Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple to Hold Black Friday Shopping Event Starting on November 25

What if you just purchased something recently? would they honor this offer or force you to return something and buy it again?
 
Hot damn it, I'm about to buy a Mac Studio and it doesn't look like that's included. Grrr...
 
okkibs said:
That is incorrect. The law you are referring to is meant to protect customers from manufacturing defects that existed from the beginning. Within the first 12 months it is always assumed that the defect existed at the time of purchase but in the second year you need to prove this. This is effectively impossible to prove and Apple will, as in 100% and undoubtedly, refuse a free repair after 12 months. And this is EU law, not German law, since 1st of Jan 2022 the 12 months are in effect in most EU countries.

It mostly helps in cases where there is no manufacturer warranty at all. In any case, Apple will NEVER accept repairs under this law and will always try to get you to accept to do repairs on their own warranty terms which are always benefitial to them. You can try to discuss it with the store manager, but this is in no way practical. By law you have to be allowed to choose between the warranty and the consumer protection law terms, but if you ask an Apple employee they will always, always say that they can only open warranty cases.

And that's by design as the consumer protection laws are relatively strict in that a single failed repair after 11 months can actually allow you to request a full refund. Apple is extremely anti-consumer in that they are doing their very best to avoid this becoming the norm in their stores. This has actually just happened with a new Macbook that had some unusual audio distortion right out of the box and when the customer brought the device in for repair, it was returned a week later unable to reproduce the problem and the customer was told that there is no point in trying for another repair. Under these consumer laws this would be a no-question-asked full refund situation, but since it was done under warranty terms they now have to bring the device in yet again and hope the issue occurs during their store appointment so that Apple actually fixes it this time around.
Click to expand...

You are wrong, plain and simple. Apple usually DOES honor this law, and I’ve personally had multiple instances where they repaired or replaced my defective device 12-24 months after purchase. And no, I haven’t bought Apple Care for any of these devices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lcb7 and JamesTheMac
What some people in this thread don't understand - in the US, it's virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get a discount on a new and sealed iPhone unless you buy it through a mobile carrier, and even for that you have to pay for a ridiculously overpriced plan ($60+ per month for 24 months in most cases). So for people who are on cheap $15 per month prepaid plans like T-Mobile Connect, this unfortunately is the best deal you will get on an iPhone.
 
okkibs said:
That is incorrect. The law you are referring to is meant to protect customers from manufacturing defects that existed from the beginning. Within the first 12 months it is always assumed that the defect existed at the time of purchase but in the second year you need to prove this. This is effectively impossible to prove and Apple will, as in 100% and undoubtedly, refuse a free repair after 12 months. And this is EU law, not German law, since 1st of Jan 2022 the 12 months are in effect in most EU countries.

It mostly helps in cases where there is no manufacturer warranty at all. In any case, Apple will NEVER accept repairs under this law and will always try to get you to accept to do repairs on their own warranty terms which are always benefitial to them. You can try to discuss it with the store manager, but this is in no way practical. By law you have to be allowed to choose between the warranty and the consumer protection law terms, but if you ask an Apple employee they will always, always say that they can only open warranty cases.

And that's by design as the consumer protection laws are relatively strict in that a single failed repair after 11 months can actually allow you to request a full refund. Apple is extremely anti-consumer in that they are doing their very best to avoid this becoming the norm in their stores. This has actually just happened with a new Macbook that had some unusual audio distortion right out of the box and when the customer brought the device in for repair, it was returned a week later unable to reproduce the problem and the customer was told that there is no point in trying for another repair. Under these consumer laws this would be a no-question-asked full refund situation, but since it was done under warranty terms they now have to bring the device in yet again and hope the issue occurs during their store appointment so that Apple actually fixes it this time around.
Click to expand...

Not from my experience.

Got my MacBook Pro repaired in 2013. Bill was dropped from 780€ to 0€ and I just got my old AirPod Pro replaced a few months ago. He guy literally told me „good thing you bought them here“
 
  • Like
Reactions: lcb7 and JamesTheMac
contacos said:
Not from my experience.
Click to expand...
Your experience has nothing to do with consumer protection laws in the EU or Germany. Your good experience could have happened to you in the States just as well. I have had a similar experience in the States where the Macbook screen was flickering and the display assembly would have required costly replacement outside warranty, but the employee pretended the screen had staingate and had the display assembly replaced for free under the staingate repair program. You did not ask for a free repair as per consumer protection laws to begin with, I am sure, so there is no reason to assume Apple treated it as such.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: gim
okkibs said:
See https://www.apple.com/shop/gift-cards and https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211187

Yes, it can be used for most purchases, but not for all, especially not for family sharing. I have used them in the past to even buy actual hardware. But that's the intention of Apple, that you buy a product to get a gift card that you then spend on more Apple stuff. Unfortunately it works...
Click to expand...
Excellent - so I can use it for my Apple Music sub. That's pretty much what I wanted to know. Appreciate the response.
 
okkibs said:
That is incorrect. The law you are referring to is meant to protect customers from manufacturing defects that existed from the beginning. Within the first 12 months it is always assumed that the defect existed at the time of purchase but in the second year you need to prove this. This is effectively impossible to prove and Apple will, as in 100% and undoubtedly, refuse a free repair after 12 months. And this is EU law, not German law, since 1st of Jan 2022 the 12 months are in effect in most EU countries.

It mostly helps in cases where there is no manufacturer warranty at all. In any case, Apple will NEVER accept repairs under this law and will always try to get you to accept to do repairs on their own warranty terms which are always benefitial to them. You can try to discuss it with the store manager, but this is in no way practical. By law you have to be allowed to choose between the warranty and the consumer protection law terms, but if you ask an Apple employee they will always, always say that they can only open warranty cases.

And that's by design as the consumer protection laws are relatively strict in that a single failed repair after 11 months can actually allow you to request a full refund. Apple is extremely anti-consumer in that they are doing their very best to avoid this becoming the norm in their stores. This has actually just happened with a new Macbook that had some unusual audio distortion right out of the box and when the customer brought the device in for repair, it was returned a week later unable to reproduce the problem and the customer was told that there is no point in trying for another repair. Under these consumer laws this would be a no-question-asked full refund situation, but since it was done under warranty terms they now have to bring the device in yet again and hope the issue occurs during their store appointment so that Apple actually fixes it this time around.
Click to expand...
As others have said. This is incorrect. Apple will honour repairs beyond the 12 month statutory period if bought directly from them.

This is why in the UK and Europe they no longer sell "AppleCare". They were told the courts a few years ago that they can't sell a product that provides the same protection they have under EU law. That's why now in Europe and the UK you can only buy "AppleCare +", which is effectively an accidental damage insurance scheme.
 
okkibs said:
Your experience has nothing to do with consumer protection laws in the EU or Germany. Your good experience could have happened to you in the States just as well. I have had a similar experience in the States where the Macbook screen was flickering and the display assembly would have required costly replacement outside warranty, but the employee pretended the screen had staingate and had the display assembly replaced for free under the staingate repair program. You did not ask for a free repair as per consumer protection laws to begin with, I am sure, so there is no reason to assume Apple treated it as such.
Click to expand...
Sure, Apple only repaired and replaced our devices out of goodwill, and not because there is a law that says they have to. :rolleyes: Get a grip, you are wrong in your assumption that Apple always uses this well-known loophole to get out of that commitment.
 
Bigboiiiii said:
What if you just purchased something recently? would they honor this offer or force you to return something and buy it again?
Click to expand...

I just called and they would not honor it for a $2700 MBP order I received 10 days ago. Said return and purchase new during promotion is only option. Thought maybe they’d be willing given that I have over two dozen Apple products purchased in past 5 years. Nah.
 
  • Angry
Reactions: compwiz1202 and Alfredo_Delgado
gim said:
Sure, Apple only repaired and replaced our devices out of goodwill, and not because there is a law that says they have to. :rolleyes: Get a grip, you are wrong in your assumption that Apple always uses this well-known loophole to get out of that commitment.
Click to expand...
There is no law that says they have to. There is no loophole either. You are on my ignore list so I don't waste time discussing something when you can't be bothered to familiarize yourself with the topic first.

JamesTheMac said:
As others have said. This is incorrect. Apple will honour repairs beyond the 12 month statutory period if bought directly from them.
Click to expand...
And where does Apple claim they do that? The question is rhetorical as Apple doesn't do that. Anecdotes are merely that.

JamesTheMac said:
This is why in the UK and Europe they no longer sell "AppleCare". They were told the courts a few years ago that they can't sell a product that provides the same protection they have under EU law. That's why now in Europe and the UK you can only buy "AppleCare +", which is effectively an accidental damage insurance scheme.
Click to expand...
Nothing of this is true in any way. Don't bother, I am not going to discuss this with someone who just makes all their arguments up as they go. Sure, Apple wasn't allowed to sell warranty extensions and that's why they are now selling insurance "schemes". Good thing they are still selling the regular warranty extensions in the States and don't bother us with their insurance "schemes".
 
Wags said:
Probably we will see Apple Card @ $80 for $100 For maybe day or two. 🤞
Click to expand...
Yeah, highly doubtful. Ever since Apple combined iTunes and Apple Store gift cards, those sales don't happen anymore. Target is giving out a $15 gift card for buying $100 in Apple GC for Black Friday week (starting tomorrow), and recently they've been apparently enforcing it to be one per person. That's about the best deal you can get on Apple GCs nowadays without dealing with sketchy resale sites which could put your Apple account at risk.
 
So Amazon is still honoring the $1599 price for the 14 MBP. So I cancelled my order and re-ordered; pushing my delivery date out to next Wednesday. Gives me time now to see what happens for prime Black Friday season.
 
I'm after an iPhone 14 Pro Max. However, not included in the "Apple Shopping Event" offer.

However, I'm also after:
Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

From my (awful) maths the best bang for buck here would be buy the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) @ £249 and Apple Pencil (2nd generation) @ £139 this will result in £50 back for the AirPods Pro and £25 back for Apple Pencil.

Giving me £75 credit towards the iPhone making it £1,309 down to £1,234

Apple Pencil (2nd Generation)
£139
- £25 (Apple Shopping Event)
=£114

AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
£249
- £50 (Apple Shopping Event)
=£199

iPhone 14 Pro Max 256GB Space Black
£1,309
- £75 (Back from Apple Shopping Event)
=£1,234
- £90 (Amazon £100 Top Up for £90)
=£1,144
- 4% (Tesco offer 4% discount on Apple Top Ups)
=£1098.24

Buy a £1100 top-up via work for £1056 (saving £44) then pay the £42.24 debit card (due to only have £25, £50, £100 and £500 vouchers available. The value of your order must be a multiple or combination of these values)

Hopefully someone can verify this as there is a no refund policy.
 
ZZ Bottom said:
I just called and they would not honor it for a $2700 MBP order I received 10 days ago. Said return and purchase new during promotion is only option. Thought maybe they’d be willing given that I have over two dozen Apple products purchased in past 5 years. Nah.
Click to expand...
That's so ridculous. Dell did the same crap once, so I never bought anything from them ever again.
 
compwiz1202 said:
That's so ridculous. Dell did the same crap once, so I never bought anything from them ever again.
Click to expand...
It's absolutely not ridiculous. These gift card deals are always for new purchases in between date x and date y. Your purchase wasn't within that window yet you expect compensation regardless. You didn't expect a gift card at the time of purchase, you were happy enough to hand over your money, but suddenly your $2700 Macbook isn't worth the money anymore unless you get that gift card?

I'll put it differently: You are a tiny etsy seller running a similar gift card promotion in order to increase sales. Now customers that were never told they'd get a gift card contact you and demand the card, and if you don't do it they'll stop buying from you, stop recommending you, return the product... so you give in to the demands and then buyers just a day or two beyond the return window contact you and demand the gift card because you gave it to others outside of the promotion time window as well... or they'll tell everyone about their bad experience...

Where does it stop? Why should someone within their return window get the gift card and someone outside it shouldn't? Should the return window be the deciding factor at all? After all, it's not a backdate-the-promotion time window, it's meant for when you are unhappy with the product, the thing you actually ordered. What was ordered in this case was a $2700 Macbook, not a gift card.

Why not backdate the gift card promo by a whole month, just to cover everyone? Although now what's with the people who ordered just one day before that... see the issue?

If you decide what to buy or not to buy based on customer service, you can find horror stories about every big corporation somewhere on the internet. Based on that you couldn't buy anything from any company ever again, even companies like Fairphone have shown they'll incovenience customers to save a few cents when they removed the headphone jack claiming it improves sustainability.

To be very clear, in this situation I'd appreciate it if Apple gave me the gift card for my $2700 Macbook purchase regardless, but I wouldn't complain about it if they didn't and I'd definitely not expect them to agree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: compwiz1202
okkibs said:
I'll put it differently: You are a tiny etsy seller running a similar gift card promotion in order to increase sales. Now customers that were never told they'd get a gift card contact you and demand the card, and if you don't do it they'll stop buying from you, stop recommending you, return the product... so you give in to the demands and then buyers just a day or two beyond the return window contact you and demand the gift card because you gave it to others outside of the promotion time window as well... or they'll tell everyone about their bad experience...

Where does it stop? Why should someone within their return window get the gift card and someone outside it shouldn't? Should the return window be the deciding factor at all? After all, it's not a backdate-the-promotion time window, it's meant for when you are unhappy with the product, the thing you actually ordered. What was ordered in this case was a $2700 Macbook, not a gift card.

Why not backdate the gift card promo by a whole month, just to cover everyone? Although now what's with the people who ordered just one day before that... see the issue?

If you decide what to buy or not to buy based on customer service, you can find horror stories about every big corporation somewhere on the internet. Based on that you couldn't buy anything from any company ever again, even companies like Fairphone have shown they'll incovenience customers to save a few cents when they removed the headphone jack claiming it improves sustainability.

To be very clear, in this situation I'd appreciate it if Apple gave me the gift card for my $2700 Macbook purchase regardless, but I wouldn't complain about it if they didn't and I'd definitely not expect them to agree.
Click to expand...
I simply returned it. Ordering the same thing again. A free $250 gift card was worth the trouble.

I didn’t expect them to or get rude, just thought it was worth a try rather than returning.

And also, to your point about “see the issue?” On where does it stop; purchases within the 14-day window seem like an objective metric. Now I would have been outside that window, but anyone that bought in the last 13 days seem within reason to simply comp them the gift card.

If I ran the company I wouldn’t change the policy though. This is just my consumer perspective.
 
ZZ Bottom said:
And also, to your point about “see the issue?” On where does it stop; purchases within the 14-day window seem like an objective metric.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, but there are always these customers that are just a day or two over the return period, or the warranty period, and expect this to be dealt with in their favor as well. And Apple is known, at least according to this forum and its users, to accept returns after 14 days. Finally, depending on local laws they might be required to accept returns even after that. It is often enough to officially inform the seller within 14 days, and the actual return can be done a couple days later. The clearest policy is to offer the gift card within a certain time window and to tell customers to place a new order during that timeframe. There is no confusion at all about who gets a gift card and who doesn't, no false promises either. And sure, if a free $250 gift card is worth the trouble to you then return it - although realistically was it really worth the trouble? We all know that the Apple Store pricing is not the best compared to retailers, the gift cards are actually worth around 50% or so if you compare pricing. I'd rather order from someplace else that has actual good black friday deals rather than getting a gift card for these measly discounts in the Apple Store.
 
I ended up going w/ the M2 MBA and the $150 GC from Apple. I don’t do anything besides general consumer type of activities; no compiling, content creation, etc. I spec’d it up to 16GB RAM and 512GB HD; it should last me a good while. It’ll get here before XMAS, so I’m good to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back