Black Friday Discounts on Macs

[MacRumors]

MacMall has announced their Black Friday sale which will runs from now until midnight PST on Friday, November 28th. Last year's MacMall sale delivered some of the largest online discounts available. This year, however, MacMall faces stiff competition from BestBuy who is offering a number of $100-$150 instant discounts. This compares favorably to MacMall which tends to combine both instant discounts and rebates.

Click to see Chart

As usual, it can be difficult to sort through the full list of discounts which confusingly intermix both old and current inventory.

This summary chart, however, lists the discounts on current Macs from both retailers with the "best" deal is highlighted in bold.


When comparing prices, instant discounts were considered better than rebate discounts even if the rebate offered up to $10 greater savings. In general, we tended to favor BestBuy's instant discounts over MacMall's combined (instant + rebate) but in the case of the MacBook Pro, MacMall offered equivalent instant discounts to BestBuy as well as sizable rebates.

For those willing to buy previous-generation Macs, discounts can be significant compared to their original retail prices (example, $1149 for original MacBook Air), but requires a bit more research to balance the cost saving vs. buying older technology.

Apple may offer some slight discounts on products for their own Black Friday sale, though historically these have only been up to $100 on a few select models.

* Combines instant + mail-in rebates.

Article Link: Black Friday Discounts on Macs

[eidrunner247]

Good deals, but obviously not something worth waiting all night for. If you plan on getting something though, this is the time.

[Unspeaked]

Originally Posted by eidrunner247

Good deals, but obviously not something worth waiting all night for. If you plan on getting something though, this is the time.

With all the doom and gloom coming from retailers this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they break with habit and actually do another significant discount on Apple products between Black Friday and Christmas...

[ltldrummerboy]

Thanks for the fantastic chart. Will you be expanding it as other retailers come up with better deals?

[cschulz]

If you don't need a top of the line Mac, getting a refurbished unit is a much better idea! You can seriously save hundreds of dollars. I got a 24" iMac for $1300 instead of $1800. Awesome deal. Highly recommended. This is also an awesome way to get a cheap iPod Touch or previous gen Nano.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

[illidian]

Originally Posted by cschulz

If you don't need a top of the line Mac, getting a refurbished unit is a much better idea! You can seriously save hundreds of dollars. I got a 24" iMac for $1300 instead of $1800. Awesome deal. Highly recommended. This is also an awesome way to get a cheap iPod Touch or previous gen Nano.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

Especially as there is an abnormally large selection of notebook computers available at this time.

[The Tall One]

What about discounts on ipods?

[econoline06]

I'm not impressed. $100 off? That is what I get with my student discount.

[Tallest Skil]

Originally Posted by econoline06

I'm not impressed. $100 off? That is what I get with my student discount.

Not everyone is a student. This is the only discount Apple gives every year. People enjoy it.

[santiv]

What a let down and waste of time. I thought they were going to mark down more like last year.

[Marx55]

WHAT PERCENTAGE of discount? That is the important information!!!

[jwtseng]

FWIW, I just checked out MacConnection and they have *very* decent prices on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. The top of the line MacBook ($1599 list) is advertised for $1399 after $100 rebate at the current sale price. Add on free shipping and no tax to CA and I think it's a smoking deal.

Edit: The sale at MacConnection is good until 12/1/08. I guess I'll see what Black Friday deals Apple has, but I don't think they can touch MacConnection's prices....especially after tacking on tax.

PS. If you sign up with BigCrumbs with the link in my sig below, I think you can get another 2.7% cash rebate with MacConnection.

[Tallest Skil]

Originally Posted by Marx55

WHAT PERCENTAGE of discount? That is the important information!!!

No better than 10%.

[iOrlando]

i would not buy anything from Macmall or Bestbuy just yet. Appleinsider reporting posible 15% discounts across the board on Friday at Apple Stores citing supply chain checks. The analyst basically is claiming Apple is beginning to build a huge inventory, possibly for black friday and a rush of sales.

15% would be roughly $200 off New Macbook.


about apples cash:

1) all discounts offered at macmall and best buy dont affect apple. Most likely best buy and macmall are offering the discounts not apple.

2) Apple's input costs have come down ALOT. Alumnium is down BIG. They can certainly afford a 15% cut in prices for one day. (also explains apple accepting some of best buy's 10% discounts).

As for those who want a cheaper apple...why? Apple is selling a perfect amount already at the price points they currently have. Why cheapen the brand below 800..etc....jsut go to dell and buy one of those $500 front of best buy ad laptops. Bet you 1) it will break within the year 2) you will still have apple envy

[jmdeegan]

So just to be clear, the rumored 15% for Apple Stores would cover online as well?

Do they pass that discount on to the refurb, or no? Im thinking no...

[iOrlando]

Originally Posted by jmdeegan

So just to be clear, the rumored 15% for Apple Stores would cover online as well?

Do they pass that discount on to the refurb, or no? Im thinking no...

I believe it would cover online. It was weird..a few days ago..people were saying just the online store..but that wouldnt make a whole lot of sense..so i would say all apple locations.

No sales on refurbs...and you cant apply education discount to anything and still get black friday sales.

[Tallest Skil]

Originally Posted by iOrlando

They can certainly afford a 15% cut in prices for one day.

Originally Posted by jmdeegan

So just to be clear, the rumored 15% for Apple Stores would cover online as well?

Do they pass that discount on to the refurb, or no? Im thinking no...

I love this. Someone says it and then ONE POST LATER it's suddenly a rumor.

No. No discounts on refurb, no stacking of education discount.

[Duke2]

Originally Posted by iOrlando

i would not buy anything from Macmall or Bestbuy just yet. Appleinsider reporting posible 15% discounts across the board on Friday at Apple Stores citing supply chain checks. The analyst basically is claiming Apple is beginning to build a huge inventory, possibly for black friday and a rush of sales.

15% would be roughly $200 off New Macbook.

Nice job embellishing a rumor on top of what already was rumor / speculation-lol.

The analyst article posted on AppleInsider said there may be discounts up to 15% on some items. And where on earth did you find (or make up) the part of Apple building a "huge inventory for BF"??

[the vj]

Some numbers are wrong, some highlights are not showing the best price.

[puckhead193]

FYI boy genuis links to this. also i got an email from elgato to save $50 on the hybrid.
Anything on mobile me. I need to renew!

[utahmacman33]

I bought mine off ebay. They are offering 200 dollars off any purchase when using buy it now and Microsoft live.com (Microsoft is paying me 200 to buy an Apple). They also let you combine it with coupons. My friend got a 2.0ghz MacBook for 900 dollars. That is hard to beat. If anyone is interested here is the link for more on live.com cashback. I have gotten awesome deals through it.

http://search.live.com/cashback/howToUse

[stradders89]

Back on topic of black friday, are there any news on UK prices? I know several people waiting till friday, myself included!

[puckhead]

Has one checked ABT Electronics? I'm looking for a 24" iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and found it at ABT for $2,199 no tax in TN, free shipping. MacMall had it for $2,040 + $210 tax, free shipping.

[jemonat]

PC Connection seems to have the best deal on the new 13" 2GHz MacBook: $1,149 after rebate for a total of $150 off list:

http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop...ci_sku=8252966

I wonder why PC Connection wasn't listed in the chart...

Also, is it true that you can get a student discount at Best Buy on Apple products?

[morespce54]

Does that mean Apple Retail employees are entitled to make up to $200 discount on a MBP?