Gaming Why are Macs really expensive?

[KingBlank]

Because Macs are better, obviously.

Good one XD

 

[war2thegrave]

Sales and retail, I am a sales person.
Also I work for Wal*Mart in the entertainment department, what I am not allowed to reveal is cost of marketing and how much we actually pay and how much it actually costs to make a product. As well other sensitive marketing information.
And before anyone goes, "Lol, Wal*Mart, what do you know?" You really don't know the information you can get away with when you are a manager in training

Way to polish yourself up.

It's interesting how you can claim "secret insider knowledge" even though you just described
yourself as an assistant department supervisor, which is barely a step above sales associate.

It's like a cell block trustee claiming to have intimate insider knowledge of the prison industrial
complex, even though they're really just a glorified snitch.

 

[HaloEffect17]

Way to polish yourself up.

I don't think this person is embellishing/polishing her credentials in a demeaning way to put people down -- it's just a response to such marketing schemes. It's information acquired in her position that she's willing to share.

 

[The Catboy]

Way to polish yourself up.

It's interesting how you can claim "secret insider knowledge" even though you just described
yourself as an assistant department supervisor, which is barely a step above sales associate.

It's like a cell block trustee claiming to have intimate insider knowledge of the prison industrial
complex, even though they're really just a glorified snitch.

I am actually not polishing anything up when it comes down to this. There is only so much detail I am allowed to share when it comes down how Wal*Mart markets and even then it can be considered pushing it. The actual truth is, we aren't actually allowed to reveal details like, how much the product is marked up by, how much we pay for them, ect. All those details are easily found by any associate, but can't be spoken about to the public. There's other details that pretty much any associate can find and or knows about when i comes down to how the store works, that can not be released to the public.
That and I never really said I was anything special, just a manager in training, so I am trusted with more details to the job compared most associates.

 

[war2thegrave]

There aren't any big secrets in retail.
It's Just that most people don't care that much.

 

[amoulton]

So that's why they cost more than $1,000?

They're made from laser cut aluminum and have custom battery cells that maximize every inch of space. You can get the same amount of power for $500 from a PC but the battery won't last as long and it will be made of shitty molded plastic. They also have like a nationwide array of walk-in service centers that *gasp* cost money to operate. If you're planning to upgrade every 18 months, anyway maybe you can work with something that breaks after 2 years of use.

 

[The Catboy]

There aren't any big secrets in retail.
It's Just that most people don't care that much.

I never said they were big, just that we aren't allowed to share them. Sure no one in the public would give a rats nuts to know how much we pay for when we get a laptop, but that doesn't mean I am allowed to say anything about it.
This isn't exclusive to me nor Wal*Mart, the same applies to everyone who works in marketing. There is only so much one is allowed to say when it comes down to the details. Just because it's nothing big nor does it really effect the general public, they are still details that are not allowed to be disclosed.

 

[HaloEffect17]

They're made from laser cut aluminum and have custom battery cells that maximize every inch of space. You can get the same amount of power for $500 from a PC but the battery won't last as long and it will be made of shitty molded plastic.

Well, I don't doubt Apple's quality and servicing towards their respective customers. The issue I have is the price of their products and their proprietary software shoved down users' throats. iTunes is my biggest gripe. There's a saying that you pay money for what you get, which in essence is, "if you're willing to pay the big bucks, you're getting quality and reliability". Sure, you may get that with Apple, but does the hefty price tag really justify a purchase when there are a plethora of other options available that may be a shade under Apple's quality, but with a more appealing price? It's a subjective subject for sure.

 

[war2thegrave]

About the laptops.
Retailers aren't making any money on them, they are almost loss leaders.
The point is to price the laptop as cheap as possible to get customers in the door,
then make up the loss with high margin accessories such mice, bags, and cooling pads.

They're made from laser cut aluminum and have custom battery cells that maximize every inch of space. You can get the same amount of power for $500 from a PC but the battery won't last as long and it will be made of shitty molded plastic. They also have like a nationwide array of walk-in service centers that *gasp* cost money to operate. If you're planning to upgrade every 18 months, anyway maybe you can work with something that breaks after 2 years of use.

There's no magic here.
The batteries are the same, the mac is just clocked at a lower speed.
As for "cheap ass plastic". You won't see much of that flimsy laser cut aluminum used in a
rugged professional enviroment where products are required to do more than look fancy.

 

[Tjessx]

Just for the product to be sold to a store for maybe 100$ max, then marked up to 1000$.
Trust me, you always think you are paying for "work put into the product," but that's a bit naïve. The truth is, with most electronics, you are mostly paying for a store's mark up.

I can verify that stores dont add 1000€, i know the amount and it isn't different from other laptops and relativly speaking it is a decent price.

 

[razielleonhart]

not a damn thing. they are over priced for tech that is out of date

 

[the_randomizer]

The brand name, that's pretty much it, that, and well, yeah, there's nothing Mac-OS based machines can do that Windows-OS machines can't.

 

[TecXero]

They're made from laser cut aluminum and have custom battery cells that maximize every inch of space. You can get the same amount of power for $500 from a PC but the battery won't last as long and it will be made of shitty molded plastic. They also have like a nationwide array of walk-in service centers that *gasp* cost money to operate. If you're planning to upgrade every 18 months, anyway maybe you can work with something that breaks after 2 years of use.

Macs are rare around here, but I've still had some come in, including laptops. The batteries are definitely different shapes, but other than that they weren't anything special. Similar battery life to other laptops and expected lifespan. Maybe they're more resistant to people not properly taking care of the battery, but I didn't see any difference. That said, there was very little there for people to mess up on the surface, so maybe it's better for those that don't really want to have to take care of their system.

 

[Kafke]

Because people are dumb, let me explain what's awesome and shit about Macs. Lemme preface by saying I've used all big 3 OS's (Win/Mac/Linux), along with some minor other ones (like Haiku).

Benefits: Mac is unix based and posix compliant. Like linux. Makes it cool for geeks, and ultimately ups security and follows standards (unlike windows). OS X doesn't do drivers or driver support for hardware, meaning compatibility is lower (boo!) but in exchange you get software optimized for the hardware. Same goes for iPhone, and home video game consoles. Generally this means you can get some damn cool optimizations, a cheaper OS (OS X was free for it's lifetime, windows just turned free with ads), and generally quicker fixes and a "it just works" mentality (any apple supported stuff works on apple, obviously). It also allows for a deeper tie-in with the apple ecosystem, meaning if you buy only apple, you get fantastic interplay and optimizations. Generally a win-win-win. On the flip side, it makes it a pain in the ass for any /non/ apple supported stuff.

As for why it's expensive... it's not. Apple doesn't sell low-quality parts or builds. As such, they intentionally don't build a computer under $1000. This is for multiple reasons. The main one is that it's easier to build a computer that can be used by people who need specs, and people who don't keeping the lineup small. But also to keep a quality brand identity. This is also why they under clock their machines. Computers that work longer with no fuckups means a better brand identity, which means people are comfortable paying more. And ultimately, there's the issue of building the hardware to fit the machine, rather than using generic mass produced parts that can fit into anything. This is naturally more expensive, but provides a sleeker build to the computers, which is nice if you care for that sort of thing.

Ultimately, they are luxury computers. And as such the pricing is adjusted to match that. It's also worth noting that a direct spec comparison doesn't work, because the optimizations between mac hardware/software are much better than those of windows or linux machines.

Ultimately you're paying for the sleek/sturdy build, buying into apple's ecosystem, and paying for quality parts that aren't going to shit out on you. You can certainly do better if you're looking at raw specs (and not caring about optimization, build quality, or slimness), but ultimately I find it's hard to find a laptop that can compete.

Next best option would be (IMO) to go with something like a lenovo and run linux on it. Windows is pretty much dead to me after the whole Win8 fiasco.

But, you know, windows has it's advantages too. But Macs are fairly priced for what they are. Though, I'd avoid going for either extreme (low-cost/small or high-cost/big).

Unless I'm mistaken about what we're talking about... Mac all-in-one PCs suck. Just... they do. Don't get an iMac.

Edit: If anyone cares to try and argue otherwise, feel free to provide a brand that provides higher quality for a cheaper price and a slimmer build. I haven't seen a brand that has as consistent quality.

 

[LittleFlame]

I also despise iTunes. Why should people be forced to run their proprietary software? From a consumer's perspective, they should have a choice.

They're made from laser cut aluminum and have custom battery cells that maximize every inch of space. You can get the same amount of power for $500 from a PC but the battery won't last as long and it will be made of shitty molded plastic. They also have like a nationwide array of walk-in service centers that *gasp* cost money to operate. If you're planning to upgrade every 18 months, anyway maybe you can work with something that breaks after 2 years of use.

Dude do you throw your computers? if not your windows pc should be fine there's no need for aliminium

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I can verify that stores dont add 1000€, i know the amount and it isn't different from other laptops and relativly speaking it is a decent price.

of course they don't add 1000's of euro's markup but there is a shit ton of markup let's take a snackbar for example first of all the stuff gets delivered to a Storage then the snackbar buys the goods that storage has and then your maybe 50 cent fries suddenly cost 1.50

 

[Kafke]

Dude do you throw your computers? if not your windows pc should be fine there's no need for aliminium

My Acer laptop melted itself. As for 'throwing'... no, but I have seen plenty of laptops have their cord tripped over and pulled to the ground. Almost happened to my mac, but the plug is designed to come out when that happens and not pull the laptop down with it. Saved me quite a few times, actually. I'm also known to bang my laptop against stuff accidentally

 

[Originality]

Banging a laptop into another person's head "accidentally" is a good use for that laser cut aluminium!

 

[LittleFlame]

My Acer laptop melted itself. As for 'throwing'... no, but I have seen plenty of laptops have their cord tripped over and pulled to the ground. Almost happened to my mac, but the plug is designed to come out when that happens and not pull the laptop down with it. Saved me quite a few times, actually. I'm also known to bang my laptop against stuff accidentally

I know the feels .-. except my last laptop died because it electrocuted itself 2 weeks old!

 

[darren42]

It's also worth noting that a direct spec comparison doesn't work, because the optimizations between mac hardware/software are much better than those of windows or linux machines.

While you are right that being a closed ecosystem allows Apple to fine tune software for their hardware better than others, I still don't see why I have to pay a large premium for a Mac when I could buy a Windows/Linux computer or even build one that performs the same or better and looks great for far less.

As a person who has built many computers I like the ability to upgrade the internal components as needed without having to worry about OEM compatibility issues. Over the years the amount of components that I have had fail on me is very small.

As for the iPhone one of the biggest gripes about it is the fact that I can't just hook it up to a computer and transfer music to it without having to go through iTunes. I had enough troubles with iTunes when I used to have an iPod, which are too lengthy to mention.

 

[HaloEffect17]

As for the iPhone one of the biggest gripes about it is the fact that I can't just hook it up to a computer and transfer music to it without having to go through iTunes. I had enough troubles with iTunes when I used to have an iPod, which are too lengthy to mention.

Yes, exactly. iTunes is just an absolute pain to use. I wish Apple just stuck with transferring files back and forth through Windows Explorer. Much simpler, and none of this sync nonsense.