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Microsoft Surface’s $1,000 Price Tag Was All A Ruse

Windows fans were concerned when news came out that a Swedish retailer was listing the Microsoft Surface at $1,000. The price was too steep for what was essentially an iPad in terms of performance and...
Microsoft Surface’s $1,000 Price Tag Was All A Ruse
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  • Windows fans were concerned when news came out that a Swedish retailer was listing the Microsoft Surface at $1,000. The price was too steep for what was essentially an iPad in terms of performance and it made us question whether or not Microsoft was out of touch. Fortunately, it turns out that those prices were all fake.

    The fine folks over at Techie-Buzz confronted the retailer about the prices and got the real story. It turns out that Webhallen had not received any pricing information from Microsoft. They were simply setting the price high to encourage pre-orders.

    Here’s the official statement Webhallen sent to Techie-Buzz:

    Our customers are very interested in pre-ordering these products, so we have set a high preliminary pricing for the lineup so that they may be able to pre-order them.

    Just to clarify, we have not recieved any pricing from Microsoft regarding MRSP or purchasing net cost, and any people who have booked the Surface at this high price will of course have their order adjusted before any product is shipped. So we’re not going to overcharge anyone for being an early adopter.

    I’m sure that Windows fans will be the happiest to hear that this is nowhere near official pricing. If Microsoft wants Windows 8 or the Surface to go anywhere, they’re going to have to make it affordable for all. That means selling it under production costs just like Google is doing with the Nexus 7.

    If Microsoft is able to garner enough business and good will with Windows 8, they then might be able to command the high prices (and high profit) of trusted companies like Apple. An affordable price is the first step towards that and a $1,000 price tag is asking too much, even for the Ultrabook-like Windows 8 Pro version that will be sold starting in 2013.

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