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Topic: Apple

Apple retail stores to match prices

Summary: In a surprising move for the consumer electronics turned retail heavyweight, Apple has internally announced that retail store employees can match prices of other authorized retailers.The key phrase here is "authorized retailers" which means that Apple isn't going to price match some gray marketer selling Macs online or pretty much anyone that doesn't adhere to Apple's strict Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy, which states:...

Jason D. O'Grady

By for The Apple Core |

Apple retail stores to match pricesIn a surprising move for the consumer electronics turned retail heavyweight, Apple has internally announced that retail store employees can match prices of other authorized retailers.

The key phrase here is "authorized retailers" which means that Apple isn't going to price match some gray marketer selling Macs online or pretty much anyone that doesn't adhere to Apple's strict Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy, which states:

...Minimum Advertised Price (M.A.P.) Guidelines apply to reseller's advertisement of products acquired through the Reseller BTO Apple Store. The M.A.P. price for all BTO product acquired through the Reseller BTO Apple Store is the reseller acquisition cost divided by .92. Any deviations from the Guidelines may result in a reduction in AppleFund and/or Apple Specialist Resource Fund payments.

Previously store managers had a little room to make deals on larger purchases but there has never been a formal policy on price matching. The people this will probably cheese off the most is Apple's remaining network of independent retail Apple stores (we have a great one in Philly called Springboard Media).

ifoAppleStore notes that Apple doesn't traditionally discount its products except on Black Friday and that Last Sunday Best Buy announced US$50-$150 discounts on various Macs, while Amazon.com typically offers year-round discounts on Macintosh models.

(Tip: ifoAppStore)

Topics: Apple, Hardware

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21 comments
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  • Not the first time Apple has screwed their authorized resellers

    Apple faced a huge lawsuit years ago when the first Apple stores started popping up. Turns out that when an Apple store went up, authorized resellers in the area would be told that certain items were out of stock even though the Apple store had no problems restocking their shelves and the Apple store was selling items at less than what Apple was charging the resellers.

    [url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/16/apple_gets_sued/] Apple is a dirty, evil company. [/url]

    Quite frankly, you would have to be a [b]fool[/b] to open an Apple reseller store now since the moment you are successful, Apple will open a store in your area and drive you out of business.
    NonZealot
    Reply Vote

    • It's hard to fathom...

      the amount of obsession that forces one to keep at hand a
      database of every anti-Apple article written. But I guess
      that's what an admitted anti-Apple zealot does.

      By the way, please tell us the results of this lawsuit.
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

      • Results of the lawsuit

        Apple settled because they knew that the resellers were clearly in the right. The resellers probably settled because they knew that a long, drawn out fight against Apple lawyers would probably eat into the judgment.

        The company you so desperately defend has been caught doing many deceptive and disgusting things (they've recently been forced to pull iPhone ads because they blatantly doctored the videos to make the iPhone look faster than it was). Apple is lucky to have a legion of paid apologists like you doing their "dirty" work. :)
        NonZealot
        Reply Vote

        • How do you know...

          why they settled? You don't really, do you? You're just
          making that up.

          My only affiliation with Apple is that of a satisfied
          customer, and, since I'm so very satisfied, an owner of a
          very small number of Apple shares (about the same
          number as my IBM and Microsoft shares). Any comments
          about my being paid are wrong. I have a job, and it has
          nothing to do with the computer industry. I haven't hidden
          myself with a screen name that is, in itself, and obvious
          falsehood, and anyone can probably figure out who I am
          pretty easily, since I've never hidden anything about me.
          msalzberg
          Reply Vote

    • Usual falsehoods

      "the Apple store was selling items at less than what Apple
      was charging the resellers."

      Patently false, as Apple has always held to MSRP at their
      stores (except for Black Friday) and resellers do not buy at
      retail.

      Please be a little more credible in your made-up stuff.
      frabjous
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple retail stores to match prices

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    • RE: Apple retail stores to match prices

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  • Apple Pricematching Themselves is News?

    Sorry for being such a grump, but as someone who just bought a Macbook and is in the market for a Pro then I'm a bit fed up with the hoopla surrounding this big "sale".

    People are acting like this is some sort of crazy half-off sale but the reality is that $100 off of a $1299 item is only about a 9% discount (and $100 off $1999 is only 5%). Sure, it's better than nothing but is it really deserving of all the press it's recieved? Sadly, outside of this weekend then we probably won't see this sort of "severe" discount again. So what exactly is the big deal?
    Urkel
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple retail stores to match prices

    I was once a 'mac religionist' because the machines really were better and more versatile. However, in recent years they have become like what they opposed (WinTel), albeit less buggy. The company is a giant, walled fortress where anything Apple will only work with other apple products/services, and versatility is out the window, apparently, since each separate use has now become a separate "billing event." Example: I can only use my iPhone's bluetooth capability for mobile telephony; I can't use the thing as a temporary bridge modem for internet telephony. This is merely an example. The job title "genius" is just preposterous, and sends a message of prissy unapproachability. By contrast, my husband and I have found Springboard media to be everything the sanctified Apple Store is not: flexible, helpful, approachable, willing to offer good stuff no matter who makes it. I'm happy to see them highlighted. I also hope that Apple gets the message: there is a reason why the Soviet Union imploded, and it wasn't (horror of horrors) Ronald Reagan. It imploded because of inflexibility, an excessive need for control, and a fortress mentality. I am so, so, sad to observe that this is what Apple has increasingly become. Oh, in addition, they might have great hardware/software, but their power management gadgets suck. I really hope/wish they would get a grip, because at the end of the day, technological excellence (AKA reliability, sophistication, usability, flexiblity, computing power, creative design) really matter. And since Microsoft killed off the others, apple has been the only alternative. I want them to succeed, but not by oppressing the user.
    sara@...
    Reply Vote

    • This is the height before the fall...

      Remember the first go around with Apple? The great products, innovative, fresh, ahead of their time. See the parrallel? No Apple is going down hard again. Will they survive? Who knows. The one to keep out though is Jobs. He is a meglamaniac who is not healthy for Apple in the long term. Keep in mind Apples turnaround is built primarily on the backs of this financial mess we are in now.
      CrashPad
      Reply Vote

      • "Apple is going down hard again."

        My goodness! So, for the 53rd time, the 'Death of Apple' is predicted. Thanks you so much for your insightful analysis, Mr./Ms. Crashpad. I'll be sure to dispose of all of my Apple products to avoid adding to the load on the 'backs of this financial mess we are in now'(?)
        edward.arnold@...
        Reply Vote

        • Yeah

          [i]My goodness! So, for the 53rd time, the 'Death of Apple' is predicted.[/i]

          That and the 'Last Nail' in MS's coffin... both are oddly amusing to read. IMO we may be at the peak of Apple's growth though. We'll see.
          Badgered
          Reply Vote

      • What???

        "Apples turnaround is built primarily on the backs of this
        financial mess we are in now"

        Please explain to us unenlightened folks how bank
        mismanagement, government pressure to approve risky loans
        and lack of accountability by top management and unions
        has ANYTHING to do with Apple's success in designing
        products and services that lots of people considered worth
        buying. I can't wait to learn!
        frabjous
        Reply Vote

    • Sorry about that

      "The job title "genius" is just preposterous, and sends a
      message of prissy unapproachability. By contrast, my
      husband and I have found Springboard media to be
      everything the sanctified Apple Store is not"

      Clearly, you had a bad experience--and some hangup with
      the word "genius"--and that is unfortunate. My
      experience, in both the Apple stores in our area, is that
      the staff was extraordinarily approachable and helpful. Just
      one example was an apparent system problem with my
      wife's old, out-of-warranty "half dome" iMac that the
      Genius quickly diagnosed, and while l shopped around the
      mall, he copied all her files to a DVD, formatted the hard
      drive, reinstalled OS X and all her files and did not charge
      anything.

      Whenever I am in an Apple store, I observe truly impressive
      staffers, helping "lookers" and owners alike, and I have
      personally never seen or had a problem. Granted, that is
      just my experience--but the fact is that Apple has the
      highest per-square-foot revenues of ANY chain retailer in
      the US, including even the highest end jewelry stores. They
      must be doing something right, for an awful lot of people.

      Did you notice their latest quarterly earnings? They claimed
      that half of Mac sales in their stores are to first-time Mac
      buyers. Again, people vote with their credit cards...
      frabjous
      Reply Vote

  • Price matching FTL

    Price matching: the act of rewarding the retailer who offered the highest price, while punishing the retailer who ultimately tried to give you the best deal hassle-free.

    No thanks.
    ejhonda
    Reply Vote

    • Hey, if you like payig more...

      no one is stopping you.

      Price matching is just plain competition.
      tikigawd
      Reply Vote

      • Who Said He Was Willing to Pay More?

        He'll just buy it from the folks that are selling it for less. Why dicker with someone at the Apple store to get it for the same price available somewhere else with no questions asked?
        Uber Dweeb
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple retail stores to match prices

    Since apple computers, except the mac mini. Are expensive, and are meant for folks with deep pockets. It may benefit those looking for an ipod touch. I don't see the need for this price matching. Except maybe as others have stated. To punish those resellers, who are cutting their profits, to give consumers a break.
    blackjack861@...
    Reply Vote

    • You have a very strange view...

      of business, if you think resellers cut their profits to give
      consumers a break.
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple retail stores to match prices

    Loved your post !Sorry for being such a grump, but as someone who just bought a Macbook and is in the market for a Pro then I'm a bit fed up with the hoopla surrounding this big "sale".
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    albalb
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