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New iMac pricing in Europe a crime
- Thread starter Olgierd T.
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FYI: Just about all of Europe is capitalistic. Yes, many parts of Europe has higher taxation that USA has. But does that make it "socialistic"? Where do you draw the line? At what level does taxation reach "socialism" and where is it "capitalistic"? Apparently the US taxation is still capitalistic, whereas Europe is socialistic. Where is the line between those exactly?
FYI: Apple-computers are not "American products". They are made in China and other far-east countries.
Sweden and small? You are insaneIt's huge.
With with a population of 9 million it's not much larger than New York from a market point of view. The area is quite big though.
To set the record straight, this is completely wrong. All currently-shipping Apple computers have universal, auto-switching power supplies rated for 100-240v @50/60 cycles. This has been true for some time; the only exception I know of in recent history was the original G5 iMac. Even AppleTVs have universal power supplies.
Nope. Lived in Japan. Stuff costs a fortune, at least in the city. It's true that you can often get technology there earlier than in the US Europe, but you pay. With the exception of alcohol and cigarettes and karaoke, everything is hella-expensive, unless you know exactly where to shop. It's true that you can sometimes get "old" (i.e. still new in the west) tech stuff at a good discount because the new stuff is already out, but when you live there that is a shallow victory.
You should try China. I live in Shanghai 40km from the factory where these come from & always have to deal with higher prices as well as 3-5 month delay in seeing new product arrive in the local stores.
I typically purchase as much as I can in the States & bring back with me, but hiding a new 24" iMac from China Customs might be somewhat hard for me get away with!
You couldn't pop down to Pudong airport and give TNT a kick from me could you !!
my imac has been there for 5 days now ....
Possibly it has changed, but I base my information on a first-gen Intel iMac that I smuggled to Europe less than two years ago, and it DEFINITELY didn't have a universal power supply. I researched the topic a bit at the time, and most people--including an Apple developer at the Apple store in Pittsburgh--told me that it is done on purpose to prevent people from buying desktop computers and shipping them overseas...I'm not saying you're wrong, and you sound like you know what you're talking about, but this is my experience.
Edit: I just noticed you write from Germany; is it possible that European models, and not American models, come equipped with auto-switching power supplies? Just a guess...
No, I'm looking at the specs on the US site. I'm very surprised to hear the first-gen Intel boxes didn't have universal power supplies---I moved to Germany from the US last year and brought over my late-model G5 iMac (the last version they came out with right before the switch to Intel), and it's running off the 230v mains right now as I type this! As I said, though, I'm aware the early G5's didn't have universal power supplies either.
Actually, this is rather shoddy of Apple, as 100-240v supplies have been quite common on computers for a long time. I brought over several Dells, including a PowerEdge server, a 5-year old desktop and a really old, decrepit Pentium-2 400Mhz box that I use for testing, and all are capable of running off of 230v power. I don't understand why Apple sporadically seems to put localized power supplies in some of their boxes.
I guess the caveat is, then, check the specs!!
Of course, how one would get a 24" iMac over to Europe on a plane and "smuggle" it past customs is beyond my imagination!
No, I'm looking at the specs on the US site. I'm very surprised to hear the first-gen Intel boxes didn't have universal power supplies---I moved to Germany from the US last year and brought over my late-model G5 iMac (the last version they came out with right before the switch to Intel), and it's running off the 230v mains right now as I type this! As I said, though, I'm aware the early G5's didn't have universal power supplies either.
Actually, this is rather shoddy of Apple, as 100-240v supplies have been quite common on computers for a long time. I brought over several Dells, including a PowerEdge server, a 5-year old desktop and a really old, decrepit Pentium-2 400Mhz box that I use for testing, and all are capable of running off of 230v power. I don't understand why Apple sporadically seems to put localized power supplies in some of their boxes.
I guess the caveat is, then, check the specs!!
Of course, how one would get a 24" iMac over to Europe on a plane and "smuggle" it past customs is beyond my imagination!
Hmmm...that's pretty strange. I agree with you that it's either shoddy or a dirty trick to be incosistent with such a basic piece of technology, and shame on me for posting my experience as if it was standard.
In any case, I smuggled my iMac in a big suitcase, well packed. French customs officers don't take their job very seriously...in the dozens of trips I've taken from the US to France, I have seen a customs official looking through luggage exactly once (in Paris), seen three of them playing cards and ignoring the passers-by (also in Paris), and I have NEVER seen one in Lyon, Marseilles or Nice. The desk is there, the warning signs are there (if only in French)...but never a person.
Lucky you. I wouldn't take the chance with the Germans--they're a bit more diligent and the fines if you get caught are large. I'm also not sure I'd want to entrust my new baby to airline baggage handlers!
Anyway, I just ordered a new 24" 2.8GHz iMac from Apple Deutschland, and the pre-tax price turned out to be fairly close to the USA price. They were nice enough to offer me the EDU discount, even though I didn't ask for it and don't quality for it! Go figure. Of course, the 19% VAT in Germany is the killer, but that's just the cost of living in Europe. Funny story, though off-topic--the nice German guy who took my order was based in...Cork, Ireland! Apparently, Apple run their European call center there, and "import" native speakers to man the phones according to the country from which the call is originating. Ahh, life in the globalized economy!
Er, no. You'd need to pay VAT if you brought it back to the UK, so that HK MBP would be £965.94 (according to my widget) +17.5% VAT = £1,134.98.well the UK price for a macbook pro is .... £1,299.00 (cheapest)
the price in Hong Kong same laptop is £992.641
Return tickets to Hong Kong £100-£150
Difference ..... £157(ish), you could go to Hong Kong and buy one and save £157
And who're you getting quoted £150 return by? cheapest expedia can find me is £450
You are very well right. In Canada we pay 14% tax, so I paid $CAD1899 and with taxes
$CAD 2183.85 for 24", so in Euro it would be about 1515, which is cheaper than in German store, 1749 Euro.
well the UK price for a macbook pro is .... £1,299.00 (cheapest)
the price in Hong Kong same laptop is £992.641
Return tickets to Hong Kong £100-£150
Difference ..... £157(ish), you could go to Hong Kong and buy one and save £157
Excuse me
Which airline offers a £100 return tickets to Hong Kong
VAT (Value added tax)? Or MwSt (Mehrzwecksteuer, sorry, Mehrwertsteuer)? Which is included in European store prices, while US state sales tax is never included in the advertised price?
Do you realise that this has been rehashed here hundreds and hundreds of times and everyone reading this just groans?
Excuse me
Which airline offers a £100 return tickets to Hong Kong
By the way guys in Europe, you have great air ticket deals in Europe and in UK specifically, so you can travel cheaper than we can, here in Canada. I guess it is some sort of compensation
