# Apple prices



## chilly (Apr 20, 2007)

Just been looking at the prices for the new Mac book Pro.
How come we in the UK have to pay nearly as much in sterling as the Americans do in dollars? ...£1749 vs $1799 for the 13" with touch bar thingy. With the current crap exchange rate $1799 = £1479
So why the £270 price hike?
(I'm not considering one by the way, just wondered what they cost)


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Supply and demand by the gullible. 

Ray.


----------



## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

raynipper said:


> Supply and demand by the gullible.
> 
> Ray.


Oh FFS, here we go again. Let people spend their money on what they want, and you spend on what you want. And let none of us criticise each other for doing so.


----------



## Drew (May 30, 2005)

chilly said:


> Just been looking at the prices for the new Mac book Pro.
> How come we in the UK have to pay nearly as much in sterling as the Americans do in dollars? ...£1749 vs $1799 for the 13" with touch bar thingy. With the current crap exchange rate $1799 = £1479
> So why the £270 price hike?
> (I'm not considering one by the way, just wondered what they cost)


As an Apple fanatic I'm flabbergasted. I had promised myself a Christmas present, not now, I'll just have to make do with my old 2010 MacBook Pro.


----------



## talogon (Aug 12, 2009)

Find a student. I signed my son up to the NUS extra card and his discount was great. He had to have a Mac for his course and by the time I upgraded it it came to £2000 With his discount it was under £1500 and he got free wireless headphones.
Sometimes it pays to be young.
Brian


----------



## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

I can get a 'professional's' discount in the Apple as they asked me what I wanted from my laptop and when I said that I wrote novels they told me I could get the discount. but even with their discount it was still a stupid prices compared to what a netbook cost. I could buy two of them for what an Apple would have set me back.


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

IF they are cheaper in the states could you not buy one online from there?


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

tugboat said:


> Oh FFS, here we go again. Let people spend their money on what they want, and you spend on what you want. And let none of us criticise each other for doing so.


OK, I just thought I would get in first.

Ray.


----------



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

My Apple MacBook Pro is also a 2010, I upgraded the Ram and it still works as fast as most Pc's apart from game machines of course.Did think of going for a bigger HDD, but getting either an SS or a 72000rpm rather than the standard 54000rpm with 1TB.Advice about that welcome.
My Mac mini is a 2011, i7, no slouch either. so why replace them.

cabby


----------



## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

Sales tax in the USA is generally up to about 10% compared to 20% VAT here so that's at least half the difference.


----------



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Yes the US price is (always) "before tax" so to compare the price you have to knock off the VAT.

My MacBook is also a 2010 model, it has just updated itself seamlessly and painlessly to the latest Mac OS (10.12 Sierra) still outperforms any of my PC laptops and it only cost me £299.95.

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/pr...Hz-Core2Duo-4GB-250GB-Mac-OSX-10-10-Yosemite/


----------



## chilly (Apr 20, 2007)

Stanner said:


> Yes the US price is (always) "before tax" so to compare the price you have to knock off the VAT.


Well, I never knew that! Every day's a school day. Thanks, that explains some of the disparity.


----------



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

chilly said:


> Well, I never knew that! Every day's a school day. Thanks, that explains some of the disparity.


You've never been to the States then and had a surprise at the checkouts?

http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-sales-tax-rates-2015

It's one of the reasons the Malls in some areas are just outside City boundaries, if they were inside the boundary they would have to charge both City and State sales tax.

That is what my American Bro-in-Law told me.


----------



## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Ah!! rip off Americky too then.


----------



## chilly (Apr 20, 2007)

Stanner said:


> You've never been to the States then and had a surprise at the checkouts?


I have, but I'd forgotten about that particular oddity. It never occurred to me that their on-line prices were quoted pre-tax (especially when there's no mention of it next to the price).


----------



## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I've bought online from the states, but never noticed any tax, maybe there isn't any on exports, and dot Guv missed the package for VAT.


----------



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

chilly said:


> Thanks, that explains some of the disparity.


Almost 17% of it and the way things are going so wonderfully even that disparity will be gone soon.


----------



## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

We buy when we are over visiting our friend in California, their sales tax is 8% by memory, we've picked up laptops and tablets, but there is no immediate need for anything new as we have plenty of them in the family.

I upgraded my PC when Tim last decided to upgrade his, and brought back a nice used mobo/cpu/ram set which just needed a case, and now that runs Win8.1 while my regular PC is still on XP.

The Microsoft Surface Studio looks nice....

Peter


----------



## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

chilly said:


> I have, but I'd forgotten about that particular oddity. It never occurred to me that their on-line prices were quoted pre-tax (especially when there's no mention of it next to the price).


It never is mentioned as it varies from State to State, County to County, City to City and also City to County and it is always added at the till. 
I'm not sure whether online sales charge where it is bought or where it is sold, but it certainly isn't charged on sales abroad. 
Tax and/or Duty on imports over a small value (it used to be something like £18 but I think it's changed recently) can be charged by HMRC when the goods arrive here (if they notice the value of the packet) and you are also likely to be charged an "admin fee" (often more than the tax/duty) by the carrier for collecting the tax/duty for HMRC.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Now £15 or zero if sent from the Channel Islands


----------



## Revise (May 13, 2012)

But if you live in the USA (or outside Europe) and buy a Mac in the UK you can claim back the VAT you have paid in the UK. 
Can you claim back any taxes you pay in the USA if you bring it back to the UK.


----------

