They're upgrade pricing is way over priced. I have always felt this way. I recently purchased a 4GB RAM kit for my MacBook Pro. It costed me $95 at Other World Computing. It is the SAME RAM that Apple sells. At the time, Apple was selling this same upgrade for $600!!!! How can anyone defend a price like that? I never even bought Apple's upgrades when I was an Apple employee.

Echo-ing Howie's comment but worse, Apple wanted € 800 euros for 4GB's for my MacBook... that's over a thousand dollars! Got the ram from Crucial (Micron memory exactly the same as what came in the MacBook) for € 85. Now that's a rip-off!

Most experienced Mac users know not to get their upgrades from Apple, although there are many newbies who do not learn this until too late.

Crucial is a great source for memory... and I did manage to change my hard drive myself (although there are a few overnight services that also manage this as well).

I also love Apple products, but sometimes I avoid the items that are ridiculously expensive.

except those products where it would be very difficult to get to the RAM_ Older laptops and currently the Mac Minis_ Otherwise buy RAM from Crucial or from Ramjet or some other thrid part [and reliable] company_

More ignorant and oblivious of on-going price of components. Maybe they don't care.

Apple did reduce the 2GB x 2 down from $800/$750 (MacBook/MacBook Pro) down to the $300 range, but that is still highway robbery.

Buying from Apple means paying eight times more, but getting only ONE YEAR of warranty.

Buyer beware.

On general principal I do agree that it is not moral for companies to gouge their customers. Make a reasonable profit? Sure, absolutely. But don't scummy about it. Of course it happens all the time, and across many industries. But the fact that they are essentially playing on their customer's lack of knowledge doesn't speak well of Apple. Just because it is "common practice" to gouge customers on certain services / items doesn't make it right, it just makes more people wrong...

I've been happy with the combination of quality and price at OWC though there are other good companies.

Steve can only have so many black turtlenecks anyway, right? Of course, Jet fuel is getting pretty expensive. ;-)

I can tell you that often times systems are far less stable with NON apple RAM installed in them. Even from 'reliable' vendors. The problems with Apple Ram have been few and far between.

I recently bought an emergency replacement MacBook Pro for a client at the Apple store. Needing a full complement of RAM, I tried to buy the 4gb upgrade in the store: $200, plus, the 2gb that was in it would go bye-bye.
Luckily- the Apple store was out- I got on my iPhone in the store, called Fry's and had the 4GB upgrade the next morning for $109 including shipping- and put the 2GB that was in the MacBook Pro into their MacBook.
Apple should be ashamed of the way they gouge on RAM.

I buy and use Apple's products because they are worth the money to me ...just as a Lexus or Acura is worth the premium experience compared to GM or Ford ...just as Sony's HDTV is worth more than one from Samsung.

You get what you pay for. If you don't like the way Apple prices their products, buy a Dell. Oh wait, it's a Windows platform. Nevermind.