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Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

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31–40 of 98 posts

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#31
post #11

In Australia, it's called "The Australia Tax". Partly, selling into another country is a bit of a headache. That's one reason why US businesses can do so well - they only need to succeed in a single jurisdiction and they'll make a lot of money. Yes, there's different state laws, but pretty much all countries have annoying state laws, and not all countries are as lucrative a market as California alone.

I get the impression that state laws are significantly more uniform in Australia than the US... IMHO, it's more that distributors are "used to" a lower AUD, have exclusivity/best price guarantees, and so can prevent anyone importing goods (at retail scale) that undercuts them. They've got their business model worked out on the basis of higher prices, their customers are used to higher prices, and they make arguments like "hey, well, we ran a bit of an advertising campaign and submitted your product for regulatory approval". Perhaps true, but not necessarily worth the extra "tax". See the story about how the digital price for Australian buyers of The Witcher 2 got increased because the Australian distributor made a fuss: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/05/why-does-the-witcher-2-cost...

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#32
I feel obliged to repost this. Updated prices in Brazil:

    Air 11": R$2699 -> R$3699 (1849 USD)
    MBP 13": R$3599 -> R$3999 (2000 USD)
    New MBP: R$9999 (4500 USD - WHAT??)
    New MBP maxed out: R$15973 (~8000 USD...)
Import tax is 60% for individuals, around 40%, maybe less for importers. $2199 * 1.4 * 2.06 (today's USD, predicted to go Now, what were you saying about being ripped off?

[edit] just for kicks I maxed out a Mac Pro: R$ 48.959,00, or 1/4 of a nice brand-new apartment.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#33
post #23

It's because of two years warranty, higher taxes, toll, and for more expensive items, smaller number of sold items. It's not fair you singled-out Apple, since this is true for several gadgets I bought, software, or for example more expensive Canon lenses. It's not Apple specific thing.

My friend from the UK comes to the US to buy sports cars. His wife comes with him to buy clothes. While here, they also pick up iPhones. Not see what makes this a particularly Apple issue.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#35
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this 1$ = 1€ rule has been there for much more time. This can't be the main reason. As another poster wrote, I think the reason is rather "because they can". They may have charged a premium back in the 80s or 90s and just kept it because it worked.

As I wrote, they did have crazy EUR prices before, compared to USD. When you ask any sales rep. of any big brand in Europe about this, they always use the "24 months warranty vs 12 months elsewhere" excuse. I'd never buy anything from Apple, so I don't know what excuse they used, being that they illegally dodged the warranty in the past. All I am saying is that they now have both a good excuse as well as a good reaso…

The 24-months legislation was introduced only recently. IT companies have had these prices for a long time. It's just that multinational sellers will always ask for the maximum price the specific market can bear, regardless of costs.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#36
post #18
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, don't forget our lovely European regulations. The costs of hiring employees and handling business in Europe is higher than in US if I'm not mistaken. Finally, I'd guess that Apple pays its contractors in USD. So if today 1 USD = 0.8 EUR, Apple needs to consider the fact that tomorrow it may be 1 USD = 0.9 EUR, and the price needs to reflect this scenario as well (they cannot change the price every single month…

The european regulations are cheap compared to the legal risks of operating in the states. So, thats not it. Exchange rate? You keep assuming prices are based on costs. They are not. They are based on profit. So, when the population in a country has more money to spent, or better but, there where the median, rather than the average, income is the highest, the prices will be too. So, its cheap in the US because americ…

This is true, price is based on purchasing power. If the public has more money to spend OR IS WILLING TO SPEND MORE then the business will set the price higher.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#38
post #26
post #16

To make it short: Because they can. As others have pointed out there are taxes, regulations and so on, but the main reason (in my opinion) is that they still make a very good profit in Europe, so why should they reduce prices? Apple is a business and businesses will do almost anything to make more profit (that's the reason they exist, nothing wrong here). p.s.: Steam has a similar policy and one could note that Steam…

That is not a Steam policy, that is a policy of publishers who distribute via Steam. If you look at Valve's own game pricing, you will see the euro and dollar are almost on parity when you account for sales tax.

If I remember correctly you could buy with dollars at Steam as an European customer until one year ago, since then this isn't possible anymore. Was this change forced by the publishers?

Anyway, thanks for the hint. Pricing of Valve games is indeed near parity, so you are probably correct regarding publishers/Steam.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#39

In Europe you are forced to give your customer 2 years of warranty on certain products. E.g. computer hardware or electronics. Apple refused to in the past (and still had their crazy EUR prices then). But now, after being dragged to court about it in Italy, and loosing, they at least have a good reason to charge more in Europe. ;) This is the case for most vendors. E.g. my Panasonic GH2 camera did cost a bit more in…

I think it's actually 36 months, at least it is in Sweden.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Apple ripping of European users? 1€ ≠ 1$

#40
post #9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although not as massive as it looks in the first place, there is still a discrepancy. The new MBP-Retina top config is 2799 USD -> 1805 GBP. In the UK store, it's 2299 GBP, less 20% vat -> 1916 GBP. So they're taking more than a 100 quid extra from each UK customer, "just because".

Well, don't forget our lovely European regulations. The costs of hiring employees and handling business in Europe is higher than in US if I'm not mistaken. Finally, I'd guess that Apple pays its contractors in USD. So if today 1 USD = 0.8 EUR, Apple needs to consider the fact that tomorrow it may be 1 USD = 0.9 EUR, and the price needs to reflect this scenario as well (they cannot change the price every single month…

Don't forget the EU also levies additional duties on imported black goods.
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