Swiss Macs are a Ripoff!!!!!!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
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.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    [quote]Originally posted by Relic:

    <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!
  • Reply 2 of 15
    pevepeve Posts: 518member
    [quote]Originally posted by Relic:

    <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.



    Quote:

    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.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Thanks for the link. I live in Zug which is about an hour from you. I started a Mac Lan Game party every friday night. If your interested, just email me at [email protected] . It's just an excuse to get drunk and kill your friends.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    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
  • Reply 5 of 15
    mac xmac x Posts: 9member
    I am not a worldly traveler, but doesn't european countries use a different power source/voltage or something to that effect?



    So!....making a special trip to the US would be a fruitless endeavor.



    Or do they make adaptors?





    <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
  • Reply 6 of 15
    Oh yes. They do make adapters.. But I have no clue what the power is over there...
  • Reply 7 of 15
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    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)
  • Reply 8 of 15
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    [quote]Originally posted by Escher:

    <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
  • Reply 9 of 15
    alpoehialpoehi Posts: 3member
    [quote]Originally posted by ColorClassicG4:

    <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]" />
  • Reply 10 of 15
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    [quote]<strong>

    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!!
  • Reply 11 of 15
    psanpsan Posts: 2member
    [quote]Originally posted by Relic:

    <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...
  • Reply 12 of 15
    escherescher Posts: 1,811member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <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
  • Reply 13 of 15
    [quote]Originally posted by Relic:

    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>
  • Reply 14 of 15
    [quote]Originally posted by Escher:

    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.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    alpoehialpoehi Posts: 3member
    [quote]Originally posted by GardenOfEarthlyDelights:

    <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.
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