Increased Price for AppleCare at Apple Canada Store

macramedia

I just noticed that the cost for AppleCare on iMacs and eMacs, which had been at $149 Cdn, is now listed on the Apple Canada Store as $259. AppleCare for iBooks has gone from about $250 to $389; for the Powerbook, from about $350 to $539; for the PowerMac, from $249 to $389. Does anyone know if this price is being followed by Apple dealers across Canada?



[ 11-18-2002: Message edited by: macramedia ]</p>

mcq

The old prices sound very low, considering that the US prices on AppleCare are $149 for the iMac/eMac, and $249 for the iBook and PowerMac (US prices). If those were the old canadian prices, the new prices are more in line with how much AppleCare costs in the US when you do the conversion.

macramedia

Okay, I think I know why this happened....MacMinute is reporting changes to AppleCare's coverage, including worldwide service for Apple portables. I guess Apple Canada figured the change in policy gave them the opportunity to raise the price to world-class levels.

matsu

Apple can go fvck itself. That's even more ridiculous than what they charge for the machines themselves.

matsu

Also, for comparison's sake,



3 year ON-SITE or AT-HOME complete coverage and service from DELL costs exactly 250 CANADIAN! CANADIAN !!! Apple only offers mail in service, mail in service from DELL costs as little as 130! Compared to PowerBook Applecare. Apple is as much as 4X more expensive than the competition for the same service, and twice as expensive as a far more comprehensive packages. Shjt! For for 470 you can have complete care ON-Site service and 4 YEARS of 365day 24-7 telephone support, and still come out 80 dollars less than a 3 year, mail-in, limited tech support package for the powerbook.



PATHETIC, truly fvcking PATHETIC. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> Keep on blaming the recession there Steve.

murbot

The one price I do remember for AppleCare was the eMac, which was $149 CDN - I was able to get it for $120 when I bought it with the machine. It was the one area where we didn't get shafted up here in Canada. Lucky us, now that last safe haven has been "Steved".



They're famous for giving it to Canadian customers. It seems like with every product update, they use a higher and higher conversion rate - even if the Canadian dollar is getting stronger. This is evident with the last portable updates.



Then there's the Double Your RAM promotion. What a great way to add memory to your Macintosh! We're already paying a premium to own a Mac - this is such a nice way to affordably increase the RAM in your system. God knows you can't run many of their systems in Jaguar right out the box with the paltry amount of RAM included... oh wait. That's right. They've cancelled the promotion at Apple Canada. Nice.



Oh well. At least it'll be exciting to get the iPod I've finally decided to order. Wonder what I should have engraved on the back... Oh. Right. I live in Canada. The iPod nazi says "No engraving for you!"



[ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>

leonis

Yes the price has increased.



But also don't forget about the exchange rate.



The old price was set like 5 - 7 years ago and the US - CAD was very close.....like 1.10



But now it's 1.58 - 1.61!



We can partially blame Apple on the price increase. But the major blame is to weak CAD.

eugene

You guys are pissed because AppleCare for Canadians now match the US prices? Heh.



The exchange rate as of right now is .63 USD for every 1 CAD. That makes some Canadian Macs cheaper pre-tax vs American Macs, and others only a few bucks more. It's the end of the world. Wasn't it worse before?



And regarding RAM...in almost all cases it's cheaper to get the RAM elsewhere anyway, unless you were planning on buying the 512 MB equipped PowerBook.



[ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>

murbot

I don't think you'll find 512 MB of RAM for $40 anywhere other than the Apple Store.

eugene

[quote]Originally posted by murbot:

<strong>I don't think you'll find 512 MB of RAM for $40 anywhere other than the Apple Store. </strong><hr></blockquote>



SO-DIMMs are close. You can find 512 MB low-profile SO-DIMMs for ~$70. You can find 168-pin PC133 SDRAM for about $30. The only thing you can't find that cheap is DDR, but nobody's buying Power Macs right now anyway...and Apple is probably going to add that RAM using more than one extra DIMM if you *do* buy one. Not a good deal, IMO.



[ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>

murbot

No, you specify an extra 512 MB in a Power Mac dual 1.25, and it comes as a 512 MB chip.



I actually know more people buying Power Macs here than I did who bought Quicksilvers... the guys at the store here tell me they're selling quite a few too. Hmm.



Even on the dual 1GHz - you can up it from 256 to 512 for measly $40, and keep it to one 512 MB chip. That's nice since you can add 3 more 512s in the future and max out your RAM without at some point having to get rid of a 256 to do it.



[ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>

satchmo

We Canadians have always been looked as third class Americans anyways (Mexicans actually seem to be regarded higher by Bush)



I've never purchased an extended warranty through Apple. And with these prices I don't think I'll begin. However, one can always try extended warranties through the store you purchased it from. Although here in Toronto, there's not one that comes to mind that offers a decent one.

macramedia

I agree that the exchange rate issue plays a role in the price differential between Canada and the U.S. for hardware and software. This is more or less fair, I suppose, since in this case the products are nearly always imports from the U.S. to Canada. (Indeed, nevertheless, some things are actually cheaper in Canada than they would be on a strict currency conversion basis, reflecting a number of factors I suspect.) However, I don't really think that is true of something like AppleCare. To the degree that the cost of AppleCare reflects the cost of parts, okay, some or even most of that is dependent on imported materials. But to the degree that the cost of AppleCare reflects labour, which I would assume (rightly or wrongly) is the majority of the cost, I have a hard time believing that the differenetial in labour costs in Canada is equal to the currency exchange rate. In other words, I don't think that it is generally true that Canadian salaries are equivalent to American salaries. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that our income levels generally have declined slightly in the last ten years while those in the U.S. have seen a significant increase. In other words, I think probably labour costs to repair Apple computers are probably cheaper in Canada than in the U.S. However, I could be wrong.



And I guess I had better realize that my complaining won't change Apple Canada's decision, and that if I do make the switch to a Mac in the near future it will come at a higher price tag than I had anticipated. *sigh*

satchmo

Technically speaking, shouldn't our dollar be worth more? I mean at least we're only a couple hundred million in debt....unlike the U.S who debt is in the billions if I'm not mistaken.



But then again, it's all about who's currency you'll run to if the world's economy tanks.

matsu

The thing to remember is that AppleCare doesn't cost Apple anything, or next to nothing anyway. It's not on site, and often, 3 years down the line, the component that needs fixing/replacing is dirt cheap. Practically worthless on the open market. By far the biggest cost is the shipping, and that's more than covered. Canadian or American, the warrantee prices, particularly for the PowerBook are ludicrous. When I quoted the care packages for Dell, I picked the most expensive laptops and the prices were more than reasonable. For whatever reason, Apple had reasonable Canadian prices, but has since chosen to make them idiotic. If American prices have always been idiotic, that's not my concern.



Also, just in case any apologists should feel the need to chime in with some BS about Apple's superior service, don't believe for a second the Apple community FUD about Dell service. I'm not sure exactly what people expect from Dell service but I can tell you it has been the best service I have ever seen, bar none. They exchanged my friend's 17" panel because of ONE (and only ONE!) dead pixel. My boss has nothing but Dells and next day service has been immediate on the two occasions where it was needed. Otherwise the machines have performed flawlessly. Nothing like the Compaq network of my former workplace, which was one disaster after another, and, which despite leasing, had piss poor service. Dell has been a gem, and anyone who tells you otherwise is living in a fan-boy fantasy land rather than a real business world.



The more I look at it, the more it looks like Apple is just trying its best to disentegrate the last bits of market it has left. Sad.

leonis

Anyway.....I got the old AC plans for my iBook and SlowSilver (tm) last week.



And registered yesterday.......and now I am offered the latest AC plan at the old price. Not too shabby.



When I talked to the service provider regarding the new pricing on the new AC plans.....they told me there aren't much difference on the new plans.



Only.....



1) Global repair for iBook and TiBook

2) Support for those not all that useful iApps



[ 11-19-2002: Message edited by: Leonis ]</p>

eugene

[quote]Originally posted by satchmo:

<strong>Technically speaking, shouldn't our dollar be worth more? I mean at least we're only a couple hundred million in debt....unlike the U.S who debt is in the billions if I'm not mistaken.



But then again, it's all about who's currency you'll run to if the world's economy tanks. </strong><hr></blockquote>



Most of our debt is to ourselves...it's basically a formality.