Australia has the world’s cheapest iPods

Music lovers in Australia – including Blorge’s own John Pospisil – have something to celebrate. The country is now the cheapest place in the world to buy an iPod.

It’s worth noting the statistic comes from an Australian bank. However, the figures appear above board and based on a reasonable rationale.

The news comes from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Much as The Economist uses the Big Mac as a way to compare international prices, the iPod index looks the price of an 8GB nano in 62 countries.

Whereas the Big Mac survey is designed to show the cost of living, the iPod figures are a marketing tool to highlight the importance of fluctuating currency exchange rates.

As recently as July, Australia had only the 14^th cheapest prices in the survey. Thanks to the fall of the American dollar’s value overseas, Australia is now cheapest with the device costing the equivalent of just US$131.95, narrowly beating the $138.47 in Indonesia.

Argentina is the most expensive place to buy the iPod with a local price equivalent to $353.20. Generally South America and Eastern Europe are the most expensive places, with Asia and North American cheapest.

It’s worth remembering that the comparative drop in price doesn’t make that much difference to your average Australian buyer. The local price (AUS$199) has remained the same; it’s just that that’s worth less in US currency today.

Because Apple’s Australian branch is importing the devices rather than manufacturing them locally, the ‘bargain’ may not last. As stock levels deplete, the chances are the retail price in the country will rise, perhaps by as much as 25 percent.

The disparity in prices probably isn’t enough to make ordering iPods from overseas worthwhile (even if you can bypass Apple’s regional licensing). The figures do show how an international company such as Apple is at the mercy of exchange rate variations when it comes to physical goods which are shipped overseas. But iTunes store users in, for example, the UK would point out the company is quick to exploit local markets even for a virtual product which costs pretty much the same to supply anywhere.

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