Some exciting developments have taken place over the past couple of months in Malta when it comes to acquiring a new Mac. Whereas previously we had the monolithic BDS, then bought out by Gasan who merged it with another company to form SG Solutions being the only supplier of Macs and Apple products on the island, now we have Klikk becoming the second officially recognised retail partner.

SG have in the past tried to have their Macs sold through a network of local retailers but let’s say it wasn’t an inspired move. Also, in a move which surely has irked Klikk, Scan have started selling Macs too. However, there is no literature to indicate they are an official Mac distributor and where they source their stock from. Training staff for after sales is something very important and it’s all part of the renowned Mac experience, abroad at least! But one thing is for certain, wherever Scan are getting their Macs from (options are SG solutions or parallel importing), they sure know how to compete on price.

There was a time not too long ago where pricing a Mac Pro vis a vis the US price showed a rediculous price difference of some Lm300 – that’s almost €700 or the price of a flight to NYC. OK, it’s never fair to compare local prices with the US, comparisons with EU prices were still not at all favourable. When the Euro was introduced here comparisons were even easier. However, Mac prices were still quite more expensive. Now, thanks to Klikk and Scan competing with prices for all to see on their respective websites, I have finally seen a Mac with the identical sticker price as in another EU country.

Here’s the pricing of a Mac Book Pro:
SG Solutions €POA
Klikk €1,819.00
Scan  €1,799.00
Apple.com Ireland online store – €1,799.00

So there you have it – and the pricing follows similar patterns with Klikk’s prices between a few euro more expensive than Ireland and Scan’s being more or less the same. However, Klikk has more models in stock and more accessories. Both didn’t have Mac Pro pricing on their sites but right now I’d have to sell a kidney or two to afford one at the moment. They are an official partner so warranties and after sales should be better, hopefully time will tell. One very annoying thing about Klikk however, is that their site is almost completely unusable on Safari.