Sign in / up

back to article Apple slugs Australia with iPhone tax

Apple's newest iPhones have surprised the world with premium pricing, but that premium is even more noticeable in Australia, where punters will be asked to pay more than US shoppers, even once one takes into account exchange rates. The Reg looked at prices for unlocked handsets, recorded on Apple's website. We checked out the …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Persona non grata

    So as soon as they thought they could

    they bunged prices back up again. Hardly surprising from Apple.

    It'll be interesting to see if the new government do anything about it, this was a popular move on the behalf of Ed Husic last time around but the libs tend to be blindly pro business.

    0 0
  2. Esskay
    Unhappy

    In other news...

    Water is wet, Pope is catholic, etc.... Once again Apple fulfill expectations. But not in a good way.

    1 0
  3. Ross K Silver badge
    Holmes

    No S#%t Sherlock

    Stuff is more expensive in Australia?

    Didn't we go over this recently re. Adobe and MS products?

    1 0
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Isn't this always the case?

    Isn't the PS3 and Xbox 360 more over there. Probably most American cars, too.

    You could always visit the US, buy a few dozen iPhones, then sell them back home to make your trip to the US free.

    0 0
    1. Persona non grata
      Reply Icon

      Re: Isn't this always the case?

      Cars can cost 2-3 times the price they sell for in the US. And it's extremely difficult/expensive to import yourself. We're set up generally to make money for foreign businesses and their wholesaling arms. Then we do our level best to tax them at lower rates than local businesses or prefer foreign companies for government contracts.

      It's a bizarre way to run a country and the rationale seems to be that this is how we've always done it.

      On an iPhone related note, how much are Apple charging for their flash memory? Is their stuff made of gold and diamond encrusted or something?

      A$130 for 16GB (the only difference between the 16 and 32 GB phone models) does seem usurious of credibility!

      1 0
  5. veti Silver badge

    Everydamnthing is more expensive in Australia. Don't take my word for it, check out the stats for yourself.

    Looks like Apple is charging a premium in the ballpark of 15%. That's a lot better than, e.g., a 33 cl bottle of Coke, or a pair of Levis or Nikes, or a Big Mac, or a monthly gym subscription, all of which are between 50 and 100% more expensive in Australia than in the USA.

    It's almost as if serving a market of 300 million people gives economies of scale, in comparison to a market of 22 million. Go figure.

    0 0
    1. NZ ITer
      Reply Icon

      Try living in New Zealand

      A market of 4.2 million people for some reason makes things even more expensive. Go figure....

      0 0
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    New Government

    Apple know that the new Government is NOT tech savvy, nor interested. They have gone for the crash through approach.

    0 0
  7. leograye

    Iphone Why ??

    savvy people buy a samsung SIII 4g etc, better phone, cheaper, take apart etc.

    Apple stick it up every user because they assume they have a superior product.

    The competition is eating the apple, Samsung sell out 2 to 1 over Cupertino.

    Time to wise up and give consumers better value, sell more product !!

    0 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Iphone Why ??

      "Time to wise up and give consumers better value, sell more product !!"

      Ah, Why on earth would they lower the price when they can sell as many as they make ?

      Remember it's not volume that matters, it's profit.

      0 0
  8. Martin Budden Silver badge
    Flame

    Fucking fuckers fuck us over every fucking opportunity.

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like