I am shocked how expensive the costs of a MacBook is in the UK. In a computer store a MacBook Air 13" is £850 which is $1300 and the MacBook Pro is £1200 which is $1800. What are the comparison costs for the US? Has anyone in the UK purchased these for a cheaper price?
I just checked the Apple website for the prices here in the US. MacBook Air 13" is between $999 and $1300 depending on the model. The MacBook Pro 13" ranges from $1300 to $1800, again depending on the model, so the prices are looking pretty comparable to what you've stated. I love Apple products but I hate the cost!
The Apple prices are probably more or less the same because I've had a look before and I never saw a glaring difference. We ordered our iMac in the UK but they told us at the Apple store that it would be being shipped straight out of America. I have to say most other things always seems to work out cheaper in America than anywhere else.
The American market has 300+ million people who all earn a decent income. They also have less tax. They are also the primary market for shipping electronics. This is why things are cheaper in USA. Every time something crosses a border it goes up in price. With the strong UK currency I would say buy as much stuff from America as you can! It's simple economics! When my dollar (Canadian) was at par with the USD I spent A LOT of money stateside.
Thanks for the information. I was kind of hoping that the price differential would be so great that it would be worth having a holiday in the US to buy one. Ah well! MacBook without the free holiday it is then.
I'm from Canada, and the macs around here are about that same price range as well (though we have a 13% tax that raises it up by a couple more hundreds of dollars). They seem to be pretty much the same from what I've read. Though, I'd opt to purchase across the border to save myself 5% taxes during a trip.
Yes I was thinking that usually goods are cheaper in America than the UK so the same would apply to Apple products. It doesn't seem to appear that way from what you and others have said. Thanks for the information. At least I know I'm paying the same as everyone else.
Not sure if this applies or not, but Apple has in the past offered a discount (I want to say either 5% or 10%) to students. They only needed a verifiable school email address to give the discount. Also, if you are a member of Ebates, you get 1% cashback from Apple if you go through them.
There are always price differences between countries. If you really want a cheap Macbook, you should buy one in Dubai. If you have a friend there, ask him or her to buy it and have it shipped to you. Or, you can also ask that person to bring it with him or her when they travel back.
What? Nearly 20% of adult Americans earn less than $20,000 per year, which is below the poverty line. That, and taxes vary across every state, and even neighboring cities can have different tax rates. Things are probably cheaper in America than elsewhere, but not all 300 million Americans earn a "decent income".
I am from the UK and bought mine in the US and the price difference can be huge. I got my Mac Pro for about $989 as I got it during a tax free weekend and also $100 student voucher and ebates. In the UK the VAT kills you and there are few places that offer discounts. In the US BestBuy match the educational price when term starts and do offer students discounts, so it can be cheaper in the US if you buy at the right time.
So So if I went on holiday in the States at the end of August I would get a student discount because it is the start of term? Was the MacBook Pro $989 including the student voucher? I will have to find out when there is a tax free weekend. We could do with those weekends in the UK. Will have to get Obama to talk to Cameron!!
I don't think Obama has anything to do with Tax Free weekends, it's state by state. Some offer it and some don't. You'd have to have to pick a state and its governor and have him/her talk to Cameron!
In the global scheme of things, yes Americans earn good money. $20 000 USD goes far in other countries. Lots of Americans earn a lot more. But I'm talking about income in an international trade sense and how I think it relates to price differences. American purchasing power plus lots of people equals economies of scale and bargaining power and lower prices. No of course I'm not saying being stuck in the poverty trap in America is "decent," but that's a topic for another forum perhaps.
ILol, I see. I will have to do a lot of research into the best state to visit for these discounts. All I want is to cover the cost of my airfare from UK in savings from the MacBook , so that in essence it is a free holiday!
To be honest I am not sure it's worth a trip just to buy the laptop unless you were already there. i was living there and was a student too and you need an .edu to get the Best Buy discounts, but it can still be cheaper there when they price match. Some states have no sales tax anyhow, but customs may get you when you get back to the UK. It's only worth it if you are there and I had been waiting for the tax free weekend where I was living and they just so happened to match the educational price too. I had planned my purchase for a while as well.
