Apple starts European Back-to-School offer

Apple just started their European/Euro-zone Back-to-School offer. Europeans using the Euro get varying discounts off an overly expensive range of Apple products and a new 8gb Nano free. No iPod Touch is offered free, either old or new but you can use the €129 rebate against the purchase of a new 2nd gen Touch which as far as I know US citizens cannot do. If you live in the UK using Sterling you get a better deal than the other 665 million members of the Union with their UK store products costing less than than other Union member states pre VAT with no apparent reason for the difference (UK guys please fill me in if there is a reason). You can also avail of the printer rebate offer in any location, up to €90 off according to Apple, on a far smaller range of printers than is available to US/Canadian consumers which nobody sells at the Apple stated pre-rebate RRP anyway. This offer is not available to millions of EU citizens in the accession states or EU states such as Belgium (Brussels won't be happy) so if you happen to live there you get nothing.

Terms and conditions here
http://input.media.euro.apple.com/apple/promotions/terms/backtoschool08/ie/tsandcs.html

If I sound pissed off your bang on target. Giving pitiful discounts on products which are already deliberately overpriced to maximize profits from the European market and its citizens (largest economy in the world BTW) and then using discriminatory pricing within the European Unions borders is bull**** and potentially illegal as Apple already know with their run in with the EU Commission over their discriminatory iTunes UK pricing. You can call me a complaining sod (free speech is good) but overcharging millions and then running a fairly crappy offer to make yourself look good and sell more is taking the proverbial. Those looking for MBP's appear to get better deals than those of us looking for iMac's by the looks of it. Discrimination still applies to all purchases. But get 'em while you can/will until October31st when the offer ends and most likely when the new MBP's and MB's will show their faces in Europe at least.

Cue the Apple fanboys return fire.

 

hah,you are lucky!in our country-you buy 4000$ MBP and get a free mouse pad and i m not joking

 

Xirurg are you from Australia?. If you are man my heart goes out to you. The Aussies pay a horrible price for Apple gear. And the removal of the tax breaks this year make it even worse. I actually asked for a free mouse when I bought my MBP from the Apple reseller in Ireland (we don't have any Apple stores) and I thought he was gonna call security and throw me out. The Americans get an Apple Genius, we get an Irish Genghis. I'm scared to go back in .

 

No,I m now in Armenia... Also,even if you buy apple care in US(which makes the warranty international) it still doesn't work here

 

Yeah, we get butt raped something fierce. But, salary sacrifice is still in, you just need a letter from your employer.

 

@Xirurg. I thought international meant international. Is there a reason your warranty claim won't/cant be honoured. Pretty pointless international extended warranty if it...eh, doesn't extend the international warranty.

@Lysander. Its crap that you guys get nailed but its good to hear you can still get discounts like before using your employers. Shame even after that your still getting hit for no decent reason.

I was trying to do comparisons between UK and Irish Apple stores and there doesn't seem to be any consistency of pricing for the same products. Seems like Apple just slap whatever price tag they want on an item and then flog it off as the same deal to each EU country. The main Mac product is more expensive in Euro currency but Sterling is more in other ways. If I get a Canon MX310 printer with the rebate in Ireland it will cost me €9.95, in the UK it costs £19.95 (€25.38). Likewise to get the 8gb nano with your purchase costs the Irish €14, UK guys £14. I know its nitpicking but do these guys know what a currency convertor is. Steve I have one on my jailbroken iPhone if you wanna take a look.

I'm gonna wait till the end of the promo and try get my stuff through a friend who's just moved to England on a HE discount (13-14% I believe) and then try to get the 17.5% VAT off through a company. That should make it a better deal and the new Mac Mini and Imac 24" might just be out by then as thats what I need to buy. I'm not holding my breath though.

 

Phew! Yall Europeans are gettin hit right in the bunghole on that deal. Over here in the Good ole U.S of A we get student discounts left and right. Plus, we get a Macbook for cheap if we work for the government. Well atleast thats what the Apple Store Manager told us. Anyways, if you ever need apple products, just call an American Apple store and have them ship it to an international shipper and do it that way. My buddy is going to school somewhere in England (Oxford) and bought his that way and saved a ton of money.

 

I've never had to deal with the international problem like that (most products I buy are from companies headquartered in the US). But perhaps it would help a little if you sent a copy of that complaint to Apple directly? It would only take a minute of your time, and might just be thrown away, but at least somebody that could actually do something about it might get a chance to see it.

Just for the sake of comparing though (Since I have heard Ireland is expensive to live in otherwise), what is the average and minimum wages there?

 

Previously a friend did query the cost difference of US to Europe with Apple Cork (their HQ) and was met with a sneering response that it was rip-off Ireland and if people were willing to pay it then that was the reality stating they don't handle pricing themselves, in other words PFO. Apples response to allegations of price discrimination (or anything else) is usually to roll out the lawyers and dig in for a long fight as they don't want to lose the cash cow. Admitting something is discriminatory upsets the Apple PR rodents plans. I'm dying to get my iMac but I have spent all night trying to figure out how to minimize/justify the costs and have to do some major trading of legal advice for favours tomorrow (today really as its 7am and I haven't slept yet) with friends to try and get a better deal.

The average GDP (nominal) per capita in Ireland according to the IMF is just under €60k but that doesn't reflect ground reality and taxes are very steep in a rich v poor economy with 1/3 of the populace below the poverty line. Minimum wage in Ireland is €8.65 P.H. ($12.26 USD) = P.A minimum wage of €16,867 ($23,914) but living costs are beyond belief. Fuel costs for a US gallon are approx $7.50 and thats a lot better than it was. On the average US wage you wouldn't last long here without aid. House prices until recently could see you pay over 1 million euro, approx $1.42m USD for a small house in some places in the south of the capital. My own house was valued 2 years ago at €670,000 ($950,000 USD) for an average 35 year old 3 bedroomed semi-detached in a non-affulent neighbourhood. I once saw an outside toilet being sold for €250,000 ($355k USD) . That bubble just burst in a big way. With the Irish economy in complete freefall collapse (if you have ever seen the movie Der Untergang about the last days in Hitlers bunker thats the mood in Ireland) and people going bankrupt everywhere and being made unemployed Apple won't be making their figures in the Irish economy this christmas. With the prices they charge its simply not possible for most to pay anymore, something the Irish have done without concern for the last 10 years.

We have a complete fetish for livingroom/non-essential tech even compared to other EU countries so we act as a marker for sales of consumer tech in the EU. If the Irish stop buying it can be a sign something is going rotten even though we are a tiny country compared to others and have little overall percentage effect. I'd love to see Apple's Irish sales figures but I can't imagine they look very good. People are starting to talk with their wallets regards overcharging and Apple are on the hitlist.

 

Just to contribute to this post I 100% agree with your post. Its astonishing how much more the EU prices are than then US. On apple.com you can buy a new ipod touch for $229 or Uk price is £169, Now you don't have to be good with maths to figure out that our price is highly infated comparatively. And don't even get me started on macs, there more overpriced than alienware.

 

Yeah, the European ripoff is a sad story but it will go on. Currently living in Australia and it's even worse here.