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

[EBreakingWave]

I work at Staples in the UK.
We started selling iPads back in July 2012, and have sold really well in my store. We're supposed to be selling the computers too, but nothing has been said for almost a year. The amount of people asking for Macbooks is reasonable enough to get them in stock for us.

[deanbo]

Why not just dilute the brand while we are at it by selling iPod shuffles at the nearest gas station.

[Yamcha]

In Canada they've been selling it for a while..

[KnightWRX]

Originally Posted by deanbo

Why not just dilute the brand while we are at it by selling iPod shuffles at the nearest gas station.

How does having authorized resellers dilute the brand exactly ?

You can buy Apple stuff at Wal-mart for cripes sake, how is the brand diluted ? If anything, getting more resellers involved strengthens and spreads the brand even more.

[thehustleman]

I've seen just the opposite at apple.


I saw a customer that had a 21.5" iMac return it because of display issues 3x and they upgraded her to the 27" model fully loadef

[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.

[pubwvj]

Nice. There are no Apple Stores nearby but there is a Staples. Their current offerings are, er, ah, how do I say this politely... pathetic. Too gentle am I.

[cclloyd]

So can I buy an Apple TV for $50?

[jbachandouris]

Originally Posted by cclloyd9785

So can I buy an Apple TV for $50?

If you have the webpage displayed on your phone, Best Buy would price match. I made the mistake of refreshing the page on my iPhone and now it says 'test' with no price.

The Best Buy in my area said they would match it if I showed them the webpage. Oh well...

[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.

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by G51989

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.

Oh, so they're loss leaders.

[G51989]

Originally Posted by rdowns

Oh, so they're loss leaders.

Loss leaders? Are you saying they lose money on what they sell you? Wrong. They aren't taking a loss on anything they sell you, they sell some popular items at a low profit margin so you go buy something else where they make their real money, officer supplies and furniture.

Apple most likely refuses to let stores discount its products, so its fanbase can still keep thinking they are are " better " than anyone else because of the price, so staples is making a good profit.

I mean, where else can you get a computer, and a desk, and chair, floormat, printer, lights, hell why not a couch? and every possible thing you need to go with it? Nowhere. My entire home office is from staples, I got a good deal, and well built products.

And loss leader, thats funny as their profits have been up in the past few years, not down. Up almost a billion.

I can't think of a better place to build your home office, they have everything you'll need.

[cclloyd]

Originally Posted by jbachandouris

If you have the webpage displayed on your phone, Best Buy would price match. I made the mistake of refreshing the page on my iPhone and now it says 'test' with no price.

The Best Buy in my area said they would match it if I showed them the webpage. Oh well...

Would the screenshot work?

[Handsome Bacon]

The Staples near me has had a very small "Products for Apple" section for a while. Mostly cheap iHome knock off bluetooth keyboards like the kind you can get directly from China for $9.99 on eBay. They have Office for Mac and a bluetooth mouse or two. No Macs, iPads or iPods yet. I actually like Staples so this is good news.

[snberk103]

Originally Posted by G51989

Loss leaders? Are you saying they lose money on what they sell you? Wrong. They aren't taking a loss on anything they sell you, ...

Since we don't know what contracts Staples signs with their suppliers, we don't know what their loss leaders are. But - most stores with low markups sell a few products at a lost to drive people in the door. I agree that Apple products are not likely a loss leader, but I doubt they are getting a large mark up on them. Apple does not need Staples in order to sell their products, so Staples would have had to accept Apple's terms - not the other way 'round.

Originally Posted by G51989

Apple most likely refuses to let stores discount its products,

Yes, they do...

Originally Posted by G51989

so its fanbase can still keep thinking they are are " better " than anyone else because of the price, so staples is making a good profit.

.... because Apple's brand based on quality, not customers thinking it is cheap junk. Since we don't know what Staples wholesale price is, we don't know their profit. But like I said above, Apple doesn't need Staples, so Apple is likely not giving them a lot of markup.

Originally Posted by G51989

...
And loss leader, thats funny as their profits have been up in the past few years, not down. Up almost a billion.

Loss leaders are designed to drive customers to your profitable products, and therefore build profits.

[G51989]

Originally Posted by snberk103

Since we don't know what contracts Staples signs with their suppliers, we don't know what their loss leaders are. But - most stores with low markups sell a few products at a lost to drive people in the door. I agree that Apple products are not likely a loss leader, but I doubt they are getting a large mark up on them. Apple does not need Staples in order to sell their products, so Staples would have had to accept Apple's terms - not the other way 'round.

I agree with lots of that, I bet Staples had the chip on the table, people who buy Apple products, most likely are not the kind of people who shop at staples, ( Not ALL, but most of the people who buy Apple are consumers, not power or business users ), so I bet Apple took a hit with this, Staples has never showed any interest in Selling Apple gear, but they have almost 3000 stores, so I bet its a chain Apple wanted in.

Yes, they do...

Which I feel is silly, the retailer already paid for the product, if the retailer wants to sell it for less, why not?

.... because Apple's brand based on quality, not customers thinking it is cheap junk. Since we don't know what Staples wholesale price is, we don't know their profit. But like I said above, Apple doesn't need Staples, so Apple is likely not giving them a lot of markup.

Exactly, I own Apple products btw, and I think its the same cheap junk that everyone else sells you, it just happens to look cooler. They sell on the impression of quality, its the same built by chinese slave labor that everything else is, with an Apple on it. Apple doesn't need Staple, but staples does NOT need Apple, their growth and increased profits prove that, Apple went to staples or vice visa because they both knew there is a chance for profit here.

Loss leaders are designed to drive customers to your profitable products, and therefore build profits.

Indeed, but Staples isn't wal mart, I highly doubt they are selling iToys at a loss to bring people in, they already are growing and have inreased profits, they have little reason to sell iToys at a loss.

[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.

[thehustleman]

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?

They aren't loss leaders though, they don't lose anything selling anything in the store. They sell all of that stuff at a profit, small or large its still a profit

[ellsworth]

I got the heads up about this last night when they were in stock. My order did go through and I was given an order number. I also didn't receive an email confirmation and their order status site seems to be down right now. I figured "What the Heck." Try it out, place the order and see what happens. Even if the item is used or refurbished, it's still a good deal.

We'll have to wait and see what happens.

[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.