It is no secret that we pay over the top for electronics in Europe, but with its latest iMac, Apple seems to have got its conversion rates in a real twist. For some reason it seems that Apple still thinks the Euro to Dollar conversion rate is one to one.
We've compiled a small table for your viewing pleasure to show you what the most basic model of the iMac costs around the world from the Apple Store.
| Location |
US |
Canada |
Europe |
UK |
Australia |
Norway |
South Korea |
Japan |
| Price in Local Currency | 1,199 | 1,299 | 1,199 | 799 | 1,698 | 9,990 | 1,290,000 | 159,800 |
| Price in US$ | 1,199 | 1,239 | 1,655 | 1,628 | 1,464 | 1,736 | 1,395 | 1,335 |
| Price in Euro | 869 | 898 | 1,199 | 1,180 | 1,061 | 1,258 | 1,011 | 967 |
As you can see, some countries are worse off than others, but just about everyone outside North America, bar Japan, had to pay in an excess of €1,000 to get their hands on one of the new iMac's.
Worst off is the Scandinavian countries, although Finland doesn't count as they've embraced the Euro. Norway is by far the worst and that's why we've included it in favour of Denmark or Sweden. It is €389 more expensive to buy the entry level iMac there than it is in the US. If you're going for the top of the range model in Norway, expect to pay US$3,278.95 compared to $2,299 in the US, that's a price hike of almost $1,000.
Sure, we pay more sales tax in Europe than in the US, but even at 25 percent as it is in some of the Scandinavian countries, it seems like Apple is raking it in outside of the US. Even Australia is cheaper than Europe and they generally gets screwed over worse than Europe.
So thankyou Apple for once again taking the piss with your pricing outside of North America. Maybe you guys should update your exchange rate sheets for the next product launch.