Yeah it's too expensive and that's just the way it is so I don't use it. You have to pay GST because it is sold to you via Apple Australia. If you were able to purchase it directly through Apple US then there would be no GST.
I thought I was paying directly through Apple US - they have my credit card details and it is automatically charged upon renewal. Apple Australia would know nothing about my subscription I would presume.
Are there no Aussies who want to discuss (or have a rant about) this?
C'mon, I'd like to hear some opinions.
My opinion? Who cares?
I wouldn't use it even if it was cheaper. I personally have no reasons why I would want to use it, as the service doesn't offer anything of value to me. I have a website from my ISP account, an email address, I use my iPod for backup, etc...
Well, there are some features that I do find useful... so I opted to use it.
However, lately the price discrepency between Apple US and Apple Australia is playing on my mind and I find it "typical" of Apple Australia to profit from this (and other associated pricing policies) more than they are entitled to, whilst still managing to deliver nothing of significance to warrant such charges!
However, lately the price discrepency between Apple US and Apple Australia is playing on my mind and I find it "typical" of Apple Australia to profit from this (and other associated pricing policies) more than they are entitled to, whilst still managing to deliver nothing of significance to warrant such charges!
I live over in Perth and have never seen an Apple television ad, so I too wonder if either Apple AU is wasting a lot of money or Apple US is taking a lot. Does anyone have any idea how the profit-sharing arrangements work between Apple US and Apple AU ?
One very cool thing Apple AU does do is the Apple University Consortium. This is a group comprised of members from nearly every university in Australia that is funded by Apple. It awards grants to unis, free trips to WWDC for students and does a great job of encouraging the use of Macs within uni's.
They definitely need a similar setup for primary and high schools.
As for .mac pricing .. what a load of shit. As of today,
As for .mac pricing .. what a load of shit. As of today,
$99.95 US = $134.92
So why is Apple AU charging $189.00 ??
Probably company wide policy on safety margins incase the Aussie dollar falls back...
I could be wrong but big companies like Apple Australia would buy lots of overseas currency (US$ in this case) at a time to secure their pricing (thus profit) for a period of time, so comparing to up to minute exchange rates is not representative to the way these companies operate.
Most companies hope to not be caught with their pants down when the exchange rates drop, thus they add a margin which we end up paying for. If they do this "correctly", this exchange rate drop margin will turn to profit for them. Which it has been since our dollar is kicking ass for a while now.
Same issue with currency differences can be seen with the rest of the equipment they sell.
You would think they would take advantage of the (unfortunate and continuing) rise in the dollar to be more price competitive..
Heaven forbid ... it's like the old days with JLG and they're just milking as much money as they can - potentially at the expense of market share.
Look, now they have a "KickArse" product line-up with the iPod, G5, iMac 20" and even iBookG4 - they should be moving aggressively to take advantage of our strong currency to increase user base!
Heaven forbid ... it's like the old days with JLG and they're just milking as much money as they can - potentially at the expense of market share.
Look, now they have a "KickArse" product line-up with the iPod, G5, iMac 20" and even iBookG4 - they should be moving aggressively to take advantage of our strong currency to increase user base!
Maybee they are happy where they are? Sort of a comfort zone for them.
No competition and loyal customer base to sell products to. Who wants M$ anyway?
Comments
C'mon, I'd like to hear some opinions.
Originally posted by Mac+
Are there no Aussies who want to discuss (or have a rant about) this?
C'mon, I'd like to hear some opinions.
My opinion? Who cares?
I wouldn't use it even if it was cheaper. I personally have no reasons why I would want to use it, as the service doesn't offer anything of value to me. I have a website from my ISP account, an email address, I use my iPod for backup, etc...
So yeah... m.
However, lately the price discrepency between Apple US and Apple Australia is playing on my mind and I find it "typical" of Apple Australia to profit from this (and other associated pricing policies) more than they are entitled to, whilst still managing to deliver nothing of significance to warrant such charges!
Originally posted by Mac+
However, lately the price discrepency between Apple US and Apple Australia is playing on my mind and I find it "typical" of Apple Australia to profit from this (and other associated pricing policies) more than they are entitled to, whilst still managing to deliver nothing of significance to warrant such charges!
I live over in Perth and have never seen an Apple television ad, so I too wonder if either Apple AU is wasting a lot of money or Apple US is taking a lot. Does anyone have any idea how the profit-sharing arrangements work between Apple US and Apple AU ?
One very cool thing Apple AU does do is the Apple University Consortium. This is a group comprised of members from nearly every university in Australia that is funded by Apple. It awards grants to unis, free trips to WWDC for students and does a great job of encouraging the use of Macs within uni's.
They definitely need a similar setup for primary and high schools.
As for .mac pricing .. what a load of shit. As of today,
$99.95 US = $134.92
So why is Apple AU charging $189.00 ??
Originally posted by naden
As for .mac pricing .. what a load of shit. As of today,
$99.95 US = $134.92
So why is Apple AU charging $189.00 ??
Probably company wide policy on safety margins incase the Aussie dollar falls back...
I could be wrong but big companies like Apple Australia would buy lots of overseas currency (US$ in this case) at a time to secure their pricing (thus profit) for a period of time, so comparing to up to minute exchange rates is not representative to the way these companies operate.
Most companies hope to not be caught with their pants down when the exchange rates drop, thus they add a margin which we end up paying for. If they do this "correctly", this exchange rate drop margin will turn to profit for them. Which it has been since our dollar is kicking ass for a while now.
You would think they would take advantage of the (unfortunate and continuing) rise in the dollar to be more price competitive..
Originally posted by Stecs
Same issue with currency differences can be seen with the rest of the equipment they sell.
You would think they would take advantage of the (unfortunate and continuing) rise in the dollar to be more price competitive..
Heaven forbid
Look, now they have a "KickArse" product line-up with the iPod, G5, iMac 20" and even iBookG4 - they should be moving aggressively to take advantage of our strong currency to increase user base!
Originally posted by Mac+
Heaven forbid
Look, now they have a "KickArse" product line-up with the iPod, G5, iMac 20" and even iBookG4 - they should be moving aggressively to take advantage of our strong currency to increase user base!
Maybee they are happy where they are? Sort of a comfort zone for them.
No competition and loyal customer base to sell products to. Who wants M$ anyway?