Wal-Mart to Sell iPhone Starting Sunday

[MacRumors]

Image from SkippyThorson
Wal-Mart officially announced that the company will start selling Apple's iPhone on Sunday, December 28th. The news confirms multiple reports about the impending sale. The report also confirms that rumors of a $99 Wal-Mart iPhone were incorrect.

Wal-Mart will sell the iPhone for only $2 less than the regular price with a two-year contract: $197 for the 8 GB model, or $297 for the 16GB model.

Article Link: Wal-Mart to Sell iPhone Starting Sunday

[Sedulous]

Is there some sort of advantage to buy it at Walmart?

I would imagine this will certainly kill the aura of "exclusivity"

[anubis]

Ahh, $2 off. Big deal

[months]

Yea you save TWO dollars! WOW!


*AND the salespeople won't know what they are talking about!

[ArtOfWarfare]

Wow, that's some crazy price slashing.

It's a whole 1% off if you buy it from Wal-Mart. Except not really because you have to pay just as much for the plan so it's closer to .1% off.

Same thing they did with the iPod Touch though. (Seriously, I thought Wal-Mart was supposed to have the best prices. They aren't even close with the iPods... Amazon tends to offer far better discounts than Wal-Mart.)

[gkarris]

The $99 will be for the iPhone Nano - hence AT&T not caring that Wal-Mart is selling the more expensive one...

[m1stake]

Originally Posted by months

*AND the salespeople won't know what they are talking about!

Just like the Apple store!

[skellener]

Why would you willingly give money to WalMart?

[iPoodOverZune]

Wow! What a Discount!!

[Max E Verde]

I wouldn't recommend buying it from Walmart unless you live nowhere near an Apple Store, AT&T store, or Best Buy. Like already said, the associates will know jack squat about the phone.

I do see how this could add to the iPhone market share, though. If someone is already shopping at Walmart, which more people do than Walmart deserves, they might find it while looking at other items and end up buying it.

Here's where you should buy an iPhone. Only go to the next one if the one above it isn't near you.

1. Apple Store - They know all about the iPhone, inside and out. 90% of the people here USE iPhones as their normal phone. They know about the plans too, though not as much as AT&T.

2. AT&T - They know all about the service, but not much about the iPhone.

3. Best Buy - They have a whole department dedicated to cell phones, with associates only trained to sell cell phones. Still, they have such a large selection of cell phones that they won't know too much about the iPhone

4. Walmart - Last resort

[iParis]

Originally Posted by months

Yea you save TWO dollars! WOW!


*AND the salespeople won't know what they are talking about!

AMEN TO THAT.

Wal Mart Sales associates never have any idea what they're talking about.

[fendol]

Finally half of the rumor is confirmed, iPhones are going to be sold on Wal-Mart at $197... for $2 less than their original price. Groundbreaking...

[jaw04005]

I actually like Wal-Mart. It's by far the cheapest place to purchase groceries (particularly boxed and canned goods) here. I don't buy produce or meat there (prefer my local guys), but for everything else it's great.

I suppose you could spend the extra 30 percent at other stores like Kroger, but why pay more for the same products?

And the "slave labor" comment is out of line. The people that work at Wal-Mart choose to work there. I worked there for about a year in high school, and they paid quite a bit above what others were offering for the same type of employment. Not to mention, I received regular raises (every 60-90 days) and a yearly $2000+ profit-sharing "bonus."

That's not bad for a 16 year-old. I suspect that the majority of people that look down at discounters like Wal-Mart either have too much money or are just jumping on the "I hate" bandwagon. Everyone hates a winner (just look at the sheer amount of Microsoft bashing on this Web site).

[Takeo]

With regards to the "discount"... it's probably more about having a Walmart style price than anything else (i.e... they don't have any prices with 99 in them).

[rockosmodurnlif]

Does Walmart sell any other Apple products? Not iPods. I mean computers.

[bobbleheadbob]

Originally Posted by anubis

Ahh, $2 off. Big deal

It is a big deal when you consider the additional distribution channel Wal-Mart represents. Like it or not, many more people shop at Wal-Mart than the ATT or Apple stores.

[mac*jedi*g]

Maybe it just the accessories you can save on. Nothing like that ol'
iPhone beer can attachment.

[retrac]

Originally Posted by jaw04005

I actually like Wal-Mart. It's by far the cheapest place to purchase groceries (particularly boxed and canned goods) here. I don't buy produce or meat there (prefer my local guys), but for everything else it's great.

I suppose you could spend the extra 30 percent at other stores like Kroger, but why pay more for the same products?

And the "slave labor" comment is out of line. The people that work at Wal-Mart choose to work there. I worked there for about a year in high school, and they paid quite a bit above what others were offering for the same type of employment. Not to mention, I received regular raises (every 60-90 days) and a yearly $2000+ profit-sharing "bonus."

That's not bad for a 16 year-old. I suspect that the majority of people that look down at discounters like Wal-Mart either have too much money or are just jumping on the "I hate" bandwagon. Everyone hates a winner (just look at the sheer amount of Microsoft bashing on this Web site).

Exactly! You said it better than I could've

Originally Posted by rockosmodurnlif

Does Walmart sell any other Apple products? Not iPods. I mean computers.

No, they only sell iPods and (now) iPhones.

[andreab35]

Yep... Walmart.

I gave my Dad an iPod Touch for Christmas since he loved my iPhone.
But since he is going to be doing his consulting business, he needs a cellphone. So, I told him, "Dad, instead, you can get an iPhone."
He got excited and agreed.

So tomorrow, we are going to get an iPhone 3G. He actually wants my old iPhone really bad.

He noticed that Walmart will be selling the iPhone. But, we're going to the Apple Store to get everything settled. For some reason, going to the Apple Store is a more pleasurable experience... and it's like going to the candy store for me.

Walmart... I don't know... I don't feel it's a big deal. It makes me feel like I'm going there to buy a $20 flip phone.

[retrac]

Originally Posted by bobbleheadbob

It is a big deal when you consider the additional distribution channel Wal-Mart represents. Like it or not, many more people shop at Wal-Mart than the ATT or Apple stores.

Right, you have to intentionally want a phone to go to an Apple or AT&T stores (though I'm sure most MR people do go there just to look ). Having it at a big distribution channel like WalMart allows people to just come across it. WalMart is hit or miss as far a phones go, if you go at a good time you can get a REALLY good deal on a phone (they were offering the LG Chocolate free LONG before other stores, including Verizon, did). Other times, such as with the iPhone, the savings are negligible.

But lets face it, not everyone lives near an Apple or AT&T store. Apple made a smart move here by making it more accessible to people who Apple would not be able to reach. A lot more economical than building a whole new slew of Apple Stores

[hexonxonx]

Originally Posted by retrac

But lets face it, not everyone lives near an Apple or AT&T store. Apple made a smart move here by making it more accessible to people who Apple would not be able to reach. A lot more economical than building a whole new slew of Apple Stores

True. I am just 3 miles away from 3 Walmarts. 28 miles away from the nearest Apple store and 30 miles away from 4 other Apple stores.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by retrac

Right, you have to intentionally want a phone to go to an Apple or AT&T stores (though I'm sure most MR people do go there just to look ). Having it at a big distribution channel like WalMart allows people to just come across it.

Exactly. I can easily name a dozen people I know who have never been in an AT&T store or an Apple store.

Having the phones in Best Buy and Wal Mart are critical if they want to reach huge sales numbers.

[bryan1884]

Originally Posted by gkarris

The $99 will be for the iPhone Nano - hence AT&T not caring that Wal-Mart is selling the more expensive one...

Why would att care who sells it as long as they are getting contracts?

[2strokedude]

Originally Posted by jaw04005

I actually like Wal-Mart. It's by far the cheapest place to purchase groceries (particularly boxed and canned goods) here. I don't buy produce or meat there (prefer my local guys), but for everything else it's great.

I suppose you could spend the extra 30 percent at other stores like Kroger, but why pay more for the same products?

And the "slave labor" comment is out of line. The people that work at Wal-Mart choose to work there. I worked there for about a year in high school, and they paid quite a bit above what others were offering for the same type of employment. Not to mention, I received regular raises (every 60-90 days) and a yearly $2000+ profit-sharing "bonus."

That's not bad for a 16 year-old. I suspect that the majority of people that look down at discounters like Wal-Mart either have too much money or are just jumping on the "I hate" bandwagon. Everyone hates a winner (just look at the sheer amount of Microsoft bashing on this Web site).

Dude the "slave labor" comment wasn't directed at the people who work at Wall Marts.

How do you think they can sell their merchandise at such low prices?

Rent the movie "Wall Mart The high cost of low prices"

I will never spend a penny at a Wall Mart. They are an evil corporation, like most big corporations.
We all need to educate ourselves about big corporations, especially big retail corporations.
For the longest time GM was our nations largest employer. Now one guess who it is now........ Wall Mart.

[2strokedude]

Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer. It is the largest corporation and private employer in the United States.
Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in 25 states. They set the standard for wages and labor practices.
Wal-Mart employs 1.4 million workers worldwide and over 1 million in the United States. More than half of Wal-Mart’s U.S. employees leave the company each year.
Wal-Mart has more than 3,000 stores in the US and almost 1,300 International operations.
The Walton family is worth about $102 billion.
Wal-Mart topped the Fortune 500 list of America's largest corporations ranked by sales for the fourth year in a row.
Wal-Mart is the top U.S. seller of products ranging from dog food to diamonds with sales of $244.5 billion in the fiscal year ended January 2003 up from $220 billion in 2001.
In 1970, the country's largest employer was General Motors, with 350,000 workers. Overwhelmingly union, they earned $17.50 an hour plus health, pension and vacation benefits and cost-of-living increases. Today, the country's largest employer is Wal-Mart, with over 1 million US workers. They earn an average hourly wage of $8.00, with no defined benefit pension, and inadequate health care.
Wal-Mart was sued 4,851 times in 2000––or about once every 2 hours, every day of the year. Wal-Mart lawyers list about 9,400 open cases,” according to a report published in the August 14, 2001, USA Today newspaper.
Wal-Mart plans to open only 15 to 20 of the traditional food-and-drug combo stores in 2003, down from previous projections of 20 to 25 outlets. It will open 210 supercenters, the high end of its previous development range for that format.