UK stiffed again in Macbook Air battery replacement programme
Scandinavians face the biggest bills
IT'S NO SURPRISE, of course, but you might want the actual values.
Apple's Macbook Air, like the original Ipod and Iphone before it, sports batteries that cannot - or are not supposed to be - swapped by the user.
When your out-of-warranty battery dies, you have to send the notebook off to Apple which will arrange for a new battery to be fitted.
The process costs $129 in the United States, which at today's exchange rates is just over £66. In the UK, your new battery will cost you £99, however. A full 50 per cent more.
But, for once, the UK does not top the extortionate pricing league.
Continental Euro users will have to fork out the equivalent of £103. But worst hit of all are the Scandinavian countries, with users in Norway getting the biggest stiffing at a cost of £110, just over half a quid more expensive than second most stiffed, Denmark, and third most stiffed, Sweden.
The cheapest place to get a replacement battery - outside the US, naturally - is Taiwan where the item will cost the equivalent of £74.50. Mainland Chinese will have to fork out close to £90, however.
Here's the full list converted into pounds Sterling for ease of comparison:
US £66.0698
Taiwan £74.5014
Japan £76.3820
India £76.5637
Canada £79.1852
Singapore £82.3445
Korea £86.0017
Australia £88.8167
China £89.2900
Switzerland £92.4498
UK £99
Euro £103.270
Sweden £109.422
Denmark £109.570
Norway £110.290
Apple's list in local prices is here.
Comments
You've been using Excel for math again... *grin*
"The process costs $129 in the United States, which at today's exchange rates is just over £66. In the UK, your new battery will cost you £99, however. A full third more."It's worse that that (Jim), it's 50% more!
[We edited the story to reflect this, hopefully no-one else noticed - Ed.]
Invalid comparison.
To my own shock and disbelief I'm about to defend Apple. Call the doctor.Whenever comparisons are made like this an important fact is always overlooked: prices given in the United States do not include sales tax, but prices in Europe always include VAT. It's not really fair to say that Apple's charging Brits a third more, as you're comparing a with-tax and a without-tax price.
When you account for 17.5% of the price going directly to Her Nibs, Apple's really "only" gouging us for about 15% over the American price. And isn't it worth that much to achieve the correct aura of saintly sanctimony as a disciple of The Steve?
Stop your whining
As Canadian we have been getting screwed over like that forever. We pay at least 20% more for the same product compared to the Americans. EG: @ATIStore the X1650XT is listed @ $250 US or $300 CAD. Why " it is the cost of doing business in Canada" right from ATI preproduct inquireries. As of this morning $250US = $257CAD. and some of the cards are even made here. At least you have the EU who can and will put there foot down to stop it, unlike our government who is lead by a G.W.Bush ass kisser wannabe. The simplest way I think to deal with such rip-offs is not to buy it untill we get a fare shake instead of being ripped off. Its not a must have product like fuel or medicine.Do you need some cheese with your whine ?
Indonesia?
How much this think cost in Indonesia (baterai replacement)?"Out of warranty" issues in Norway
Norwegian consumer law protects purchasers for faults during the "expected lifetime" of Apple's products. A laptop is expected to last more than 3-4 years and so if the battery fails it must be replaced for free, within 5 years (roughly).Apple (and a large number of companies) have tried to fight this.
Nokia lost a key court case in September that upheld the consumer law.
There is no reason to purchase AppleCare in Norway.
Oh, and VAT is 25%.
VAT
Percentages...Apples prices shown in USA, India and Canada are without local tax.
In Europe there is an EU-SalesTax of 15%
but most counties add more eg, UK +2.5%(17.5%), Sweden +10%(25%).
So on removal of tax its a 30% Apple surcharge, which is 100% more surcharge than the 15%MBAir surcharge.
For iPod Touch add 12%,
however a macBook is only 5% more.
Now if we could reduces the petrol price difference from the 600% above the USA rate, to only 30% then we would be smiling through straight white teeth!
The reason is clear...
The reason that the Apple battery cost more in the UK is because the 'cost of doing business' is higher in the UK. The 'cost of doing business' is higher because the 'cost of living' is higher. As a clear example of the higher 'cost of living' in the UK, look at the cost of an Apple battery (to pick one example at random).See?
vat + exchange rate
$129 + 17.5 + lets pretend the dollar isnt at its weakest point since post world war one (not sure if this is strictly true, but it seems it!) = Britain not really getting ripped off.Apple battery replacement cost
Buyers are well & Shafted - well & truly.Even Apple's Fanbois Sites admit the replacement takes a Techie only a few minutes.
So, their buying cost of a battery at say £5 (net) plus 5 minutes labour at £15/hr wages.
Total cost to Apple is less than £10.
Sell for £90 = 800% mark up.. Stevie Boy will retire a very prosperous man.
Whatever
It's revenge for the Boston Massacre, you lime eating, VAT paying twits!Or maybe there's some hidden taxes of which you are unaware. Maybe you should throw the Airs into the harbor in protest.
If people outside the US
Want competitive pricing, then throw down your socialistic masters and embrace modern corporate capitalism. The simple truth is that it is much less expensive to do business within the US than it is in any other developed nation.Canadians have an even simpler solution. Eliminate the laws that force pharmaceutical companies to use the American market to subsidize drugs for Canadians. It would really help your reputation among American businesses.
Although, in the end it might just be better to move to Japan. Their electronics cost is usually even less than the American cost, even if the products are made in the US. You would just have to get used to everything else costing twice as much.
Great customer service!
Quote: "Will the data on my MacBook Air be preserved?Don't rely on it being preserved. Many repairs require Apple to replace or reformat the hard disk, which will result in the loss of your data. Please make sure you back up your data on a regular basis to minimize your data loss."
For only $129 they will give you a new battery AND clean your hard disk.
Poor Article
As most others have said your not taking into account sales tax must be added to the US price but not the european and british because we are sensible and actually put the prices most consumers are going to pay in the end. It's only businesses really that may get Tax back.The other main issue is the current exchange rate for the Pound against the dollar. As of writing its around £1.00 -$1.90 so this makes the difference seem greater as it's traditionally arount £1.00 - $1.60.
India!? Say Wha??
Wow really funny to see India in the top 3...shocking really since most of the electronic stuff costs almost double the price of US...eg. X360, PS3, ATI/AMD stuff....Intel processors are well priced though.So does it mean I should switch over to Macs??
Hell NO! go Windows! lol
The dollar wins
Ah, no matter how far the value of the dollar drops, it still *buys* more than European currencies.Fairer comparison...
Although prices do vary and Apple does not seem beneath squeezing us Europeans out of a bit extra money, we should remember that US prices are exclusive of tax.UK tax is 17.5%, Denmark 25 %, so the tax free price in the UK is 84 quid, and in Denmark 88 quid.
As noted above, the Canadians are being screwed in a more obvious way as their dollar is almost at parity with the US dollar somthing that Apple does not seem to consider. But still they pay around 78 quid.
Also the price of doing business can vary from country to country. Real estate, corporate taxes, wages, the cost of employees having rights etc...
I have never seen any product at a better price (excluding tax even ) in Europe than in the US however.