why is apple h/w so expensive? even stuff that a few years old on egay??

[benjamit]

i want to start using macs more often but the buy in price is so high

coming from a pc h/w background i have a real hard time getting use to their price/feature level

the only models that i can live with are the consumer ones, crt imacs, emacs and the ibooks but none of these will do video spanning (dual monitors)

should i just forget about macs?

 

[Erasmus-X]

A few reasons why Macs are so expensive:

1. It's a closed hardware system. Apple either manufacturers or has a big part in the design of all of their own core hardware (motherboard, CPU, enclosures, etc.). With this in mind, Apple can charge whatever they want for their hardware. And there are a enough Mac enthusiasts out there to actually buy it. Since the motherboard is an Apple design which isn't available for general consumers to buy, you are generally forced to buy a whole new machine if you want a faster processor.

2. Steve Jobs wants you to buy a fashion statement. Don't get me wrong, I love the Apple platform, BUT.... The fact remains that Apple is technologically about a year behind PC, yet they demand a price premium. It's a niche market. This won't change unless Apple gains a reasonably larger market share as a platform (highly doubtful). A lot of schools used to buy Apple machines EXCLUSIVELY, but now they've figured out that even with the educational discounts, PCs are a lot cheaper and run more software.

3. Apple has a unilateral pricing policy with retail channels. This means that no matter which Apple-authorized dealer you go to, that model you were eyeing at one store will have the exact same price tag at another store. This means no price competition, which keeps prices very high.

I love the Apple platform too, but it'll be a while before I could actually afford the Powerbook G4 I want.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Adding to Erasmus-X's list...

Macs tend have a longer shelf life than PCs. It's not uncommon to find 5yr old Macs running OS 8.x still pulling their weight in everyday use, but a 5yr old PC running Win95 is just about 2 steps above useless. Plus it's supply and demand, fewer older Macs than older PCs so the Macs will tend to ask a hire price.


Lethal

 

[Coherence]

Those are good points, Erasmus.

But to put it less verbosely, Apple has strict control over its hardware standard, including peripherals. Therefore, you pay more for the higher quality and lower incompatibility issues. Historically speaking, this is what you are paying for. Nowadays, you are possibly also paying for a bit of style, but considering everything you get in an Apple system for your money, compared to PCs, they are an excellent value.

Personally, I like both platforms. Mac for work, PC for play, is sort of my motto.

 

[BFG10K]

It's quite simple really - Apple is a monoply.

They totally control Macs and are not directly competing with PCs which is why you have to sell your kidneys on the black market just to afford one.

 

[benjamit]

well what i notice more now days are mac people putting the guts of their expensive systems into really low quality pc cases just so that they can add more h/w into the same case without having to deal with external devices

now this to me beats the purpose of buying a full working system since putting a mac system into a pc case requires modding and by the time you are done the mac/pc looks just like a pc system

so these modded systems looks like mac clones

 

[Sukhoi]

considering everything you get in an Apple system for your money, compared to PCs, they are an excellent value

I have absolutely no idea how you are saying that.