Are apple price fixing?

[ps3ud0]

it 'only' costs 450 straight from apple yet you need to pay 89 quid to get it with vodafone/orange on a 35 per month contract

whereas look at other 450-550 pound phones and vodafone get good deals from the manufacturers which enables them to give the phones away for free with £35 contracts

id guess that vodafone are paying an obscene amount for the handsets compared to htc/nokia/SE handsets

Its more the fact that the wholesale price of the iPhone is a lot higher than other phones - its costs more for the networks to buy it and that cost is now passed to the consumer as they know it will still sell, while other phones are still subsided to make them attractive purchases

ps3ud0

 

[bigredshark]

It doesn't even have to be the same product, it could be comparable products. If all smartphone manufacturers suddenly upped their prices to Iphone levels - £400, say - then that would be price fixing. As it is, if you don't like the price of the Iphone you are free to buy a cheaper Symbian or Android phone.

Nope, if all the manufacturers CONSPIRED to increase the price of their devices to the same level, that would be price fixing. If they all independently decided they could get that much without consulting each other it'd be fine...

 

[Peg]

The only people who don't tend to be people who have a grudge against Apple.

I have an Iphone so no grudge with Apple.

No, Apple are not price fixing.

Price fixing is where two companies who produce the same product collaborate together and decide on the price they're going to sell an item for.

Nobody else manufactures the iPhone therefore it's not possible for price fixing to occur.

Umbro were accused of price fixing the England shirt and no one else makes them. What a coincidence that 3 massive companies offer the iphone and everyone charges the exact same price.

 

[PardonTheWait]

I don't believe that's true for a second. Looking at apples profits in comparison to its revenue shows that it can't be.

Knowing the in-and-outs of chinese mass production pretty well, i'd be shocked if the unit price of an iphone was more than $70


It IS price fixing, and it's very easy for apple to do because they are the sole retailer of iPhones to the distributors. They can charge EVERYONE whatever the hell they like.

Apple make a huge margin.

Everyone else that sells Apple's kit makes a very very small margin.

 

[bigredshark]

I have an Iphone so no grudge with Apple.

Umbro were accused of price fixing the England shirt and no one else makes them. What a coincidence that 3 massive companies offer the iphone and everyone charges the exact same price.

Different item, there's arguably no alternative product available.

 

[Peg]

Different item, there's arguably no alternative product available.

Levi Jeans. Plenty of alternatives. Ask Tesco if Levi fix the price?

 

[Feek]

Of course Apple set the price, but that's NOT the same as price fixing, they are two different things.

I say again, Apple are not price fixing. With nobody else producing the same item, it's not possible to price fix the iPhone.

 

[bigredshark]

Levi Jeans. Plenty of alternatives. Ask Tesco if Levi fix the price?

Well they set the price, but they don't collude with other companies to fix the price at a set level. Which is what price fixing is in legal terms. (and it's illegal in most developed countries).

 

[bigredshark]

Of course Apple set the price, but that's NOT the same as price fixing, they are two different things.

I say again, Apple are not price fixing. With nobody else producing the same item, it's not possible to price fix the iPhone.

It would be possible for Apple to collude in price fixing for smartphones in general, if they for example agreed with HTC, Nokia etc that they wouldn't sell smartphones for less than £400. Price fixing a branded product is of course impossible...