I have often wondered if some sort of retail price agreement operates. Is it a breach of the trade practices act? Should some offended consumer send a query to Allan Felds and the ACCC? The argument that "there is hardly any margin on macs" has long been used as an excuse for non-discounting. Yet just about every other consumer device in the electronics arena can have its price negotiated between buyer and seller.
Macs all come from one source, namely Apple Australia. Hence it's difficult for the resellers to sell Macs for less than the price they buy them at from Apple. That would be a great way to go out of business quickly.
Were you able to buy Macs from Apple and 'Elppa' say, and those companies colluded to make the prices the same, then you might want to give Prof. Fels a call.
Members of the working class might not know that there is a second cheaper price list for people having an association with a university. This saves quite a bit on the price in the street. Even former attendees of a university can get this discounted price by being a member of their alumni association. WA universities recognise each others members too. While I have purchased computers this way in the past I have always felt it unfair that the working taxpayers who largely pay for these institutions to exist are not permitted to access the discounted prices.
The University consortium prices are lower because the consortium buys *lots* of Macs, hence they get a volume discount. Funds from the consortium are plowed back into the Apple University Developers Fund and thence to young developers and academics in the form of access to the Worldwide Developer's Conference, national Apple educational conferences, hardware and software grants, and access to developer programs. Thus the taxpayers money is getting plowed back into the students and staff. Seems fair to me (but then I (and many other people I know) have been a beneficiary of those funds being returned to the community by Apple and the consortium.
<http://www.apple.com.au/education/hed/auc/homepage.html> <http://auc.uow.edu.au/>
My feeling is that it could be timely for some consumer to ask the ACCC for their opinion on Mac pricing. All it takes is a phone call and a follow-up letter. The number is in the phone book.
The ACCC still haven't responded to my e-mail about why government departments support the Microsoft monopoly.
Consumers should rule - OK.
To quote an old maxim "We should give consumers what they want." "What they want are better products for free!"
Have fun, Shay -- =========================== Shay Telfer ================================ Perth, Western Australia Technomancer It must be bunnies! Opinions for hire [POQ] [EMAIL PROTECTED] fnord
