Vitoria, Brazil, October 27th - 2015.
Dear Apple,
My name is Tiago, 33, I live in Brazil and I really enjoy Apple products since I first bought one: an iPod classic 80G, in 2008 (still in use by the way... thanks Dico, for introducing me that one). It was love at first sight!!! A new standard, new quality, new visual, wowwww.... awesome! Since then, I bought an iPhone 3, iPhone 3gs, iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPod nano, and the last one, my iPhone 5. My parents also bought iPhones and iPods due to my influence and some friends as well. I gifted my wife an iPhone 5c last year for her birthday. Everybody happy? Everything beautiful? Yes. That is, until these months ago...
What is happening now, Apple products became absolutely expensive. I totally understand and agree that high quality products as you do will be charged accordingly. You are at the top of the scale. That's why you always were the most expensive store for these kind of products. But at this point you are, you are going upper and upper with prices. In Brazil, many friends have stopped carrying on Apple products, because of the high price. Now they are Androidians, Microsoftians, Chinesians, blablabla... And look, I'm not talking about poor people. I'm an employee of a HUGE IT Company in the World, we have good jobs, and not that bad salaries. We cannot complain at all. We have own house, own car, good clothes, good food, we do groceries weekly, but we're far and far away from being rich. Just middle class!
But we no longer can afford to buy or upgrade our Apple products. Even when we think about buying it from USA, the rate of Dollar vs Real, does not make any sense for us. Then people are fleeing away from Apple. In Brazil, Apple is now a company for richest ones. Even middle economic class cannot enjoy it any more.
And why am I writing this letter for you? It's because I'm also LEAVING Apple products, even I DO NOT WANT TO. I want to buy and iphone 5s, and it's so expensive (R$ 2.300,00) that makes me give up. Iphone 6 or 6s, is something like offensive. Can't even imagine these options. And the worst: I look outside and I can't see anything, nothing that compares. But you are pushing us out!
Really disappointed, but and I hope can enjoy the new thing I'm going to try. Somebody told me one day: "there is life out of Apple box".
Best regards, Tiago.
