iPad prices in SA: How do we compare?
South Africa’s official distributor of Apple products, Core Group, launched the iPad today at what looks to be very competitive pricing.
According to Core the iPad is currently only available in-store at their various iStores around the country (including DigiCape and Project 3), as well as certain Incredible Connection and Dion Wired outlets.
The launch comes eight months after the iPad made its debut outside the US in May 2010, with rumours that the next iteration of the iPad will be announced and launched within the next few months.
Many chose not to wait for the official South African launch of the device, using import services and other means to get their hands on Apple’s popular tablet computer.
Core’s announced recommended retail pricing seemed to compete fairly well with what import services can offer, so we compared the official iPad prices in South Africa to that of the US and Europe.
| iPad model | Core RRP | Apple US | Apple UK | Apple EU | Take2 (US Amazon import service) | Take2 (UK Amazon import service) |
| 16GB Wi-Fi | R 4,399 | $499 (R3,567) | £439 (R4,960) | 499 € (R4,865) | R 6,429 | R 8,268 |
| 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G | R 5,599 | $629 (R4,497) | £541 (R6,113) | 599 € (R5,840) | R 7,795 | R 12,773 |
| 32 GB Wi-Fi | R 5,399 | $599 (R4,283) | £510 (R5,763) | 599 € (R5,840) | R 7,664 | R 10,059 |
| 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G | R 6,599 | $729 (R5,212) | £612 (R6,916) | 699 € (R6,815) | R 9,299 | – |
| 64 GB Wi-Fi | R 6,399 | $699 (R4,998) | £612 (R6,916) | 699 € (R6,815) | R 8,576 | – |
| 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G | R 7,599 | $829 (R5,927) | £714 (R8,068) | 799 € (R7,790) | R 10,477 | R 13,426 |
The prices from the Apple websites in the US, UK, and EU in the above table exclude taxes such as VAT and shipping costs, which should be considered before drawing any conclusions.
In mid-2009 the group executive of Core Group, RJ van Spaandonk, told MyBroadband that they source Apple products from Apple Europe.
Presumably this is because South Africa falls under the EMEA (or Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region.
Considering this, the official South African prices compare very well with their international counterparts, coming in lower than the UK and EU prices across the board even with taxes and shipping excluded.
Our prices also compare relatively well to the US pricing when one takes into account local and potential international taxes, as well as shipping and insurance costs.
iPad prices in SA: How do we compare? << Comments and views
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