can anyone help me to understand: why is the laptop and tablet prices in Switzerland are higher than Germany, and in Europe higher than U.S.?

e.g. acer iconia tablet 32gb:
in switzerland 599 chf,
in Germany 499 eur= 575 chf!!
in U.S 499 $= 333 chf!!!!!!!!

p.s.: prices are from acer websites in U.S and germany and switzerland.

Have you noticed the EUR/CHF and USD/CHF exchange rates of late? Just a little clue ...

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum. Stay a while, you may find a thread or two on Swiss prices. And Swiss salaries, and tax rates.

And also USD/CHF exchange rate?

I'm by no means a pro on this, but Switzerland is known to have strick import/regulations and such.

Although I'm not surprised at the prices, are there mandatory battery recycling charges applied?, maybe taxes and tariffs on specifics in the hardware or manufacture or raw goods.

Not that I really care, but if you're looking for justification...

Maybe VAT makes the difference between EU and US?

Because in Switzerland some of the core components of a laptop need to be removed and replaced with replicas made out of cheese. This is labour intensive.

Yes, that too. And it's not like they can employ nannies at CHF 12 per hour to do this -- it's specialised work.

Because it's different...MARKETS?
The "selling price" is not necessary equal to the "manufacturing cost"...
Take apple's craps for example: you also pays for the marketing, etc...

And yes, Switzerland being a different market with client profiled as rich, they are putting a higher price to get more from you.

Short answer: They usually aren't more expensive but due to the strong currency appreciation in a short time you're currently better off buying abroad.

I disagree, when I first arrived the Franc/ Dollar exchange rate was flipped relative to now and I found electronics still more expensive here.

That's because Swiss electronics have to deal with twice as many volts as their US counterparts.

And yet, even with the current exchange rate, they're less than twice the price! See, Swiss electronics are a BARGAIN!!

US price is without sales tax
CH 8% VAT
DE 19% ?

Also there is a requirement for a much longer guarantee, in California I understand there is no legal requirement for any guarantee, many companies offer 90 days.

There is a simple marketing rule. Set the price as high as possible until the buyers stop buying, then offer the rest as a special offer.

Why did Croc shoes cost CHF 150 two years ago? Because people were buying them.

The Swiss shop pays very high rents, the Swiss sales clerk earns twice as much as in De and US

I can assure you that digitec.ch had very similar prices in cameras and notebooks as Hong Kong & Tokyo, two places I've been to last year. Granted, I only compared about 10 models but the difference was always <10% so I didn't bother. Switzerland has no import taxes on electronics and lower VAT, that's why they're usually cheaper than in France or Germany.

Thanks every one,I was really confused, now because of tax rates, VAT, or just marketing,...I'm not a reach swiss and I'm gonna buy from Constance! Although I did't accept such these shoppings from there before, but now I can save good money; buy cheaper there, and also I can get the VAT back!

Switzerland has a highly customised keyboard layout for a realtively small market. This pushes up the price of these units

Don't forget to declare the laptop to the Swiss customs folks at the border, and pay your 8% Swiss VAT.

I stand corrected

in U.S 499 $= 333 chf!!!!!!!!
Where do you buy your US$? I have to pay around 384CHF for U.S 499 $.

I've calculated wrong, thanx