iDont want to make any more of this stuff ...
in [UK Mac]
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From: T i m on 27 May 2010 07:39 On Thu, 27 May 2010 11:44:06 +0100, Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: >But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who >could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his >feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap >boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would >still have wet feet." > But doesn't that make the assumption that you can still predictably buy quality these days and as you say, have the cash to afford decent boots *now*. As it happens my Mrs bought some quite expensive hand_made / real leather 'waterproof' motorcycle boots at a price that suggested we should expect such claims to be on spec. The things leaked like a sieve on the first trip out. The cheap rubber 'Derri boots' I bought over 25 years ago are still working well. The last pair of 'good' shoes she bought at Clarke's split across the sole within the year and they told her 'she must have been wearing them too much'. The �10 trainers I bought wore through long before they fell to bits. The other thing can be down to how these things are treated. Chinese made motorbikes don't come up to the engineering spec / quality of the Japanese stuff but for many people (who respect them for what they are) find them perfectly serviceable. It also means some people can afford things they wouldn't otherwise. Like, I'd like an Apple laptop (just to have one) but I can't justify the cost of even a second hand one for my needs. ;-( Cheers, T i m
From: SteveH on 27 May 2010 08:19 T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > On Thu, 27 May 2010 09:17:21 +0100, usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk (Woody) > wrote: > > > >> My thoughts ... (and this is ignoring corporate greed etc), if it cost > >> �50 to assemble an iPhone in China and �75 to have it assembled in the > >> UK, would that just knock Apples profits by �25? > > > >No, it would just put the price up by �25. > > Hmm, but on something that is already 'expensive' would that really be > an issue? Yes. I'd have ordered an iPad at �399. At �429 it has broken a 'barrier' and I've stalled over purchasing. Kind of hoping they'll turn up on the refurb store in the not too distant future. -- SteveH
From: SteveH on 27 May 2010 08:22 Tim Streater <timstreater(a)waitrose.com> wrote: > > >I was recently wondering that. There was a shirt I looked at in M&S > > >which was �29. The same sort of thing was �7 in primark. I know that > > >primark stuff is all made from the blood of unicorns, the tears of > > >children and thread made from live skinned kittens, but on the label it > > >appears that M&S stuff is made in the same place. > > > > Ah, another example of the 'Apple TAX' then. > > No, cos with this shirt you are not getting anything extra. The extra is that it'll still look good after it has been washed a dozen times, and therefore will last longer. A bit like Apple products, really - build quality arguments aside, Apple products usually have a much longer 'usable life' than cheaper 'equivalents'. -- SteveH
From: chris on 27 May 2010 08:23 On 27/05/10 10:25, T i m wrote: > On Thu, 27 May 2010 09:40:21 +0100, chris<ithinkiam(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> It comes down to what the consumer is prepared to pay, though isn't it? >> It's taken a long time for Fairtrade to be accepted by the general >> consumer and not just a niche who care about this kind of thing. For >> coffee the price difference is very small. For something like an iPad >> the difference would be huge. > > Then maybe that's how it should be? Is the cost of a sharks life > 'right' because someone just wants a bowl of sharks fin soup? What's 'right' rarely figures in business, sadly. If enough people will buy a product at the right price then it will be sold. Be it shark fins or sweatshop derived clothes. >> >> Apple products are already perceived as being expensive, but people >> accept it because they are better quality or a better 'cool factor'. >> Push the price up even more and the market disappears. > > I think some of the market would disappear yes, but if someone wants > something and they 'value' the features you mention then I think they > will pay 'the price'. What's more I think they could even sell 'The > price', if they can add the 'Fairtrade' ideals in their marketing? Given the current economic crisis (so we're told) I'm amazed at how resilient Apple's bottom line has been. It'd be nuts to change your target now, I'd say. > (Whilst George suggests Apple may be better than some they may be in a > better position to put some leverage on<suppliers> to do better. More > so than people selling phones or motherboards for a fraction of the > price of Apple products etc). As said elsethread, Apple are doing just that.
From: Woody on 27 May 2010 08:25
SteveH <italiancar(a)gmail.com> wrote: > T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > > > On Thu, 27 May 2010 09:17:21 +0100, usenet(a)alienrat.co.uk (Woody) > > wrote: > > > > > > >> My thoughts ... (and this is ignoring corporate greed etc), if it > > > > cost > > >> £50 to assemble an iPhone in China and £75 to have it assembled > > > > in the > > >> UK, would that just knock Apples profits by £25? > > > > > >No, it would just put the price up by £25. > > > > Hmm, but on something that is already 'expensive' would that really > > be > > an issue? > > Yes. > > I'd have ordered an iPad at £399. > > At £429 it has broken a 'barrier' and I've stalled over purchasing. > > Kind of hoping they'll turn up on the refurb store in the not too > distant future. Well, they will turn up on the refurb shop but as current shipping ones are now 'some time in june', you are going to be lucky to see them any time soon! -- Woody |