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macbook air price difference 20/01/2008

there is a massive price difference between buying a macbook air in the united states versus buying it in the united kingdom. in short, for the cheapest price you can get the macbook air for in the uk, you can afford to buy a round trip ticket to new york and buy it there instead.


the price of the macbook air in the uk is £1199.


macbook_air_uk.png


macbook air in the US is $1799 (£916)




macbook_air_us.png


and a cheapest flight from london heathrow to new york jfk on british airways is £271.70.




flight_to_nyc.png


therefore, if you fly to new york and buy a macbook air, it will cost you (£916 + £271 = £1187). if you get the macbook air in the uk, it will cost you £1199. you would still have £12 left over.


of course, it would only just break even as you would have to pay for a ride from the airport to the apple store on the 5th avenue. but it is open 24 hours, so you could forgo a hotel room and just sleep there overnight.


and that is with the cheapest version too, if you wanted to get the solid state hard drive option, you could probably even fly business class there.

  • 7 comments
  • apple mac funny
  • 2 years, 7 months ago (20/01/2008)
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sidevalve says
7
This is merely a function of two things: a) the lower tax in the UK, as has been pointed out (laptops are NOT tax exempt!); and b) the fluctuating exchange rate. At the moment the pound is at .6 to the dollar, so it is cheaper to buy in the USA. When the pound was at 1.4 to the US$, the gap was much narrower. When it was $2.0 to the pound it was wider. Yes, you can bring your laptop to the UK and ave some money, but you have to commit tax fraud to do so, and you are at the mercy of fluctuating exchange rates. Best just to find a better deal in the UK than Mac are offering (like, for instance, Mac Warehouse)
  • 7 months, 3 weeks ago (07/01/2010)
Stoess says
6
Wow....that's crazy...
  • 1 year, 4 months ago (29/04/2009)
David Stevenson says
5
You still have to pay the VAT on import, which adds 17.5%

The VAT (like US purchase tax, but higher!) accounts for some of the difference between EU/US prices.
  • 2 years, 1 month ago (21/07/2008)
ivan says
4
but you still need to pay duty on ALL items over £145.00 including laptops!!!
  • 2 years, 2 months ago (10/06/2008)
Gerard says
3
No import tax on laptops!
  • 2 years, 7 months ago (28/01/2008)
Piet says
2
Hasn't this always been the case ? Unfortunately if you follow all the rules you'll have to pay importtax when returning to the UK.

Fact remains, Apple keeps ignoring/abusing everyone not in the US of A.
  • 2 years, 7 months ago (21/01/2008)
Magnus Nordlander says
1
Yeah, but the US price is without sales tax, still cheaper though :)
  • 2 years, 7 months ago (20/01/2008)