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View Full Version : Why the iPad Price Difference Internationally Steve?

Jeff Campbell
05-10-2010, 04:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/08/steve-jobs-weighs-in-on-ipad-international-pricing-and-taxes/' target='_blank'>http://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/08...cing-and-taxes/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"With Apple's announcement on Friday regarding availability of the iPad in nine new countries later this month, a number of potential customers expressed dismay at the apparent higher prices in those countries relative to those in the United States. Several of those customers took the time to email Apple CEO Steve Jobs with complaints on the issue, two of whom shared his identical responses with us."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1273434589.usr105634.jpg" /></p><p>For the customer in the UK, Steve said <em>"Please educate yourself. UK prices must by law include VAT, which is around 18%. US prices do not include tax."&nbsp;<span>When a customer in Germany sent a similar email, Steve said&nbsp;<em>"Blame your government. Germany just added a new copyright levy for computers." </em>Obviously we don't have those taxes (yet anyway) in the US so this just adds to the cost of the device. I think they have always had a price difference because of things such as this haven't they?&nbsp;</span></em></p>
Darius Wey
05-11-2010, 05:15 AM
Obviously we don't have those taxes (yet anyway) in the US so this just adds to the cost of the device. I think they have always had a price difference because of things such as this haven't they?

They have, and it's not just iPads. Macs, iPods, computers from Dell, you name it.

And as blunt as Jobs' "please educate yourself" is, most of the complaints arise because people just don't look at the big picture. There are many who choose to compare the base US price to their tax-inclusive local pricing, failing to take into account that most US states have sales tax. I've even seen some people whine about pricing differences without even converting USD to their local currency. :confused:

Once all of that is taken into account and a little regard is given to the extra margin it costs to do business overseas, the differences are minimal.