3 ms·

Dammit. Now everyone else is going to get screwed just like last year, as shipments intended for outside the US will be diverted to the US to meet internal dem

Dammit. Now everyone else is going to get screwed just like last year, as shipments intended for outside the US will be diverted to the US to meet internal demand. We got the shaft not once but twice last year. The thing that persists me off is that a sale outside the US is just as good as a sale inside the US, or even arguably better, given the US currencies recent shitty performance. Dear Apple, please don't screw over your foreign fans you inconsiderate bastards. Okay? Call me. Love you.

Derbasti 16y ago
Yeah, it sucks to be European (I am one, too). I wonder how revenue is distributed around the world. I remember Nintendo Wii's being out of stock in the US but plentiful around here because there was so much more to earn in Europe due to currencies. I wonder why Apple is not caching in on that? A 500€ iPad is worth 700$. This makes every low-spec iPad sold in Europe nearly equivalent to a top-of-the-line iPad sold in the US!
- mgkimsal 16y ago
  are there not typically more taxes that might be paid on european sales too? If a US company sells something in the US for $499 vs selling it in the UK for 499 GBP, do they make more money? I'd guess there's too many variables to be definitive, but I do suspect that there's potentially less profit, even with a weak dollar. That 499 GBP price, for example, has VAT built-in - in the US we add tax on top of the $499 USD.
  - Derbasti 16y ago
    That is true only while the Euro is weak. I lived in the US when the original iPad came out. I bought it it on day one, for 500$+VAT. At the time, that was equivalent to about 350€ (strong Euro). It was later sold in Europe for 470€ (IIRC). That was when the Euro was strong in respect to the Dollar--just like now. Right now, 550$ are about 400€. Apple will surely not sell the iPad 2 at a lower price than the original iPad, so this makes them a handsome 80€ profit on each iPad they sell in Europe and not in the States.
    - mgkimsal 16y ago
      Are you really sure about that? 499USD = ~360EUR. A 499EUR ipad would seem to give another 193USD profit. But... do higher European taxes negate the higher price point? That was my original point. Yes, there's more revenue, but if they have to pay more (taxes, wages, etc) it might be a wash.
      - Derbasti 16y ago
        In contrast to VAT in the US, the equivalent taxes in Europe are only applied to actual profits. Hence, you can directly compare 550$ (price+VAT) to 470€. The difference will be reduced by a fixed percentage (19% in Germany, 7% in Austria), but it will still be a profit.

Derbasti 16y ago

Yeah, it sucks to be European (I am one, too). I wonder how revenue is distributed around the world. I remember Nintendo Wii's being out of stock in the US but plentiful around here because there was so much more to earn in Europe due to currencies. I wonder why Apple is not caching in on that? A 500€ iPad is worth 700$. This makes every low-spec iPad sold in Europe nearly equivalent to a top-of-the-line iPad sold in the US!

mgkimsal 16y ago
are there not typically more taxes that might be paid on european sales too? If a US company sells something in the US for $499 vs selling it in the UK for 499 GBP, do they make more money? I'd guess there's too many variables to be definitive, but I do suspect that there's potentially less profit, even with a weak dollar. That 499 GBP price, for example, has VAT built-in - in the US we add tax on top of the $499 USD.
- Derbasti 16y ago
  That is true only while the Euro is weak. I lived in the US when the original iPad came out. I bought it it on day one, for 500$+VAT. At the time, that was equivalent to about 350€ (strong Euro). It was later sold in Europe for 470€ (IIRC). That was when the Euro was strong in respect to the Dollar--just like now. Right now, 550$ are about 400€. Apple will surely not sell the iPad 2 at a lower price than the original iPad, so this makes them a handsome 80€ profit on each iPad they sell in Europe and not in the States.
  - mgkimsal 16y ago
    Are you really sure about that? 499USD = ~360EUR. A 499EUR ipad would seem to give another 193USD profit. But... do higher European taxes negate the higher price point? That was my original point. Yes, there's more revenue, but if they have to pay more (taxes, wages, etc) it might be a wash.
    - Derbasti 16y ago
      In contrast to VAT in the US, the equivalent taxes in Europe are only applied to actual profits. Hence, you can directly compare 550$ (price+VAT) to 470€. The difference will be reduced by a fixed percentage (19% in Germany, 7% in Austria), but it will still be a profit.