iPad 2 international pricing in a handy chart
Italian blog Setteb.it has published a chart comparing pricing between the USA and 18 of 25 countries involved in the March 25 iPad 2 launch. Each country's price listings take into account local taxes, with a 9.2 percent sales tax for the USA included for reference. All prices are expressed in local currency (if any) with all currencies converted into Euros for easy comparison.
The UK and most other European countries are paying a significant premium over US pricing. Regardless of local tax rates, most European nations can expect to pay €479 (~US$675) for a base 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2, all the way up to €799 (~US$1125) for a 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model. In the UK, once VAT is subtracted, the base retail price of the 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model comes to about US$892, much higher than the before-tax $829 price in the USA.
Remarkably, New Zealand has some of the lowest pricing on the chart. Although it's traditionally been home to very high prices for Apple gear, NZ's before-tax pricing for the iPad 2 is very close to that in the States. Once New Zealand's GST is subtracted out, the 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPad 2 costs US$834, only $5 more than the base US retail price. The base 16 GB Wi-Fi model before-tax price is US$517, again not much higher than the $499 US price. For Kiwis used to paying a 5-15 percent markup on retail pricing on top of GST for Apple gear, these lower prices will make the device a much more attractive prospect than before.
We still don't know how the international launch will play out on the 25th, but given the way things played out in the US launch, it's likely that stocks will be very limited in most countries. If you live outside the US and want an iPad 2 badly enough to brave both the higher cost and the launch-day craziness, good luck and good hunting.
[via Wired]
