Thanks for the info @hitspacebar. What a shocker!
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While the cases I refer to below are not strictly Local VS Overseas prices issues it does touch on why we may be paying too much to Overseas companies. It does raise the issue of the Australia Tax where we are made to pay an amount based on our location rather than on what an exchange rate based cost might levy because a company has a monopoly on where you get your apps fromā¦
I have just read an article about Apple being sued in the USA for anti-trust behaviour. The Supreme Court of the US has rejected Appleās argument that they are just a middleman and so users canāt legally sue them. The Anti-Trust case will now proceed through the lower Courts. The original Anti-Trust case had been started in 2011 and Apple had appealed a decision made by a Lower Court. From the article on https://www.infopackets.com/news/10548/supreme-court-rules-apples-app-price-fixing is this about why the plaintiffs have pushed for the case:
"The case centers on two main differences between apps on Apple mobile devices and those on rival systems such as Googleās Android. The first is that it is virtually impossible to install an app on an iPhone or iPad from a sources other than the official iTunes App Store - something Apple cites as being important for security reasons.
The second is that publishers have to pay Apple thirty percent of the appās sale price, providing that the app is not being distributed as āfreeā"
To read a BBC article about the case:
To read the Supreme Court decision:
Apple is also under legal fire in the EU by Spotify. Apple charges 30% on both App sales (ie buying the App) and sales through Apps eg if you buy a music subscription through a Spotify App then 30% commission is levied on that purchase.
These cases could affect the pricing models of other App Stores such as those run by Google and Microsoft.
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This model is currently $USD1549 (plus tax, usually about 8.5%) in the US shops that translates to $AUD2510 at an xrate of $AUD1=$USD0.67.
Such a deal at this unnamed local merchant. A savings of negative $39.45 against the Aussie RRP of $2999! Shipping is extra. Got to love it! (not really)
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Did you notice that at the botton, it states āOur price $3,038.45 inc GST. RRP $2,999.00 inc GSTā?
Bargain!
Perhaps it is also a candidate tot the Hard Word category.
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