Swiss Macs are a Ripoff!!!!!!
I'm in the market for a new Mac, two, as a matter of fact, an ibook and a Powerbook. So yesterday I went in to my local Mac store and couldn't believe my eyes. The prices here are outrages, are they insane!
ibook 12 700mhz
$1,499.00 CHF 2,799.00 = $468.27 difference
Powerbook Ultimate
$3,799.00 CHF 7,118.99 = $777.45 difference
Total Loss $1245.72
another ibook
I'm originaly from the US but moved to Switzerland for my company. I've always been a predominant Mac user, but at these prices not for long. Does anyone know of a US company that sells Macs online that ships to Europe? How can any self respecting consumer pay those ridiculous prices. I guess I could make a special trip to the US just to buy the damn things, god knows it would be cheaper.
ibook 12 700mhz
$1,499.00 CHF 2,799.00 = $468.27 difference
Powerbook Ultimate
$3,799.00 CHF 7,118.99 = $777.45 difference
Total Loss $1245.72
another ibook
I'm originaly from the US but moved to Switzerland for my company. I've always been a predominant Mac user, but at these prices not for long. Does anyone know of a US company that sells Macs online that ships to Europe? How can any self respecting consumer pay those ridiculous prices. I guess I could make a special trip to the US just to buy the damn things, god knows it would be cheaper.
Comments
<strong>I'm in the market for a new Mac, two, as a matter of fact, an ibook and a Powerbook. So yesterday I went in to my local Mac store and couldn't believe my eyes. The prices here are outrages, are they insane!
ibook 12 700mhz
$1,499.00 CHF 2,799.00 = $468.27 difference
Powerbook Ultimate
$3,799.00 CHF 7,118.99 = $777.45 difference
Total Loss $1245.72
another ibook
I'm originaly from the US but moved to Switzerland for my company. I've always been a predominant Mac user, but at these prices not for long. Does anyone know of a US company that sells Macs online that ships to Europe? How can any self respecting consumer pay those ridiculous prices. I guess I could make a special trip to the US just to buy the damn things, god knows it would be cheaper.</strong><hr></blockquote>
wow, that sucks. macs are too freakin' expensive as it is!
<strong>I'm in the market for a new Mac, two, as a matter of fact, an ibook and a Powerbook. So yesterday I went in to my local Mac store and couldn't believe my eyes. The prices here are outrages, are they insane!</strong><hr></blockquote>
thats how we get treated in little ol switzerland.
everybody is fussing that swiss people are rich, but they don't look at the prices of stuff around here.
ibook 12 700mhz
$1,499.00 CHF 2,799.00 = $468.27 difference<hr></blockquote>
try <a href="http://www.heinigerag.ch" target="_blank">http://www.heinigerag.ch</a> (chf 2630.-)
or <a href="http://www.architronic.ch" target="_blank">http://www.architronic.ch</a> (chf 2,599.50)
Powerbook Ultimate
$3,799.00 CHF 7,118.99 = $777.45 difference
try <a href="http://www.heinigerag.ch" target="_blank">http://www.heinigerag.ch</a> (chf 6150.-)
or <a href="http://www.architronic.ch" target="_blank">http://www.architronic.ch</a> (chf 6139.-)
[quote]I'm originaly from the US but moved to Switzerland for my company. I've always been a predominant Mac user, but at these prices not for long. Does anyone know of a US company that sells Macs online that ships to Europe? How can any self respecting consumer pay those ridiculous prices. I guess I could make a special trip to the US just to buy the damn things, god knows it would be cheaper.<hr></blockquote>
i just wanted to say that.
get a vacation in the us or invite some friends over to switzerland.
Okay, somebody had to say it
So!....making a special trip to the US would be a fruitless endeavor.
Or do they make adaptors?
<img src="confused.gif" border="0">
Imagine if I had to buy new Hardware every time I spent a few weeks with my family in France or in Switzerland! I would never go home anymore.
Escher
(wishing the US used 220V and the metric system like all other civilized countries)
<strong>wishing the US used 220V and the metric system like all other civilized countries</strong><hr></blockquote>
What's this word "other" there for? Don't you mean "like all civilized nations?"
Actually, from living in a stupid, boring town like Stillwater, Minnesota, I've started thinking that America is too civilized. Enough antique shops, I want strip clubs, drug dealers, gun shops, and gang wars! that would be terrible
<strong>The only nice thing about a Swiss Mac is that the flat-panel screen folds out of the side, as do a Zip drive, can opener, pair of tweezers, and a corkscrew.
Okay, somebody had to say it </strong><hr></blockquote>
Is it true that Apple sends all of their defective LCD screens to Switzerland, claiming that we want the things always with holes in it? <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Btw, prices in Switzerland are not so much higher. The prices posted above are excl. Tax, shipping, import... don't underestimate those costs.
Now in Germany, the prices for Mac's are truly outrageous! <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
Is it true that Apple sends all of their defective LCD screens to Switzerland, claiming that we want the things always with holes in it?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
i don't usually post just laughter, but this was really funny!!
<strong>I'm in the market for a new Mac, two, as a matter of fact, an ibook and a Powerbook. So yesterday I went in to my local Mac store and couldn't believe my eyes. The prices here are outrages, are they insane!
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Huh? Switzerland is easily the cheapest country in Europe for Macs. It's of course mostly due to the Swiss sales tax being so low (8% I think, compared to 19-24% in EU countries).
Though the recent rise of the euro vs. the dollar should be making the European prices a little more bearable, at least if the euro keeps rising...
<strong>What's this word "other" there for? Don't you mean "like all civilized nations?"</strong><hr></blockquote>
I watered down my point by adding the word other so that I wouldn't offend any Americans who believe in their standards. I guess in eight years here I've been assimilated by the borg and become skilled in the art of political correctness.
Swiss prices and sales taxes are not that bad, but there's always room for improvement.
Escher
I'm in the market for a new Mac, two, as a matter of fact, an ibook and a Powerbook. So yesterday I went in to my local Mac store and couldn't believe my eyes. The prices here are outrages, are they insane!
<hr></blockquote>
It's not much better in Germany. I bought a 550 TiBook for my girlfriend last November, and it was about US$2600. I think it was about $500 more expensive than in the States (she's German, and wanted a German keyboard).
However, most of the difference is the value-added tax they have here. I think it's 16% in Germany. So take $2200 x 1.16 = $2552. Maybe my DM-to-$ conversion was a bit off, but in essence, there's the difference right there.
The biggest price advantage in the States is ordering from MacConnection or SmallDog, etc. You can get them without tax.
I'd be curious to know what VAT in Die Schweiz is.
edit: can't spell in Englisch anymore.
[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: GardenOfEarthlyDelights ]</p>
All modern Macs and the power adapters for the 'Books run on 110V (US and Japan, I believe) and on 220V (rest of the world). All you need is a new power cable or a $5 adapter plug.
Imagine if I had to buy new Hardware every time I spent a few weeks with my family in France or in Switzerland! I would never go home anymore.
Escher
(wishing the US used 220V and the metric system like all other civilized countries)<hr></blockquote>
Exactly.
All you need is to adapt the prongs to the Europeann (or US) plugs, and the power supply will recognize it. Almost all laptops do this these days.
As for the US using 220V, I prefer the smaller 2-prong US plugs. The German plugs can be pretty massive when sticking it in a computer bag. So maybe if the Europeans adopt the smaller plug, I'd lobby for the 220V for you.
<strong>
It's not much better in Germany. I bought a 550 TiBook for my girlfriend last November, and it was about US$2600. I think it was about $500 more expensive than in the States (she's German, and wanted a German keyboard).
However, most of the difference is the value-added tax they have here. I think it's 16% in Germany. So take $2200 x 1.16 = $2552. Maybe my DM-to-$ conversion was a bit off, but in essence, there's the difference right there.
The biggest price advantage in the States is ordering from MacConnection or SmallDog, etc. You can get them without tax.
I'd be curious to know what VAT in Die Schweiz is.
edit: can't spell in Englisch anymore.
[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: GardenOfEarthlyDelights ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Tax in Switzerland is 7.6% for computers.