When you think about price fixing, why don't you think Apple?

[DainBramaged]

My sweetie wants an IPod touch. 8GB version is fine. I've shopped everywhere, (I DON'T want a refurb/reject/repack) price is the same everywhere by a couple of dollars @ $229. Period. I think that's excessive, but I guess MILLIONS are willing to pay the same non-sale every day price without question (and I saw a/they had a/did you check here don't count for me) but I'm not.


Same with XBox, Wii and PlayStation III. Same price everywhere. NO competition. WalMart, Target, Newegg, best Buy, buy.com. Always the same price.


Why is this tolerated?

[msongs]

1. its only monopolistic and unfair trade if Microsoft does it, not Apple lol

[DainBramaged]

4. Great point

When I bought my sweetie her Mac Mini, the ONLY place I could get it was at an Apple store, and it wound up being over $1100 when I was done. Her KILLER Asus I7 gaming system cost UNDER $800, and she uses that daily because she doesn't think the mini has any advantages over her rocket. And she just didn't realize how expensive it was going to be to get Mac Office and Mac Corel for it.

[Initech]

6. My self-built i7 system cost about 1/2 of what my friends' 24" iMac cost.

And thats with the upgrades I've bought this year - new power supply, video card, and Windows 7 license.

[DainBramaged]

7. I bought a XFX 5830 to replace her GTX260, and a Lenovo gaming system for Christmas

I would have gotten a 460 if they were on sale (like now) when the 5830 was on sale for $189.


The lenovo was $619. AMD P540 dual core, 4 GB ram, 500GB HD, ATI mobility 5470. Perfect for her gaming when she is sitting watching movies in the living room or going away for business, AND it has a numpad on the keyboard, something you rarely see.

And I love the unrecing corps, they do such fine work.

[Initech]

11. I replaced a 280 with a Sapphire 5830. I like it 100 million times better.

I also replaced a crappy Ultra power supply with the Cosair TX-750. Worth every penny.

[DainBramaged]

15. I have spent WAY too much money with Newegg this year, LOL.

over $2000. A LOT of video cards too.

[Initech]

18. And you can totally tell who shops at Newegg too.

Just because they have a lot of stuff you can't get anywhere else. I plan on upgrading one of my PCs to the new AMD six-core CPUs in January.

[DainBramaged]

25. I looked at a package they have on sale for everything

but I have enough inventory I only need the CPU, board and memory, I stocked up on drives and power supplies this summer. Could be very interesting, and I still have a 5770 unopened too!

[Initech]

33. That's all I need too.

Work is providing the Windows 7 upgrade - and I don't need anything else but the MB, CPU, and RAM.

[DainBramaged]

28. Found a MB and CPU package....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.559073


1. ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
Model
Brand ASUS
Model M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type AM3
CPU Type Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series
AMD 140W CPU Support
FSB 2600MHz Hyper Transport (5200 MT/s)
Chipsets
North Bridge AMD 890GX
South Bridge AMD SB850
Memory
Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin
Memory Standard DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1333/1066
Maximum Memory Supported 16GB
Channel Supported Dual Channel
Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 (x16 or x8, x8)
PCI Express x4 1
PCI Express x1 1
PCI Slots 2
Storage Devices
PATA 1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max
SATA 6Gb/s 6 x SATA 6Gb/s
SATA RAID 0/1/5/10
Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4290
Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset Realtek ALC892
Audio Channels 8 Channels
Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset Realtek 8111E
Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps
Rear Panel Ports
PS/2 1
Video Ports D-Sub + DVI
HDMI 1 x HDMI
USB 1.1/2.0 4 x USB 2.0
USB 3.0 2 x USB 3.0
IEEE 1394 1 x IEEE 1394a
eSATA 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical
Audio Ports 6 Ports
Onboard USB
Onboard USB 4 x USB connectors support additional 8 USB ports
Onboard 1394
Onboard 1394 1 x 1394a
Physical Spec
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin 24 Pin
Features
Features Core Unlocker – Turn on True Core Performance

Turbo Key II for Easy O.C. – One-Touch Button for Instant Performance Boost

GPU Boost – Real-Time Overclocking of iGPU

TurboV EVO – Extreme Yet Stable CPU Overclocking

ASUS Express Gate – Instant Online! Instant Fun!

ASUS EPU Engine – Energy Efficiency & Noise Reduction

USB 3.0 support
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 3 years limited
Labor 3 years limited

2. AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX

Brand AMD
Series Phenom II X6
Model HDT55TFBGRBOX
CPU Socket Type
CPU Socket Type Socket AM3
Tech Spec
Core Thuban
Multi-Core Six-Core
Name Phenom II X6 1055T
Operating Frequency 2.8GHz
Hyper Transports 4000MHz
L2 Cache 6 x 512KB
L3 Cache 6MB
Manufacturing Tech 45 nm
64 bit Support Yes
Hyper-Transport Support Yes
Integrated Memory Controller Speed Dual Channel PC3-10667U (DDR3-1333) for 2 modules, Dual Channel PC3-8500U (DDR3-1066), Dual Channel PC2-8500U (DDR2-1066)

[Initech]

29. I was looking at that board. I'm trying to keep the costs less than $400.

[DainBramaged]

31. $303 currently in the package.

[SocialistLez]

2. I am not sure.

I didn't notice this until about a week or two ago.
I remember reading or hearing that Apple does not allow retailers to discount their prices.

I did however see that Sprawl-Mart was giving people $50 in a Sprawl-Mart gift card to people who bought an 8GB iPod on Black Friday.
I'm happy with my 30/32 GB iPod. I'm hoping it lasts me a few more years.

[DainBramaged]

5. A $50 gift card isn't really a discount, it's just a way to get you to spend more

Target does that. So if I get a card for buying something, I hold a couple of items out, use the cards and voila, no more purchases (until the next week LOLOL).

[Atman]

3. Apple doesn't make the XBox, Wii or Playstation.

Sony engaged in factory-set pricing long before Apple. I never hear people posting on DU about Sony, though. Many manufacturers do this. When you have a quality, popular product that people are willing to pay for, what is the point of discounting it and allowing WalMart to eat market share away from your loyal dealers? It's retail 101. If you can't afford an iPod, don't buy one. You can probably get a Zune at WalMart for next to nothing -- because that's what they're worth. It's 100% your decision.

[Drale]

8. Because In general

espeically when it comes to the game systems, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo dont make all that much profit on the systems themselves. They make all their money when you buy the games or things like Kinetic.

[DainBramaged]

9. Uh, the hardware platforms amortize way faster than you think

And when I look at the net profit of these companies, I puke.


When I can buy a netbook for $199 (Acer at Target) that is a real computer, you really think the manufacturers aren't making a ton of profit on the hardware?

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Mine was free

It came with my computer :)

[DainBramaged]

12. Teacher discount, I am aware, I do not qualify

which means that they DO have margin to discount, they choose not to. My beautiful daughter offered to use her student ID for me but I don't work that way.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Anyone can get the teacher discount

You only need to give the name of a school. It's a joke compared to what it used to be. It's not as generous either.

[DainBramaged]

22. I asked, they want a student ID in the Apple store I went to.

and a valid student email with the college or high school ending in .org.

I may just give her a 'your mama's so poor she gave you a Zune' instead.

[Atman]

39. Bullshit.

They want an address ending in .edu

(But MY kid got his discount with just a college ID.)

:hi:

[proud2BlibKansan]

61. Check online

[bettyellen]

20. Many places. like Tekserve in NYC don;t ask to see your student ID, and they do have sales

but only I think when a newer model is out. and it;s staffed with such talented technogeeks, that I never have to try to be to be one myself.
what can I say, they have elegantly designed and easy to use products that means I never have to think about how they work. I'm always stumbling across new features that I love. But if your being cheap, someone will have a knockoff soon enough... you just have to wait a while.

[Atman]

41. Actually, many places sell Apple products off-price.

They're just not "authorized resellers." They take responsibility for your warranty, not Apple. This isn't unusual. Except maybe for Apple.

[Freetradesucks]

13. Jesus Christ dude, don't buy one then!

Perhaps you need a government program to supplement your gadgets.

If you don't think it's worth the price, don't buy it. I'm pretty sure you can live without the latest and greatest tech-toy.

[DainBramaged]

16. Dood?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Freetradesucks]

23. "Dude" is a colloquialism,

Apparently you are not familiar, so I'll make it easy for you.....

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquialism

And no, you still don't get a free IPod, unless they are now taking food stamps or your SSDI just went up.

[DainBramaged]

24. And I am not Jesus Christ dood........

You really don't understand do you? (This is gonna be fun).

[BzaDem]

14. If the prices were different, then people would start a business buying them in one place and

selling them in the other. So prices would equalize by normal supply and demand.

You can occasionally find a better deal online, but once more than a non-trivial number of people order it, the price goes up to normal, since demand goes up.

[DainBramaged]

17. And what business school did you learn that from?

An artificial rice shortage was started last year, which drove up rice prices and limited purchases, simply because a large supplier cartel wanted more money.


http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/is-the-rice-shortage-real/


The global crop is larger than ever, Childs said. But with some of the principal exporters of the higher-priced rices, such as India and Vietnam, shunning foreign sales to control prices at home and the cost of food generally going up, the price of rice has been climbing to new heights. What adds to the price spike — and the run on specialty products like basmati — is that rice consumers tend to be very loyal. The market is highly segmented by type of rice and quality, and buyers will generally not take a substitute, Childs said.



Ipods are not commodities, As technology gets better, it gets cheaper unless it's an Apple.

[REP]

21. Yes, the 8G Touch costs *exactly* the same as the original 1G scroll-wheel

Oh wait. It's more than $150 less with a lot more features and memory. But other than that, you're sooooooo right.

[n2doc]

26. Buy some other player, then

You don't have a right to some variability in price. There are lots of alternatives out there.

[DainBramaged]

27. Since you didn't read through the thread, see reply #22

Sorry you don't like the Apple monopoly being discussed.

[Hello_Kitty]

30. Costco won't sell iPads because Apple refuses to let them discount them.

[DainBramaged]

32. A rep told me that last week when I went there to check on their price

they don't play the gift card game so they don't sell them.

[AlabamaLibrul]

34. It's not price fixing when you keep the prices for your brand in line.

If ten gas stations got together to charge the same price for gas (or ten retailers with a specific markup on ipods), that's price fixing.

One brand being of a constant price - especially those that are of a very low markup for the retailer - is not price fixing. You can get any other music player or game if you don't like it.

[DainBramaged]

35. See reply #22, way past ya.......

[AlabamaLibrul]

36. ipods - my thoughts

I bought a used ipod... whatever, the big one used a few years ago. It still works great, but it's a music player. Not much to say about it vs. any other.

I use a *2004* ibook that i picked up for $160 for just about everything computer related - and it runs great. Much better than a windows machine of the same era.

Apple makes nice stuff - if you can afford it, it's worth it.

[footinmouth]

37. I just love mine

I know the topic is price fixing but I so love the iPod Touch.

I tried to get one for my son last Christmas and had to drive all over town to find one, never mind the price. There were not only no discounts to be had, there were very few of the iPod Touch at all. I broke down and got one for myself a few months later, still no discount, but I love that thing. I wouldn't be without it.

Bose never discounts either, but they put out a fine product.

[hlthe2b]

38. But Amazon ships free with no sales tax...

Although states are trying to change that...

Why do we put up with it? Well, I will if the product is worth it-- innovative, well made. I bought my first ever IPOD (ok, I was a bit slow) about three months ago and splurged on the 64 GB IPOD touch. I can honestly say, little has brought me more pleasure and it has even made me exercise a bit more and be a bit more productive. Plus, with SKYPE (and the BOSE MIE headphone/mic) I can make phone calls wherever there is wifi, so I was able to drop my cellular plan way back.

So, yeah, that $399.00 bites a bit, but I remain amazed at what that little device can do. I already have 20 GB of music, video, and apps on it, with nearly 40GB left over which should tide me over for a while. The screen is even good enough to read a book in a pinch, so now I can get stuck in line and not sweat it.

Some things are painful to pay more for and price fixing on those items would suck. But, you asked why we tolerate APPLE's doing so-- I think it is because they have proven worth it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Electronic companies have set prices

like this for like at least fifteen years.

This is not Apple, it is the INDUSTRY.

[NuttyFluffers]

46. older than that, and even beyond the electronics industry.

check jewelry and other luxury goods.

companies have a right to their own product's image. there are contracts involved in being a licensed seller. there's a reason why being a licensed seller of certain goods meant something to old skool retail stores. now that there's hardly anything else than Macy's and mid-level big box stores, people have forgotten that quality of products and name recognition used to be an important thing.

there's a reason your product should've been proud to be sold by Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus -- and likewise, why your store should've been proud to carry Lalique or Heuer. and why price matching should've been laughed away to one's face. ... sometimes you're just not for that market, and that's OK.

[Greyhound]

42. Because "our" government has refused to enforce our laws for well over 30 years. n/t

:kick: & R

I'm beginning to believe that Carter was removed from office for breaking up Ma Bell. The Republicrats decided long ago that monopolies/cartels are sacrosanct.

[boppers]

43. Why don't you just build one?

Sorry, but that's my favorite line to use on fanbois claiming that Apple/Sony/Whoever is bad, because "they can build their own systems" on the cheap.

[DainBramaged]

50. Well I do build my own systems, but only for myself and for work

and I'm not a fanbois, so your assumption is wrong as if I didn't own a Sony lcd or Compaq/Dell/Asus netbooks/laptops or a Dell XPS refurb that was modded besides 11 other systems I built for myself that could draw down the power of a Prius.


Assumption, the mashed potatoes in an ice cream world.

[Fool Count]

44. Because it takes (at least) two to pricefix?

What do I win?

[billyclem]

57. The DU common sense award of the day.

For understanding that one company can not price fix. They can set a minimum, which is far from price fixing. But; I fear your statement will be lost on deaf ears.

[NuttyFluffers]

45. it's not allowing discounting markdowns & is very common.

basically they are saying if you want to be licensed to sell our product you are not allowed to discount it into oblivion. and it's perfectly fine to do. it's the contract that the manufacturer has with the wholesaler/retailer on how their goods will be sold. by controlling allowed discounts they are preventing price manipulations in the market to undercut their product AND make their product look disposable and cheap.

now, licensed wholesaler/retailers are allowed to bundle Apple products with other goods. these bundled add-ons creates an up-sell while still keeping the licensed product from being undercut by specialty selling (and other market shenanigans).

now, there are products that take this one step further: they insist that to be a licensed seller you must sell their product at an increased price level -- AND it is still less than the wholesaler/retailer cost. i know Boy Scouts of America gets their products on the cheap, but to be licensed you must buy at an expensive rate, sell just under cost, but still be over what BSA sells at their own stores. in essence, to be licensed by them you must sell their products at a loss AND be more expensive than their own stores. now that's annoying!

but this has nothing to do with Apple being alone in this. i've seen iPods in Costco before, bundled with extra gear. i've seen Macs at Best Buy bundled with printers and the like. sure it's not like the race to the bottom madness like Wal-mart, but that's not what i am interested in.

when i want a good product i'll go buy it. forcing every manufacturer into a race for the bottom just gets me a crappy product in the end. there is a reason i don't try to buy a Rolex at Wal-Mart (like that's something i do often, :rofl: ) ; Rolex has better sense than to deal with Wal-mart's licensing rules as a retailer. & the same thing applies to several electronic retailers, you have to manage your product's image AND you have to recoup cost in creation. this is tolerated because you might as well just go to a flea-market or jumble sale if all you want is something barely functional with next to zero manufacturing costs.

producers have a right to their products' perceived value. they spend many ad dollars to build up image and it would be downright foolish to sell it off lightly to some retailers' 70% off after-xmas sale. most retailers are not worth that level of good will.

[realisticphish]

55. blah blah blah

I WANT AN IPOD FOR 99 CENTS

;)

[NuttyFluffers]

67. as do i, as do i...

and they will be, if we live long enough.

:7

(ooh... my poor atari... all that money...)

[JCMach1]

47. At home, we use a used P4 with Ubuntu plugged into our HD TV

that we use in our bedroom.

Americans need to start re-cycling PC's... BTW it is faster than most MACs and WIN7 machines.

[sendero]

48. This is why..

... I've never bought an Apple product and never will. Their stuff is overpriced, and any accessories you might need have to come from them.

No thanks Steve.

And BTW, the IPhone is not all that. My brother has been putting up with dropped calls for over a year and he's about to go android. (The call drops are just as likely to be AT&Ts doing as the phone itself, but it was Apple that signed that exclusive deal to make a few more bucks).

[noamnety]

49. I have a hard time getting worked up over this.

It's a frivolous luxury. You can get free ipods off craigslist when people upgrade theirs if you need an ipod.

There are real problems in the world, the price of getting the latest unnecessary status symbol gadget toy isn't one of them.

[DainBramaged]

51. Whatever, as I posted previously, assumption is the mashed potatoes in an ice cream world.

and you have no idea what this is about, none, nor do you know what I do for others than myself.



It's not frivolous if you've never HAD and MP3 player. Give us all a break with your piety.

[noamnety]

53. I'm sure you do lots of great things.

I wasn't judging the sum of who you are as a person.

I was judging this particular issue: the concern over luxury tech gadget status symbols and whether or not they are overpriced. I find this to be on a smaller scale but in a similar category as fretting over the high cost of yachts.

[DainBramaged]

56. Your concerns are not mine, and yours are akin to the nanny state

that predominates DU.

[DainBramaged]

52. I gave in on the way to work, stopped at Target

$229 with a $25 gift card which I applied towards a $139 Kindle WiFi, and I used my Target card for an additional 5% off each. (I pay the Target card off each month).

Done. Gifting for Xmas is done. Done done done.

[SocialistLez]

58. I had no clue Target sold the Kindle.

[DainBramaged]

59. Just started, and I didn't have to pay Amazon shipping and got the 5% off!

Like the guy at the counter said, wow that was a smart deal!

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. They started in Septenber or so

I stop there every month to get my meeds... so I window shop

[realisticphish]

54. The supplier sets the baseline price

that's not "price fixing"; price fixing involves multiple competitors agreeing on something. Apple sets a price they want to sell something at, and if you don't want to sell it for that price, they won't sell your retail outlet the item.

So what? They have every right to determine how their product is sold.

[Broken_Hero]

62. I don't tolerate it,

but unlike you I'm okay with getting a refurbished console(Wii), which is about the only tech gift I'm looking for this holiday season. But like you mentioned, across the board for the Wii's(new) they are all around 200 bucks, some bundles up to 249, same price no matter what store/box store you check.

I try not to pay top dollar for anything electronic, and set $ limits on the items I will get when it drops to my $ limit, example, my ps3, I was not going to pay 600plus when it came out, my line was about 250-300$, and when it got to 299 earlier this year, I decided to go for it.

Same with flatscreens, I'm not going to get one til my current 32 inch sanyo dies on me(currently 5yrs old). And to boot, most 32 inch flat screens I see are around 300, about 50 bucks more than I paid for my current sanyo

[DirkGently]

63. Feel you, but it's not "price fixing" for a manufacturer to set the price for its own product.

A lot of brands are protective that way. You never find a Bose product at a huge cut rate. Or Oakley. They don't want to see their products at Costco for selling for a loss to get people into the store or what have you. We can like it or not like it, but it's ultimately the manufacturer's product. They're not obligated to put it on the market for a lower price than they believe it's worth. I can see a contrary argument for life-saving drugs, but not for electronics, much as I'd like to score a super-cheap Apple machine or what have you.

[Ichingcarpenter]

64. I got sick of your threads when you defended GM corporatism

but then came around and said they fucked the workers after years of defending
GM's crap.

This thread is bogus.

[Dappleganger]

65. Apple Outlet is where we shop.

Same stuff, same warranty, never failed us.

I'm typing on a nearly 4-yr. old macbook pro bought from the outlet that's been a champ. My daughter now has an iPod Touch which was bought from the outlet quite awhile ago.

[Stevenmarc]

66. Thank God your sweetie doesn't want a Leica M9

They don't discount those either.

[DainBramaged]

68. She has one of these.......

[MilesColtrane]

69. If Apple and Microsoft agreed to sell the iPod and Zune at the same price...

that would be price fixing.