Apple SA debate heats up

moosag said:
Every dog gets his day. I am not a fan of apple gear purely because the pricing is so high! All my apple products were bought grey overseas. No hassle's no fuss, and much much cheaper!!
Click to expand...
If you purchased and imported it yourself there is nothing "grey" about it (and Core should be obligated to honour the warranty).
 
dudewotevr said:
Anyone who would pay the EXORBITANT prices for the MEASLY specs that you get with "pretty" looking Macs deserved to get ripped off!
Ok that's a bit mean, but seriously, how could anyone hand over that amount of money for those pitiful machines.. *shakes head*

Anyhoo, DOWN WITH CORE!!!!!
Click to expand...

I guess idiots will never give up this tired line of thought. Sad.
 
dudewotevr said:
Anyone who would pay the EXORBITANT prices for the MEASLY specs that you get with "pretty" looking Macs deserved to get ripped off!
Ok that's a bit mean, but seriously, how could anyone hand over that amount of money for those pitiful machines.. *shakes head*

Anyhoo, DOWN WITH CORE!!!!!
Click to expand...

This is trolling. It has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
 
BobJones said:
I'm not sure that Apple has much to do with this...

If they had, Dick would be able to get a letter from Apple proving his distributor claims, not some vague and contradictory reference on a website - or a letter from a lawyer here.

How difficult can it be to show the reams of communication directly from Apple? Methinks Core is just another reseller.
Click to expand...

Side note: Core used to be listed on the CEMEA website. They were removed.
 
Rewind said:
Hey guys

At Stopcore our aim is not only to show that the prices are high but also that the service from Core is really bad. You basically end up having to wait weeks for repairs (as they are understaffed with technicians) and then should be grateful that they actually make that repair.

The arrogance and indifference is the most annoying thing. Despite all our attempts to have a dialogue with Core the best we had was RJ being condescending on his Twitter page.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Although I've never purchased stuff from BHPhoto & Video (www.bhphotovideo.com), I've heard nothing but good things about them. Maybe they're an alternative to purchasing electronics goods.
 
rpm said:
I think it is important to note that there are two distinct parts to this “Apple in SA” debate:

Pricing: which involves forward cover on exchange rates and European based pricing which may differ from US pricing
Click to expand...

When the rand went through the floor against the dollar, Core increased their pricing almost immediately. That sort of flies in the face of the "forward cover" argument.

To make matters worse, we are the 8th most expensive country on the iPod index. That is out of 62 countries. I don't buy their arguments. We are almost 30% more expensive then France and Germany so a comparison with Europe also doesn't make sense. I refuse to buy any products from Core.
 
rpm said:
I think it is important to note that there are two distinct parts to this “Apple in SA” debate:

Pricing: which involves forward cover on exchange rates and European based pricing which may differ from US pricing

Core and CAB: The argument regarding an official Apple country distributor and grey imports. This looks like more of an Apple policy than a South African issue, and I fail to understand how the local situation is different from the US in terms of the distributor competing with retailers (Apple.com US has a direct store).

It may be worthwhile to listen to the 702 interview to hear the arguments regarding these matters.
Click to expand...

Forward exchange agreements fluctuate just like spot rates over time depending on the duration of the agreement. Why do their prices not fluctuate accordingly? Forex fluctuation exposure is a risk... by costing the forward cover into every purchase that means that WE are paying for THEIR risk. What a nice business to be in... no risk and plenty rewards!
 
Last edited:
Hmmm... that "legal letter"... seems to be nothing more than paraphrasing a conversation between the Adams & Adams and the Core Group, for attention Mr. Ichikowitz.

It is not even addressed to CAB.
It mentions in passing that it has "threatened" high court action.
It mentions that it acts on behalf of Apple Inc and Apple South Africa.

No where does it detail any legal action as requested by Apple USA against CAB.

It seems as if it was hastily drawn-up at Mr. SpanDORK's request just for the Redi advertorial to use as some credibility-leverage against CAB, note the date on the pdf.

Mymymy... the murky undercurrent of all those involved with the Core group must be JUST what Apple USA needs to be associated with in any country. I really wonder if Apple actually cares about what happens here, 1% only would not translate to many sleepless nights in Cuppertino....
 
Simple Solution

Due to the situation in South Africa where manufactures like Apple, and others do not see this market as important enough to become directly involved here, and thus display their confidence in our economy, and contribute towards its growth, screw them!!
Apple products are good value for money in the USA and they use great marketing stratergies to expand their markets there. But we don't exist as far as they are concerned and therefore they should not enjoy our support in return.

So why support local distributors who ripoff our market???
:confused:
Having a better understanding of the Core Group now, I will certainly not support them at all now.:mad:
 
kilobitsperyear said:
Mymymy... the murky undercurrent of all those involved with the Core group must be JUST what Apple USA needs to be associated with in any country. I really wonder if Apple actually cares about what happens here, 1% only would not translate to many sleepless nights in Cuppertino....
Click to expand...
They presumably care about their name and reputation.
 
bwana said:
They presumably care about their name and reputation.
Click to expand...

Hi Bwana...

Once would think so... but it seems that this is not the case here.

Apple USA is not brain dead.

Apple USA must know what it is doing with regards to its product sales, support and distribution deals here in SA.

Thus Apple USA must just not care about this little, tiny 1% market... and must see any damage that may occur to its brand and trademark as being of absolutely no consequence.

Apple USA would have acted a while ago if the converse was true.

At least, I would've thunk it.
 
You'd swear that Core is the ONLY company in SA that has to deal in FOREX. How come the others (particularly computer dealers) are able to respond to exchange rate fluctuations SOOO much better?

Maybe Dick is just really bad at maths and should stick to a spot price for the dollar (euro?) instead.

Long term forward cover makes sense if he was shipping the goods over by row boat and had to wait months for the stock to arrive. But in the global village that isn't the case anymore.

BTW WTF is the sense in the "we have to buy from Europe" BS? There are no Mac factories in Europe and orders for Core probably drop ship straight out of China. FFS online orders for Apple in Oz drop ship from Shanghai.
 
kilobitsperyear said:
Hi Bwana...

Once would think so... but it seems that this is not the case here.

Apple USA is not brain dead.

Apple USA must know what it is doing with regards to its product sales, support and distribution deals here in SA.

Thus Apple USA must just not care about this little, tiny 1% market... and must see any damage that may occur to its brand and trademark as being of absolutely no consequence.

Apple USA would have acted a while ago if the converse was true.

At least, I would've thunk it.
Click to expand...
I dunno - I would think that if people start linking Apple with sub-Saharan Africa arms dealing Apple will take notice pretty quickly.
 
Core is only doing what the masters of distribution rip-offs are doing : SterKinekor.

If you thought these guys and their 25% "cut" is something, go check SterKinekor. Xbox/PS3 games are going for R699 , they raised it last year THE SECOND the rand weakened (with a big hoohah if anyone remembered)...the rand recovered since then, but nooo, R699 is still RRP for a console game, which is 30%+ higher than any international shop . Seriously now.
 
diabolus said:
Core is only doing what the masters of distribution rip-offs are doing : SterKinekor.

If you thought these guys and their 25% "cut" is something, go check SterKinekor. Xbox/PS3 games are going for R699 , they raised it last year THE SECOND the rand weakened (with a big hoohah if anyone remembered)...the rand recovered since then, but nooo, R699 is still RRP for a console game, which is 30%+ higher than any international shop . Seriously now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but how much hassle do you have buying your games online from overseas? And if you wait three months the game will be platinum anyway.

Thats a far cry from Macs where ur dealing with items 20x the value, but with only 3x the shelf life!
 
The really sad thing is that a wonderful product is being destroyed by these Core Clowns! If Apple got rid of Core, they'd soon realise how Core actually harms them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X