Apple raises prices in Vietnam: Some people regret, others save millions
Some people regret not having closed their orders, lucky people save 6 million VND
Intending not to buy a MacBook in June because an acquaintance advised her that "MacBook prices are high at this time", Huyen Anh (23 years old, Hanoi) still decided to spend money to buy a MacBook Air M5 in the last days of the month due to work needs, accepting the thought that "a little more expensive is okay".
"Before that, I didn't plan to buy at this time because I heard many people say MacBook prices are high. I planned to wait until the back-to-school season to see if there were better promotions or discounts," Huyen Anh said.
However, just one day after completing the purchase, Apple suddenly adjusted the price list in Vietnam. The MacBook Air M5 model she just bought increased by about 6 million VND.
"When I heard about the MacBook price increase, I was quite surprised. I felt very lucky because I decided to pay at the right time, before the price changed. It was like I just got a great bargain," Huyen Anh shared.
According to her, having to replace her old computer for work was the factor that made her decide to buy it earlier than planned. Looking back, Huyen Anh thinks this was the right decision.
Meanwhile, Duong Due (23 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) fell into the opposite situation.
About one to two months ago, Due planned to buy a MacBook with 16GB RAM for work. She plans to buy at a retail system to take advantage of the new old collection program, and wait until July - her birthday month - to get an additional 500,000 VND discount.
"I thought waiting a little longer would save money, but unexpectedly Apple would increase the price. When I heard the news, I was quite sorry and had to learn more about other models," Due said.
According to Due, the MacBook model she plans to buy currently costs about 30 million VND. With the new price, she decided to continue waiting.
"I will wait until the end of the month to see if the market price cools down. If it is still high, I will probably have to wait until October to accumulate more money," she said.
Apple simultaneously adjusted the prices of many products in Vietnam
After the adjustment, many products on Apple Store Vietnam increased their prices from 3 million to nearly 10 million VND.
Notably, the MacBook Pro M5 line has also been configured to be sold by Apple. The company no longer distributes the 512GB version, instead it has a starting configuration of 1TB with prices starting from 55 million VND.
This adjustment surprised many users because Apple rarely increases prices sharply in the middle of a product's life cycle in the Vietnamese market.
Why does Apple increase product prices?
According to retailers and industry experts, Apple's price adjustment is not a surprising development if looking at the global semiconductor component market.
This year, the prices of many important components such as DRAM memory chips, NAND Flash memory and processor chips have increased sharply due to the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) systems and data centers. This causes the cost of manufacturing computers and electronic devices to increase.
In fact, many computer manufacturers have adjusted selling prices since the beginning of the year to offset component costs. Apple is considered one of the brands that kept the old price longer than its competitors before making the decision to increase prices in Vietnam.
In addition to component costs, exchange rate fluctuations and supply chain costs are also said to be factors contributing to the increase in selling prices of Apple products during this adjustment period.
According to retailers, after Apple updated the new price list, the number of customers interested in MacBooks and iPads remained stable.
However, consumers tend to consider more carefully before spending money, especially with models whose prices increase from several million dong or more.
Meanwhile, customers who bought the device before the price adjustment time considered this to be one of the rare "money down at the right time" times for Apple products.