What's up with system prices?

Ripcord

Ripcord

Senior Lurker
Trying to retain my title as "gripiest user on macosx.com"...

What's up with Apple system prices?

How, for example, is a 1.25Ghz G4 STILL $1300, sans monitor?

It was a tiny bit more reasonable a year ago, but today I can buy a 3Ghz P4 with 17" flat panel from Dell for $900. Granted, it's *still* a Dell and runs either Linux or Windows, but even with the slight G5 price restructuring, the price gap (chasm) is becoming uncrossable. I nearly had my dad convinced he could switch until he realized what he could get for the price of an eMac, or for the $2000 that Apple is charging for the high-end of the low-end systems (I consider the 1.6ghz G5 as the "mid-range". $2000 is 1.25ghz G4+monitor).

And yes, I do feel my 1.25ghz home system is a bit too slow for general home use. Even my dual 2gig G5 at work is beginning to feel performance pressure - our new batch of 1.4ghz pentium Ms runs the number-crunching apps we run over 80% as fast as the G5s.

...And $700 for a 17" monitor is ridiculous nowadays. I LOVE my dual 20"/17" setup at work, but I need to replace an aging 20" CRT at home and there's NO WAY I can justify the monitor prices, as nice as they are.

I know I'm whining here, but while the rest of the world has been seeing a steady downward shift in prices, things seem to have been standing still at Apple for what, 9+ months now? What gives? Isn't this killing their sales?

They may be making a killing, margin-wise, but eventually the buying flood begins to die off. I've said before, 3% market share is unsustainable, and Apple needs to be focused on growing that, not gouging its existing customer base...

What's going on at Apple? It's just too quiet, maybe they're waiting to unleash a surprise round of hardware, price cuts, etc? Of course, that's what we said a couple of months ago...
 
Mercedes's and BMW's are way too expensive, too. They should lower their prices. I mean, how can they compete with companies like Ford and Honda with such high prices? Must be killing their sales.
 
It's a good comparison, Macintoshes could be considered "luxery" computers.

...Except when the Hondas start being installed with faster engines, including in-dash GPS navigation systems (you know, the Sony version, not the one from Navstar like in the BMWs), Sirius satellite radio (instead of the XM radio in the BMWs), DVD player, etc., and are available for $20,000 (Whereas it used to sell for $35,000 and BMWs have been holding steady at $50,000), I'm assuming BMW's sales would start to shrink.

Granted, there's always a small chunk of the market that pays extra for design, comfort, "being different", etc and don't care as much about HP or "price per performance". I know many of these things are why I own Macs. (Granted, I don't know many people that buy BMWs that have lower HP than the average Ford)

However, the comparison with the auto industry breaks down when you look at effect of market share on the manufacturer. Apple is quite a bit more vulnerable than BMW in this area. BMW doesn't need to sell 5% of all cars for tire manufactures to continue making tires for the car, for road builders to continue to make roads that are "compatible" with the cars (it's getting better, but I'm tired of web site designers not bothering to test their sites with anything but IE because if its "market share"). Apple DOES need to hold a significant enough amount of marketshare for vendors like Microsoft, Adobe, and Macromedia to continue to write the software that makes using our systems FEASIBLE. And remember that Apple is competing in markets where one company controls a vast vast majority of software, vendors, influence etc. 95% of cars on the road aren't designed/manufactured/sold/tremendously influenced by GM.
 
The iBook and Powerbook are priced very competitively. I disagree that the premium for a Mac desktop is a little too high. Try pricing a dual xeon system from dell. Add the ECC memory. Add XP pro. Add a dvd burner. Add firewire 800. Add a high end video card. Add optical audio. Add gigabit ethernet.

Post the price dell gives you. Are the dual 2ghz G5's still too pricey?

I would like to see a mid range headless desktop system from Apple. Priced at about $1000. Like a single 2ghz G5 without all the bells and whistles.
 
Ripcord said:
It's a good comparison, Macintoshes could be considered "luxery" computers.

...Except when the Hondas start being installed with faster engines, including in-dash GPS navigation systems (you know, the Sony version, not the one from Navstar like in the BMWs), Sirius satellite radio (instead of the XM radio in the BMWs), DVD player, etc., and are available for $20,000 (Whereas it used to sell for $35,000 and BMWs have been holding steady at $50,000), I'm assuming BMW's sales would start to shrink.
Click to expand...

People buy a BMW for a variety of reasons...quality, performance (all around), handling, and of course..the name. My boss drives a M3...wants a new m3 (approx. $60K range)...why? He wants a fast car. Now for $45k he could buy a Vette, or the new Caddy that's made to compete with the BMW M series (in the $50 range). Mustangs cant't compete...even the Cobra's...so they're left out.

After driving a few M3s (e36 and e46 models), a 03 Z06 Vette (the bad boy one), and various other cars (Lexus, Audi, etc.) I can tell you BMW's little saying...Ultimate driving experience...is the truth. They're a whole package where so many cars are left strong in one catagory and weak in the rest. The BMWs are strong in them all, as are Volvos and Mercedes offerings.

I have him seriously looking at the new Volvo S60R, which is as quick as his current M3 but has AWD (quirky Ohio Valley snow issues resolved) and it's alot cheaper to insure (Volvo)...not to mention it's in the $40K to $45k range.

Sorry it got off the point...Macs are the same. You get what you pay for, and you're paying for top of the line. It may not be the fastest, then again it may be. There are people who buy stuff just for the 'clout' and some don't. I personally buy things that last and do what they're supposed to with the least amount of problems. So I buy Macs for my computers, Volvos for my cars (as long as Ford doesn't screw them up). I may pay a bit more, but I get ALOT more for the money in the long run.

I think there's room to slash a bit from the cost, but I also think if they charge hard and blow by the PC world there wouldn't be a need to. Make the G5 the king of the hill, and give us a consumer line-up that is in the upper 1/3 of the pack.
 
I drive a Volvo and use a mac. Its like whatever. You pay more but you get more. The monitor may be $700...but christ, look at it.
 
mdnky said:
I think there's room to slash a bit from the cost, but I also think if they charge hard and blow by the PC world there wouldn't be a need to. Make the G5 the king of the hill, and give us a consumer line-up that is in the upper 1/3 of the pack.
Click to expand...

Well, as soon as this happens things would be a bit different. But not true today..
 
Good points. I agree, if you go to IBM or Dell, to name a few, and price a good system, you are spending the same or more. I am looking into a new system soon and yes, they are not cheap. Sticking with one platform is helpful. All I need to do is invest in hardware. I have the software, etc. Having used Macs for years, I have to stay paying a bit more has saved me in the end.
 
Ripcord said:
They may be making a killing, margin-wise, but eventually the buying flood begins to die off. I've said before, 3% market share is unsustainable, and Apple needs to be focused on growing that, not gouging its existing customer base...
Click to expand...

I feel I must point out that 3% market share comes out to approximately $10 billion in yearly sales-nothing to sneeze at. Apple also has over $4.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and recently paid off the last of its debt.

Fat cash reserves, decent income, and NO debt-a great position for anyone, company or individual, to be in. They're not going anywhere for a long while. And as others have pointed out, the price of a low-to-midrange Mac is comparable to that of a fully-loaded PC.
 
I only think of one thing when i see the prices..
and that is not having to reboot every dam time i move a icon..
i never reboot, and that saves me so much time..
time + $ so figure it out
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top