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

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

#41

Post by al_james »

dagw wrote: post #12
jgrahamc wrote: post #3

I don't think it's that strange. Let's compare the cost of the same MacBook Air in the US and France. 1. MacBook Air 11-inch : 64GB in US is $999. 2. MacBook Air 11-inch : 64GB in France is €1,049 3. $1 = €0.80 at the current time. So you might think the MacBook Air should be €800 (999 * 0.80). So why it is €249 more? France levies 19.6% TVA (sales tax) on goods and the tax is included in the display price; the US le…

The other thing is that the price they set at launch doesn't change when the exchange rate changes. So Apple doesn't set the price relative to current exchange rates, but relative to whatever rate they're hedging against. So don't look at the current rates, look at the long term futures rates.

Yes, its likely the Euro will reduce further against the dollar (given the current situation in Europe), so Apple needs to build in a buffer to account for this.

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

#42

Post by nodata »

clneagu wrote: post #24

It's simpler than that. They do it because they can. Apple could charge allot less for everything they sell but they don't just because they can get away with it. I'm sure nobody here really believes that the difference in price between countries has anything to do with keeping the profit margin the same everywhere :)

If the difference was high enough, people would import.

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

#43

Post by Argorak »

jwildeboer wrote: post #37

In Europe Apple must give 2 years of warranty. There was a recent court decision on that in Italy. That is additional cost that reflects also in the price.

The court decision was about Apple not mentioning this in the prospectus of their support plans. They always followed the two years warranty rule.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/23/apple_italy/

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

#44

Post by dante_dev »

jwildeboer wrote: post #37

In Europe Apple must give 2 years of warranty. There was a recent court decision on that in Italy. That is additional cost that reflects also in the price.

yes, but prices are raised from years, also when apple offered 1 year of warranty.

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

#45

Post by virtualritz »

toyg wrote: post #35
virtualritz wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Recently? In my book, 10 years is rather not so recent (EU Directive 1999/44/EC came into affect January 2002).

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:...

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

#46

Post by virtualritz »

m_eiman wrote: post #39
virtualritz wrote: post #6

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.

Individual states can have laws that force vendors to give more than 24 months. But 24 months is the legally required minimum warranty timespan for anyone selling tech in the EU.

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

#47

Post by icegreentea »

Just to echo the sentiments here, it's certainly partly just because they can. If you want a hilarious example, look at Canada. I'm going to use Lenovo here as an example (but applies equally to other retailers). Baseline T420 on the US site? $1365.00. Baseline T420 in Canada? $1520.00. The exchange rate? Been within 5% of parity (either direction) for the last several years. Taxes? Canadian sale prices must be shown pre-tax (just like in the US). Supply chain? Practically the same thing. I ordered a T400 several years ago, and watched it get shipped from China to Alaska to their depot in Kentucky, and then trucked up to Toronto.

I guess there might be some problems with the Made in China part (doesn't completely fall under NAFTA), but I honestly can't figure out the tarrif /import duty laws.

But the point is that US prices almost always seem lower =/

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

#48

Post by waxjar »

virtualritz wrote: post #6

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…

Apple's warranty policies in Europe are still a disgrace, unfortunately. The warranty on a laptop charger is only one year, instead of two, for example. They aren't cheap to replace either (€80 for a simple cable?!). The warranty on an iPod is useless when there's a crack in the screen: defects that have nothing to do with the screen will only be fixed for a hefty price. The advice is to "just buy a new one".

In the mean time, they do reel in this extra money, for apparently no good reason. It really made me think twice about buying an Apple product again. The products are exquisite, but the service is just terrible.

The warranty policies in the US however seem to be exquisite as well (or were a while ago at least).

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

#50

Post by swah »

ricardobeat wrote: post #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…

Could also compare to car prices or average monthly income...

At least if we could buy the used ones that will appear on eBay...

We do have AWS in Brazil now, though.

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