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How does apple set its international iMac prices

A

Alistair.nz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 21, 2011
10
0
Wellington
With the refresh looming and many currency's growing in strength, can i expect the prices of the new imacs to drop considerably.( due to exchange rates etc not the reducing price of technologies)(i dont claim to know much about economics either)

At todays rate the USD $1999 imac is worth aroud $2500 NZD but they still sell it for $3500 RRP.

Apple obviously chooses a price and sticks to it for that product. (shown by how prices don't change for iMacs like they do with say tvs, or other electronics.)

My question is will they pretty much keep the prices in the same area and just make a killing with high prices and exchange rates in their favour or will they decrease prices to align everyones with the US price. since the additional $800 USD or so i pay for the same thing does seem a bit much.

I think apple will just be happy to take in the extra revenue IMO.

ideas?
 
Wow, it's that expensive? The $1999 iMac is only $2500 in the Australian store. But yes, hopefully they lower the prices seeing as the US dollar is worth less. $1999 US is actually $1867 AUD now, so hopefully we see a little price drop at least.
 
Yeah, with our dollar practically at parity, we really really should see a price drop.
We have to remember, it is Apple.

In NZ did they drop prices on the iPod line as well?
 
Apple products are ridiculously expensive in New Zealand. I think their exchange rate is still fixed on the 2009 days when 1 USD converted to 1.7 or 1.8 NZD.

Last year i saved 400NZD straight from buying my Macbook Air in Hong Kong. I would also buy my iMac in Hong Kong if i could bring it to New Zealand with me without being charged tariff.
 
price difference

I am wondering about this as well. Why is the does 27'' high end iMac cost $1999 in the US and €1999 (which is equal to $2913) in the Netherlands?

Considering it's the same hardware the price should be around €1370 (which is equal to $1999). Kinda feels like we are paying way too much for the same stuff.

Is this just Apple's way of doing business or is there any logic to this?
 
is there any vat or sales tax in the neterlands as the $1999 is with no tax!

also i expect the UK iMac prices to drop after the base iPad 2 dropped £30. so I expect the iMac to follow suit.
 
but then again the MBP dropped at around the same price and the exchange rate was pretty much the same then as it is now.

i'm going to stop holding my breath now.
 
I was reading something in an unrelated thread that shed some light on the price difference. People were discussing Applecare and someone from the Netherlands (I think) said well in my country the consumer gets an automatic four year warranty on electronics. The lightbulb went off I realized that meant that Apple had to price in a super Applecare policy into every item they sell in that country.

So there are other issues and costs of doing business in other countries that I don't think people factor in. I don't know if any of these are applicable to New Zealand, but they are to most European countries (I hope that doesn't sound like I think New Zealand is in Europe). There is, of course, the VAT or some other tax. Overseas people who quote Apple prices in the U.S. almost never mention the 6 - 9% sales tax that is applicable in most U.S. States. There are also more strict employee protections which raise the cost of doing business in Europe. I also don't know how your corporate tax compares to the U.S. And I think there would be a second round of tax for Apple to bring those profits back into the U.S.

So a lot of things to figure beyond the exchange rate.
 
On a side note;
As a student with the UK VAT increase to 20% at the start of this year the price of my imac went up to £1,257.60 with my student discount on the base 27" model.

However apple have brought the MBP's prices back down to absorb the VAT themselves which i find very generous.

Still though in the US you pay $1,699 for the base 27"
In the UK we pay £1,429.
In effect we pay $2360 which is disgusting.
 
Spyriadon said:
On a side note;

Still though in the US you pay $1,699 for the base 27"
In the UK we pay £1,429.
In effect we pay $2360 which is disgusting.
Click to expand...

Most U.S. States have sales tax. In New York City, it is 8.875%. So the price would be $1850.
 
I completely agree,
though even with the extra costs on labour and shipping and taxes etc as people have said how is there such a lager increase in price?
eg not only imacs, NZ's cheapest 16 gb ipad 2 is only $50 cheaper then the USA most expensive 64gb one.

But either way i will buy the new imac :p
 
Last edited:
In my opinion, Apple uses a very "rough" approximation of the exchange rates. For Europe, they simply take the US price and change the "$" to "€". But they don't seem to base it on the country's average income. For instance, the iMac costs the same in Germany and in Neitherlands, but Dutch paycheck is on average substantially higher than a German one... And in Switzerland, Macs are cheaper than in Germany.

My PhD project was transferred to Switzerland some time ago and my salary is 2.5 times higher than what I had in Germany. Even with the higher grocery etc. prices in Switzerland, I could still theoretically afford buying a new
13" MBP each month — and still having enough money to live quite comfortably. And that all with only a 50% research assistant position. Which, honestly, is just ridiculous...
 
Last edited:
TallManNY said:
Most U.S. States have sales tax. In New York City, it is 8.875%. So the price would be $1850.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how sales tax works (only ever been to florida and that was 5 years ago!)

But in the UK we have VAT (value added tax) it was 17.5% but in january the government raised it to 20% so apple had to raise there prices accordingly.

(on a side note i hate the british government)
 
I also completely agree with all the posts here saying about Apple unfair conversion. 1$=1€ is not the reality, and Apple seems to be effectively ripping off its European customers. I know that many other companies do the same on professional level services, but I would think that consumers should be somehow protected and price conversion for consumer products enforced by EU or other local laws. Considering purchase from the USA is not an option as customs will take you maybe more than in the shops, and lowering the taxes does not really seems as possibility at this point of time... I discussed this with some finance people and the only way you can slightly decrease the price is to purchase it as a small company that is subject to VAT payments and then include it in their depreciation books as their asset and get the VAT back... But you have to find one and get their agreement... Also I am not 100% sure if this is in line with the law... :(
 
The $1999 iMac = AU$2399 = $2180 + GST

Now that's already pretty close and doesn't take into any shipping costs and import duties.

Now what you have to remember...is Apple do nearly all of their business in USD. Because of that the cost of producing the computer pretty much stays the same in USD (or possibly goes down over the production lifecycle).

On the other hand, the USD to AUD (or NZD or any other currency) ratio differs quite considerably over the lifespan of any particular model of iMac. Because of that, Apple Australia or Apple NZ have to price their computers above the actual price, to be prepared for any devaluing of local currency, etc.
 
leman said:
For instance, the iMac costs the same in Germany and in Neitherlands, but Dutch paycheck is on average substantially higher than a German one...
Click to expand...

I don't know any numbers on Dutch vs German paycheck, but I noticed the other day that Mac Mini's are a 'whopping' €10 more expensive on Apple's Germany store. Also, iPhone is €20 more, but that could be due to telecom working differently in different country's? These two appear to be the only baseline differences, not checked BTO options.
 
darcyperkins said:
The $1999 iMac = AU$2399 = $2180 + GST
On the other hand, the USD to AUD (or NZD or any other currency) ratio differs quite considerably over the lifespan of any particular model of iMac. Because of that, Apple Australia or Apple NZ have to price their computers above the actual price, to be prepared for any devaluing of local currency, etc.
Click to expand...

I don't think EUR is that week or it has near term potential for devaluing. IMHO I consider this as long term strategy of US companies to strengthen the USD value and help the US economy growth, but also Steve's greediness should be considered too ;)
 
When i was looking earlier in the year, it was parity between the $ € and £ for example $1999 = £1999 =€1999

which is completely bonkers!

At todays exchange rate

€1999 = $2925
£1999 = $3294
€1999= £1775

Now why did i feel ripped off?
 
trackbikes said:
When i was looking earlier in the year, it was parity between the $ € and £ for example $1999 = £1999 =€1999

which is completely bonkers!

At todays exchange rate

€1999 = $2925
£1999 = $3294
€1999= £1775

Now why did i feel ripped off?
Click to expand...

Deffo rip off for UK as well as Europe!

1000 USD more for countries paying in EUR
1400 USD more for countries paying in GBP

A question to US people on this forum... Would you consider iMac if it had been priced 2999 USD?
 
jborko said:
Deffo rip off for UK as well as Europe!

1000 USD more for countries paying in EUR
1400 USD more for countries paying in GBP

A question to US people on this forum... Would you consider iMac if it had been priced 2999 USD?
Click to expand...

As has been said That's European 4 year AppleCare included
 
It's just Europe does not get the 4 year apple care, just the law enforced 2 year warranty.
 
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