Staples Appears Set to Begin Selling Apple Products in U.S.

[MacRumors]

Last week, MacRumors received word that office supply retailer Staples would soon begin offering Apple products for sale. While the company has offered Apple products in international markets for some time, it had long been unsuccessful in striking a deal for the U.S. market.

We were unable to confirm the claim at the time, but 9to5Mac now reports that Apple products have begun appearing on the Staples website in the United States as part of an Apple Mock Up section. The section includes a number of products, including the Apple TV (listed at a remarkably low price of $49.99) and iPad Smart Covers, all marked with "Test" in the item description.

While the products listed on the test pages are limited to accessories with the exception of the Apple TV, our original source had claimed that Apple's full lineup of Macs, iPads, and at least the iPhone 5 would be coming to Staples in the United States. No specific timeframe for an official launch of Apple's products at Staples beyond "in the coming months" has been shared.

Article Link: Staples Appears Set to Begin Selling Apple Products in U.S.

[KieranDotW]

Strange, Staples Canada's been selling iPads, iPods, and Macs for at least a couple years.

[Eduardo1971]

I' m sure that $49 on the site is surely also be a 'test'. I can not imagine Staples selling this at a loss.

[Glassed Silver]

aTV for 50 bucks would be quite a deal to be honest...

Glassed Silver:mac

[maflynn]

They seem to be moving into the consumer electronic arena lately so it makes sense.

[chakdey]

It shows its out of stock

[jouster]

It sells the Surface too.

[DudeDad]

Originally Posted by jouster

It sells the Surface too.

Actually, it carries the Surface. Not sure they are selling any....

[cowpaintings]

A lot of people forget, but Staples once sold Mac computers during the John Scully years and it was a mess. The salesmen had no idea what to do with them, and they were often put in a corner away from the other computers. Same with Sears. My first mac (power pc 6400) was purchased at staples.

[maxosx]

Originally Posted by jouster

It sells the Surface too.

They do a great job selling the Nexus 7 & 10.

Having an excellent relationship with Google they always have a complete line in stock.

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by maflynn

They seem to be moving into the consumer electronic arena lately so it makes sense.

I think Apple sees what all the other PC MFG's like HP, Toshiba, Samsung, SONY all have been doing and they see an opportunity to get more exposure.

My thought is if all there products are all over the place, it may give them a few million more sales per year, because let's face it, sometimes Apple stores are a little hard to deal with because they are so crowded. As long as their prices stay competitive, they should do very well over time.

[apple_iBoy]

I have a pretty low customer experience at this store.

The first time I walked into a staples was probably 15 years go when they built one near my hometown. What I remember is having to wait for chatty sales guys to finish a conversation amongst themselves so one of them could unlock a cabinet to get the printer cartridge I needed. Quite a few sales people on the floor, but all either talking amongst themselves or brisking walking without making eye contact with customers. No normal registers open, so you had to checkout at the customer service desk behind several people who wanted to make returns of open products with problems.

Strangely enough, almost every visit I've made to any Staples since that time has followed a similar pattern. It's almost like the stores are designed to be run that way.

[Squilly]

I had an interview at Staples recently. The interviewer who happened to be the assistant manager said electronics are their least profitable items.

[Chuck-Norris]

staples been selling aple stuff in canada for a while now, nothing new here LOL

[barkomatic]

Originally Posted by Chuck-Norris

staples been selling aple stuff in canada for a while now, nothing new here LOL

As the article states, U.S. Staples stores have not carried Apple products up to this point--so it is new. Though not terribly exciting.

[GenesisST]

Originally Posted by Chuck-Norris

staples been selling aple stuff in canada for a while now, nothing new here LOL

Shhhh, don't tell anyone... We might stop getting things first (for once!)... :-D

Not that this is actually exciting... But it is convenient, as Staples is closer to the Apple Store or Best Best or Future Shop for me.

[DudeDad]

Originally Posted by Squilly

I had an interview at Staples recently. The interviewer who happened to be the assistant manager said electronics are their least profitable items.

Something in any store is the least profitable....having electronics brings in customers, and in a store like Staples, once you are there, you find other things you didn't know you needed...it's a good move IMO...

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by Squilly

I had an interview at Staples recently. The interviewer who happened to be the assistant manager said electronics are their least profitable items.

They need them as loss leaders and to drive traffic. When was the last time your friends said, hey, let's go check out the cool manilla folders at Staples?

[alexwlchan]

Originally Posted by rdowns

They need them as loss leaders and to drive traffic. When was the last time your friends said, hey, let's go check out the cool manilla folders at Staples?

Um… I may have said this once or twice, and followed it up with a trip to Staples to actually buy said folders. In pretty colours!

I might be a bit weird though. :P Your point still stands.

[G51989]

Originally Posted by rdowns

They need them as loss leaders and to drive traffic. When was the last time your friends said, hey, let's go check out the cool manilla folders at Staples?

Staples is a store that mostly focuses on tools, not toys.

The only reason they even sell popular electronics is to bring you into the store, and then when you walk around, you realize " I could use a new chair....thats a nice desk....you know I'm almost out of printer paper.... ", get you in the door, then you buy the high profit items, its happened to me before when I go into a staples, which is good, because if I didn't I wouldn't have got this badass deal for the solid oak desk that I'm typing this on.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by G51989

Staples is a store that mostly focuses on tools, not toys.

The only reason they even sell popular electronics is to bring you into the store, and then when you walk around, you realize " I could use a new chair....thats a nice desk....you know I'm almost out of printer paper.... ", get you in the door, then you buy the high profit items, its happened to me before when I go into a staples, which is good, because if I didn't I wouldn't have got this badass deal for the solid oak desk that I'm typing this on.

Is that how they do it?

[G51989]

Originally Posted by rdowns

Is that how they do it?

Well yeah, computers, cameras, ipads, ect, are very low profit items. But, office chairs, desks, paper, staples LOLZ, staplers, and office supplies are very high profit items.

[hipnetic]

Bring it on, I say. Near me (about 10 mins) I've got a Staples, a Best Buy, and a Walmart. The closest Apple store is about 30 mins. The Staples sells laptops and various tablet devices, but no Apple products. Welcome to the year 2013. The company I work for (granted, a small independently owned company) has probably a good 50% of the people using MacBooks. But I know that's becoming a bigger and bigger trend even among mid-sized companies. If Staples wants to be considered relevant for computer sales, the lack of Apple products makes them look silly.

----------

Oh, BTW...this $50 Apple TV price is most likely a fake price set up for test purposes, but there was actually a thread on slickdeals.net where several people printed it out and got Best Buy to price match. Oh boy...talk about speeding up Best Buy's already imminent demise.

[unplugme71]

Originally Posted by Squilly

I had an interview at Staples recently. The interviewer who happened to be the assistant manager said electronics are their least profitable items.

Desktops and laptops are usually sold at a loss ($50) while on sale, and at cost when not on sale. This is why when you walk into Staples they try to sell you on accessories for your computer or software like MS Office. For them to break even or profit on a computer sale, they need to sell about $250-$300 in accessories and software or warranty. This is why some managers will step in on a computer sale to make it difficult to buy. Now Staples has changed their policy where they don't push all the accessories as hard because customers were giving 1-2 feedback scores.

Printers were marked up moderately, although most people will at least buy an extra toner cartridge or case of paper to help with being profitable.

If we ran the reports at end of day, we could see how good or bad we did on computer/printer profits by running a report and seeing what additional items were on the receipts when such device was purchased.

[c1phers]

Wonder if stackable coupons will work for Apple products.