Staples Executives Confirm Stores Will Begin Selling Apple Products in U.S.

Uh, why would anyone buy  products from Staples unless there's just no other store that sells Apple products nearby? It's not like their customer support is any better than that of Apple's retail stores or Best Buy. It's probably even worse than Walmart's.

Good news anyway.

Lol. Stapes executives.
Gets news of Apple products into stores. Posts to Twitter.

Would be a good meme.

The only positive here is the wait line for the iPhone 6 should be non-existant at Staples.

Squilly said:

Lol. Stapes executives.
Gets news of Apple products into stores. Posts to Twitter.

Would be a good meme.

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Would be a great meme to get brand recognition. One day, Internet memes and pictures with text that utilize them will all die because corporations will use them as advertising... You'll buy a bottle of water with a picture of the @#$% Yeah Guy saying that you made a good choice or something stupid like that. People already misuse memes a lot; imagine what companies would do!

It's always base model stock with resellers. If you can't BTO then who the hell cares....

MultiMediaWill said:

The only positive here is the wait line for the iPhone 6 should be non-existant at Staples.

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Because each Staples will be stocked with 2 of each model on launch day..

.. Black only.

This will be nice. They regularly have $25 off $75 (or so) coupons and exclusions slip by a lot. Got a cheap kindle that way. Cheap Apple TV?

There are already Apple products in Staples in Canada. It's nothing special.

Fatalbert said:

Uh, why would anyone buy  products from Staples unless there's just no other store that sells Apple products nearby? It's not like their customer support is any better than that of Apple's retail stores or Best Buy. It's probably even worse than Walmart's.

Good news anyway.

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My experience with Staples has been great so far, normally I never shop at the store. But I bought a iPod Touch 4G from them in 2011, then Diablo III and they priced matched it for me without any hassle or questions.

Generally the pricing at Best Buy & Futureshop is quite high in comparison to other computer stores (Memory Express or Ncix). They charge a premium for the exact same products. So I tend to avoid them unless they price match. My experience with price matching has been a mix bag, half the time they come up with excuses, other times they do it..

So far I'd rather shop at Staples, at least in the area I live. I understand that the experience is different based on the people working there.

Every time I've been to a Staples store in the States, it seems like they've had fewer than three people working in the entire place (although maybe there are some who only work in the storeroom).

The last time, I needed a USB cable. The ONE employee I could find in the place pointed to an aisle that looked like it hadn't been organized for a couple of weeks. There were even products on the floor itself. I did find the cable — priced at three times what I would pay for the same thing here in Japan.

I can't imagine having Apple products is going to make the experience of shopping there any less lonely and miserable.

This is good for Apple and Staples, might not seem like it, but staples is one of the biggest office and electronic suppliers in the world, it will mean more sales.

Staples is very good at office supplies, they offer good prices on lots of decent PCs, laptops and desktops, and have far more digital cameras than most stores, and if you ever want to try 100 office chairs and pick the perfect one, well no one else can help you.

Ok... Just missing Toys R' Us and PetCo and we are set.

Y'all are spoiled children. I remember the days when a broken Powebook charger on a road trip might be a very bad thing if you didn't happen to be staying in the correct city with resellers close by.

I love that every WalMart can replace an iPad cord if I need it. I love that the one time I needed an Apple keyboard late at night the Best Buy was open an hour later than the Apple store at the mall.

I love that I don't have to depend on mail-order or Microcenter to get Apple crap, and I love that things are just getting better and better.

But sure, complain about convenience, I guess. What else is new around here?

Fatalbert said:

Uh, why would anyone buy  products from Staples unless there's just no other store that sells Apple products nearby? It's not like their customer support is any better than that of Apple's retail stores or Best Buy. It's probably even worse than Walmart's.

Good news anyway.

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I would MUCH rather buy an Apple product from a Staples over the lack of service, long lines and general disgust that is your average Walmart and Best Buy...good luck finding ANYONE working the Apple counter at the one near me.

The Staples near me people or kind, the store is big, clean and well stocked and there are always several registers open with short lines...oh and the parking lot is bigger and easier to get in an out of.

Not everyone lives near an Apple store and not everyone wants to shop at Walmart, ESPECIALLY the electronics department, ugh.

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jav6454 said:

Ok... Just missing Toys R' Us and PetCo and we are set.

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It wasn't that long ago that Toys R Us was the go to place for computers and computer related items, them and Sears...especially Sears if you wanted and Apple computer Yep you could get a Mac, new game for your Atari 2600, some Tuff Skin jeans, a set of screw drivers and a new washing machine all in one trip.

I do not get why people still have this elitist attitude about Apple products and where they are sold. Wake up, its the same iPhone regardless of where you bought it and oh, BTW, because you have an iPhone doesn't make you special anymore...my 12 year old son has one too and my 6 year daughter has an iPad....so all you who think you are something special because you use an Apple product, you are in a very BIG group of people.

Small White Car said:

Y'all are spoiled children. I remember the days when a broken Powebook charger on a road trip might be a very bad thing if you didn't happen to be staying in the correct city with resellers close by.

I love that every WalMart can replace an iPad cord if I need it. I love that the one time I needed an Apple keyboard late at night the Best Buy was open an hour later than the Apple store at the mall.

I love that I don't have to depend on mail-order or Microcenter to get Apple crap, and I love that things are just getting better and better.

But sure, complain about convenience, I guess. What else is new around here?

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True, but the way all these companies make it sound as if Apple stuff is the "ultimate thing to sell".

jav6454 said:

Ok... Just missing Toys R' Us and PetCo and we are set.

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Why not offer them at Toys R Us? Lots of Kids like iPads, iPods, and istuff, you could gain sales by selling at Toys R Us, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony made TONS of money selling consoles at Toys R Rus.

jav6454 said:

Ok... Just missing Toys R' Us and PetCo and we are set.

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Toys R' Us sells iPods. And you can bet a prepaid iPhone at 7-11.

jav6454 said:

True, but the way all these companies make it sound as if Apple stuff is the "ultimate thing to sell".

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well....aren't they?

Doesn't seem like a huge deal. But I'm guessing there are some office types who live and die by Staples. I like the place, but it's not where I go for most stuff, especially computers.

However, where this does make a difference is getting more eyeballs to see your products. Amazon no longer puts Kindles in Target stores. They have been replaced by Nooks. I know Target/Amazon did this because of low profit margins. But it has to kill Amazon because that was a bazillion stores where people can actually see the product. I was wowed by the e-Ink screen by actually seeing it, just like I was with the Retina display and the speed of a MacBook Air.

Next thing you know you'll be able to buy apple products at 7 Elevens

Fatalbert said:

Uh, why would anyone buy  products from Staples unless there's just no other store that sells Apple products nearby?

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Uh... because there are not other stores that sell Apple products nearby? Ya think?

And who cares about the service? Staples is just an outlet. Support is provided by Apple.

Classic model of expansion well executed!

Someone at Apple has obviously taken the late professor Marty Marshall's marketing management course at the Harvard Business School and is executing it perfectly. Prof Marshall's model included 1. product line expansion 2. geographic expansion and 3. channel of distribution expansion. You can see all of these as Apple expertly introduces new products, expands country by country and expands its distribution network in its own stores, through telephone companies, retail chains and internet resellers. It's good managment of the basics.

It's seeing this that makes me think that AAPL is still undervalued despite the speculative fluctuations and unreasonable expectations that some may have for it. I think it is a great long term investment and I for one am hanging in there with the stock.

In the small town where I am we only have a Staples. They do sell iPods and iPads but hopefully they expand to selling Macbooks. I do wish all Staples had Apple certified techs though so they could repair Mac computers on site.

This is fantastic news! If you know how to get good deals, you can basically get drastically discounted products or for free using rewards.

Price

Fatalbert said:

Uh, why would anyone buy  products from Staples unless there's just no other store that sells Apple products nearby? It's not like their customer support is any better than that of Apple's retail stores or Best Buy. It's probably even worse than Walmart's.

Good news anyway.

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