The Price of Mac

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webstereo

58 posts

Master Geek

#42574 7-Oct-2009 12:19

Now that the NZ dollar is again running pretty high against the US I wonder if Apple will lower their NZ prices? It seems to me that they pay a lot less in the USA than we do and if their stuff is made in China then shipping doesn't account for it.

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Ultimate Geek
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#262009 7-Oct-2009 12:28

Apple only seems to change the prices when they update a product. So as each of their products are updated the prices may come down. Also NZ prices will never be directly comparable with US prices as they don't include sales tax (GST) in US prices.

heavenlywild

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#262019 7-Oct-2009 12:47

I have recently moved to Aussie for a couple of years (going back to good old NZ cuz it's the best!) and I can tell you in New Zealand we get ripped off to the max with technology prices.

Let's compare the price of a Nokia N97. In Aussie at Vodafone, it costs $899 outright. In New Zealand at Vodafone, $1799 outright. Even a 20% difference in currency rates won't make up that gap.

I guess this will always be the case as NZ has a smaller population and is farther away from places.

webstereo

58 posts

Master Geek

#262020 7-Oct-2009 12:48

That's true about the sales tax - but if you go through the purchase process you can enter a postcode and the site will calculate the states sales tax - so you can see the tax inclusive price. I think the macbook pro I want was about $1000 cheaper in the US including their sales tax. At that amount of savings it's almost worth considering taking my next holiday in LA or San Fran and buying it there.
Certainly when I lived in London you could fly to NYC for about ?200 which effectively you recouped by buying you mac in the US.
I heard one of the reasons Mac's are more expensive here is that they come here through Aus so we sort of have two mark ups.

wellygary

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#262041 7-Oct-2009 13:38

webstereo:
I heard one of the reasons Mac's are more expensive here is that they come here through Aus so we sort of have two mark ups.

Not really, NZ and OZ pretty much get equally ripped off for Macs, a white macbook and mac pro are about 25% more expensive in NZ, and this is pretty much purely the currency difference.

As has been mentioned, Apple dont alter pricing points unless something gets updated.

iMacs and the Mac Mini went up in price at the last revision, and have not come back down, according to the rumour sites we could be getting an update in this line soon, and this should see a price drop.

webstereo

58 posts

Master Geek

#262198 7-Oct-2009 18:15

It looks like that's true for that white model. Others may differ. I guess the upshot is that I hope they release a new MB pro while the dollar is high. Doubtful though.

bazzer

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#262353 8-Oct-2009 11:20

I doubt they would price it based on the current exchange rate anyway. Why should they? Would you be happy when they have to put the prices up when the dollar drops? The probably take a long term view of the expected exchange rate and price based on that, so variations each side would tend to average out.

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joebunting

38 posts

Geek
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#267036 26-Oct-2009 20:57

macbook $1699 seems prices are dropping

wrc4me

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#269430 2-Nov-2009 21:10

Hong Kong is one of the cheaper places to get Macs. I got my MacBook there. You can get the new Uni Body MacBook for about $1350NZD there now.

tonie

59 posts

Master Geek

#270070 4-Nov-2009 16:29

the new imacs are sexy and the price of $3.3k is well worth it compared to any other computer out there

old3eyes

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#270208 5-Nov-2009 08:43

tonie: the new imacs are sexy and the price of $3.3k is well worth it compared to any other computer out there

For that amount of money I could buy a really up spec'd PC.. Not worth the Apple tax

Regards,

Old3eyes

Buttonmash

361 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#270228 5-Nov-2009 09:26

The Apple Tax is a myth.

The reality is they don't make cheap machines. Try and price up an equivalent PC with an IPS panel, 802.11n and Bluetooth. You can't.

I guess if you're after a PC that doesn't need the extra features than it feels more expensive. But the reality is they just don't provide a cheap option. They're premium only but not a 'rip off'.

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josephhinvest

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#270261 5-Nov-2009 10:25

Indeed, a Premium product does not necessarily mean it is a rip off.

It's like saying it's not worth paying the BMW or Porsche tax.
Some people choose to buy an economically priced computer/car, others choose to spend more on a higher quality product.
Other still, who have the ability and time to build their own PC will do that, but you have to take into account the number of hours spent, and what your time is worth, and the knowledge required to do so.
The main benefit for Mac users (just regular consumers) is that you can literally take the machine out of the box and power it on, and within a couple of minutes you are up and running.

However, back to the original point, yes, unfortunately we in NZ have always paid more than just the exchange rate difference, for no apparent reason!

Cheers,
Joseph.

Stathi

24 posts

Geek

#270885 7-Nov-2009 16:55

Prices here are steep even with the mail order guys they're steep. Best bet buy one there and have it shipped to you if you can't get over there.

Geektastic

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#274364 18-Nov-2009 23:29

I bought a refurbished Mac Pro - it's a 1,1 machine and has 2 Dual Core 3.0Ghz Intels, 5Gb RAM, a 750Gb HDD, Bluetooth, wi fi, graphics upgrade etc etc.

Cost me $2500 NZ cheaper than a current model, plus I got Apple Care on top so it has a 3 year warranty. It may be fractionally slower on the bench, but I bet in real life I would barely notice the differences (I mostly use it for photo editing).

I want a 30" Apple Display. When I bought my first Mac in 06, they were about $5,500 here. Now they are $3200 or so. They are a little outdated but still stunning to use and the alternatives are all either more money or worse looking - or both. One of the Eizo equivalents is over $8000 last time I looked!

I'd never buy another PC though - I'm through with them.

Regs

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Snowflake

#274369 18-Nov-2009 23:53

Geektastic:
I want a 30" Apple Display. When I bought my first Mac in 06, they were about $5,500 here. Now they are $3200 or so. They are a little outdated but still stunning to use and the alternatives are all either more money or worse looking - or both.

you could buy 3 x 32" LCD Displays for that price and have a pretty cool multi-monitor setup.....

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