apple.com VS apple.com.au

[T-BILLIONS]

Ok, so I'm getting over this **** now.

apple.com has always been seen by some blind Aussies as being cheaper than what apple.com.au is - But they always tend to forget the exchange rate. (that was then)

Well now that the Aussie dollar has been over 0.90 for around 2 months and for a week has been pushing further over parody, I ask - Is apple blind? How often is Apple going to start updating the prices to reflect the current economy?

I mean for how long do they expect to flog our socks off believing that charging me $179 for a set of headphones on apple.com.au is fair when they are listed on apple.com for $99 - Our dollar is at parody yet we are still expected to pay almost double for an identical product at an identical exchange rate.

Unfortunately the issues doesn't lie in bed with only accessories it's across the board meaning we pay more and more form Macooks to software and well pretty much everything on the site.

What a joke.

That's my rant for the day - But apple seriously needs to start looking into this.

 

[maflynn]

What you complain about has been an issue for many foreign buyers. The conversion rate of the USD to local currency has little impact on what apple charges locally for those locales. In a surprise move this week apple finally adjusted the mac mini price but in general terms they don't continually adjust the price based on the conversion rate.

 

[Abstract]

Our dollar is at parody....

If that's how you feel about your own currency, why do you expect US companies to care?

 

[T-BILLIONS]

If that's how you feel about your own currency, why do you expect US companies to care?

The only thing humors is that it was a fabulous misplacement of an incorrect word - Parody - Should have been - Parity.

I don't expect them to care - expectations are also seen as delusions - I just hope for a more fair system.

 

[Apple OC]

same thing happens here in Canada ... however it is every company that jumps on this rip-off Canadians band-wagon here in Canada ... Walmart, Amazon, Apple, Best Buy ... everyone of them.

And we are so close we can walk to the USA with our Dollar at Par ....

 

[Hisdem]

Well, the US Dollar is not even close to being 2 Reais, and still we pay over twice the price for every Apple product. So yeah, they couldn't care less. What I do? I simply don't buy from them here, I buy their stuff when abroad. The only reason they charge that much is because people keep paying them that much.

 

[Apple OC]

Apple has always been overpriced on the side of almost criminal.

It actually has kept them from competing with PCs in the business world as companies do not want to pay double for something they do not need.

If it was not for Apple coming out with the gadgets they did like the iPod, iPhone and iPad ... there would be No Apple stores and they would still be a tiny corner section of the Best Buy stores.

 

[v5point0]

Apple Products are a luxury in US, they are even a greater luxury elsewhere. Actually it doesn't just apply for Apple products, everything in the US is considerably cheaper, you may factor in freight, taxes and so on when it comes to your shores but goods which are manufactured in South East Asia by South East Asian companies are also cheaper in the US then in their home countries.

 

[Phormic]

The word you're looking for here T-Billions is "parity".

A few things, firstly the prices on apple.com don't include sales tax (which varies from state to state in the USA), whereas on apple.com/au they do (Australian GST).

Apple is also charged import duty on goods coming into Australia (5% of the customs value), which is factored into Australian prices.

Apple also calculates prices factoring in foreign exchange volatility. They predict what exchange shifts will take place over time and average it out. What that tends to mean that if the Australian dollar suddenly becomes strong, the advantages won't flow through immediately. Of course this also means that if the Oz dollar tanks and falls through the floor, we also don't get slugged with price hikes immediately. It works both ways.

To just say that our prices should match US ones because the US dollar has reached parity with ours is simplistic and naive I'm afraid.

 

[Peter.Howard]

Sure it would be nice if we were something like dollar for dollar at the sale price on the AU Apple Store as the USA one


example that interests me:


Apple Store AU:

MacPro QuadCore (base model) - $3,199


Apple Store US:

MacPro QuadCore (base model) - $2,499



Now one factor I believe that plays into this, is that I would guess, the Australian Apple market is probably less than 1% of the USA market. Apple sells less products here, so it costs them more to provide products for sale.

 

[Chundles]

White MacBook:

US ex. Tax = USD$999
Au ex. Tax = A$1090

Less than $100 more. Pretty easy to deal with. It costs more to do business here than it does in the US.

US price doesn't include sales tax which can be well above 10% in some locations.

 

[Abstract]

Apple also calculates prices factoring in foreign exchange volatility. They predict what exchange shifts will take place over time and average it out. What that tends to mean that if the Australian dollar suddenly becomes strong, the advantages won't flow through immediately. Of course this also means that if the Oz dollar tanks and falls through the floor, we also don't get slugged with price hikes immediately. It works both ways.

Yep.

At one point, it was cheaper to buy an iPhone outright in Oz than anywhere else in the world. A friend of mine was asked to buy 3 iPhones for a friend and have them sent overseas as "gifts".

At the end of 2008, it price of a MBP in Australia was cheaper to buy than it was in the US, after taking currency values and sales taxes into consideration.

Oh, and Apple products in Dubai cost like 5x more than US prices, apparently. I was told that this is because there's no real Apple presence in UAE, but a strong demand. Importers know they can charge whatever they want, and some people will pay it.

 

[kdarling]

OP, here's an honest question:

How often do other foreign-to-Australia manufacturers adjust their prices?

Is it common for say, US manufacturers to keep the same price amount, or do they change it with the AU dollar?

Thanks!