Apple Store Thanksgiving Event

[MacRumors]

Apple is hosting (http://www.apple.com/retail/thanksgiving/) another special Apple event at Apple stores across the country.


Get a head start on your holiday shopping — join us at the Apple Store Friday, November 29th from 6:00pm to Midnight for an event you won’t want to miss. Starting at 6:00pm sharp, enjoy free stocking-stuffers, special savings and a chance to win a new 15-inch iMac.


One-night only deals will also be available at the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com).

[dricci]

Yeah, last time I tried to go to a "special event" at the Apple store (Jaguar release) the line wrapped halfway around the mall! If they're giving away free stuff, you'd better get there 6 hours early (unless you like standing in lines) :D

And a side note, this is the 3rd positive story on Mac rumors today! Maybe that's a sign of a good week ahead? :cool:

[Timothy]

Does anyone get the sense that this could include a new product announcement?

[arn]

Originally posted by Timothy
Does anyone get the sense that this could include a new product announcement?

no... looks like just a sale.

arn

[LimeiBook86]

I just want the free stocking-stuffers! :-D Now that there is a new Apple Store in Menlo Park, NJ I can go :D

[voicegy]

I agree with dricci above that if you plan on going to this event, get there a nice 3 hours early. The last event (Jaguar and give-away) at our Fashion Valley store brought more people there than the original opening...it was a TREMENDOUS response, and one that I was proud of being a part of (those PeeCee people just don't get it!)

However, I am befuddled by ONE thing...I, as many others, entered the free computer drawing, but I never heard a word since...were only the winners contacted via e-mail or phone? Did a "winners' list" ever make it to the Apple site?

[Mr. Anderson]

Its not worth it - I went to the Jaguar event and realized that I am on the low end of the Apple geek scale, really :D I got my jaguar mouse pad and entered in for the free macs - and even after trying to follow up and find out who won them, Apple wouldn't release the names of the winners.

It was crowded and quite a disappointment. But also, to give them a little credit, they might change things this time so it works a bit smoother.

Someone make sure to post from the store to update us on the event if you can.

D

[Timothy]

I can understand why there was excitement over the release of Jaguar, and why this was enough to draw large crowds to the previous in-store event sponsored by Apple. But, why would one attend this specific event?

If we don't expect any new product or announcements...what's the draw? I learned at the Jaguar Release party that, I too, am on the low-end of mac geekdom; there were some mac geeks there that certainly made me look vanilla by comparison.

I mean, I just couldn't get as wrapped into a frenzy over a t-shirt or mouse pad as most of the crowd, and quietly left, wondering why I associated with this crowd? It was a bit embarrasing... :D

So, really, no new products, no new announcements, and you still expect a crowd at this event?

[wdlove]

Any idea what the sale particulars would be? At the Jaguar release, got a 10% discount on the purchase of a CPU.

[AssassinOfGates]

Im goin, but not spending anything. Tis international buy nothing day.

[AssassinOfGates]

Originally posted by Timothy
I can understand why there was excitement over the release of Jaguar, and why this was enough to draw large crowds to the previous in-store event sponsored by Apple. But, why would one attend this specific event?

Tis the first day of christmas shopping by default. The day after thanksgiving.

[scem0]

UGGGGGHHHHHHHH me mad again. I am mad at apple for not
having an apple store in Austin... It is the perfect place. There
is a major college (UT) and Austinites, usually, like things that are
creative and beautiful like apple products. I think that if apple
released a store in Austin, that laptops would fly off the shelves
to college students (and iPods) and people would buy a bunch
of desktops there. It would always be packed... I know I would
be there often. And this sale makes me reaaaaaaally want an
apple store. :rolleyes:

[arn]

Originally posted by Timothy

So, really, no new products, no new announcements, and you still expect a crowd at this event?

You ever been to the mall the day after Thanksgiving?

It's insanity... how many people are out.

It makes sense to have a sale... many places do.

arn

[scem0]

Yeah, everyone is returning that turquoise turtle-neck long sleeve
t-shirt their grandma got them :D. Well, maybe not everyone, but
I know I will be. Too bad there isn't an apple store in Austin :mad:
(See above post)

[Choppaface]

so do they only give out mousepads or is there better stuff that might justify a trip down to stanford? :D

[ChicagoMac]

Originally posted by scem0
Yeah, everyone is returning that turquoise turtle-neck long sleeve
t-shirt their grandma got them :D. Well, maybe not everyone, but
I know I will be. Too bad there isn't an apple store in Austin :mad:
(See above post)


I usually wait until the day after Christmas to return my gifts, not the day after thanksgiving.:p

Anyway, why go to the mall that evening when there will be a sale online as well? I already have enough t-shirts and plastic mouse pads. No need to wait in a long line for more. And besides, you'll save money paying for shipping instead of sales tax if you're buying any kind of hardware.

[beez7777]

Originally posted by ChicagoMac
Anyway, why go to the mall that evening when there will be a sale online as well? I already have enough t-shirts and plastic mouse pads. No need to wait in a long line for more.

one can never have too many t-shirts and mousepads. thats why i'm goin, and its one of the reasons i went to the jaguar release party :)

[Pismo]

Originally posted by Choppaface
so do they only give out mousepads or is there better stuff that might justify a trip down to stanford? :D

The closest Apple Store is 2 hours away from me. Not worth the trip because I know it'll be packed. And it's funny how Apple will give you a mousepad to go with your Apple Pro optical mouse that doesn't even need a mousepad. I bet I can find everything that Apple is giving away cheap on eBay.

[Skandranon]

I expect we'll see sales for the iPod (which is getting heavy marketing this holiday season via Target, Best Buy and even archnemesis Dull Computer) and for older, dated models like the 15" LCD iMac...

... but can we anticipate 10% price reductions for all computer models ála the Jaguar release? More specifically, should I postpone my imminent PowerBook purchase until Black Friday so that I can cash in on some Post-Thanksgiving discounts?

Even if there's a 10% reduction, that can translate over to a couple hundred dollars depending on the final purchase... a very attractive offer to a prospective computer buyer like myself.

Any clues? Suspicions? Holla back, kids.

:confused:

[whfsdude]

Originally posted by dukestreet

Someone make sure to post from the store to update us on the event if you can.

D

yeah I think I am going to drag Aaron to Clarendon :P

[madforrit]

Originally posted by Choppaface
so do they only give out mousepads or is there better stuff that might justify a trip down to stanford? :D

hahahaha....no need to go to the farm....there's an Apple Store in Emeryville now. (Bay Street Mall)

[wdlove]

Maybe their will be some leftover turkey! :p

[pgwalsh]

Hmmm. I may make it to the Palo Alto store. I wonder if Jobs will be there again? He does live close to that store.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by pgwalsh
Hmmm. I may make it to the Palo Alto store. I wonder if Jobs will be there again? He does live close to that store. \

Maybe you'll be able to get an autograph! Say hello to him for us!

[pgwalsh]

Originally posted by wdlove
\

Maybe you'll be able to get an autograph! Say hello to him for us!
An autograph eh... hmmm. don't know about that one. :rolleyes:

[mousemd]

I too am curious if there will be any discounts on computers that day. Can anyone tell me if the discounts on Jaguar launch day was 10% off ALL computers including powerbooks that day?

[wdlove]

Yes, there was a 10% discount with the Jaguar release, it covered CPU's, displays, and software purchased at the same time.

If I went online it wouldn't be the same, meeting other Mac enthusiasts. With the Jaguar release there was no online offer, at least that's what they said at the store.

[beez7777]

yeah, and i bought my 17" iMac the night before the jaguar release event, and i attended that too. oh well. i wonder what kind of stuff they'll give away tomorrow, t-shirts maybe, but what could be on the t-shirts? maybe a green and red X? anyways, ill be there, the nearest apple store is 10 minutes from my house :)

[Jimong5]

I wonder if it begins early.. Apple is posting a $100 Mail in rebate on the eMac in the apple store, bringing the base model under a grand.

[AssassinOfGates]

I'll definately be able to go it seems. Do ye reckon I should go early to ensure getting a stocking stuffer, or do you think there will be enough to satisfy the zealots? Easton Town Center / Ohio

[LimeiBook86]

I WANT TO GO! I'll probably leave at 5 if I can go at all.... :( Well I hope I can go, I'll take a few pics (if I have the nerve) :D Well I'll be in the Menlo Park Store in NJ, man that mall will be packed...

[Computer_Phreak]

ok its the day after thanksgiving....

anyone go to the event?
then tell us about it!!

[AssassinOfGates]

Originally posted by Computer_Phreak
ok its the day after thanksgiving....

anyone go to the event?
then tell us about it!!

It hasn't even begun yet.

[chmorley]

Starts tonight at 6.

Chris

[sahil]

just a quick question...does anyone think that there is any point in me going to the apple store at woodfield (Chicago, IL) for the event...cos im afraid itll be a waste

[longday]

the people on these boards from the East Coast will give us the 411 on what this event is all about so we know if it's worth schlepping ourselves to. When I called the Apple Store in Emeryville they practically denied any knowledge of the activities that were going to happen, until finally mumbling "Yeah some small stuff being given away throughout the evening, and the drawing for the iMac doesn't sound like it's even happening tonight so you don't have to stay until midnight if you don't want to, just enter and then leave."

I've never been to an "Apple Event" and thanks to this board I'm terrified ;-)

[wdlove]

Don't be terrified longday, I've found them to be alot of fun. Waiting in line was fun, able to visit with fellow Mac enthusiasts.

[LimeiBook86]

WHAT IS THE FREE GIFT!? SOMEONE VISITING THE STORE TELL US! :D

[ant]

why not ask for one if he is there

anyway i would go if i could love to actually have an apple store. here in the uk we don't have apple stores and we have to go to pc stores and get treated like dirt not much choice over here. Can't wait for apple to open some stores in uk and kick butt

[pimentoLoaf]

Originally posted by LimeiBook86
WHAT IS THE FREE GIFT!? SOMEONE VISITING THE STORE TELL US! :D

Bluetooth adaptors? Palm 130's? Copy of Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds w/Clone Wars module?

Or perhaps an as yet unsold classic Mac SE/30 with Microsoft Word 4.

[Doctor Q]

I went to the Jaguar event and found it pretty funny that they were giving away Jaguar mousepads while selling computers with optical mice that don't need mousepads. If you do use a mousepad with Apple's mouse, it should be one with a plain color or pattern, since a complicated pattern can confuse the mouse. I hope they are little more clever about their giveaways this time.

[OSXpert]

a magnet!

::cough cough::

well, i got a T-shirt for going to the Oakbrook opening, but they also gave out one of those magnet thinks where you spell out stuff, except the words are like iPod, iSync, etc. If you bought something $50 or more, you could get a mousepad or wrapping paper. There were some pretty good deals on some stuff, but everything wasn't discounted. It was ok, pretty fun being there for the opening (i was the first person to purchase anything)

[AssassinOfGates]

Ok, just got back and heres the scoop. Kind of a letdown for me. A: You spend $50 and you get giftwrap and a mousepad (no apple logos :( ). B: You also get magnets if you bought anything as you leave the store. All of it had some weird design print by Rex Ray that was intended for this event only. If you want I'll post pictures of the stuff. The discounts are impressive. There was a great sale on JBL Creatures and on .Mac, along with some other items like the 17" imac and airport base station. I forget the rest of the discounts. The only apple logo I got was on the bag, which is paper, not those funky blue plastic ones.

[wdlove]

I'm also disappointed, was prepared to buy if they had the 10% discount at Jaguar release. Special on Apple gift items 17" iMac $1888, AirPort $268, & iPod start $268. .Mac is $68. Well there is always next time. Must be meant to get TH PPC 970? :(

[AssassinOfGates]

Here is the magnet. I got two. EDIT: there are mini magnets (the words) within the magnet.

[LimeiBook86]

Post a picture of the magnet please :D

[AssassinOfGates]

Here is the mousepad, after spending $50

[AssassinOfGates]

Here is the giftwrap tube...

[AssassinOfGates]

Here is a closeup of the wrap...
they also have a pic of the guy on it, but im too lazy to take out my camera again for it.

[AssassinOfGates]

Finally, here is the bag. Nothing special except its no longer the blue plastic ones.

[Skandranon]

Man. I was waiting to buy my new 1GHz TiBook today for potential Thanksgiving Day savings... and nada. Screw this man. Talk about dashing my hopes, Apple.

Stupid one-day only event.

:mad:

[King Cobra]

>(Skandranon) Man. I was waiting to buy my new 1GHz TiBook today for potential Thanksgiving Day savings... and nada. Screw this man. Talk about dashing my hopes, Apple.

Number one: Get off AOL.

Number two: Get off the java. :)

Three: It's your responsibility to find out all the details, not Apple's. Repeat.

Four: If Apple didn't make it clear enough, there is no rule, saying you can't ask an Apple Store employee (or having someone ask for you) and getting the details early. It's your loss, man.

[arogge]

Discounted merchandise:

17-inch iMac: $1,888
iPods: Starting from $268
Airport Base Station: $268
OS 10.2: $98
.Mac: $68
Canon PowerShot S200 digital camera: $268
HP DeskJet 5550: $128
Canon ZR40: $498
JBL Creature Speakers: $98

There were also stocking stuffers such as three styles of pens, a clock, a keychain, and a belt clip. Wrapping paper was free with a $50 minimum purchase. The only free gift was a magnet, which did not include a much needed warning: "Do not place next to Apple computer hardware." There were no new product announcements to speak of, and no permenant price cuts. It wasn't worth the multi-hour wait that some people endured. The line was much shorter after a few hours, so it might be easier to go later at night to avoid the crowds. I'd be happier about the event if I won one of the drawings.

[MrMacMan]

I love it when apple posts that there is gonna be a giveaway.
:me thinks COOL, me and 400 people have a chance: (as last event 10.2) Nope.
Why not, cause apple don't say 'At every Apple Store' they say '1 iMac giveaway' Ah-HA! 1:20,000 people. :(
Plus the discounts aren't too much... :rolleyes:

[applemacdude]

did u have to buy something to get the stuffers? what about the magnets? how are they? damn it. i hope i could find it on ebay

[applemacdude]

how u get the stuffers? and can someone post pics?

[ChicagoMac]

Hey AppleMacDude,check page two of this thread. All of your questions are answered there.

[applemacdude]

There were also stocking stuffers such as three styles of pens, a clock, a keychain, and a belt clip. Wrapping paper was free with a $50 minimum purchase. The only free gift was a magnet, which did not include a much needed warning: "Do not place next to Apple computer hardware." There were no new product announcements to speak of, and no permenant price cuts. It wasn't worth the multi-hour wait that some people endured. The line was much shorter after a few hours, so it might be easier to go later at night to avoid the crowds. I'd be happier about the event if I won one of the drawings.

meant the pens,watch,etc....:D

[AssassinOfGates]

What the hell? At Easton Town Center in Ohio, there wern't any pens, belt clips or clocks. I feel cheated. Post a pic of those items.

[bousozoku]

Orlando's store didn't have a huge number, but the velvet rope was out for a return engagement. There weren't that many people in the mall around 7 p.m. They were all there around noon or so. I'm sure that some of the malls with more moderately-priced merchandise or still packed...or at least the car parks.

[scem0]

I want those creature speakers. They are ultra cool looking,
Then again I also want a new g4, a new powerbook, a new....
oh hell, that list goes on forever. :D :D :D

[lpj8]

I was in Wellington (Southeast Florida) for the sale. I got there at around 5:55 and there were probably 50 people in line ahead of me. I'm a recent switcher, so I was pleasantly surprised at the "event". I don't think any PC maker does anything like this. I could be wrong though. Anyways, I spent 30 bucks on a USB memory key drive and recieved the magnetic picture frame, and the mouse pad. I also entered the drawing. It seemed like a good turnout to me, a lot of people were buying either powerbooks or iBooks.

[pimentoLoaf]

Those critter-speakers aren't just odd looking (the bigggg one is a woofer, btw), but the sound is utterly phenomenal. Plug any kind of radio into 'em and the sound just blows you away.

[AssassinOfGates]

Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
Those critter-speakers aren't just odd looking (the bigggg one is a woofer, btw), but the sound is utterly phenomenal. Plug any kind of radio into 'em and the sound just blows you away.

'Tis the truth. Barely any noise, great range, maintains the quality at high volumes, great bass. Check the pics on page 2. I would know :D

[dricci]

Originally posted by arogge
The only free gift was a magnet, which did not include a much needed warning: "Do not place next to Apple computer hardware."

It should say, "Do not place next to Apple computer hardware. Feel free to place on your friend's Dell."

[wdlove]

Originally posted by AssassinOfGates
Finally, here is the bag. Nothing special except its no longer the blue plastic ones.

I have 3 - 4 of those bags, come in blue also, nice. Have 2 of them hanging in the Kitchen. See link for photo, T & E getting to WK, when I used quote function the photo wasn't copied.

When I got to the CambridgeSide Galleria at 8:12pm no line. I considered it to be a good turnout.

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=195206

[wdlove]

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=195202

I really like the mouse pad.

Sorry about the duplicate, I got frustrated trying to get the image to move with the quote function. I didn't do it on purpose, wish the delete function would work, then my error could have been fixed.

:(

[pimentoLoaf]

Bag availability depends. The plastic blues were around for the grand opening, then I had blueApples for a month, then back to plastic, and now redApples.

Hey... maybe in 2004 they'll have rainbow striped ones in honor of the 20th Anniversary of Macintosh.

:cool:

[Mr. Anderson]

Did anyone go to both Apple events? What were the crowds like for this one?

Glad I didn't go, nothing special happened at the first one, I was expecting it to be pretty much the same for this one.

D

[IndyGopher]

Originally posted by ChicagoMac



I usually wait until the day after Christmas to return my gifts, not the day after thanksgiving.:p

Anyway, why go to the mall that evening when there will be a sale online as well? I already have enough t-shirts and plastic mouse pads. No need to wait in a long line for more. And besides, you'll save money paying for shipping instead of sales tax if you're buying any kind of hardware.

If you buy from the online Apple Store, you'll pay sales tax AND shipping.

[pimentoLoaf]

Personally, I never buy hardware online. Seeing what happens to many software and book purchases that way has me convinced I'd never get working equipment.

[wdlove]

Apple is still offering free ground shipping when ordering online! Thank you Apple! :)

[eric_n_dfw]

Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
Personally, I never buy hardware online. Seeing what happens to many software and purchases purchases that way has me convinced I'd never get working equipment.
I've never had a bad experience with reputable vendors (Buy.com, Amazon.com, Apple, eCost.com, MacMall, Outpost.com)

The only time I hada problem was buying a Canon GL1 from a New York, gray market site (mpsuperstore.com). This is before I knew what gray market was. (The camera had no serial numbers and I had to call CitiBank in to get a refund to my credit card.)

[pimentoLoaf]

Before the local Apple Store, I bought most of my stuff from MacZone, who didn't mess up the one "hardware" item -- an iBook carrying case.

But then, there isn't much you can do to a small case.

(BTW, the case is Belkin's Houston model, for around $60. Very well to do for 12"-sized dual-USB iBooks.)