Saturday, September 29, 2007

1USD=0,70€ but not for Apple


I still have to blame my beloved Apple for a policy that could alienate a significant number of customers and prospects in Europe.
The European currency is still very strong vs the USD and the current exchange rate is close to 1USD equivalent to 0,70 €.
This is a great advantage for the US companies exporting their goods to Europe as far as it is not seen by the European customers as an unfair tax.

Apple is benefitting as many other companies but its policy of the same price everywhere is putting this excessive benefit in display.

Give a look at Apple site and choose a product.

US store IPod Touch 16 gb at 399 USD
Italy store IPod Touch 16 gb at 399 €

Wait a minute this is a parity between USD and € and I can see it in Apple website.

Again I recognize that a company is looking for the highest revenue but this is rather offensive from my point of view.
And if a friend of mine is travelling to the US, should I feel guilty in purchasing the product there and saving a huge amount of money?

How do you feel when you think that somebody is profiting too much?
What's your opinion whe you feel that you pay too much a product?


3 comments:

John said...

how do electronics prices usually run in Italy? I know for example that in Britain and in Canada these things tend to be more expensive (in real terms) than in the US... it seems that all these prices should be market-based.

Of course for things like iPods it's easier than ever to buy in another country & then just get the right power adapter for home, but with a phone, that's harder - I wonder what happens if you stick an Italian SIM in a US iPhone. (Probably nothing good!)

Mario Vellandi said...

Of course I don't like to pay too much, but I enjoy getting a bargain too. John has a good point about pricing according to the market value, not a simply converted price.
But one has to remember also that exchange rates may fluctuate sure, and a manufacturer has to consider the price of its existing products in the marketplace in addition to any other products in its development pipeline.

The dollar has been weak now for at least 5-6 years. That's not going to change anytime soon.

gianandrea said...

John, Mario thanks for your comments. Electronic prices usually are higher of a 10/15% in Italy than in the States. My point is that today, with this exchange rate the gap between the prices is too high and it should be cut.
Today, in Italy, Apple is perceived as very expensive and this is a barrier to shifting from PC to Mac.
I mean that exchange rate may fluctuate or not but the Apple prices do not change. In my opinion Apple is in the position to arrange some price reduction to gain new market share.