interested reader is all there in black and white.

Customs & Keyboard layout on the other hand....

K.O.Kiki

I disagree -- my Apple products were SIMPLY packaged -- simple box, no clutter.
Nothing fancy about it.

Also, people -- it's not Apple's fault that the euro is worth >$1.43

Breezer

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Also, people -- it's not Apple's fault that the euro is worth >$1.43

No but they benefit hugely from it :mad:

uncle_sam_ie

I've got a MBP that I bought in the US and the warranty is good here. I know because I've had the DVD drive replaced.

PeakOutput

are the macs we get here not built/assembled in cork??? if they arent then an apple employee was telling me porkies

K.O.Kiki

Breezer wrote: »

No but they benefit hugely from it :mad:

While you're at it, write some nice letters to Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo.
And Dell.
And [insert electronics manufacturer here].

And [insert multinational company here].

Breezer

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

While you're at it, write some nice letters to Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo.
And Dell.
And [insert electronics manufacturer here].

And [insert multinational company here].

There's no need for sarcasm. I never mentioned writing letters and I don't expect anything to change - if the market is there Apple are free to charge what they like. Something needs to be cleared up though:

Dell Vostro 1000 bought in US for $499
Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3500+
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
1GB Shared Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 1 Dimm
60G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive with Cyberlink Power DVD
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (integrated)
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
29 WHr 4-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Microsoft® Works 8.5 Does NOT Include MS Word
Norton Internet Security 2007 30-day Subscription
Free Microsoft Office Live Basics
1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service
10GB for 1yr Online Backup by Dell Datasafe
1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup

Dell Vostro 1000 bought in Ireland for €331.23 ex VAT
AMD® Sempron Mobile Technology 3500+
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic - English
Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support
15.4" Wide Screen WXGA (1280 x 800) Display
1024MB 533MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x512]
60GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemory (integrated)
Fixed Internal 8x DVD/24x CDRW Combo Drive With Software
4 cell Lithium-Ion Battery (29 Whr)
Online Backup 10GB
Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
Dell™ Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-Card - Europe
Base Warranty - 1 Year Business Hardware Support

$499 = €353.12 + sales tax depending where you buy in America. For that, on top of what you get with the Irish model you get 30 days of Norton Antivirus (woo hoo) and a slightly newer version of Works, which to my knowledge nobody uses.

€331.23 +21% VAT = €400.78.

So yes, Irish consumers are being charged more by Dell - €47.66 more on this model (assuming you buy in a state which has no sales tax).

Looking at the base model Macbook, Irish consumers pay €1049. US customers pay $1049 = €742 plus sales tax. In a state which has no sales tax, this equates to a €307 saving for the Americans, over six times as much as with Dell.

Apple are ripping us off in the name of "simpler pricing." This is, to be quite honest, ridiculous. I'm capable of doing primary school maths, I don't need Apple to simplify matters to this extent.

It could be worse, Britain are charged even more.