David Empson wrote:
> John Bennett <john439@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Has anyone else noticed how much Apple Australia is putting on Mac
prices?
>>
>> After allowing for currency exchange, Aussie retail prices are 30%
above
>> US retail prices - approximately one third more!
>
> Are you allowing for GST?
>
> The prices quoted in the US are excluding all local sales tax. Australia
> and NZ prices will include GST.
>
> For example, a 24" 2.4 GHz iMac is US$1799, A$2599 and NZ$2799.
>
> At reasonably current exchange rates (and assuming I don't make any
> calculation errors in the following):
>
> US$1 = A$1.118 = NZ$1.331
>
> (A$1 = US0.894, NZ$1 = US$0.752)
>
> If you convert the US price directly, and there was no local markup, the
> prices should be US$1799, A$2011+GST and NZ$2394+GST.
>
> Australia's GST is 10% (I think), so that means the Australian iMac
> should be A$2213. The actual price (A$2599) is a markup of 17.5%.
>
> New Zealand's GST is 12.5%, so that means the New Zealand iMac should be
> NZ$2693. The actual price (NZ$2799) is a markup of 3.9%.
>
> In general, Apple sets its international model prices when that model is
> released, and it is rare for it to be changed until the model is
> updated, unless there is a significant drop in the exchange rate. I
> expect they include a safety margin for currency fluctuations, so
> international prices will always be a little higher than US prices.
>
> The New Zealand dollar fell quite sharply against the US dollar in the
> last couple of months, so we might be benefiting from the price having
> been set when the NZ$ was worth more. Perhaps the Australian dollar was
> lower when the iMac's price was set, and has risen since then.
>
> By comparison, the base model Mac Pro is US$2499, A$3999 and NZ$4699.
>
> In Australia, it should be A$2794+GST = $3073, so the markup is 30%.
>
> In New Zealand, it should be N$3325+GST = NZ$3740, so the markup is 25%.
>
> The Mac Pro was released in August 2006, and at that point the NZ dollar
> was quite a lot lower against the US dollar. I expect the Australian
> dollar was similar.
>
>
>
you make a couple of valid points - I overlooked that US sales tax is
extra (about 15%?). I was in US last month and tripped over that often :-(
The $A has risen against $US lately, I'm surprised to hear that $NZ went
down.
But remember that the US price includes a profit margin, so there is no
justification for further markup here.
I guess I'll have to wait for a new iMac model (quad core anyone?)
Someone else pointed out that I goofed on Leopard pricing - sorry!
John
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