...is dealing with resellers in a new way. The (new) contracts permit Apple’s uneven product allocation?

Would that be deemed against the 'Competition Act' of Canada - along with minimum pricing guidelines - effectively discouraging competition between dealers?

to let us buy from the States. Look at the refurb deals on Apple's US webstore site. None of those in the Canadian store site, and we can't buy from the US one. Look at pricing on refurb G single 1.8 units. $1599 there versus $2859 or more here, for a unit that is no longer offered as part of mainstream product ine. Likewise Emagic products are sold at the Apple US site but not the Canadian one. There's fairness to Canadian vendors, and then there's protectionism at the expense of the buyer. This seems to be more the latter.

as someone who worked with apple canada during the time when the apple store was coming on-line, while the apple canada one was one of the very LAST, i can say that the problem is a combination of a.) troublesome import/export/customs rules for companies that are not canadian-majority owned, combined with b.) a general malaise at apple canada overall. i left working with them years ago, so maybe things have changed, but trust me, if apple US thought they could sell directly to canada, they would have.

I think Apple Stores in Canada would actually be a good idea. The fact is that Canada is too small a market to keep any kind of stock in-store. I live in Ottawa, Canada's capital and it would probably be impossible for me to walk into a store today and buy a Dual 2Gig G5 and a 23" Studio Display. I don't think that it would even be possible in Toronto or Montreal. If Apple had stores in the major centres, I would imagine they could keep some stock because of their larger cash reserves. People don't like to spend $5000+ by mail order or a web site.

AFAIK, you CAN go to some of the local Toronto Mac stores and walk out with a dual G5 2.0 and 23" Cinema Display.

Is that because the dollar is so bad, or is it apple intentially s******* other countries? What's the price for an equivalent PC in Canada?

I read that line and I thought "Wow. And we complain about Mac prices here in the US!"

It's about time Apple Canada did something... anything!

A previous poster said: "Is that because the dollar is so bad, or is it apple intentially s******* other countries? What's the price for an equivalent PC in Canada?"

Eug says: A 12" PowerBook is US$1599 in the US. It is CAD$2299 in Canada, which is US$1633.50. That's a difference of about US$35, which is a 2% difference with current exchange rates.

I went into Compu-Smart in Calgary ... stood beside the macintoshes for 20 minutes, not one salesman approached me ... went over to the peecees and within a minute was approached. I then asked some questions about the Macs and was told they're way overpriced ...

Went in the next day to London Drugs who sell Macintoshes, same identical reception.

Maybe Apple stores would be fine, but people out of the larger centres are still hooped!

Also felt like a second class citizen when I went to purchase QuickTax. $49 for the Mac, $34.95 for the peecee version, and I think it's programmed in Java??

Makes you think.

Well for one thing, to clarify, the model at $1599 is in the deals section of the Apple US store as a "refurb" while the ones in Canada aren't listed as such. However, whatever way you slice it the model is no longer offered as part of the product line, so to my mind, it's being cleared out. Converting at the current rates quoted on the Calculator, it should work out to about $2100 CDN if its a straight up exchange. Of course it could always cost $700 to drive it across the border, particularly if one were to use UPS ;) It's almost worth it to me to buy the thing, have it shipped to a friend in Buffalo, and take a 2 hour drive to pick it up - not to mention, of course, the lengthy wait at the border.