Apple's U.S. and Canadian Black Friday Sales Go Live Online With Gift Card Deals

[MacRumors]

Apple's online stores for the United States and Canada have just come back online for Black Friday's one-day shopping event, and, like its stores in Australia and New Zealand, the company is using bonus gift cards rather than discounts as customer incentives.

Apple's European stores saw a more traditional discounted pricing scheme, with prices reduced on products directly, rather than offering a gift card promotion.

Gift cards are offered with the purchase of the following items in the U.S.:

- iPad Air: $75 gift card
- iPad mini: $50 gift card on non-Retina models, no gift card on Retina models
- iPad 2: $50 gift card
- iPod touch: $50 gift card
- iPod nano: $25 gift card
- MacBook Air: $150 gift card
- MacBook Pro: $150 gift card for both Retina and non-Retina models
- iMac: $150 gift card
- Apple TV: $25 gift card
- AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule: $50 gift card

- Various accessories: Gift card amounts vary, including $50 for the Nest Thermostat, $25 for the Anki DRIVE Starter Kit, $25 for the Nike+ FuelBand, and $25 for the Automatic Smart Driving Assistant.

The discounts should run through the day today both on Apple's online store and in its retail outlets across North America.

Deals from third-party retailers may be even better than Apple's pricing for some customers, and we've summarized some of the best Mac and iPad deals over the past several days. We are also keeping track of deals on Apple products, accessories, software, and more in our Black Friday roundup.

Article Link: Apple's U.S. and Canadian Black Friday Sales Go Live Online With Gift Card Deals

 

[jonyive4]

I need a Mac Mini, I'm going to wait until the 2013 refresh.
NOPE.
I need a Mac Mini, I'm going to wait until the 2013 black friday deal.
NOPE.

 

[rgarjr]

No discounts on smart covers/case

 

[lbjsong]

Wth

no discount on iPad Mini Retina.
What the hack is this

 

[calvol]

Can these Apple gift-cards be sold on Ebay?

 

[joeshmo2010]

Lame, I hate gift card deals. All that does is make you spend more money on something else and for some, you wouldn't need anything else. I guess the cool thing here is that you could use the gift card on a case.

 

[brianvictor7]

Hey! $150 towards choice of accessories or AppleCare for a new Macbook Pro with Retina? I'll take that!

Too bad it doesn't stack with the military discount, but this promotion is still $50 better than the military discount so I'll be the first to say that I'm happy with this deal!

 

[KPOM]

no discount on iPad Mini Retina.
What the hack is this

No big surprise. Demand exceeds supply right now. It was the same in the rest of the world.

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Can these Apple gift-cards be sold on Ebay?

Not technically, per the terms of Apple's website (they are not for resale).

Apple Store Gift Cards are issued and managed by Apple Value Services, LLC (“Issuer”) and can be applied only to purchases from an Apple Retail Store, the Apple Online Store, or Apple Telesales (1-800-MY-APPLE) in the United States. Apple Store Gift Cards may not be redeemed at the iTunes Store, through any Apple resellers or any AT&T retail or online stores, or any Verizon retail or online stores, or any Sprint retail or online store, or at any Apple Online Store, Apple Telesales or Apple Retail Store outside the United States. Apple Store Gift Cards are not redeemable for cash (except as required by law), cannot be applied as payment to any account, and cannot be used to purchase additional Apple Store Gift Cards, mobile phone contracts or service plans, and cannot be used for purchases for shipment outside the United States or for any other products or services as determined by Apple and Issuer in their sole discretion. Apple’s Sales and Refund Policy governs all purchases made with an Apple Store Gift Card. Neither Issuer nor Apple is responsible for any loss or damage resulting from lost or stolen gift cards or use without your permission. For your card’s balance or claims, call Issuer at 888-320-3301. For additional Apple Store Gift Card information and to see exclusions and limitations, visit http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_pol...retail_us.html and http://www.apple.com/iphone/gift. Not for resale. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Use of this Apple Store Gift Card is governed by the laws of the State of Virginia. Receipt of an Apple Store Gift Card does not guarantee purchase of any item. Apple Store Gift Card terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. TM and © 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

 

[Larry-K]

So I guess yesterday was for giving thanks...

today, not so much.

 

[Tech198]

I'd would have still preferred the discount... Gift cards only AFTER you pay full price for something is a bit limited.

Give me the sale any-day...

 

[KPOM]

today, not so much.

Apple has never undercut their resellers on Black Friday. For those looking for a Mac or iPad, it is still a way to get $150 or $75 to spend on other products at the Apple Store. For example, get someone an iPad Air, and you can give them a $75 gift card that they can use for a case (or you can just keep the card and use it on something else).

 

[gooutside]

Here's a really dumb question...

... but, I just bought an MBP Retina about a week ago. Even though I didn't buy it on Black Friday, does anybody think the Apple Store would be generous enough to give me a gift card? I mean, technically, I could return the same MacBook and re-buy it to get the discount, but ... do they ever just do this just to be nice?

 

[wschutz]

Lame, I hate gift card deals. All that does is make you spend more money on something else and for some, you wouldn't need anything else. I guess the cool thing here is that you could use the gift card on a case.

Good job! You passed 101 Marketing!

... but, I just bought an MBP Retina about a week ago. Even though I didn't buy it on Black Friday, does anybody think the Apple Store would be generous enough to give me a gift card? I mean, technically, I could return the same MacBook and re-buy it to get the discount, but ... do they ever just do this just to be nice?

Try, otherwise... pack and return and re-buy and do it from BB or somewhere else so you get a proper discount, and of course, tell the Apple Store clerk that you ain't spending your money there
Customer mandates, and Apple has to understand that regardless of its 'innovative' and 'never seen before' crap

 

[BillyBobBongo]

... but, I just bought an MBP Retina about a week ago. Even though I didn't buy it on Black Friday, does anybody think the Apple Store would be generous enough to give me a gift card? I mean, technically, I could return the same MacBook and re-buy it to get the discount, but ... do they ever just do this just to be nice?

I highly doubt it.

The Apple Store Gift Card promotion is available only for purchases made from November 29, 2013, at 12:01 a.m. PST to November 29, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. PST at Apple Retail Stores and the Apple Online Store. This promotion is available to end users only and is not available to distributors, dealers, or resellers. Apple reserves the right to change or cancel this promotion at any time.

You could always give them a call and see what they say....if you don't ask you don't get.

no discount on iPad Mini Retina.
What the hack is this

Buy an Apple TV and get $25 off the iPad Mini Retina, buy an iPod Touch and get $50 off the iPad Mini Retina...or even buy a MacBook and you'll get $150 off the iPad Mini Retina.

Plenty of discount to be had.

 

[thanhtung031288]

Why I can redeem my gift card. WTF??? You are messing up everything Apple!

 

[susa]

No sale sale for Canada?

I wanted to get 3 items. I've tried to go to apple.ca several times but I get switched to the US site. It lets me add to my cart, but when I go to check out, they don't have my billing address saved anymore, and want me to put in a US address. Arghhh, they can be frustrating.
If they are having Black Friday in other countries, what's up with trying to buy from Canada? Canadian stores have adopted Black Friday.

EDIT: SWITCHED COMPUTERS AND CANADIAN SITE WORKING!

 

[gooostovo]

Hey! $150 towards choice of accessories or AppleCare for a new Macbook Pro with Retina? I'll take that!

Too bad it doesn't stack with the military discount, but this promotion is still $50 better than the military discount so I'll be the first to say that I'm happy with this deal!

Agreed. Just ordered a 13" MBA, didn't really want to wait for the refresh. My fiance is in school and can get a $50 discount but with the gift card being $150 I'l take that because I can use it on case or extra charger. I think it's a good deal. Everyone else with greedy little paws can suck it!

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I wanted to get 3 items. I've tried to go to apple.ca several times but I get switched to the US site. It lets me add to my cart, but when I go to check out, they don't have my billing address saved anymore, and want me to put in a US address. Arghhh, they can be frustrating.
If they are having Black Friday in other countries, what's up with trying to buy from Canada? Canadian stores have adopted Black Friday.

The checking out process was a little weird for me too, even though I live in the US. Did you log in with your Canadian Apple ID?

 

[susa]

Agreed. Just ordered a 13" MBA, didn't really want to wait for the refresh. My fiance is in school and can get a $50 discount but with the gift card being $150 I'l take that because I can use it on case or extra charger. I think it's a good deal. Everyone else with greedy little paws can suck it!

----------




The checking out process was a little weird for me too, even though I live in the US. Did you log in with your Canadian Apple ID?

Just edited my post. I switched from using my ipad to a macbook and everything is normal. Very strange.

 

[Larry-K]

Apple has never undercut their resellers on Black Friday. For those looking for a Mac or iPad, it is still a way to get $150 or $75 to spend on other products at the Apple Store. For example, get someone an iPad Air, and you can give them a $75 gift card that they can use for a case (or you can just keep the card and use it on something else).

Why of course, It's Apple's way of saying "Thank you, less than valued customer, here's an overpriced Apple gift, go back and spend this pitiful discount to partially purchase another overpriced Apple Product".

I'll pass, I've already bought a MacPro, a display and a couple of Minis this year, that's enough charity for these guys. At least the Europeans got cash, good for them.

 

[iMAX386]

So you can't get the gift card if you're using the $200 education discount, right?

And other sites like MacMall don't provide the edu discount. So if I'm looking to buy an rMPB with an edu discount, today's deals don't make me any better off than just buying the rMBP any other day of the year, no? Just making sure I'm not missing something...like that I can still get the gift card somehow.

 

[nagromme]

Done! My $75 gift card should pay for approximately 1% of my upcoming Mac Pro with Retina Thunderbolt Display

My in-store pickup (128 LTE Air) got snatched out from under me at the last minute before I committed the order. Dagnabbit! Have to wait for shipping now. Everyone else got up at midnight too, I guess--and committed their order first. So good luck finding stock in person on Black Friday!

 

[BillyBobBongo]

Why of course, It's Apple's way of saying "Thank you, less than valued customer, here's an overpriced Apple gift, go back and spend this pitiful discount to partially purchase another overpriced Apple Product".

I'll pass, I've already bought a MacPro, a display and a couple of Minis this year, that's enough charity for these guys. At least the Europeans got cash, good for them.

Your greed and self righteousness is quite abhorrent. You are aware that no one is obligated to give you money off these items!?

It's not just you, there are a lot of others in the other Black Friday threads that have the same mindset. I'd advise you, as well as all the others, to take a look in the mirror and decide if you really want to be 'that' sort of person.

 

[CJM]

Shut up and buy it like the good consumers you are!

 

[osx11]

Apple has never undercut their resellers on Black Friday. For those looking for a Mac or iPad, it is still a way to get $150 or $75 to spend on other products at the Apple Store. For example, get someone an iPad Air, and you can give them a $75 gift card that they can use for a case (or you can just keep the card and use it on something else).

Thanks for explaining to the world how to spend the amount on a gift card. I don't know what the world would do without your help.

----------

Your greed and self righteousness is quite abhorrent. You are aware that no one is obligated to give you money off these items!?

It's not just you, there are a lot of others in the other Black Friday threads that have the same mindset. I'd advise you, as well as all the others, to take a look in the mirror and decide if you really want to be 'that' sort of person.

I don't know why people feel entitled to discounts. There's people on these forums that are so blatantly materialistic and greedy and that is quite shocking. There's more important things in life than spending loads of money on Apple products. And if you don't spend the money on these luxury items, don't complain about spending too much money. These are all 'want' as opposed to 'need' items.

 

[thanhtung031288]

Done! My $75 gift card should pay for approximately 1% of my upcoming Mac Pro with Retina Thunderbolt Display

My in-store pickup (128 LTE Air) got snatched out from under me at the last minute before I committed the order. Dagnabbit! Have to wait for shipping now. Everyone else got up at midnight too, I guess--and committed their order first. So good luck finding stock in person on Black Friday!

Are you planning to purchase the display today also. Apple does not allow me to redeem my 200$ gift card to get my iPad Air + 75$ gift card. They hide the gift card redeem tab in payment section. I tried in the education store, which does not have 75$ gift card, and it was okay to accept my gift card payment.

...

worst BF ever for Apple