Office Depot and Apple

[MacBytes]

Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Apple products now available at Office Depot (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20040712135300)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[yamabushi]

Great news. I hope Office Depot encourages their use for business tasks.

[macridah]

Cool. Office depot always has comes out with online coupons. But the real news is that Apple is starting to have more partners.

[Frozone]

Is this an online only deal or are they going to be put into stores? Hopefully they'll be put into stores so I don't have to drive about 35 miles to Tallahassee for Apple stuff.

[nagromme]

Looks like the full Apple lineup, not just the low-end stuff.

If it's in-store as well, I hope it works out as well as CompUSA became. My CompUSA is an great and knowledgeable Apple source. Store-within-a-store seems to work well there.

[eric_n_dfw]

Interestingly, the site says they have 15" iMac's in stock.

[Frozone]

Looks like the full Apple lineup, not just the low-end stuff.

If it's in-store as well, I hope it works out as well as CompUSA became. My CompUSA is an great and knowledgeable Apple source. Store-within-a-store seems to work well there.

Except they don't have the new Displays.

[Mudbug]

well, actually looking at the offered products, most are a revision behind:
Power Macs 1.6, 1.8 & dual 2.0, still offering the iMacs, although the powerbooks are up to speed.

I see this as a key move for Apple in the business sector, especially with small businesses. Office Depot is pretty much a small business one-stop-shop, and if they're offering Apple machines offered with the ease of purchase with an Office Depot low-apr credit line, this is a really good thing.

[mainstreetmark]

Yeah, if this is true, it'd make it the only place to look at a Mac for sale within 50 miles of me.

Look at that old fashioned looking half-dome with display iMac. How archaic. How out of date.

[scottwat]

If you really want to move in the business sector it would be great to move revision behind or refurb merchendise at lower prices. Also would be a great place to sell the eMac. You could use your business line of credit and see the difference at the store.
Also a key to partnered retail sucess is keeping the pipple faced jerk off selling the apples from bashing them while they sell them. Sure they like window's they have just downloaded every piece of software they need illegally. Not really an option in business.

[bousozoku]

Looks like the full Apple lineup, not just the low-end stuff.

If it's in-store as well, I hope it works out as well as CompUSA became. My CompUSA is an great and knowledgeable Apple source. Store-within-a-store seems to work well there.

I missed them when i was in an Office Depot store yesterday. It does take them time to do things but it would be nice to see something other than HP machines offered.

[OhEsTen]

I really hope not, but I can't help but think how this all could turn into another Be$t Buy/Circuit City fiasco.

Remember going into those stores to check out Macs and having some pencil necked butthole try to talk you out of buying one. On a couple of occasions, I had gone into those stores to try and "test" out the salesman knowledge of their offered products - and guess what "Apple isn't going to be around much longer, Macs are slower, and they don't make any software for them."

This is the kind of crap that hurts Apple. As long as there are KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff to actually ENCOURAGE people to buy their products this won't work. Apple eventually stopped selling through the BB/CC chains. I'm not clear who's fault that was, but it didn't help sales all that much.

I am faithful though. I do hope this works.

[scottwat]

I really hope not, but I can't help but think how this all could turn into another Be$t Buy/Circuit City fiasco.

Remember going into those stores to check out Macs and having some pencil necked butthole try to talk you out of buying one. On a couple of occasions, I had gone into those stores to try and "test" out the salesman knowledge of their offered products - and guess what "Apple isn't going to be around much longer, Macs are slower, and they don't make any software for them."

This is the kind of crap that hurts Apple. As long as there are KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff to actually ENCOURAGE people to buy their products this won't work. Apple eventually stopped selling through the BB/CC chains. I'm not clear who's fault that was, but it didn't help sales all that much.

I am faithful though. I do hope this works.
Maybe it is up to us loyal mac users to keep this kind of thing from happening. What I propose is regularly stopping in and "shopping" for a new mac. If the twit that is helping you bad mouths the mac's let the store manager know. Maybe even try to find an apple contact to alert. I really doubt either the manager or Apple would take kindly to this. I know it's kind of harsh, but it isn't really the twits place to bash apple, especially when they are partnered with Apple.

[bousozoku]

I really hope not, but I can't help but think how this all could turn into another Be$t Buy/Circuit City fiasco.

Remember going into those stores to check out Macs and having some pencil necked butthole try to talk you out of buying one. On a couple of occasions, I had gone into those stores to try and "test" out the salesman knowledge of their offered products - and guess what "Apple isn't going to be around much longer, Macs are slower, and they don't make any software for them."

This is the kind of crap that hurts Apple. As long as there are KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff to actually ENCOURAGE people to buy their products this won't work. Apple eventually stopped selling through the BB/CC chains. I'm not clear who's fault that was, but it didn't help sales all that much.

I am faithful though. I do hope this works.

It almost sounds as if they saw the narrow-minded Mac user coming and decided to have some fun with him.

Playing games doesn't help. Why not calm down and let them do what they're supposed to do? Besides, Office Depot stores don't have that many people working for them--knowledgeable or otherwise.

[Frozone]

I emailed Office Depot concerning whether or not Apple stuff would make there way into stores. Here is the responce to my email....

---
Joseph,

Thank you for contacting Office Depot, in response to your inquiry, we
have just acquired Apple as an authorized dealer, so you should be
seeing the Apple products in our retail stores as well in the coming
months. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact. Thank you for contacting Office Depot, have a great day!

Regards,
Bernardo M.
---

So it look as if it's not just online. Tho, it will take time. YAYAYAYAY

[paulypants]

It almost sounds as if they saw the narrow-minded Mac user coming and decided to have some fun with him.

Playing games doesn't help. Why not calm down and let them do what they're supposed to do? Besides, Office Depot stores don't have that many people working for them--knowledgeable or otherwise.

I doubt it. I tried out several best buys and they were generally ill-informed about macs and definitely discouraged buying macs--and I wasn't wearing an "I OWN A MAC" T-shirt either. Never did I mention that I new anything about macs...

[pilotgi]

On the Office Depot website, they have a picture of Airport Express with a caption underneath that says "Airport Extreme"

[Lancetx]

I emailed Office Depot concerning whether or not Apple stuff would make there way into stores. Here is the responce to my email....

---
Joseph,

Thank you for contacting Office Depot, in response to your inquiry, we
have just acquired Apple as an authorized dealer, so you should be
seeing the Apple products in our retail stores as well in the coming
months. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact. Thank you for contacting Office Depot, have a great day!

Regards,
Bernardo M.
---

So it look as if it's not just online. Tho, it will take time. YAYAYAYAY

That's great news as it's good exposure for Apple and more buying options are always nice. I'm fortunate to live in an area with Apple Store, Fry's, Micro Center and Comp USA locations, but Office Depot will be another good option when shopping for Apple products. Plus, Office Depot is in many cities that do not have any of the retail stores I mentioned above so this is a great thing for Apple.

[OhEsTen]

-bousozoku-
"It almost sounds as if they saw the narrow-minded Mac user coming and decided to have some fun with him." -bousozoku-

Whats "narrow-minded" about asking questions about the products they carry? How would $ony react if people going in to buy a ps2 were discouraged from buying their console and encouraged to buy a xbox?

Does this happen? Is it narrow-minded to be upset that people spread lies about a product they don't know anything about?

[shamino]

I really hope not, but I can't help but think how this all could turn into another Be$t Buy/Circuit City fiasco.

Remember going into those stores to check out Macs and having some pencil necked butthole try to talk you out of buying one. On a couple of occasions, I had gone into those stores to try and "test" out the salesman knowledge of their offered products - and guess what "Apple isn't going to be around much longer, Macs are slower, and they don't make any software for them."
Whenever I go into an Office Depot, there usually isn't any staff around to say anything in the first place. So unless you think the shelf tags will say "go buy a PC", this shouldn't be a problem.

[OhEsTen]

Whenever I go into an Office Depot, there usually isn't any staff around to say anything in the first place. So unless you think the shelf tags will say "go buy a PC", this shouldn't be a problem.

I actually feel better now.

[baylormac]

did anyone notice that they say they have ipod minis in stock??? i guess they are the only people in the world. i hope this is true.

[MacRumors]

Office Depot (http://www.officedepot.com/) is now an Apple reseller. According to their website:

New at Office Depot! We are Proud to be an Authorized Reseller of Apple Products!

You can take advantage of one stop shopping for all your office supply needs and now all of your Apple technology needs in one convenient location. It's that easy to shop and save at Office Depot!"


Apple has previously attempted to offer Apple products at various national retailers (including Circuit City and Best Buy) in the past.

[Diatribe]

This should give Apple some boost if it works out. BestBuy did not so we will see.

[jkeithh]

Finally (hopefully) somewhere that I can buy Apple stuff locally without having to make a 100 mile round trip

[7on]

mmmmm Office Depot, not as high-class as Circuit City, but I hope it works out. Because I'm positive that their are no Mac users near me within a 100mi radius. Maybe more. All Apple needs to do is hire their own employees and send one to every Depot. Then it definitely work out. The main reason this does not work is that PC zealots often work at this PC department stores. And in turn deliberately turn people away from Macs or just don't bother to read about what they can do.

[Savage Henry]

http://www.appleturns.com/scene/?id=4812 (http://www.appleturns.com/) covered this quite well with their take on what this means for the image of both Apple and Office Depot.

To me it seems really weird. I wonder if Office Depot in the UK will follow suit. It's pretty small here, so I doubt it.

[virividox]

woo hoo but then again i hope this reseller doesnt mess up like best buy and apple should be able to supervise a little more

[dogbyte_13]

I sure hope apple either trains or puts their own people in office depot, because you have a bunch of chuckleheads that are usally pc only and are most unhelpful. On the other hand i no longer have to drive that far anymore to get apple products. :D

[jjmaximum]

And they are even showing In-Stock status for most products :D

[jdechko]

i think part of the reason that it didnt work out too well at best buy is that they dont actually stock apple computers & computer accessories in store (at least here around atlanta (GA), the only evidence ive seen of an apple/best buy partnership it on the bb website. I sure hope that office depot has some floor models so people can test them out. thats whats gonna help up apple's appeal

[slowtreme]

Office Depot, not as high-class as Circuit City Since when is Circuit City high-class? (not a fan of CC)

Personally I think this might be helpful for different reasons than having products in Best Buy and CompUSA. Office Depot is a Office supply store.

I have never had any worthwhile assistance in Office Depot, except for them to maybe point me in the direction of some oddball supply. These people seem to have no opinion at ALL about anything they sell. So they may have less change of steering someone away from a new Mac. When you walk up and say "I'll take that" they'll run off and get you a box (like web shopping, dont bother me till I'm ready to checkout). This is opposite of just about any other retail place selling Macs.

[kansast]

seems I remember this being tried before.. like around the initial release of the iMac ?? Not that I ever shop at Office Depot.. I also seem to remember a few members of our local Macintosh User's Group getting into a few shouting matches with the manager at our local Office Depot. The displays were always in disarray, not working, and the salespeople did everything they could to steer customers away from a Macintosh purchase.
would be nice if it works out better this time. But I'm not holding my breath.

[Quixcube]

This seems like a good idea at a bad time to me. I hope they sell a lot of eMacs because iMacs are getting a bit scarce... I see on their website that they offer PowerMacs too, but I don't think they will move many at a consumer outlet targeted at bargain shoppers.

[temptatino]

All Apple needs to do is hire their own employees and send one to every Depot. Then it definitely work out. The main reason this does not work is that PC zealots often work at this PC department stores. And in turn deliberately turn people away from Macs or just don't bother to read about what they can do.

The problem isn't so much that Best Buy and Office Depot are stocked with PC zealots as it is that they are filled with technological idiots. It'd be difficult for anyone to keep track of as many products as these large retailers offer, and on top of that do you think that the salaries are high enough to draw in true professionals? :eek: Besides, the biggest reason you don't find Mac users (or even knowledgable PC salespeople) is that anyone who cares about quality computers would have to be seriously sick to feel at ease selling $499 ('After Rebates!') buckets of crap to unsuspecting customers.

Okay, maybe I'm coming across too strong here.. Sorry, had to vent ;)

[mklos]

seems I remember this being tried before.. like around the initial release of the iMac ?? Not that I ever shop at Office Depot.. I also seem to remember a few members of our local Macintosh User's Group getting into a few shouting matches with the manager at our local Office Depot. The displays were always in disarray, not working, and the salespeople did everything they could to steer customers away from a Macintosh purchase.
would be nice if it works out better this time. But I'm not holding my breath.

I don't ever remember seeing Apple Products in an Office Depot. I remember seeing some Mac products in a Sears stores which was an absolute JOKE! Christ I was 12 years old and knew more about Macs than the supposed "Mac Specialist" at Sears.

Apple just needs to put their own employees in there and not let the PC idiots that don't know anything about Macs get anywhere near the Apple section. From what I see, they do a fairly good job with that in CompUSA.

[rosalindavenue]

I'm in western Virginia and the Apple pilot program was in the local Best Buy. They had a couple of imacs, a couple of powerbooks, an ibook and a G5 set up. For the first couple of months, there was an apparent apple employee around demoing ilife, but she wasn't there all the time. After she left there were only 20 year-old PC gamer employees who generally told customers they didnt know anything about macs. There needs to be some salesmanship to get people to abandon what they know (PCs) for generally more expensive macs, and if there is no salesmanship, no non-technical customers will buy them, at Best Buy or officema

[ojames]

Appleinsider posted a story on this yesterday claiming that they have confirmation that the macs will be in Office Depot stores toohttp://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=546. This makes sense, i mean, why would they do it just online? it would compete with apple.com then.

[Daveway]

This is very good new for apple and people like me that can only go to compusa for mac stuff (i think theyre tired of seeing me).

But seriously. Its good that apple can now get to a larger audience. for example. when im in the stores a lot of people go right over to the pc area but then they look up and see the macintoshes and theyre wowed by them. The end result is someone buying a mac or really wanting one and cant afford it.

Office Depot really needs to fix their website, the product detail are all wrong and the items dont even have the correct photos!!!!!!

Circuit City did sell macs at one time i believe and it didnt work out but i could be wrong.

[bar italia]

mmmmm Office Depot, not as high-class as Circuit City...
I guess you're right, but where do you live that Circuit City is the standard by which others are judged?

[slowtreme]

On the Office Depot website, they have a picture of Airport Express with a caption underneath that says "Airport Extreme"
The Airport Express is Airport Extreme also (802.11g). Not sure if thats the implication, but it's not totally wrong if both are listed.

[coumerelli]

did anyone notice that they say they have ipod minis in stock??? i guess they are the only people in the world. i hope this is true.

I DID notice that and got kinda excited as I'm trying to find one right now...

So, I just called, and here's the answer..."We don't have them, you'll find them online tho through tech depot"

'OK' I said, "I just saw that you had all the apple stuff online and thought you might have them in the store, too.'

"NO, we're only selling through tech depot, online. Thanks"

So, not to burst anyone's bubble, but at this point (at least in Madison, WI) no goods in the brick and mortar. :mad: :(

[slowtreme]

Did this get merged with another thread, comments seem out of order.

[Frozone]

Did this get merged with another thread, comments seem out of order.

Yeah, It got merged with the MacBytes thread.

[g4macuser]

i assume this is only in the US. nothing on the canadian officedepot web site.

[DGFan]

mmmmm Office Depot, not as high-class as Circuit City, but I hope it works out.

I like Office Depot. Circuit City reminds me too much of a sleazy ABC Warehouse or Highland (for those in the midwest). I refuse to shop there. The 300 foot long receipts don't help either (although Best Buy is catching up to them)

[Porchland]

If you really want to move in the business sector it would be great to move revision behind or refurb merchendise at lower prices. Also would be a great place to sell the eMac. You could use your business line of credit and see the difference at the store.
Also a key to partnered retail sucess is keeping the pipple faced jerk off selling the apples from bashing them while they sell them. Sure they like window's they have just downloaded every piece of software they need illegally. Not really an option in business.

Sam's Club and Costco aren't a very good fit for Apple. Their major hook is that they sell things at a discount. Apple is a premium product, and I don't see Steve-o trying to play for price against the cut-rate HPs.

[GFLPraxis]

Whoo! The nearest Apple Reseller to me is CompUSA, halfway across town. Office Depot is MUCH nearer, and the only PC's they sell are cheap crappy Wintels for $400.

Though they do have some nice business card paper.

[brooklyn]

Will they offer educational discounts at Office-Depot? I had a BestBuy Two blocks away from me but I would always drive 4 miles to the Apple store to take advantage of the discount.

[sinisterdesign]

I see this as a key move for Apple in the business sector, especially with small businesses...

yes, thank god. i work at another not-so-small business that has the word "Depot" in the name and Office Depot is our office products supplier. up until now it's been a HUGE pain in the butt to order ANYTHING for my Macs b/c our purchasing dept only stocks PC stuff (you wouldn't believe the uphill battle i fought to order 3 G5's and associated software).

maybe, just maybe i can now order such exotic items as Mac software and RAM w/o getting permission from 3 dept heads, signoff from a VP and a written letter from my mom.

[baylormac]

I DID notice that and got kinda excited as I'm trying to find one right now...

So, I just called, and here's the answer..."We don't have them, you'll find them online tho through tech depot"

'OK' I said, "I just saw that you had all the apple stuff online and thought you might have them in the store, too.'

"NO, we're only selling through tech depot, online. Thanks"

So, not to burst anyone's bubble, but at this point (at least in Madison, WI) no goods in the brick and mortar. :mad: :(

Well they are showing "Stock:0" on the ipod mini now. i guess they either sold out or lied. hehe.

[macmatt99]

After reading some of the comments here, I felt I should straighten some things out. First, I am an Office Depot employee, specifically working in technology (computers, cameras, printers, etc.) while I'm sure there are those of us out there who have no idea what we're talking about when in comes to Apple stuff, I am not one of them, and I know several others that aren't like that either. I am a recent Apple switcher, who will sell the customer whatever fits their needs best, Apple or otherwise. Personally though, I am quite happy and excited to have this option! :)
That rant aside, I'm going to give some insight on this new development. The first Apple products we'll be carrying in store will be the iPod line (not sure if we'll have both the regular and mini, but they are coming) sometime in late July-early August. After that, nobody knows yet when we'll be getting anything else, or what we'll be getting. A lot of store most likely don't know anything about this yet, or have very limited knowledge, so I wouldn't get too discouraged if you call and don't get many answers. Give it some time, as the only official announcement yet is that we can order this stuff online, and all the "In Stock" labels you see at the website simply means we can special order that stuff in store. Note the little "S" label under the product descriptions labeled Special Order Return Policy. I hope this helps!

[cr2sh]

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=446256

That powermac g4 looks an aweful lot like a powermac g5.... they may need to get their webpage straightened out a bit.

I commend it though, I'm glad to see Apple getting closer and closer to my house. :)

[JJTiger1]

I'm willing to work in my local Office Depot to sell Apple Computers and accessories.

The Memphis Office Depot store near the intersection of Stage Road and Germantown Parkway is all of ten minutes' drive from my house.

Part-time would be okay. Contractor would be okay.

I am a MUG member.
=-=
JJ

[kenaustus]

Good news over and I hope it is successful.

The most important thing that needs to be done, however, is staff training. I think that is probably why BB failed. A training DVD to provide the basic information on macs, provide answers to the basic questions that customers may ask and address FUD issues. If OD gets their staff training taken care of they are going to make some money.

[tex210]

I remember going to bestbuy and asking about treo ans tmobile. They told me things like the treos were no longer being manufactured (when I knew Palm had merged) and that they no longer dealt with tmobile, because they were cheating too many customers. I called the general manager down from his breakroom/office and complained. So no, it's not just Apple. I suspect it happens with nintendo/ps2 as well.



Whats "narrow-minded" about asking questions about the products they carry? How would $ony react if people going in to buy a ps2 were discouraged from buying their console and encouraged to buy a xbox?

Does this happen? Is it narrow-minded to be upset that people spread lies about a product they don't know anything about?

[yamabushi]

Good news over and I hope it is successful.

The most important thing that needs to be done, however, is staff training. I think that is probably why BB failed. A training DVD to provide the basic information on macs, provide answers to the basic questions that customers may ask and address FUD issues. If OD gets their staff training taken care of they are going to make some money.

That is a very good idea. I think that Apple should distribute their own sales rep training DVD if they do not do so already. Stacks of these DVDs should be sent to every store that sells Apple products with a letter to management expaining their purpose. A VHS version should also be made available for free upon request. The letter should include a toll free number to contact Apple for training and promotional materials.

Automatic software update discs for the floor models would also be a good idea since many stores don't have internet connections for floor models.


Get retail managent and sales staff on Apple's side and they will help Apple as much as they can. There is a good reason why pharmaceutical company reps are present in clinics on an almost daily basis training staff and giving away free stuff. Retail sales staff obviously aren't as highly respected as doctors and nurses but their opinions nevertheless have a significant impact on how they present various products. Many customers take their advice very seriously. Apple should treat sales reps well and give them the tools and training they need.

[itsa]

Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Apple products now available at Office Depot (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20040712135300)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

One more strike!! My local Home Depot said they wont be carring the apple line. BOOOOO
Still internet only here!

[SeaFox]

Every major retailer that tries to be an Apple reseller fails. Because they never train the personell enough about the products and said employees are rarely people who use Macs, so they don't know why someone would want to get one over a PC.

The result is when people come in and aren't sure what to get, the salesmen steers them towards the Windows machines. When people ask them about Macs, they many times will get "I don't know" or information that is incorrect.

The machines will look great at first, but will soon fall into uselessness as people (sometimes deliberately) sabotage them and the store personell, self-admittedly clueless about Macs, don't know how to "fix" them.

I hear stories all the time about CompUSA and the little trial with Best Buy recently where having the Macs in the stores probably hurt public perception of Apple more than helping it.

If folks walk into a store and all the PC's are running and the Macs aren't, first perception is "Windows machines are more reliable" not "the people know more about PC's than Macs". This on top of "Macs cost twice as much" and the multitude more software available to PC's.

Apple would be much better repairing ties with independant dealers who's history of Apple experience is measured in years, not days.

[Frozone]

One more strike!! My local Home Depot said they wont be carring the apple line. BOOOOO
Still internet only here!

Why would Home Depot carry Apple products? Or was it just an error and meant to be Office instead of Home?

[peharri]

One more strike!! My local Home Depot said they wont be carring the apple line. BOOOOO
Still internet only here! (my emphasis - peharri)

You think that's bad, down here the Apple Store doesn't sell screwdrivers and two-by-fours!

[datafatmunger]

Anybody see this on slashdot today:

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/07/13/1723250.shtml?tid=137

Combined with:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2004/tc2004078_9932_tc056.htm

It would be nice to trade in my G4 powerbook for G5 powerbook (whenever that happens). . .heh

[jholzner]

Well, I just called my local Office Depot and asked if they were stocking any Apple or Mac products and he said no. I asked if they would be and he said "nope, not that I know of." So are they or aren't they or have they just not notified all the stores yet?! There is no where in Champaign, IL to get any Apple products except through the University, and I'm not a student anymore!

[yamabushi]

Anybody who would like to buy Apple products from their local Office Depot should probably just write them a letter with a polite request to stock Apple products in the store. Eventually they will take a hint and do so.

[macmatt99]

It seems some haven't read my above post. Office Depot will not be receiving Apple products in store until the end of July at the earliest, and even then, it will only be the iPod line. As of right now, there is no ETA on the rest of the line. The reseller license is only days old, and it will take quite awhile for OD to get this stuff. Also, please don't be too discouraged if you call/visit a local OD and find that the staff doesn't know about this yet. The only people who would likely know about the agreement at this point are management, and attentive technology people. I will try to keep things updated as I can, but keep in mind that new info on this will be slow to come over the next few weeks, as the process is just getting started. Thanks! :)

[ClimbingTheLog]

As long as there are KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff to actually ENCOURAGE people to buy their products this won't work.

You do realize what they pay those people, right?

[ClimbingTheLog]

I put in my ZIP code and NY is the closest store.

There's not much commerce in the NorthEast anyhow.

At least we have some Apple Stores.

[macmatt99]

Please note not all of us who work at OD are mindless, ignorant, low-paid Mac-haters... :)

[yamabushi]

Please note not all of us who work at OD are mindless, ignorant, low-paid Mac-haters... :)

How about Solaris-haters? Last I checked the Office Depot in my area had an inventory and ordering system and cash registers based on an ancient version of Solaris that seemed to cause quite a few problems.

[rdowns]

Every major retailer that tries to be an Apple reseller fails. Because they never train the personell enough about the products and said employees are rarely people who use Macs, so they don't know why someone would want to get one over a PC.

The result is when people come in and aren't sure what to get, the salesmen steers them towards the Windows machines. When people ask them about Macs, they many times will get "I don't know" or information that is incorrect.

The machines will look great at first, but will soon fall into uselessness as people (sometimes deliberately) sabotage them and the store personell, self-admittedly clueless about Macs, don't know how to "fix" them.

I hear stories all the time about CompUSA and the little trial with Best Buy recently where having the Macs in the stores probably hurt public perception of Apple more than helping it.

If folks walk into a store and all the PC's are running and the Macs aren't, first perception is "Windows machines are more reliable" not "the people know more about PC's than Macs". This on top of "Macs cost twice as much" and the multitude more software available to PC's.

Apple would be much better repairing ties with independant dealers who's history of Apple experience is measured in years, not days.

Apple needs shelf space if they are to grow. Their products are just not at places where people buy PCs. Because of that, the vast majority can't even consider them.

I do agree with what you say though. These resellers fail because of lack of training. Getting on the shelves and addressing the training issue is what Apple has to do. Retailers won't invest in the training as the vast majority of the employees are just passing through. Most don't make a career of selling at BB, OD or whatever retailer.

[HyperX]

I worked at Best Buy during the Imac days. Thier failure with the product can be broken down into 3 easy things.

1) Employess simply were not trained. Best Buy has a policy of requiring reps to train there employess on product specifics. All employes recieved a 2 sides piece of paper detailing how to sell. 1 Paragraph was left for technical details. The rest was about accesories, upsales, is a mac right for someone (highly inaccurate), and ALOT on service plans (it's all in one, if the monitor brakes you have to ship it to apple, ect... ect...) We saw the rep once, he didn't have the time to tell us anything. He was busy inturupting our sales and telling people our service plans were horrid and to buy Apple Care. He was tossed out and never seen again.

2) Best Buy didn't carry anything to go with the LOVLEY mac. We had some mice, maybe a joystick, and blank media. 2 shelves of DATED software we knew nothing about (1 copy of dave sat on the selves back when I was mac ignorant. I was forced to tell people a Mac couldn't talk to a PC. God I feel stupid today). That was about it. Hell we only knew the Epsons could work with the Imac, even then it was sorta sketchy. We had adapter kits or anything. We were VERY in the dark and had nothing to offer with there new product.

3) Because of 1 and 2 Managment ACTIVLEY discouraged employees from selling Imacs. Managment saw higher margins, $$$$, PSP's attachment, accesory % with PC's and thus wanted you to activley steer people into PCs. We did it because most of the staff was Younger then 21 for 1/2 the staff it was a summer job. I worked Best Buy for 2 1/2 years and was full time so I just followed blindly. Managers HATED the Imac because it hurt store numbers and thus there bonuses. We had Close out stock for almost 6 months because we were so use to NOT selling it and ripping on it.

Sadly I dont think these are wounds that will heal easily. Best Buy like Circuit is about HIGH margins, Accesories, and Service Agreements. Without those they cant make money. Thus they do not like to Sell products like Macs (Fixed Pricing and what not also makes it a pain). This is true 1st hand account BTW.

I truley hope the Office Depot stuff goes better though!

[Frobozz]

This really is good news. Any time commodity level stores like Best Buy or Office Depot are interested in the Mac it gives me the feeling that the Mac has reached a certain point of visiblity, credibility, and potential market share increase.

Kudos to the people who put this together.

I wonder how sucessful this will be? If nothing else, I'm sure this means you will be able to buy Mac oriented Office software and maybe even gaming software. That is pretty nice.

To those that doubt people whould buy a computer or supplies at an Office Depot as opposed to a Best Buy, etc: you clearly do not live in an urban area or an area where it would be otherwise prohibitive to travel to another store. I know a lot of people in Manhattan that would literally send out an intern to buy an MS Office suite. In fact, I'd bet they'd buy desktops from there, too. Lazy urbanites, like myself, will do things like this.

[tech4all]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but for the Power Mac G4s' pictures, they have G5 picture instead. Hope people don't get confused.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=446256&location_info=SG_3_DV_17_SC_1701015_SK_446256

[whyowhy]

I don't know about you guys, but here in Oklahoma they have Apple reps that man the CompUSA stores. They are paid by apple to be there and not CompUSA, so I would assume that they will be doing the same at OfficeDepot once they get the computers in.

two notes:

1. Never trust OfficeDepots in-stock claims. I have been a long time Office Depot online user and have been lied to many times about the availability of products. Their web site is lacking in alot of areas, such as online coupons working correctly, but call the Customer Service number and they fix it immediately and apologize profusely for any wrong doing. They have the BEST customer service of any company I have EVER delt with, hands down.

2. Just think of the Mypoints you can accrue being able to buy from Officedepot.com, 3000 pts for $400+ purchases. I just hope they keep all the apple line under the officedepot section and not the techdepot, cause you don't get all the points you can get w/ the regular site. I know the Airport Express is listed under techdepot, but i'm hoping that is just until resellers get to start shipping them. Apple just started today.

[xwing1971]

I also work at Office Depot as a Technology Specialist. I only found out about this when I was looking for information on our Tech Depot website this morning, so none of the stores have even been told that we're carrying them on our website, much less about the schedule of the rollout. Let me say, though, that our store is VERY excited. I brought my ipod back with me from lunch to kind of show the employees what we were getting and then showed EACH of them how to find the Mac store on our website. The good news is there are a LOT of Macheads in the Office Depot company. When I told our Loss Prevention guy, he said he'd been suggesting for years that we carry Apple. According to appleinsider.com, Office Depot WILL be rolling out Macs to stores in a couple of months. But it is WAY too early to guess which models and when. I have heard that we were getting Ipods near the end of the month, but I figured they were going to be the rebadged HP models. Hopefully, we'll have a few minis to go with them! The funny thing is, I really wanted to leave Office Depot to go work at an Apple store because I HATE selling Windows Xp machines. Now, FINALLY, I have an option for our customers who are sick of getting viruses, popups, etc. Redmond, we have a problem! :) And, I SERIOUSLY hope they get the website fixed. I noticed all the mixups too. Embarrasing on our first day!

[g3ski]

It almost sounds as if they saw the narrow-minded Mac user coming and decided to have some fun with him.

Playing games doesn't help. Why not calm down and let them do what they're supposed to do? Besides, Office Depot stores don't have that many people working for them--knowledgeable or otherwise.

That's what I was going to say. It's usually tough to find someone who knows where the paper is, letless knows the technicalities of any computer. I am sure that every Office Depot is different, but that has been my experience in The City.

Store within a store is great at some and okay at others. The store in Oakland has a dedicated salesperson(s) who is/are knowledgable and very helpful. Unfortunately the store seem to do whatever theycan to put stacks of boxes around the apple area, and while it doesn't violate the TOA with Apple, it sure does look more like a storage area, than a store within a store.

enough rambling from me.

[g3ski]

All Apple needs to do is hire their own employees and send one to every Depot. Then it definitely work out.

Eventhough Apple opened a store right down the street from CompUSA is SF, CompUSA still has a store within a store, and it's well maintained and staffed, usually loaded with people and it really feels like an important part of the store. I was impressed!

[tex210]

They could use iChat conference to answer people's questions, and not have a person physically in the store. I realize a connection would have to be always on.

[titaniumducky]

did anyone notice that they say they have ipod minis in stock??? i guess they are the only people in the world. i hope this is true.

Actually, minis are becoming more available (slowly). If you're lucky, you can get them at stores now.

[ClimbingTheLog]

Office Depot WILL be rolling out Macs to stores in a couple of months. But it is WAY too early to guess which models and when.

Oooh, that's juicy. "In a couple months" is when the iMac G5 is going to be out.

Office Depot is geared towards businesses. We've all been saying business needs a headless iMac. I'm putting two and two together, however optimistically.

I'm still trying to decipher Steve Jobs's cryptic fortune from WWDC, but I think he was saying "half-dome with 3 PCI Express slots".

[fossicker]

They should offer a special price on Microsoft Office and Quickbooks (assuming a lot of small businesses would be getting emacs and imacs rather than powermacs)

It would also be good if they put together a disc of freeware/shareware/preview applications of interest to small businesses, to dispel the myth that there's no software for the mac.

[Grokgod]

Has anyone noticed that if this is true and they are going to be selling LCD's
then this is finally a way to buy a LCD, take it home and test it for stuck pixels and return it if it has one of those nasty middle of the screen stuck greens or reds or dead pixels.

Am i the only person that sees this?

Any comments, Puhlease.

[Abu Reno]

Just because Office Depot carries Mac products doesn't mean when you enter the store you'll see a DUAL 2.5 and 30 inch. It's most likely ipods and imacs.

:p

[ThomasJefferson]

This marriage will not last, it would be nice to see Macs in retail stores, but no one seems to be able to put up with Steve for too long.

[JJTiger1]

(my emphasis - peharri)

You think that's bad, down here the Apple Store doesn't sell screwdrivers and two-by-fours!

All of you got it right:
The Apple Store does not sell produce: fruits and vegetables.
Office Depot does not sell offices: a cube in the corner with windows.
Home Depot does not sell homes: a ranch in a cove, close to shopping.
=-=
It's up to the operator to put the top up and keep the rain out. Guess who got caught in a thunderstorm without the side panel-curtains? :p
=-=
JJ

[paulypants]

According to Apple there are NO plans in place at this time to carry Apple CPUs in Office Depot stores -- only on the web.

Listen to the Q3 Webcast...

[kingtj]

Right.... This makes a lot of sense. I remember in the mid 90's, you always saw at least a few Macs at OfficeMax stores. I was wondering when these Office supply giants were going to bring the Mac back.

The real problem I run into with Apple retail partners is the lack of interest by sales staff in even helping with Mac purchases. The local CompUSA stores are like this practically every time I come in. They've got a number of people eager to help you if you want anything for a Windows PC, but the minute you mention the Mac - they refer you to the "Mac specialist", who is typically on break, out to lunch/dinner, or seems to have already "gone home for the day". The whole Mac section of the store seems to sit there, unmanned by a salesperson at all, more often than not.

To make things worse, the partners seem to have practically no room to bargain on pricing. These days, the "sticker price" isn't really what many people expect to pay. People print out advertising from Internet shops, sales running at other local outlets, and so on - and want to ask the manager if they can "price match" or "offer something comparable" to some mail-order shop's "we'll double your RAM for free with this purchase" type of deal, etc.

When I bought my first G5, practically everyone on the net or in a catalog was offering extras like "free extra 512MB RAM" with purchase. I asked my local CompUSA if they could throw in 512MB of extra RAM too - and they declined. I walked... Went to the actual Apple store in town, asked the same thing, and they were happy to work the deal out with me.

Score 1 for the Apple store, and 0 for CompUSA.

As a consumer, I don't want to hear a store whine about how "Apple doesn't give us any margin on these products." If that's really true, then go back to Apple and demand the same flexibility the guys like MacConnection seem to have! I don't ask for anything that I'm not already seeing in advertising someplace else.


If you really want to move in the business sector it would be great to move revision behind or refurb merchendise at lower prices. Also would be a great place to sell the eMac. You could use your business line of credit and see the difference at the store.
Also a key to partnered retail sucess is keeping the pipple faced jerk off selling the apples from bashing them while they sell them. Sure they like window's they have just downloaded every piece of software they need illegally. Not really an option in business.

[FutureX2001]

Just wanted to drop my .02 cents in.

I also work for Office Depot (Technology/Customer Service Specialist), in the San Gabriel Valley, CA area. The stores have not been informed of the Apple products move yet. In fact, I had to do my own research to find this out. I will admit, I am primarily- a PC user, mainly because I love to build computers myself, and parts are readily available for such a thing. I don't purchase over the counter computers (HP, Dell, Apple, etc). However, I don't think such products are bad, and encourage my customers to purchase them. I know a good amount of Apple basics, they're nothing to sneeze at and I will sell them to consumers just like I do PCs. In many areas an Apple can be a superior choice- depending on the customer. I'm guessing, that Apple will supply the training materials for our technology department- and that there will be Virtual training sessions through our "Train Track"/"Store Portal". Once we start receiving these prodcuts, you can bet that I will be right there learning the ins & outs of Macs. Anyone want to donate a G5 in the mean time, or a powerbook?? I'd take a Powerbook over a PC notebook any day.... ;)

[Mr_Ed]

A couple of posts have mentioned the business computing side of this move. I think it has great potential if done correctly (training and sales techniques, as mentioned by many here) because around where I live, there are a number of OD stores and MANY businesses of all sizes get just about everything they need to run their businesses from OD. When I say "everything" I mean from pens and paper to computers, copiers, network hubs, etc. OD caters to businesses very nicely and delivers supplies right to their offices.

I noticed OD even has Xserve on its web site. This makes perfect sense to me. I can see a business going to OD for something like that and OD possibly being able to sell it (with the aforementioned caveats) where I don't see Circuit City/Best Buy and their like ever having the credibility (or desire) to sell such items to businesses. I think it's a great move and I hope Apple and OD work together to make it successful for business owners as well as home comsumers.