That is simply the only reason why I don’t have an iPod, or iPhone or MacBook. Simply, we just can’t afford them here because of ridiculous pricing like this. How can they expect consumers to afford pricing like that?

I had to bite the bullet and buy my Mac in this country…

I used to work for Core and Apple IMC South Africa… it was quite possibly the worst experience of my life.

Staff were treated like shit, we also know how they ripped consumers off – their excuse was always “exchange rate and duty”… if that was the case, why did they sell end-of-line stock at almost half price…. surely they wouldn’t sell it at a loss.

Great products, kak company with distribution rights – Digicape should be APPLE SA!

Check out these links…

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2009/05/12/waterfront-apple-mac-istore-does-not-need-your-business/

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2010/02/08/istore-plummets-as-digicape-explodes/

Maybe ask the crowd who run it – but take into account that they are of the Moses brigade….. so “rip off agent” is a given – sadly the lot at Core give that ethnic minority a very bad name.

Completely agree guys. If the Iphone was $299 here, it would sell like hot cakes. Hell I would have an iPhone, an iPod and a MacBook if they were the same price as in the states! Hell, even add on an extra $100 and I would still buy it, but the fact that they are charging 20 times + the dollar amount means that my money stays in my wallet thanks!

They used to jump up and down about people bringing in their US/ UK purchased products in for repair…. just bitter that the items were purchased from a cheaper source. These were considered “grey” product…. correction… they were purchased overseas…. not imported illegally…. What people don’t realise is that Apple has an international warranty, as long as the proof of purchase can be supplied and the units are bought from an authorised Apple reseller…

My challenge to Core – why not be competitive in your pricing and more people will buy your products instead of buying a cheaper Dell or HP, or a Nokia or Blackberry. Premium should be about quality and not price… unfortunately the long-noses are Core think the opposite!

From my side:
Raw deal!

Peace

That $99 iphone is a 24-month contract based price with AT&T… so not so cheap afterall.

As far as i understand the pricing with regards to the iPhone in the states is that $99, $199 and $299 you pay, is subject to a 24 month contract with AT&T.

So essentially it’s just the buy-in.

Yes, it is still cheaper than our buy-in, but not by 71 times.

Or am i incorrect?

Hey guys

Shot for the comments, ok it does make a little more sense that you’re doing a buy in, and not taking it with an AT&T contract.

But it still seems that Apple in this country is just a mess with pricing…I suppose I don’t know how things get priced and why, but whenever you speak to people, you get bad comments about the people who bring Apple into the country.

Shot guys!

Sean

Hi guys. I have just read this article and I find it quite amazing that Core have not done something about the complaints that are scattered all over the internet. I started a business called TikTok (www.tiktok.co.za) last year importing Apple products into South Africa to give Wholesalers (and consumers) and alternative to the Core Group. Feel free to spread the news as all support is greatly appreciated. We are passionate about the Apple brand and want to see it grow in South Africa, and be available to as many consumers as possible. It is rather difficult to be competitive because we obviously don’t buy at the crazy low prices they do, but we work on small margins and do our best to add value to our clients.

Take care guys.

P.S. I made an error with our twitter info in the last comment. The correct address is tiktokonline.

Hi Barry

Great stuff, just a question, what are the returns policies if any hardware/software fails?

Do you accept full returns and also do repairs?

Are the Apple warranties still in place if someone buys from TikTok, or only from the Core group?

Hi Sean,

Thanks for your message. We support the 12-month Apple international warranty supplied with all our products. In the unlikely event of a defect, we will have the unit repaired by an Authorised Apple Repair Centre/ replaced at no cost to our client. We will also be offering a swop-out warranty in the very near future. In this case, if there is a manufacturers defect with an item, simply return it and we will issue you a new replacement unit.

By the way, I have heard from numerous sources that Digicape are now owned by Core Group. Do you know anything about this?