It’s become a familiar cycle now. Apple launch an exciting new product, it hits the US market first, leaving the rest of the World waiting around for a month (or two, in this case). When the product finally reaches UK shores, we suffer what has become known as the ‘Apple Tax’. This is a price-bump which is often argued to be a result of VAT or exchange rates, a myth we proved to be incorrect earlier in the year.
So once again, with the launch of the iPad in the UK, the crowds are arguing for either side, so we took it upon ourselves to do some quick calculations and find out if there actually is a price bump, and if so, by how much.
16GB iPad WiFi from the UK = £429.00 ($641.66) including VAT.
16GB iPad WiFi from the USA = $499.00 (£333.62) + US Sales Tax (Average, 6%) $29.94 = $528.94 (£353.64).
Difference = £75.36 / $112.72
16GB iPad WiFi + 3G from the UK = £529.00 ($785.94) including VAT.
16GB iPad WiFi + 3G from the USA = $629.00 (£423.36) + US Sales Tax (Average, 6%) $37.74 = $666.74 (£445.77).
Difference = £83.23 / $119.20
Well as you can see, there’s still a decent price bump here. The Apple Tax is at work once again. In fact, the difference is roughly the cost difference between buying a WiFi or 3G iPad. Our recommendation is, if you’re visiting the US soon, or have friends/relatives over there – get them to send you an iPad over. However if you’re not fortunate enough to have contacts in the States, it will probably work out cheaper to buy one locally. Using a third-party buyer like BundleBox may not benefit you because their $60 handling fee will pretty much whipe out any savings you’d make here – we only recommend using BundleBox for the more expensive purchases, such as MacBook Pros / iMacs, where the Apple Tax is even higher.
[Update] There has been a lot of uproar about this price increase on the Internet, causing Steve Jobs to issued a reply:
Please educate yourself. UK prices must by law include VAT, which is around 18%. US prices do not include tax.
Yes Steve, we understand that, and we’ve accounted for VAT – There’s still a significant price increase. Nobody expects Apple, of all companies, to be transparent. But lying and issuing rude responses to customers is in our opinion, out of order.
