Apple Axes 'No Cash' Policy for iPad Sales

[organerito]

I don't begrudge them, because Mexico is in shambles, but now, so is the border, so what do we do? Secure the damn border against illegal immigration, that's what.

My grandparents came to this country legally. Legal immigration is a great thing and great opportunity. Illegal immigration is a Federal Crime. But, our government couldn't care less about it. Obama included.

If you live in Canada, you'll see that illegal immigration is not a problem. You cannot work without a valid social security number.All Mexicans in Canada are legal. Illegal immigration is not only Mexicans' fault. It is also the whole USA system. Drugs is another problem where both Mexico and the USA are guilty. Mexico sends drugs to the USA. The USA send weapons illegally to Mexico.

The only way to make it work is an amnesty. Then, clean up the system. If one day people cannot work with a fake ssn anymore, illegal immigration will stop.

 

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

There is a real lesson in this.

If you don't get what you want, complain to the media.

s.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

In most countries in Europe, that would be illegal anyway.

Stores HAVE to accept the legal currency. I can't even understand how refusing CASH is legal anywhere in the world...

Hey, look, in the U.S. it's illegal to charge for use of a public restroom, but not in many European countries. Priorities I guess. I'd rather be refused an iPad b/c I'm using cash than the bathroom b/c I don't have any on me.

And I can't understand why FORCING a private company to accept cash should be a law anywhere. For one, it's cash is a giant security risk for companies b/c of 1) employees w/ sticky fingers and 2) increased opportunity for robbers. Sure, it may be inconvenient for customers, but ultimately if a business annoys its customers too much it won't be in business.

Hi,

There is a real lesson in this.

If you don't get what you want, complain to the media.

s.

The real lesson is that most companies are ******* when they should stand up (Apple) and idiots when they should stand down (BP).

 

[phreefall]

Good for HER

I'll bet she won't be stupid enough to leave it in a bar!

 

[iOrlando]

people really buy iPads with cash?

i rarely have a $20 with me in cash.

 

[ZipZap]

I have no credit card on my itunes and buy gift cards when I need more credit.

If they gave her a 3g then at least she can access the internet for $30 a month.

I think she is going to be glad it was free as she will soon find its not so usable without access to the internet.

Apple might have looked at her circumstances but since its free...who is going to turn it down.

 

[songcunzhi]

I tried to buy mine with cash too, where's my free iPad? Damnit.

Isn't it funny to give people ipads for free as long as they throw their cash onto the table in applestore.

 

[Robert M.]

They should have thrown in a free Macbook...

 

[danbrumit]

No cash..not just for Iphones and Ipads...but Imacs as well.

Earlier this week, the spotlight was put on Apple for its policy prohibiting customers from purchasing iPads with cash by a report from KGO-TV in San Francisco noting the case of a woman on fixed income who had saved up cash over a period of weeks to purchase an iPad as her first computer.With no credit or debit card in her name, she was unable to purchase her iPad, the victim of an Apple policy designed to help prevent customers from circumventing purchase limits in place to deal with tight supplies of the popular device.

Apple initially stood by its policy, but today Apple Senior Vice President for Retail Ron Johnson announced that the company has changed its policy to allow customers to purchase iPads with cash if they set up an Apple account in the store at the time of purchase.As a gesture of goodwill toward Diane Campbell, the woman whose experience brought the issue considerable publicity, two employees visited her home today to offer her an iPad free of charge.Apple's "no cash" policy was not unique to the iPad, as the company has introduced it in October 2007 for the iPhone in order to deal with high demand.

Article Link: Apple Axes 'No Cash' Policy for iPad Sales

I have been using pc's since 1990. In February 2009 I went to the Newark, Delaware store to buy my first Mac. After deciding on the 24" Imac and buying The Apple warranty and a Airport Extreme. The bill came to 2,700.00 +/- . I handed them cash...and they said they couldn't take it. I don't have a credit card, so my excitement of owning my first Mac, was just drained.

I said "Dude" don't make me buy a Dell.

They then offered me to buy a Apple debit card, and continue the purchase.

P.S. I went in there to buy the new Mac book pro that could take up to 8 gigs of memory. After telling the salesman that they did have such a thing, and confirming with him on their website. The store didn't have any in stock.

The salesman showed me the Imac, which I hadn't done a lot of research on, but he assured me that the 24" Imac was new and had only been out for a short time. I explained to him that speed and a lot of memory was important to me. If the laptop could go to 8 gigs, would a new Imac be just around the corner? If so I would wait. He assured me the 24" Imac with 2 gigs would be all that I need. He even talked me out of buying the extra 2 gigs of ram and maxing it out.

So I bought the 3.06 512 meg video, 500 gig hard drive 2 gigs of ram

2.5 weeks later March 2009, a new Imac comes out. 3.06 4gigs of ram expandable to 8, 1 Terabyte hard drive 512 on video SAME PRICE

So the store allowed me to pay 200.00 restocking fee and get the Early 2009 model.

Which I'm getting ready to max out to 8 gigs, Windows 7 and Snow Leopard running at the same time...machine feels a little sluggish now.

But it's cool! now on to Xcode

Thanks,
Dan

 

[JoJoCal19]

Sigh. Pending the definition of "fixed income", I'm willing to bet there are better things she could have spent her money on. [flame war initiate]

I was thinking the same thing. That's a huge part of the problem we have in America and (I think) the biggest part of why our economy is in its current state. Irresponsible consumers, whether its house, electronics, etc etc.

If that is a welfare fixed income then I hope the welfare office sees the story and shuts down her welfare.

 

[wovel]

Actually you can activate an iTunes account with a gift card. She can buy apps with those. I hope she got the 3G iPad, because I don't see an elderly lady who's never had a computer before being able to configure a modem and a wireless router. Of course if she does have Internet service how does she pay for it, and how would she pay for 3G service without a credit card? I know AT&T won't accept iTunes Gift Cards. This story seems fishy.

I guess she's going to have only download free apps, otherwise you need a credit card, don't you?

And she'll need an internet connection too.

P.

iTunes Gift Card for apps... Maybe she has Internet where she live, at least in a common area...

She probably has an Internet connection. And he can buy iTunes gift cards with cash to buy apps. Despite that, I think a netbook would have been more what she was looking for. Something with more versatility and a DVD drive.

I see the iPad as a complimentary device for people who already have a dedicated laptop/desktop.

Why do you assume a DVD drive is something she wants? How do you know she wants to do more than web browsing and Email? The iPad may be a far superior choice in that case...

If you have bad credit, what business do you have buying a luxury item like an ipad?

I would like to hear the reasoning as having bad credit typically means you don't know how to manage your money in the first place in which case, buying an ipad probably isn't the best of ideas...

First we have no idea she has bad credit. Second there are lots of reasons people have bad credit.

Apple's policy of "2 iPads per 1 person" is ridiculous!

I haven't studied US law, but in our country its downright illegal. One should be able to buy 10 iPads if he wants it - and Apple should be grateful if he does - it means more profit for them.

They are offering a certain product to the public (offerta) and can't refuse selling or restrict the number of units it to any one who comes to buy it (accept).

I'm at a loss why such policy even exists in the first place

The policy exists because people buying 50 iPads to sell on ebay harms Apple's Customers, App Developers, and Apple. Customers are harmed because they have a new choice: They can pay a massively inflated price or wait until supply catches up. App Developers are hurt because if unauthorized resellers are sitting on piles of iPads many, many less people are buying apps. Apple is hurt because they lose positive word of mouth because no one is actually able to use a device.

And how is that protecting?

The guy who wants to buy 10 is also an Apple customer, isn't he?

No he is an unauthorized reseller, gouging Apple's customers.

It doesn't make any sense at all. Apple would sell a lot more if they didn't have limits like that. Sure scalpers will buy them and try to sell them for ridiculously high prices, but Apple shouldn't care. As long as they get their money, they should be happy and not worry about what people do after they buy them. And nothing is stopping them from manufacturing more iPads after the scalpers buy them all. People will see that they can get the items cheaper from Apple than from the scalpers, and will get them from Apple. Obviously the scalpers don't have an infinite supply of money and would eventually give up on buying them. The problem solves itself.

I can't imagine why Apple wouldn't accept cash. Debit/credit processing fees are anywhere from 1.9%-3% per transaction, they're throwing potential money out the window.

Most banks charge businesses a percentage fee to process cash deposits. (after a certain limit).

Sigh. Think about what you just all the way to the end result. At some point MS would have to SELL them in order to get their money back. Keep in mind while this is going on Apple is continuing to produce them. Each one that gets sold lowers demand. Lower demand lowers the price. Eventually the price would go through Apples floor of say $499 and MS would be sitting with a ton of iPads that they either have to sell for the $499 or below in order to get rid of them (most likely before the next version came out).

Even in this completely unrealistic hypothetical, no matter how many MS bought Apple is still making them providing a near infinite supply to the market. Even if MS managed to keep the price slightly above Apples price for a period of time, as soon as Apple announced the next version MS would be buried with iPads that they couldn't sell for what they paid.

And all the word of mouth buzz would have tied and the Apple developers will have moved somewhere with actual users.

Sigh. Really? We're going to start this "toy" comment all over again? Have you even used it? Let's see I work at a University where many professors are trying to teach our classes. GASP it works like a bulky laptop. Oh no, we can do everything we need and not have to carry more weight.....

Many people here do confuse functionality with features. The former is why normal people buy products, the later is why people who think they know something about technology buy products.

 

[theydonotmove]

Doesn't anybody feel this is a little weird seeing as the iPad IS NOT A COMPUTER?

You need to synch it with a laptop or desktop to make it work.

the lady in the article wants it to be her first computer.

she's in for a bad surprise

 

[Stella]

Its a shame it takes media embarrassment for Apple to drop its stupid no cash rule.

If Apple won't take my money, I won't buy from them. Simple.

 

[dentaldoc]

I See it a Little Differently

This is just an aside: While I am not a legal scholar, it is my understanding that it is illegal for any company to deny the use of Federal Legal Tender. It is the official economic medium of our country. It even is printed right on the dollar bill. Something like "... for all debts, public and private ..."

My point: Companies are so terrified of the political correctness blowback effect that they must have been shaking in their collective boots at possible repercussions, and had to fall back on the politically correct response - as all sheeple do. I'll bet that if the customer (i.e., Mrs. Campbell was not of the ethnic persuasion that she is), two representatives from Apple would NEVER have come to her house to GIVE her an iPad. If I tried it, or a chinese college student tried it, the response would have been totally different and there would be no sentimental, sappy, frankly nauseating story. I have to stop writing now so I can go throw up again.

(November just can't come soon enough.)

 

[Digitalclips]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (OS4.0b3): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A274b Safari/6531.22.7)



Indeed. Can you say 'fan for life'?

Seriously though, good PR for Apple. They certainly need it these days ...

I have not had time to read the entire thread yet so sorry if this has been brought up ... I hope the lady can afford Wi-Fi! Or perhaps she lives where there is a free service. We have several free areas in Sarasota or did last time I checked.

 

[Buck987]

people really buy iPads with cash?

i rarely have a $20 with me in cash.

why not?

I own a business... some of it is cash... Bought three units with cash before the policy.

Works for me.

 

[knewsom]

This is just an aside: While I am not a legal scholar, it is my understanding that it is illegal for any company to deny the use of Federal Legal Tender. It is the official economic medium of our country. It even is printed right on the dollar bill. Something like "... for all debts, public and private ..."

100% with you.

My point: Companies are so terrified of the political correctness blowback effect that they must have been shaking in their collective boots at possible repercussions, and had to fall back on the politically correct response - as all sheeple do. I'll bet that if the customer (i.e., Mrs. Campbell was not of the ethnic persuasion that she is), two representatives from Apple would NEVER have come to her house to GIVE her an iPad. If I tried it, or a chinese college student tried it, the response would have been totally different and there would be no sentimental, sappy, frankly nauseating story. I have to stop writing now so I can go throw up again.

I suspect this has to do more with age and economic status than race.

(November just can't come soon enough.)

When in doubt blame everything on the incumbent, huh? Silly Republicans... Remember, this has about zero to do with politics....

 

[Avatar74]

Sigh. Pending the definition of "fixed income", I'm willing to bet there are better things she could have spent her money on. [flame war initiate]

What exactly are you insinuating here? Fixed income can mean a lot of things. I know a few multimillionaires living on fixed income (interest from investments). I know my mother, who is retired and also recently divorced is collecting fixed income from her ex-husband. I know people collecting disability... etc. etc.

Sure, there are better things EVERYONE could be spending their money on... including 99% of the people on this message board.

So, again... what exactly are you insinuating? I'm not a betting man, like you... so I'll let you answer that.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

This is just an aside: While I am not a legal scholar, it is my understanding that it is illegal for any company to deny the use of Federal Legal Tender. It is the official economic medium of our country. It even is printed right on the dollar bill. Something like "... for all debts, public and private ..."

My point: Companies are so terrified of the political correctness blowback effect that they must have been shaking in their collective boots at possible repercussions, and had to fall back on the politically correct response - as all sheeple do. I'll bet that if the customer (i.e., Mrs. Campbell was not of the ethnic persuasion that she is), two representatives from Apple would NEVER have come to her house to GIVE her an iPad. If I tried it, or a chinese college student tried it, the response would have been totally different and there would be no sentimental, sappy, frankly nauseating story. I have to stop writing now so I can go throw up again.

(November just can't come soon enough.)

It is NOT illegal to not accept U.S. currency. There is no law requiring acceptance of any particular form of payment. Not sure if that is what you meant or not b/c it doesn't jibe with the "PC" portion of your comment.

I do agree if Mrs. Campbell was a white 20 something this would not be a news story, which is why I do have to wonder if Mrs. Campbell was put up to the task, given the no cash meme has been circulating on the Internets for more than a week now. Apple isn't short of enemies these days if some org wanted to embarrass them.

I don't really like the outcome, i.e., giving away the free iPad, but if Mrs. Campbell was sincere she would donate the cash she was going to use for the iPad to a local school. She got her point made, and Apple changed its policy. Presumably that was her goal.

 

[satcomer]

people really buy iPads with cash?

i rarely have a $20 with me in cash.

Well when I travel I usually carry more money with me. All the highway stops and everything in strange places and I will only pay with cash. This way I can feel just a little bit safer wen going on a long trip.

 

[tayloralmond]

You're forgetting this is Apple.

Step one: Set ridiculous policy
Step two: Profit
Step three: Receive bad press
Step four: Profit
Step five: Reverse ridiculous policy, hand out free gadget to eldery, crowned as saints
Step six: Profit
Step seven : Profit some more
Step eight: Release next version/big thing
Step nine: Return to step one. Profit.

Can't help but do a South Park throwback on this one:

Phase One: Collect underpants.
Phase Two: ?
Phase Three: Profit.

 

[NikeTalk]

This policy is stupid on Apple's part. That is all.

 

[phpmaven]

Apple can't stand bad news. they make sure to kill it as soon as possible

Uh, hello! No company wants bad publicity and will quickly act to fix the situation.

 

[Protius1]

Anyone can get a credit card in the States. Years ago a friend of mine had an identity theft issue where his credit score was slammed low, showed no employment history and even some false warrants were out on his name.

In the middle of correcting it, he managed to get a pre-paid credit card (VISA switch) that he was able to use anywhere. This lady could easily go to a local check cashing place in Palo Alto, put that cash in a pre-paid credit card for a small fee and walk out with a credit card good to go to buy that iPad.

Or was this a planned publicity stunt?

Because she shouldn't have had to...Cash is Cash. Again it comes back to Apple's controlling ways. I wouldn't have accepted it if I were her.

 

[phpmaven]

taht lady is going to need to buy a computer now...to even use it

I'm getting a bit tired of hearing this nonsense. You don't need a computer to use an iPad. You only need one to activate it. They will do that for you in the store. Obviously you would need one if you were going to put your own existing media on it. But obviously you would have a computer if you had music or videos that you wanted to add.