[csonni]

Hey, now I wonder about this. With the decline of the US Dollar and the Loonie rising higher than 10 years ago, why haven't we seen a big drop in prices on goods imported from the States? You'd think prices would continually be dropping as the Dollar and Loonie changes- even on Apple products (?)

 

[groovetube]

Wondered the same thing. The dual 1.25 on Apple's US site is 2,459.22 Canadian, and on the Canadian site $2,674.00. That's over 200 bucks.

 

[Macaholic]

I wouldn't trust Apple to reflect exchange rates as far as I could throw them.

The exchange rate is helping me in my research and preparations to purchase a processor upgrade from Otherworld Computers in the USA, though

 

[mojoprofilms]

However, when the 17" imac took a speed jump from 1 gig to 1.25 GHz in September 03 it was released at $1799 US, the same price the 1 gig had been at. However, the Canadian price went from $2799 to $2429, so the exchange rate must've played some role there.

 

[csonni]

GrooveTube- that price isn't bad then at the current exchange rate. The Canadian price should be about $700 more at today's rate.

 

[Moscool]

Hombres

I would strongly encourage you to arbitrage with trips across the border. This is really a big game in Europe AND free trade agreements have specific provisions regarding warrantees, service, etc.

In my book as long as a piece of Apple kit has telecoms approval (and they all have as far as I know), order abroad and pay your fed/prov tax. And don't be affraid to write strong letters to suppliers. Also, check what you can buy tax paid v. tax paid when you physically cross the border. For example under EU rules you can buy ANYTHING in ANY QUANTITY as long as its not for resale and taxes have been paid in the country of origin. Pretty sure NAFTA is not there yet, but check latest provisions. What I have found with Apple in Europe is that price differentials are reasonable one local taxes are taken into account, so it doesn't justify a trip but whenever I am aborad I'll do a quick check just in case...

 

[groovetube]

GrooveTube- that price isn't bad then at the current exchange rate. The Canadian price should be about $700 more at today's rate.

Those are both Canadian dollars. I took the US price and converted it to Canadian dollars using current exchange rates. The the difference is actually 200 dollars after exchange. Unless I'm missing something, like it costs more to mainain a Canadian website.

 

[csonni]

Oops. Sorry groovetube. I misread your post. I took thae first quote as US funds.

 

[Mantat]

The real question is: Can I use the edu discount in an Apple US Store?

Of course, I am a full time worker for an University (in Canada) and I have a card to prove it.

 

[Kosh]

Yes, prices will drop on Apple's products, but Apple traditionally doesn't update the price on products until there is a update to the product (ie. a change in the product, or a price drop (not an exchange rate change)). You can actually see the exchange reflected on Apple's website if you compare the US and Canadian prices of the different products. The rate used for the G5s is about 0.70, the exchange rate for the Powerbooks/iBooks is about 0.73 since the Powerbooks/iBooks were updated after the G5s. I agree that Apple should probably change their prices more often, but I doubt you will ever see it change more than monthly, because most of their products are not bought and delivered in a day. It can be good or bad for both the purchaser and buyer by the way.

By the way, you'll never see any business use the exact exchange rate, so don't go comparing what's currently on yahoo or where-ever to Apple's site. With the loonie changing by half a cent to a cent in a day, the exchange rate businesses use is going to be off by a couple of cents.

 

[Mantat]

Actualy, Apple get the same amount of cash what ever the exchange rate. The reason is that they use (probably) an exchange broker.

The broker secure an exchange rate for apple and this rate is used for the duration of the contract.

Company use these firm to reduce risk associated with exchange rate. They might lose some money but the reduced risk is worth it in most case and it allow them to better plan their revenu.