As this table put together by blogger Kyle Conroy clearly shows, it would have been far more lucrative to buy Apple stock instead of buying their actual products.
For example, that Apple PowerBook G4 1.0 you've paid $2999 back in 2002 is now collecting dust somewhere. If you had spend the same amount on Apple stock at that time, it would now be worth $94,334.40. As you go further back, this trade off becomes more and more lucrative. But amazingly enough, Apple's stock has been doing so well that it works even for newer Apple products. For example, Apple MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.0 15" cost $2499 back in 2006; for that amount of money you could have bought Apple stock that would today be worth $10005.98.
The amazing power of hindsight bias makes this seem like easy money, but future events are harder to predict than they seem. Still, it's something to think about; perhaps the next time you get the urge to buy an expensive gadget, you could do some investing instead.
[via Gizmodo]