11–20 of 98 posts
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 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. $1 = €0.80 at the current time. So you might think the MacBook Air should be €800 (999 * 0.80). So why it is €249 more? France levies 19.6% TVA (sales tax) on goods and the tax is included in the display price; the US le…
Difference of 739$ or 590€ feels quite substantial.
There is still quite a margin, but same type of Electronics devices would have cost more in UK compare to US even without the tax difference. So it is not really a Apple thing at all.
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…
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".
p.s.: Steam has a similar policy and one could note that Steam and Apple share a common trait: No real alternative.
If I had to guess (and I guess I don't /have/ to), I'd say it's strictly psychological pricing, and is not intended to reflect some sort of idealized exchange rate or the like. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing
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…
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 americans are generally more poor, except for a few that throw the average. Off course, "poor" is a very relative concept in this regard.
Income inequality leads to lower prices, and lower margins.
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…
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…