Libor Kubín The website živě.cz writes about computers, IT, the Internet and consumer electronics. He published an interesting article on his website: Apple Store and prices? The Czech Republic is the most expensive in Europe, second worldwide.
The author Karel Javůrek from Živě.cz describes in his article research results idealo.co.uk. In 37 countries, prices were compared in the online Apple Store of selected goods such as: iPad 2 (16 GB, WiFi), Macbook Air (11 inch, 64 GB), iPod touch (8 GB), MacBook Pro (13 inch, 2,4 GHz ), iMac (21,5-inch, 2,5 GHz). We allegedly belong to: "... the five most expensive places, although Brazil is in first place worldwide, our Czech Republic is already in second place." And other "facts" follow: "When it comes to the European market only, here the Czech Republic is the most expensive of all countries, both without tax and with tax. When it comes to comparisons with the economic strength of individual countries, the Apple Store in the Czech Republic offers the third worst offer in the entire world."
This is the result from Idealo.co.uk:
But let's compare the prices of individual products:
| Goods / Country |
iPad 2 |
Macbook Air |
iPod touch |
MacBook Pro |
iMac |
Total price in € |
| Malaysia | RM1 | RM3 | 699 RM | RM3 | RM3 | 3 195,73 |
| Canada | $ 519 | $ 999 | $ 199 | $1 249 | $1 199 | 3 153,9 |
| Hong Kong | HK$3 | HK$7 | HK$1 | HK$9 | HK$9 | 3 072,51 |
| USA | $ 499 | $ 999 | $ 199 | $1 199 | $1 199 | 3 117,37 |
| Singapore | $668 | S$1 | $288 | S$1 | S$1 | 3 371,37 |
| Taiwan | NT$15 | NT$31 | NT$7 | NT$37 | NT$38 | 3 372,23 |
| Mexico | $6 999 | $14 999 | $3 199 | $17 999 | $17 999 | 3 616,14 |
| Indonesia | 4 Rp | 9 Rp | 2 Rp | 11 Rp | 11 Rp | 3 419,16 |
| South Korea | ￦640 | 1 ￦ | ￦269 | 1 ￦ | 1 ￦ | 3 509,61 |
| Japan | ￥44 | ￥84 | ￥16 | ￥102 | ￥108 | 3 515,81 |
| Switzerland | 499 CHF | CHF1 | 209 CHF | CHF1 | 1299 CHF | 3 581,79 |
| Australia | A$579 | A$1 | A$219 | A$1 | A$1 | 3 818,08 |
| the Philippines | ₱23 | ₱49 | ₱11 | ₱61 | ₱60 | 3 719,06 |
| Vietnam | 11₫ | ₫23 | 6₫ | ₫28 | ₫29 | 5 241,96 |
| United Arab Emirates | AED2 | AED4 | 799 AED | AED5 | AED5 | 3 549,35 |
| China | RMB 3 | RMB 7 | RMB 1 | RMB 8 | RMB 9 | 3 727,96 |
| Luxembourg | 455,25 € | 930,45 € | 189,13 € | 1 139,55 € | 1 092,03 € | 4 161,68 |
| New Zealand | 799 NZ$ | NZ$1 | 289 NZ$ | NZ$1 | NZ$1 | 4 174,29 |
| Holandsko | 479 € | 949 € | 189 € | 1 149 € | 1 149 € | 3 915 |
| Spain | 479 € | 949 € | 185 € | 1 145 € | 1 145 € | 3 903 |
| Germany | 479 € | 949 € | 189 € | 1 149 € | 1 149 € | 3 915 |
| Austria | 479 € | 949 € | 199 € | 1 149 € | 1 149 € | 3 925 |
| Poland | 2 099 zł | 4 399 zł | PLN 899 | 5 299 zł | 5 299 zł | 4 239,2 |
| France | 479 € | 949 € | 199 € | 1 149 € | 1 149 € | 3 925 |
| Italy | 484 € | 957 € | 199 € | 1 149 € | 1 158 € | 3 947 |
| Ireland | 487 € | 995 € | 203 € | 1 219 € | 1168 € | 4 072 |
| Belgium | 479 € | 979 € | 199 € | 1 199 € | 1 149 € | 4 005 |
| Hungary | 142 990 Ft | 304 990 Ft | 63 990 Ft | 365 990 Ft | 365 990 Ft | 4 191,72 |
| Portugal | 479 € | 979 € | 199 € | 1 199 € | 1 179 € | 4 035 |
| Finland | 479 € | 979 € | 209 € | 1 199 € | 1 179 € | 4 045 |
| Great Britain | £ 399 | £ 849 | £ 169 | £ 999 | £ 999 | 4 110,57 |
| Sweden | 4 395 SEK | 9 295 SEK | 1 895 SEK | 10 995 SEK | 10 995 SEK | 4 192,58 |
| Denmark | DKK 3 | DKK 7 | DKK 1 | DKK 8 | DKK 8 | 4 128,74 |
| Norway | 3 890 SEK | 7 890 SEK | 1 490 SEK | 9 990 SEK | 9 490 SEK | 4 263,37 |
| Thailand | 15 900 | 32 900 | 6 500 | 39 900 | 39 990 | 3 344,24 |
| Czech Republic | 11 490 $ | 23 490 $ | 4 790 $ | 27 990 $ | 27 990 $ | 3 818,89 |
| Brazil | R$ 1 | R$ 2 | 719 R $ | R$ 3 | R$ 3 | 5 626,42 |
Of course, I don't know the exact calculation methodology of Idealo, but our numbers are somewhat different. We "bought" all the compared products in the given countries at the final price indicated on the website and converted to euros. The result is slightly skewed because the American store is the only one that gives prices without tax, there is no VAT in Hong Kong. We used the exchange rate from January 27, 2012 and for the conversion of foreign currencies we used this page. You can make the most expensive purchase in the Apple Online Store in the following countries:
1. Brazil
2 Vietnam
3. Norway
4. Poland
5. Sweden
6. Hungary
I don't want to compare data on the economic strength of individual states, but according to this one tables behind the Czech Republic are Portugal, Poland and Hungary, while shopping at the Apple Store is much more expensive in these countries.
According to the chart published below, the Czech Apple Store is among the most expensive European retailers.
Prices in 19 European Apple Stores are shown with tax. So I will use the data from our purchase and will not decide whether the VAT in the given country is 19 or 20%. As an end customer, I will pay the tax anyway. So who is the most expensive in Europe?
1. Norway – €4
2. Poland – €4
3. Sweden – €4
4. Hungary – €4
5. Luxembourg – €4
6. Denmark – €4
7. Great Britain - €4
...
18. Czech Republic – 3 euros
19. Switzerland – 3 euros
It is sad that no one from žíve.cz verified the economic data in this article or at least added their own comment. This delusion is further spread by the websites MobilMania, E15, Tabletmania...
Who else will use an article and data of flawed pseudo-research instead of their head and calculator?
I think that people who don't have what it takes to buy Apple become the ones who write such articles or write in discussions what Apple scumbags are.
I feel sorry for them. I don't have a Bentley either, but I don't slander him.
I'm more sad when the co-founder of Apple (some Polish Wozniak...) gets his picture taken next to the Android logo with a Samsung in his hand! (today's iDnes/mobile). Although I have no sympathy for MAC os, IOS really has no competition and Android is a failed copy and when I tried how sensitive the Tangtung S02 is in the 2 store, I went back a few years when touchpads started - yes, S2 is competition, but for the SonyEricsson P900 that I had in about 2006….. Wozniak confirmed my opinion about the Poles, which is probably unpublishable here.
What can I say to you Horst... maybe it's just that I'm sorry again that in TV commercials you fool viewers with the incredible quality of knives that can cut through other knives, or mixers that can finely chop 0.387g of onions in 200 seconds. Sorry for the OT, but I actually don't see a single problem with the fact that Mr. Wozniak had his picture taken with a competitor's mobile phone. I would probably recommend you to read a book about Steve Jobs to realize who Mr. Wozniak actually is...
I know this doesn't belong here, but for Christmas we got a SMOOZIE MARKER-a simple blender.
And if it's a great thing? About the same as for the owners of the iPhone Tiamen Talaxy S5…..
Fact - I admit, I'm offering mega nonsense!!!
Wozniak is a traitor to me. Let him research Android, but in the laboratory and improve and use a million of the good things from it, but to take a picture next to the sign...THAT IS APPLE TREASON! I'm ashamed that people like that own Apple stock. At least we know that:
A HOUSE IN PRAGUE FOR MONEY
before you started accusing wozniak here, you should find out something about him and especially you should find out something about who is behind the fact that today you use such products as apple computers, their phone, etc. wozniak is responsible for most of this... and if you read his biography, you would understand why he had his picture taken by google and why he is interested in these technologies
Horst, where did you get that Wozniak is Polish xD
Wozniak - probably a Pole! It is clear!
(maybe ancestors, but…..)
You know, if someone's name is Ivan Ivanovich, he's probably not Mexican. And if someone's name is Vincenzo Italioni Presto, he's definitely not a CCCP citizen.
HF: Go, sir, to novinky.cz with that xenophobic bullshit. What does being Polish-American have to do with it? "Traitor to Apple"? WTF? I have a Mac Mini, I've had various MacBooks for a long time (at work) and the Samsung Galaxy SII is, in my opinion, a really good product. Apple is not a religion, man! The fact that I like the design of the MacBook Air does not cloud my brain enough to not see that there are other companies that can do something interesting - and without competition, the market would not move forward.
What religion? I bought the Air because of the design and usability, but I have the WIN because you can't teach the old Fuchs new tricks!
I'm just pointing out that the display and overall impression of the S2 is terrible. It might have been a pretty good phone if I hadn't known the iP4. only those who don't have an iP can really praise samsung.
In 10 minutes of holding the S2, I discovered this:
– backward, large display
– cheap design like ZTE
– it has to be done approx. 3X!!! icon before the application opens
– a very imperfect camera
Isn't that enough?
But if you are satisfied, then throw the iP in the trash and trada five classes down….. (don’t forget that on the way down…..)
What nationality do you think Sebastian Colorado is? Just to illustrate how stupid you are.
But didn't the completely original research include the purchasing power of individual states in that methodology?
There is a link to the source in the article, you can study it in detail. I am contradicting only obvious nonsense such as the statement: the Czech Republic - the second most expensive purchases worldwide and the most expensive in Europe.
Even more stupid is the title that Živa gave it (+ MM and E15 where they copied it - really pathetic). In particular, Živě is going lower and lower, they write article after article, since there are only two editors permanently sitting there, it is even more noticeable. It's not so much the fault of the editors themselves, it's the fault of the concept.
It seems to me that things have been going downhill since she bought Živa
MafraYoung front. She apparently dictates how the website will be written and it looks like that.Mafra? I know that you contribute to Jabličkář as a journalist more or less regularly, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to do at least a little basic monitoring of publishers in the Czech Republic. Mladá fronta, which is the owner of zive.cz, has as much in common with Mafra, which is the publisher of iDnes.cz, as Microsoft has with the iPad.
So, so much for the downward-level comment... And this does not mean that I would like to defend those editors with zive.cz, technet.cz, etc., where no one involved their brains and just dully copied the press release.
You're right, I was confused that Mafra publishes Mlada Fronta TODAY, that's why I thought Mafra media group has Mlada Fronta under them
this kind of distortion is in every field, everyone promotes either their own or paid opinions, that's life
Unfortunately, that's how it goes with us. Journalistic quickies need to pitch an article so they can go home at three o'clock. And what will they do? They go to the web to see if they can beat something, and if they can, they go for it. Without any own invention. That's why I'm glad that Jablíčkář is a good example of the fact that it is possible to make a high-quality website even in field conditions. I'm happy to jump in here, even though I traded my iPhone for Android a while back ;-) Which brings me to…
... Horst Fuchs: Beautiful off topic and attempt at flame ;-)
Flash, what else can you expect from him other than translating the source without using the brain..
Thanks for using your common sense and your own reasoning
This is really a comedy :-D these statistics are actually 2,5 years old, only the date is overwritten... I can't find it anymore, but it really was like that 2,5 years ago and I saw these tables. However, it's been a little different in Europe for about a year now, and both in Apple stores and at premium resellers the prices are as follows... the cheapest is Austria, then the Czech Republic and then the rest of Europe... it's really funny to see how the editors are unable to monitor the current situation and " copy" only old data with new data... it's worth it if an ordinary user reads it... but as you know Libor, in the Czech Republic this writing always worked differently when it came to Apple products... everyone who doesn't have it with Apple they are trying to get off of this, these "writers" should finally recover... who knows, maybe we will get true information about Apple from windows sheep ;-)
I don't see how skewed that statistic is...
... in any case, I imported the MacAir from the USA and it was the same number in dollars as it is in Europe in Euros, which are about 1.4 times more expensive ... :(