Apple Store Pricing in Hong Kong
I was noodling around in the Apple Store recently and I noticed something interesting. Traditionally, Apple has followed a fairly simple formula for pricing in the HK Apple Store, which is to do assume a HKD:USD rate of around 7.80, round to the nearest hundred and take away 12. Sounds complicated? Not really, as what they really want is to have prices ending in 88, which is very auspicious in Chinese culture.
The first table below shows the pricing for some common products. The Rate below refers to the HK price divided by the US price to determine the exchange rate. The second HKD price uses the formula:
ROUNDUP((US Price) * 7.80 to nearest 100) -12
The difference and markup are bases on the difference between this price and the price in the HK store. The Apple TV price fits the patterns closest, but all the products follow the pattern very closely:
| Product | HKD | USD | Rate | HKD | Diff (HKD) | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air 11 | $7,688 | $999 | $7.70 | $7,788 | -$100 | -1.3% |
| MacBook Air 13 | $8,488 | $1,099 | $7.72 | $8,588 | -$100 | -1.2% |
| MacBookPro 13 | $9,188 | $1,199 | $7.66 | $9,388 | -$200 | -2.1% |
| Ret. MacBookPro 13 | $9,988 | $1,299 | $7.69 | $10,188 | -$200 | -2.0% |
| Ret. MacBookPro 15 | $15,288 | $1,999 | $7.65 | $15,588 | -$300 | -1.9% |
| iMac 21.5" | $9,888 | $1,299 | $7.61 | $10,188 | -$300 | -2.9% |
| iMac 27" | $13,888 | $1,799 | $7.72 | $14,088 | -$200 | -1.4% |
| Apple TV | $788 | $99 | $7.96 | $788 | $0 | 0.0% |
(US Apple Store prices do not normally include sales taxes, and there are also no sales taxes in Hong Kong. All prices are for the base model in each range.)
As you can see, you generally save a small percentage buying the product in HK when compared to the US price. But when you look at some third party products, the price differential between the US prices and HK prices is all over the place. Here's the prices for fitbit products:
| Product | HKD | USD | Rate | HKD | Diff (HKD) | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitbit Zip | $498 | $60 | $8.31 | $488 | $10 | 2.0% |
| Fitbit Aria | $1,098 | $130 | $8.45 | $1,088 | $10 | 0.9% |
| Fitbit Flex | $898 | $100 | $8.98 | $788 | $110 | 14.0% |
| Fitbit One | $898 | $100 | $8.98 | $788 | $110 | 14.0% |
Why are the last two fitbit products so expensive? An additional 14%? Seems a bit excessive!
Here's an interesting thing: the latest iPhone models also have this price increase in a way which is out of step with the existing price iOS device price points:
| Product | HKD | USD | Rate | HKD | Diff (HKD) | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPad 2 | $3,088 | $399 | $7.74 | $3,188 | -$100 | -3.1% |
| iPad mini | $2,288 | $299 | $7.65 | $2,388 | -$100 | -4.2% |
| iPad Mini Retina | $3,088 | $399 | $7.74 | $3,188 | -$100 | -3.1% |
| iPad Air | $3,888 | $499 | $7.79 | $3,888 | $0 | 0.0% |
| iPhone 4S | $3,488 | $450 | $7.75 | $3,588 | -$100 | -2.8% |
| iPhone 5C | $4,688 | $549 | $8.54 | $4,288 | $400 | 9.3% |
| iPhone 5S | $5,588 | $649 | $8.61 | $5,088 | $500 | 9.8% |
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