Finding Holiday Discounts on iPods? 849
jeffy124 asks: "I was hoping to get an Apple iPod for Christmas. Alas, it's too expensive and out of the budget. So I'm forced into purchasing it for myself. Hoping to cash in on a holiday season bargain, I've been keeping my eye on the sales circulars that come in the newspaper. I've seen plenty of discounts for MP3 players of all kinds (Rio's, Dell's new HD-based player, etc), and the iPod has also shown up. Christmas does not yet seem very merry to me. They're always at the regular $299/399/499 price, never at a discount of any sort. You read that right, it's 'for sale' at the *regular* price. Stores guilty of this include Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, and CompUSA. Why do stores do this? How often? And does anyone know why Apple has been singled out while their competition has gotten their products discounted? Anyone know who *is* granting discounts on iPods this holiday season?"
"The other day came in the mail a 10% off coupon for various items at Best Buy, including 'MP3 Players' as indicated on the front of slip. Hoping this was how I was gonna get that discount, I set aside time this weekend to drive to Delaware in order to skip out on my local state sales tax too. I turned the coupon over, and in the legal disclaimer was the phrase 'Excludes Apple iPod Players.' Needless to say, a Merry Christmas is still aways off."
The time to shop... (Score:3, Insightful)
apple fixes the price (Score:5, Insightful)
next issue?
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:5, Informative)
I work at an Apple Authorized Reseller in Los Angeles, and Apple has made it pretty clear that if we drop the price by more than $50, we aren't going to be an authorized reseller much longer.
Personally, I think it's terrible, because there is quite a profit made on Apple hardware by us, particularly G5 desktop systems, and iPods.
Basically, we could knock a good 74-100$ off the iPod without losing money. And I think if we did such a thing, we'd get a pretty healthy customer base very quickly.
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:4, Insightful)
In a nutshell, it's corporations exploiting the fact that most sheeple don't think. I say, more power to them.
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:5, Insightful)
Patagonia lets retailers discount, but they generally have to:
a) notify the rep first
b) not discount stuff that they're told not to discount!
It's really a pretty common practice with high-leverage brands.
FWIW I was told - and I don't work the retail channel, so have no way of confirming this (but not reason not to believe it) that the profit on the CRT iMac (and probably the current eMac) was CDN$20
So while you complain about price gouging on the high end, remember the non-existent profit margins on the low. Keep in mind too that those customers buying the CDN$20 computers ('cause that's what they're worth to me) are the biggest pains - they're going to take forever to make a decision, ask you to explain why your iMac is better than a Dell at $50 less, come back regularly and ask questions which you think should be obvious.
So basically, you make no money off your low-end customers.
So I got no problem with Apple fixing prices and retailers making decent markups - as long as it's backed with reasonable warranties and decent products.
And there's where the iPod fails: 90 days is a joke, and a battery that's not changeable by the user is a travesty of epic proportions. Why anybody's buying this thing, I don't know.
But I want one...my precious.
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:5, Informative)
The iPod now comes with a 1-yr warranty.
(I would rather it was a 3-yr, since it's a 300-500 device...)
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:5, Insightful)
First, many Apple products are high margin items for retailers. As long as that's true, plenty of retailers will carry Apple products, and Apple has a decent shot at increasing both market share and mind share. If Apple lets the price float, retailers' profits on Apple hardware suddenly drop close to zero, and few retailers will continue to carry Apple stuff.
Second, those high margins give Apple a lot of leverage with retailers. Apple needs to ensure that the way its products are presented reflect well on the brand. The "store within a store" concept that you see at CompUSA and others is one example of that. That all costs money. The high margins are Apple's carrot, and the threat of losing Apple authorized reseller status is Apple's stick in the effort to enforce its requirements.
Third, consistant pricing lets consumers buy without worrying that they're missing out on some great deal. If you want an iPod, you go out and buy one at whatever place you like the best or is most convenient for you. It doesn't matter (much) whether you buy at the Apple store or from Amazon or from CompUSA or Best Buy or Circuit City.
Fourth, most people perceive price as an indication of quality. A $300 music player must work better and do more than one that costs $130. (And in the case of the iPod, Apple can back this up: iPod is a better music player than the $130 model in every way other than price.)
Fifth, the market that Apple is clearly targetting with iPod is that segment that doesn't mind paying a premium for a device that works well. These are the same people that might next buy an iMac or a PowerBook or a G5. As much as iPod has been a big hit for Apple, I have to believe that its most important effect has been to introduce Apple to new customers.
What it comes down to is that dropping the margins on iPod gets Apple nothing but cheaper customers, less control over retailers, lower customer perception of quality, and less distribution. Why would they do that?
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:4, Insightful)
Now, let's take a BMW sedan that sells for what, about $35,000? Compare it to, say, a Kia sedan that sells for about $20,000. They're both cars, and yet one costs $15,000 more than the other one... And I'm pretty sure that both of them have quite large restrictions on when their dealers can discount certain items.
But why? Both have engines that make you go forward and reverse, steering, etc.. But one's a luxury model. Leather seats, nifty spiffy in-dash computer, all that kind of good stuff. Do you need it? Probably not. Is it something that could make your drive a little more pleasant? Yeah, maybe.
Now, let's look at the iPod. Do you need the nifty Apple-style design, the metalic casing, the laser engraving, etc.? No. Are they fun/nice to have? Yeah, if you're a person who enjoys things like good design. But, the same way with the car, it's not for everybody. These are also usually features that cost extra. But I can guarantee you that apple isn't the only one dictating prices on their mp3 players.
Re:apple fixes the price (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not to be confused with me defending Apple's prices. I would love to get a decent price on a G5 and an iPod. Guess it's back to eBay for me
One company can't "fix prices"... (Score:5, Interesting)
It appears, Dingleberry, that you have a disturbingly common misconception: that because only Apple makes Apple products, that makes them a monopoly. I will first give a relatively standard answer: does Sony have a monopoly because only they sell PlayStations? No. If Sony were the only company that sold gaming consoles, or held a supermajority of the market, and they actively fought to keep it that way, then they would be in a monopoly position. If Apple were the only company that sold MP3 players, or held a supermajority of the market, and actively fought to keep it that way, then they would have a monopoly and your position would be reasonable.
The other difference is that between monopoly pricing and price fixing. The former can only be done by a monopoly that holds a supermajority of the market in a particular commodity (a single company). The latter can only be done by what is commonly known as a cartel, a group of companies in the same industry that get together to decide what the price of the good or service they all sell should be. If they collectively hold enough of the market, they can keep prices as high as they want, because the competition cannot make enough of a dent in their market share to really compete.
You can be sure that even if the market share of the iPod dropped from its current level of (I believe) about 80% down to 40%, Apple would not lower the price by a significant amount. This is because Apple doesn't keep the price high to gouge us or because they're a monopoly, they do it because that's the kind of company they are: they make expensive, high-quality, high-profit-margin items that people buy because they're the best, not because they're the most affordable. In other words, they're not a monopoly, and nor are they trying to compete on the same footing as companies like Dell and HP, which always compete on price. They compete on quality, instead.
They're worth it.
Dan Aris
Just wait... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Just wait... (Score:5, Informative)
BB, CC and their ilk will beat prices or match them. I have never had a problem getting them to match a price up to 30 days from the purchase date.
Re: Finding Holiday Discounts on iPods? (Score:3, Informative)
Nomad Zen NX [dealtime.co.uk] [not a commission link]
50% more storage than the 20GB iPod, at 2/3 of the price. There's a 60GB version, at less than the cost of a 30Gb iPod.
It's got replaceable batteries, and unlike the iPod, you don't have to remortgage your house to buy a replacement battery. 14 hour claimed battery life. (that's between charges, not 14 hours until you need a new one
It's got a big-screen, it's small, light, has a charger. No GNU support. No OGG. No remote control.
Re: Finding Holiday Discounts on iPods? (Score:5, Funny)
If you have to get a loan for $49 [ipodbattery.com], you probably shouldn't buy an iPod.
Or any MP3 player for that matter.
- Tony
Re: Finding Holiday Discounts on iPods? (Score:3, Informative)
Do not buy Creative junk! (Score:5, Informative)
I have about 5 of their products, including a
hard drive based MP3 player. What a waste of
money. I am not buy another Creative product.
I have owned an Apple ipod also. Nice mp3 mplayer.
I am loving my new Rio Karma though.
You missed the point... (Score:5, Funny)
I think you missed the point. If you got the 14 day price protection, the price would drop on the 15th. Thats how it works.
Two words: EDUCATION DISCOUNT (Score:5, Informative)
So get yourself to your local college bookstore and either find an oblivious checkout clerk or contact a friend who has a friend who is still in college.
You save at least $40.
Re:Two words: EDUCATION DISCOUNT (Score:5, Informative)
Shop at Best Buy (Score:5, Informative)
best buy warranty (Score:4, Informative)
Bought a tv, vcr, stereo, speakers, car gear of the same and a couple other random things that way from them a few years back. Never got a chance to use the warranties.
Good Job (Score:4, Informative)
The iPod is a great example, do to the cost of replacing the battery.
Full computer systems are also worth it. The only IBM clone I ever bought, I had an extended warrenty 5 years, 50 bucks. after 4 years, the monitor went, they shipped me a new one, the even paid postage. A month later my mobo died, the sent mye a new one, and a substantially beefer proc. and RAM. Basically upgraded my complete system for 50 bucks.
All this assumes a reasonable price one the extended warrenty, naturally.
Apple Discounted iPods 10% (Score:3, Informative)
Apple discounted them on the busiest shopping day of the year. What more do you want?
Blame Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
If you want a cheaper ipod, your best bet is most likely going to be eBay.
Re:Blame Apple (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, this is pretty common. Microsoft does this all the time with their retail software and the X-BOX.
What annoys me Mail-In-Rebates. It seems like all of the advertized prices for Best Buy, Comp-USA, Staples, yada yada, require rebates. Some require two or more. Rebates suck because you have pay up front, go to the trouble of mailing them in, and then you have to wait 4-6 weeks and hope. Plus you get nailed for the full price on the sales tax.
No tax advantage (Score:4, Informative)
If the company makes the item for $100, sells it for $350, and then pays out a $75 rebate, they have $175 of net income. They have to pay taxes on that.
If the company makes the item for $100 and sells it for $275 then they pay taxes on $175 of income.
To put it in your terms -- the company has to pay taxes on the "more revenue" they got through having a higher list price. You forgot about that part when you were thinking about the tax benefit of mailing the customer a check. The two things offset.
You are right about the personal information. Who's the best prospect for buying a new model of iPod? Someone who bought an iPod two years ago, of course!
Plus there is some percentage of people who buy the product but don't get the rebate. But nn the other hand, there are customers like you and me who say "ahhh, fuck it" on a $350 product with a $75 rebate, but we would just buy the damn thing for $275, so the rebate does lose them some sales compared to a simple flat price.
Consistent with Amazon pricing (Score:3, Informative)
Either that or they're hoping to cash in on dumb hipster-wannabes who forget to remove it from their cart.
Re:Blame Apple (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Has no one said the more likely? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Has no one said the more likely? (Score:5, Funny)
I bought the new Blink182 CD at best buy for 10 bucks, but rememberd I wanted the Christmas Story DVD, too. It was also on sale for $20, but I don't know how much they were losing on that.
Blink 182 and Christmas Story. Dude - You are the loser here.
Re:Has no one said the more likely? (Score:3)
I'm not sure it is really accurate to say that software has a wholesale price, since the stores do not buy it. It's more of a consignment arrangement, with the software distributors paying the stores to offer the software.
Here is a very good explanation [bungie.net] of how the retail software industry works.
Re:Blame Apple (Score:4, Informative)
That's incorrect. There is plenty Apple can legally do about it. For example, Apple can stop selling to/through that store. There is nothing in anti-trust law that requires Apple to sell via every store that wishes to carry iPods.
Anti-trust law would be a problem if Apple threatened to cut off people for discounting, but if Apple doesn't make the threat, but rather simply acts after the fact and cuts off people who discount, that is perfectly legal.
Ebay? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ebay? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Ebay? (Score:3, Informative)
Manufacturer's doing a deal (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think it's morally right to say that a product is 'on sale' unless there's been a reduction in price though - at least in the UK, there must have been an immediately preceding period at which the product was priced higher for it to be marketed as at a 'sale' price...
Simon.
Re:Manufacturer's doing a deal (Score:5, Insightful)
I think people forget that any time any person or business sells anything, they are having a sale. "Sale" has come to take on the meaning of reduced prices but I don't think people's inability to recall the original meaning of words needs to be legislated.
Re:Manufacturer's doing a deal (Score:5, Insightful)
Origin of the word Sale (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Origin of the word Sale (Score:4, Informative)
1. a. The action or an act of selling or making over to another for a price; the exchange of a commodity for money or other valuable consideration. Also, with qualification: (Ready, slow, etc.) disposal of goods for money; opportunity of selling.
etmology: late OE. sala, prob. a. ON. sala wk. fem. (ON. had also sal neut.) = OHG. sala, MHG. sale, sal str. fem., f. root sal- of *saljan to SELL.
So it's from old english or old norse root words meaning 'to sell'. Your story is more fun though : )
Educational discounts! (Score:5, Insightful)
Developer Prices (Score:3, Informative)
10GB: $239
20GB: $319
40GB: $399
Price Limits (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Price Limits (Score:5, Informative)
This is the difference between vertical restrictions on price (i.e. Apple the manufacturer, and downstream retailers) and horizontal restrictions (all oil-producing companies and the price of oil).
This concludes the daily antitrust lesson
Re:Price Limits (Score:5, Informative)
Say Best Buy sells an iPod for 399(MSRP), and Joe's DisKount ElectroniX sells it for 349 next door. Best Buy spends money advertising the availability of iPods, hires salesmen, etc. Joe is a 1-man shop with no ads, except for a big sign on their front window that says "IPODS: 349". They're located right next to Best Buy.
From Apple's perspective, Joe is freeriding off the efforts of Best Buy. Best Buy is pissed off because it loses sales to Joe from keeping it's retail price up, so it stops promoting the product and drops it's price. Apple is pissed off because no one knows about its product except for tech nerds who scour the internet review sites. Therefore, antitrust law tends to allow retail price maintenance in the absence of monopoly.
I think you're exactly right - the reason Nintendo got in trouble was because it colluded. I thought it was about the price of cartridges also, not about systems, but i could be wrong.
Re:Price Limits (Score:5, Informative)
Let's get the facts straight right now. the console gaming industry, on average, does NOT work on the Razor/blades economic system. the GC is sold at a profit, not a loss.
Re:Price Limits (Score:5, Insightful)
You are very ill-informed. One company setting a price for a product is not "price fixing". Other companies can and do compete against Apple's iPod with lower prices, so go buy those instead if you don't like the prices. Now, if Apple got together with Dell and Rio or whoever else, and conspired to keep prices at a certain level, then that's "price fixing" and it is anti-competitive and illegal. Secondly, if Apple is a monopoly in the market, they can also achieve the results of price fixing without conspiring with another company. A couple of months ago, Apple had about 30-40% of the market in terms of unit, and about 50% in terms of dollars spent. It is not a monopoly.
Similarly, BMW and Benz are not "fixing prices" just because their products are expensive. The are simply luxury goods, like $500 portable music players.
"For Sale" does not mean "On Sale" (Score:5, Insightful)
I haven't seen ipods for anything less than MSRP at any B&M either, probably due to the demand being so high.
Apple doesn't discount (Score:5, Informative)
The only time you will find Apple products for sale is when Apple passes along end-of-life discounts. (i.e. right before the new model comes out)
Actually there WAS a discount, but it ended (Score:3, Insightful)
Forget it, go for the Rio Karma (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Forget it, go for the Rio Karma (Score:5, Funny)
Capitalism 101 (Score:5, Insightful)
To make money.
How often?
As long as the market will bear.
Supply and Demand (Score:5, Insightful)
Step 1) Create product
Step 2) Sell it at market price based on supply and demand
Step 3) Profit
It's so easy, even Microsoft can do it!
Re:Supply and Demand (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, if Apple had an agreement with all the other companies to keep the prices of all mp3 player high, that would be something to be concerned about. But at the end of the day it's Apple's product and they can should be able to charge whatever they like for it. If the product doesn't warrant the price, people won't buy it. If people don't buy it at the higher price, the market will force Apple to lower their prices. It all comes back to Adam Smith and his Invisible Hand.
What about a refurb? (Score:5, Informative)
resellers are forced (Score:5, Informative)
WRONG (Score:3, Informative)
Apple can't force them to sign a contract, but they can
Why not a Rio Karma? (Score:3, Informative)
Apple price-fixes, but allows bundles (Score:5, Informative)
Because Apple does not allow you to sell Apple products below the pricing offered by Apple themselves.
Apple does, however, let you bundle things- so your best bet is to look for the best bundle(free case etc). Smalldog and MacConnection are among several catalog companies who regularly do these deals, because it's the only way to be competitive(and not a terribly good one, either.)
Do get a case; mine was scratched all over within a half week, and I was excruciatingly careful with it. Also, DO get an extended warranty, and DON'T GET IT FROM APPLE, it's shorter and MORE expensive than Best Buy's(for example.)
FYI- don't bother looking for an iTrip. I placed my order two months ago with Griffin and they have yet to ship me mine. It's getting cancelled tomorrow, I'm fed up of waiting, and I hear the FM adapters all suck anyway.
Re:Apple price-fixes, but allows bundles (Score:5, Informative)
Nice job of leaving out the next paragraph. This is probably what the original poster was refering to.
Apple still can't make enough iPODs (Score:5, Insightful)
They're maintaining the price and pushing a huge advertising campaign, it's a good strategy, higher price & lower volume = bigger profit & lower manufacturing cost.
Me too (Score:3, Informative)
If you don't like apple's game do as I did, don't play it.
Price drops when demand drops. (Score:4, Informative)
The other day came in the mail a 10% off coupon for various items at Best Buy, including 'MP3 Players'
Looks like "still a ways off" is $29.90
Finally:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE
(special deals page):
Refurb iPod 10GB (Mac & Windows) Dock not included: $229.
You didn't look very hard, did you?
They don't need to discount...? (Score:5, Funny)
Kinda like toy fads -- what kid would want to accept a cheap knockoff "Fondle Me Herbert" doll when all their little pals have "Tickle Me Elmos"?
-fren
They don't need to (Score:3, Insightful)
They have marketshare, and they have a product that's selling like mad. Why lower the price when people are buying as many as you can make anyway?
- - redundant - - (Score:5, Informative)
Apple sets it. You can't re-sell Apple products below this set level. Nobody can.
Yes, Apple has been sued for this. (not successfully IIRC).
In fact, Apple HAS successfully sued resellers for selling under MAP. They put some of them out of business - they were called "Grey-market" MACs, they were bought overseas, and sold into the US market. (some people ended up frying the power supplies because they were set to 240 instead of 120).
Other industries have also been sued for MAP, and gotten their asses handed to them. But since Apple is *NOT* a monopoly, they can get away with it. Don't like it? Buy a competitor's product.
Free iPod... (Score:5, Funny)
true of many items really (Score:3, Interesting)
The Apple brand (Score:3, Insightful)
Why be stuck on an iPod? (Score:3, Informative)
Um..sales come after the shopping season.. (Score:4, Informative)
"For Sale" (Score:4, Insightful)
You've also got to remember that Apple is plenty proud of their products and doesn't tend to discount much.
High prices and high margins. (Score:3, Informative)
Also, don't forget that Apple has its own retail and online stores, because very few retailers have ever done a good job at selling Apple hardware. Keeping those stores profitable is key to keeping the company aflot. The last thing Apple wants is for everyone with an Apple store and a Best Buy near home to go get Apple hardware at Best Buy at a discount.
Dell's Software and Peripherals store (Score:3, Informative)
Dell had a 20% off all purchases in their home store coupon this past summer, so I was able to get my 30GB ipod for $400 w/ no tax ($500 *
"on sale" != "lower price" (Score:5, Informative)
On sale means that items are being sold...for example, "On sale now!" means that the product is currently available in stores for your purchase. Not necessarily that it is available at a special, lower price.
Yes, I realize that "on sale" can also mean that you've got a new, temporarily lower price...but it doesn't have to.
We get signs up all the time for new games and products that say "on sale now", and then people get upset when we're charging the same price as our competitors.
yrs,
Ephemeriis
Price Control is a common retail practice. (Score:5, Informative)
What you are seeing is an example of "price control." Price control is a relatively common practice, especially for companies that create higher-end products and have limited (or no) direct-to-customer distribution. Essentially, Apple has the ultimate discretion as to which retailers it will sell iPods too. In order to qualify to carry an iPod, that retailer, be it Best Buy, Circuit City, or any other, must enter into a binding agreement with Apple as to the pricing of the unit. Under that agreement, discounting of the units is generally either completely disallowed, or allowed only with manufacturer approval. Thus, the Best Buys and Circuit City stores HAVE to sell the iPod at whatever price Apple tells them to.
Where it starts to get shady is when a retailer that hasn't signed a price control agreement with the manufacturer gets their hands on the price controlled units, and starts selling them at a price below the manufacturer's price point. This generally happens when a retailer that has an agreement with the manufacturer unloads some overstock or demo units, when a retailer goes bankrupt, or when a shipment "falls off of a truck." Many manufacturers that use price controls get very, very unhappy when this happens. Most price controlling manufacturers will cut off sales of product to retailers that sell overstock to discounters. This can lead to shady, under-the-table dealing, units with serial numbers ground off so the manufacturer can't trace who sold it to whom, and general malaise. Most manufacturers won't honor the warranties on items purchase through third-party discounters.
If you think Apple's price controls are nasty, take a look at the high-end watch world. Companies like Rolex won't even allow retailers to advertise the prices of their watches AT ALL. Take a look at a jeweler's ad in the newspaper for Rolexes- they'll always say something to the effect of "call or visit for pricing." Watch companies are also well known for forbidding internet sales. And they put out propaganda to the effect that all watches sold by discounters are counterfeit.
It's the manufacturer's world. We're just here to consume.
Refurbs (Score:3, Informative)
I bought a 10gb iPod refurbed for 249 a while ago. The unit was not cosmetically refurbished. There were scratches and dings on it. I had to return it once for further repair. Still, I saved a few bucks and now the unit is OK.
Just know that a refurb may not be a walk in the park, and if it's a gift for someone else, they may get a very used-looking one.
Apple Discounts (Score:3, Informative)
1. Education Discounts - Find a kid or a teacher.
2. Apple Consultants Network - http://consultants.apple.com
3. Apple Employees - that's some good action if you can get the hookup. I'd rather not say much about that for fear of an Apple Lawyer shoving a sock down my throat. (It's where I scored my iPod from, and I'm a certified ACN member)
4. CompUSA employees - they can buy at CompUSA's cost.
The discounts are out there, you just may have to put yourself in indentured servitude or buy a bunch of beer for someone (especially in the case of the CompUSA employee, Apple employee, or the kid).
10% discount means $269 at Target (Score:5, Informative)
I signed up for the Target credit card and got an instant 10% off. That saved me $30 right there.
Then they gave me a smart card reader, and another 10% off my next credit card purchase, plus another 10% off any on-line purchase.
Wow. I'm done. It was easy, and to be honest I haven't used their card since. Maybe I'll start using it if my current "favorite" card continues to screw me with their crazy rules.
Join Audible, get $100 off (Score:4, Informative)
Oh yeah. Tell 'em sdmb sent you.
Don't be so weak willed! (Score:3, Insightful)
How big a discount do you want? (Score:3, Funny)
"Sure!" he said. "How big a discount do you want?"
"You mean I get to choose?" I asked. Wow! Nice neighbor. It must pay to know people in high places.
"Sure!" he said again. "You tell me what discount you want, then I'll tell you the retail price!"
Guess there's a reason he's still in business.
DELL's stackable coupons (Score:5, Informative)
Always the case with Apple (Score:3, Insightful)
Find a Federal employee... (Score:3, Informative)
Great deal! (Score:4, Interesting)
I sent my wife up to Best Buy when they were having their 10% off thing this weekend. I already saw on the coupon it said mp3 players 10% off (except Ipods). I told her to take it anyways, but then she lost it, ah well - so she did take the double-your-best-buy-reward-zone coupon.
She picked up the 40G ipod, a armband case or whatever, and the extended service plan.
At the register, she gave them her coupon, and the girl working the register said "Do you have your 10% off coupon as well?", and my wife said she didn't, so the girl went to a couple other registers to find one!!! She let it go through, too.
And, my wife doesn't know what happened after that, but she started talking, walked away, and found another 10% off coupon.
So, everything we bought only cost about $520 after tax. Ahhh.. And I was going to be content getting my 800,000 reward zone points.
Rebates exist to drive sales (Score:3, Insightful)
Partner Links Through Amazon yielding discounts (Score:5, Informative)
A longtime mac bloggish site is linking to amazon, and offering actual discounts on a variety of apple hardware. Including the iPod.
Click on over to MacInTouch [macintouch.com] for a little bit off. It's linked off towards the bottom of the home page. It's not a huge discount, but the only one I've seen:
iPod 10GB: $284.05
iPod 20GB: $379.05
iPod 40GB: $474.05
I Just Asked Froogle (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.darrenbarefoot.com [darrenbarefoot.com]
Words. Words. Words.
Sheer naivete vs. corporate America (Score:3, Insightful)
Please - why the shock and surprise? Apple doesn't have to lower the price, for Christmas or any other reason. The ipod is a hot item - for whatever reason. Apple will get the sales, whether or not the 1/2 dozen of you who think that they should lower the price or you just won't buy one continue to have your little coniptions....
Apple has very strict price points they sell and have their resellers sell their products. Best Buy/Circuit City/whoever contractually cannot lower the price without Apple's say-so.
So suck it up: pay the man or don'tSooooo (Score:3, Insightful)
iPods for below retail price (Score:4, Informative)
Another little tip I've heard, though, is to find a buddy working at a CompUSA store. Supposedly, their employee discounts on Apple products (of all types) come pretty close to the same thing as Apple's educational discounts. One of them should be able to buy you an iPod for at least $40 off or so.
Also, don't forget, Apple offers a number of discounts similar to the "educational discount". They have a lesser-known military discount, and a discount for govt. employees too. So you should be able to find *someone* who qualifies for one of those.....
In the grand scheme of things though, I figure an iPod is a pretty pricy little toy, any way you look at it - and if I was going to take the plunge and buy it, I'm not going to incur a bunch of extra hassle just to save less than $50 on the thing. I just paid what they were asking, got my instant gratification, and figure I'll make up for it by avoiding the urge many folks seem to have to waste money on useless iPod accessories (leather cases and the like).
Nice iPod used/recon'd inventory... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Just too suspicious of Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
You shouldn't. Nobody's forcing you, right? If you want to spend the money for the iPod, then do it. If you don't, then, er, don't.
Re:Isn't it Apple? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple cannot control what you actually SELL it for, though.
However, if you're a retailer and you know you have X allocation of iPods, and you can sell them all at full retail, why discount?
Re:Ebay. (Score:3, Insightful)
I bought a dual 2ghz G5 on ebay for $2700. They retail from Apple for $2999. The same machine had been used by someone doing a magazine review, repackaged, and sold on ebay. Everything was still in it's wrapper. I'm 100% satisfied.
(I then went out and bought 1 gig of 3rd party RAM for half the price the Apple RAM would have cost).
Especially since this one was not plagued with the "noisy power supply" problem (I asked the seller first) - you can't get THAT guarantee from Apple.
Re:Before you buy an IPOD (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Why an Ipod? There's a better alternative... (Score:5, Informative)
I'm sure someone makes an armband-style case for iPod owners who want one.
No movable parts so no skipping unlike the ipod
The iPod has 32MB of cache. The average song encoded at a 128K bit rate is 4MB. So about 6 to 10 songs should fit into the iPod cache. I suppose skipping could become an issue for the iPod if you strap it to a running paint shaker and listen to it for a while.
The Ipod is overkill in terms of storage (The Iriver can hold 5-50 cds depending on the sampled bitrate but normally I'd say around 6-10)
Says you. I have a 30GB iPod, and I like being able to carry around my entire CD collection in my shirt pocket. No matter where I am, I can listen to any song I want, any time I want.
The Ipod is too big & heavy
The size of a deck of cards and the weight of 2 CDs is too big and heavy? Do you have severely atrophied muscles because you've been in a coma for the last 10 years, or something?
The Ipod battery fails after about 18 months and costs over $100 to replace
Lies, all lies. Some people have had battery problems, not everyone. The majority of people with original 5GB iPods who posted when this was brought up a week or two ago are having ZERO problems. And if $100 is too rich for your blood, you can replace the iPod battery yourself for $50. [ipodbattery.com]
The Ipod is just a notebook/laptop hard drive in a clean looking case but just as fragile as any other hard drive
I haven't read of anyone who has had issues because of drive fragility. People who are really concerned about it can buy a case. I prefer to just take good care of my stuff.
I've read nothing but excellent reviews for the Iriver mp3 player and own one and it's the best I've ever had.
I've read nothing but excellent reviews for the iPod, and own one, and it's the best I've ever had. Neener neener neener!
I don't agree with the argument that you get more storage for the same price from an Ipod. What's the use if it's overkill? If it was an external hard drive or something along those lines I'd agree but it's not.
Ummmm, the iPod is an external hard drive. You can store anything on it, you can even install an OS on it and boot from it. For someone who claims to have had an iPod, you sure don't seem to know much about them.
~Philly