I don't think it's that strange. Let's compare the cost of the same MacBook Air in the US and France.<p>1. MacBook Air 11-inch : 64GB in US is $999.<p>2. MacBook Air 11-inch : 64GB in France is €1,049<p>3. $1 = €0.80 at the current time.<p>So you might think the MacBook Air should be €800 (999 * 0.80). So why it is €249 more? France levies 19.6% TVA (sales tax) on goods and the tax is included in the display price; the US levies sales taxes by state and these are not shown in the displayed prices (sales tax calculated based on destination).<p>So, what you need to compare is the pre-tax price on both machine. The pre-tax price of the MacBook Air in France is €877. Thus Apple is charging €77 more for the MacBook Air in France than in the US.<p>The issue is tax rates not Apple.<p>If you look at the UK you'll find that<p>4. MacBook Air 11-inch : 64GB is £849<p>5. $1 = £0.65<p>So, the £ equivalent of the $999 machine is £650. UK VAT (sales tax) is 20% and thus the pre-tax price of the machine is £707. So Apple is charging £57 more in the UK than in the US.
In Europe you are forced to give your customer 2 years of warranty on certain products. E.g. computer hardware or electronics.<p>Apple refused to in the past (and still had their crazy EUR prices then). But now, after being dragged to court about it in Italy, and loosing, they at least have a good reason to charge more in Europe. ;)<p>This is the case for most vendors. E.g. my Panasonic GH2 camera did cost a bit more in Europe than it would have in the US. But I get 24 months of warranty.<p>See:<p><a href="http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-increases-product-warranty-to-2-years-across-europe-2012042/" rel="nofollow">http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/apple-increases-product-w...</a>
<a href="http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/" rel="nofollow">http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/</a>
I feel obliged to repost this. Updated prices in Brazil:<p><pre><code> Air 11": R$2699 -> R$3699 (1849 USD)
MBP 13": R$3599 -> R$3999 (2000 USD)
New MBP: R$9999 (4500 USD - WHAT??)
New MBP maxed out: R$15973 (~8000 USD...)
</code></pre>
Import tax is 60% for individuals, around 40%, maybe less for importers. $2199 * 1.4 * 2.06 (today's USD, predicted to go < 1.90) = R$6340. How 2199 turns into 9999 (4.5x), or 2799 into 16000 (5.71x) is a mystery.<p>Now, what were you saying about being ripped off?<p>[edit] just for kicks I maxed out a Mac Pro: R$ 48.959,00, or 1/4 of a nice brand-new apartment.
In Australia, it's called "The Australia Tax".<p>Partly, selling into another country is a bit of a headache. That's one reason why US businesses can do so well - they only need to succeed in a single jurisdiction and they'll make a lot of money. Yes, there's different state laws, but pretty much all countries have annoying state laws, and not all countries are as lucrative a market as California alone.
If I had to guess (and I guess I don't /have/ to), I'd say it's strictly psychological pricing, and is not intended to reflect some sort of idealized exchange rate or the like.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing</a>
Don't forget sales taxes as well. Depending upon where you are you are probably paying something like 20% VAT (TAV or whatever) - quoted in the consumer price.<p>In the USA, they have the annoying habit of excluding sales tax (presumably on the grounds that it varies wildly from place to place) and that is only added at the checkout.
Just to echo the sentiments here, it's certainly partly just because they can. If you want a hilarious example, look at Canada. I'm going to use Lenovo here as an example (but applies equally to other retailers). Baseline T420 on the US site? $1365.00. Baseline T420 in Canada? $1520.00. The exchange rate? Been within 5% of parity (either direction) for the last several years. Taxes? Canadian sale prices must be shown pre-tax (just like in the US). Supply chain? Practically the same thing. I ordered a T400 several years ago, and watched it get shipped from China to Alaska to their depot in Kentucky, and then trucked up to Toronto.<p>I guess there might be some problems with the Made in China part (doesn't completely fall under NAFTA), but I honestly can't figure out the tarrif /import duty laws.<p>But the point is that US prices almost always seem lower =/
To make it short: Because they can. As others have pointed out there are taxes, regulations and so on, but the main reason (in my opinion) is that they still make a very good profit in Europe, so why should they reduce prices? Apple is a business and businesses will do almost anything to make more profit (that's the reason they exist, nothing wrong here).<p>p.s.: Steam has a similar policy and one could note that Steam and Apple share a common trait: No real alternative.
The new retina display MBP US starting price 2199$ == 1757€.
The new retina display MBP FI starting price 2349€ == 2938$<p>Difference of 739$ or 590€ feels quite substantial.
It's because of two years warranty, higher taxes, toll, and for more expensive items, smaller number of sold items.<p>It's not fair you singled-out Apple, since this is true for several gadgets I bought, software, or for example more expensive Canon lenses. It's not Apple specific thing.
Europe is ripping off Apple customers, for values of "ripping off" which mean "more or less listening to their expressed preferences that certain favored goods cost nothing at the margin and everything else costs a lot more."
Summing it up - EU prices have VAT included and exchange rate is best possible for Apple in long term perspective.
But correct me if I'm wrong - if you buy Macbook in Apple store in US their adding some kind of local tax, right?<p>Also - if you're running a company in EU you can refund overpaid VAT, right? So the only difference is, that currency exchange rate is worst possible.
The first post by jgrahamc sums it all up nicely. On the additional 77 EUR Apple charges in Europe, one may have to consider strikter recycling laws. As far as I know, the cost of recycling is already charged at the time of purchase of an electronic product in Europe. That may, at least in part, explain the 77 EUR margin.
In Europe Apple <i>must</i> give 2 years of warranty. There was a recent court decision on that in Italy. That is additional cost that reflects also in the price.
Have you looked at the prices for the Aeron Chair?
Amazon.com: around $700
Amazon.de: the cheapest offer is 1.298,99€ (that's around 1,624.16)<p>That's some markup there…
Yeah, pretty much <i>because they can</i>. The average buyer doesn't compare USD to EURO - they just see the price in EURO and it seems normal. Keep in mind that the salaries are also similar in both countries USD=EURO (so technically US workers are paid less if you convert).<p>Running a company in the EU is also harder than the US, at least for smaller businesses and startups - that may account for something...
Because they can!<p>The good price is the maximum price the client will pay for the service/product.<p>As long as the users buy, they are going to continue this way.
Why is McDonalds ripping off European customers? In my somewhat limited experience (3 years in Belgium and 2 in Sweden), the only good that has anything to do with the exchange rate is the dollar itself. For everything else, $1 ~= 1 euro ~= 10 SEK ~= 1 pound. Look at the cost of a cheese burger at McDonalds.
Apart from Tax, there is also the problem with fluctuation of exchange rate. Then there are operating cost and other sorts of things.<p>There is still quite a margin, but same type of Electronics devices would have cost more in UK compare to US even without the tax difference. So it is not really a Apple thing at all.
It's simpler than that. They do it because they can.<p>Apple could charge allot less for everything they sell but they don't just because they can get away with it.<p>I'm sure nobody here really believes that the difference in price between countries has anything to do with keeping the profit margin the same everywhere :)