Disappointed With Mac mini Pricing in Canada

[PygmySurfer]

Is anyone else as disappointed with the Mac mini pricing in Canada as I am? Apple appears to have just released the new Mac mini at the same price as the old model, unlike the iMac, which has seen a significant price cut (I believe the model the new 20" replaced was the 17" for $1349 - a savings of $150).

Base mini (1.83 GHz):

CA Store Price: $649.00 CAD, which converts to $615.26 USD
US Store Price: $499.00 USD, which converts to $526.35 CAD

Base iMac (20", 2.0 GHz):

CA Store Price: $1,299.00 CAD, which converts to $1,231.62 USD
US Store Price: $1,199.00 USD, which converts to $1264.72 CAD

The price difference for the iMac is $32 or $35, depending on which site and which currency you use, whereas the difference for the mini is $116 or $123! The differential should be GREATER for the iMac, not LESS!

I've been waiting for Apple to release an updated mini to use as a media center type box, and this is really disappointing. If I pick one up now, I'll have to pick it up in the US - there's no way to justify the price difference. Fortunately, that's pretty easy for me - I imagine it's not so easy for people who aren't so close to the border.

 

[Agent Smith]

I hear you, but it's not just in Apple's computer pricing. Ever since the dollar has come close to parity with the US dollar, it has irked me that retail prices have not followed suit. That said, I don't think that it would be too hard to get a mini in the US and bring it over the border. I would imagine that the taxes on it would be negligible.

 

[iW00t]

could the difference be due to the sales tax?

 

[aks]

Perhaps you should check the price of the U.S. Mini again.

 

[monke]

The price of the Mac Mini (is US Dollars) is $599.

As a US based company, they aren't going to keep changing prices as the currency goes up and down. When it makes a significant change, they change it. Significant meaning $100+ dollars, not $10 or even $25 dollars.

 

[PygmySurfer]

Not so disappointed now, just a dumbass!

could the difference be due to the sales tax?

The prices I quoted didn't include sales tax. It'd be added after the fact in both the US and Canada.

Perhaps you should check the price of the U.S. Mini again.

The price of the Mac Mini (is US Dollars) is $599.

Oops! I guess all of my wishes for the mini to drop back to $499 confused my own self $599 USD = $631 CAD, so the price is about right.

As a US based company, they aren't going to keep changing prices as the currency goes up and down. When it makes a significant change, they change it. Significant meaning $100+ dollars, not $10 or even $25 dollars.

Agreed, however, since it was the introduction of a new product, it'd make sense to adjust pricing at that time. Of course, that all assumes my original math was correct, and that I wasn't the dumbass who based all his figures on a $499 USD Mac mini

Obviously I've been working too hard...

 

[Mari0-br0s]

As a US based company, they aren't going to keep changing prices as the currency goes up and down. When it makes a significant change, they change it. Significant meaning $100+ dollars, not $10 or even $25 dollars.

Yeah well, take a look at the MacBook Pro's prices in Canada compared to the US ones.

Apples makes 150$ profit more in Canada. IMO, this is a significant meaning.

US price of the mid-MBP: 2499$ (which is 2633$ CAD at current currency)
Canadian price of the mid-MBP: 2799$ (which is 2657$ USD at current currency)

 

[PygmySurfer]

Yeah well, take a look at the MacBook Pro's prices in Canada compared to the US ones.

Apples makes 150$ profit more in Canada. IMO, this is a significant meaning.

US price of the mid-MBP: 2499$ (which is 2633$ CAD at current currency)
Canadian price of the mid-MBP: 2799$ (which is 2657$ USD at current currency)

Yeah, The Mac Pro is pretty bad as well - the pricing is the same as the day they launched (over a year ago now), and the US dollar has tanked since then. The Mac Pro pricing is terrible on both sides of the border (hopefully it'll see a refresh soon).

 

[andreas32]

I can understand Canadian retailers not lowering prices with every fluctuation of the dollar when those retailers already have purchased stock physically in Canada, paid for when the dollar was a set price.

However, as every Canadian knows who has ordered from Apple.ca, the items purchased are sent from Cupertino, CA, USA. There is no reason for Apple not to base Canadian prices on current dollar conversions.

So the only conclusion to be reached is Free Shipping does not mean free shipping to Canada. We pay for that shipping, most times at a premium rate that is triple what other US-based companies charge.

Our only consolation? We aren't Australian. Those poor chaps really pay for their Free Shipping.

 

[MacHamster68]

in the uk the base mini at the apple store cost £510 which converts into canadian dollars 785 and us dollars 762
in germany the base mini cost at apple store € 549 wich converts into
canadian dollars 767 and us dollars 745
and dont be upset about the high prices we have to support the weak economy of california and they need all the cash they can get
California, among several states frozen out of the bond market by the credit crunch, is nearly out of cash to fund day-to-day government operations and can’t access routine short-term loans it relies on to remain solvent. If the state’s inability to access cash continues, Schwarzenegger aides say, payments to schools and other government entities in California could be suspended and state employees laid off.
so buy minis to rescue california before they have to sell the complete state to china

 

[300D]

Import taxes.

 

[yamawho]

Thread was from 2007 ...

I remember being really bad about it back then as well.
At the time the CAD$ was about 20% higher than the US

Was so mad in fact, I build my own and that was my first Mac