NZMac.com - Supporting the New Zealand Mac community

I have priced up a CTO mac on the apple australia edu web site and got a price which i then converted to NZ dollars and added GST to it. I then got a quote from a apple nz edu reseller and the price was 600 dolars more than my converted price from the aussie store!

Why is there such a massive hike between NZ and Australia?

Also is it possible to buy from the aussie apple store instead of from NZ?

Why is there such a massive hike between NZ and Australia?
I did something similar recently and noticed the difference as well - I'll have to look out my notes to check what the difference was in my case.

I suspect the explanation is that Australian Educational buyers are buying direct from Apple, where as in New Zealand we're buying from a third party (Renaissance Apple Computer Division) who act as the Apple Distributor in New Zealand. Renaissance presumably add a markup onto the retail price from Australia before factoring in any Educational discounts.

I would have to say that buying direct from Renaissance is far better for us (those who can buy with educational discounts) that it used to be under some of the previous arrangements.

Also is it possible to buy from the aussie apple store instead of from NZ?
Sadly, no. There is something somewhere on the Australian apple store that says Australia only.

Not picking on the original poster, but why do people assume we should be paying the same prices as overseas markets?

NZ is further away from main supplies, we have a smaller population base which means a smaller market.

All these sorts of things go toward creating higher prices.

My view, it is what it is. If I can get the same thing cheaper overseas, then great.

If I can't, oh well!!

oni, you will find that generally the prices between Australia and New Zealand are pretty much exactly the same (for retail prices).
Just comparing the prices on the New Zealand apple store and the Australian apple store for the current iMac's (NZ = $2349, $3099. AU = $1999, $2649) - after allowing for the differences in GST, the ratio of the Australian price to the New Zealand price is about .87 - somewhat lower than the current exchange rate of .92 - :?: :!: :?:

I think the price on Austalias store is for direct purchases to the school, and not neccesarily to end users (so the price may differ).
I can't speak for Oni, but it is possible to use the Education store available under 'Other Stores' from the right hand menu on the Australian Apple Store online - http://store.apple.com.au -
If you’re a student, teacher, administrator or staff member, you’ll get special pricing on a full range of Apple and third-party products. Buy for yourself or for your school.
- all you need to do is blink at a few screens (like some NZ users have done with the Australian iTunes store), click here and there and you're in. (In the past I've also just asked people in Australia via email what their educational pricing was.)

Kile, if you're going to say:
I work it out to be pretty much the same....
and then admit:
Im assuming that Renaissance uses an exchange rate lower than the 'floating' one (in the above I have used 0.8 to allow for fluctuations, which is probably why there is a little bit of a price disparity
Why not say it more clearly (and succinctly) as something like:
The pricing is the same, if you use an exchange rate lower than the current exchange rate - which is what Renaissance use to avoid/allow for fluctuation.