Apple ACD have had numerous price cuts throughout their lifespan so have many other apple products. I really don't get what SD is talking aboot.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple TV Price Drop
- Thread starter Southern Dad
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple ACD have had numerous price cuts throughout their lifespan so have many other apple products. I really don't get what SD is talking aboot.
Anyone here who says they wouldn't care if the product they paid $99 for was suddenly $69 a month later is either being disingenuous or that amount of money isn't important to them.
I'm not defending the OP - I don't think even he knows what point he's trying to make, but there is a point here that everyone is missing in a rush to point out the fallacies of his argument, and it's somewhat unique to Apple products.
Most products are released at around MSRP, and then go downward in price depending on consumer demand and competitive product/price pressures. Apple product pricing, with only a few exceptions, doesn't work that way (in the short-term).
What that means in practice is that if you purchase a new Samsung TV, there is little chance at any given time that there will be a dramatic price cut or that a new version will dramatically undercut the resale value of one you just purchased, i.e. if you buy the TV a couple weeks before a new version comes out, chances are the price you paid for your new TV was already significantly lower than the new version. The old version (still left in retail channels) won't drop significantly in price when the new version comes out because its price has already adjusted to market pressures of being a year old. If you really want the new one, you can sell your two-week old one for not much less than what you purchased it for. And Samsung wouldn't slash prices because, again, the price will already be adjusted on a downward basis per market demands. The few exceptions to this is when a product is an unmitigated sales disaster, e.g. Amazon phone or the original Microsoft Surface.
Apple rarely adjusts pricing mid-stream due to market pressure (and most of the exceptions are due to delays in releasing a new version). So, with the Apple TV, it was $99 three years ago, and it was $99 up until yesterday. We didn't see a slow downward price trend of a $1 less each month or even a $10 price cut each year it was out.
I'm not complaining here - that's just the way it works with Apple - take it or leave it. But it's one of the reasons there's so much consternation about when to buy an Apple product that hasn't been updated in a while. It's not only that "if I'd only known to wait two weeks", you could have had a newer model, it's that the monetary "value" of your two-week old model is significantly reduced all in one go, compared to if Apple continually adjusted prices downward between introducing a new model and when the next version comes along like most companies do.
I'm not defending the OP - I don't think even he knows what point he's trying to make, but there is a point here that everyone is missing in a rush to point out the fallacies of his argument, and it's somewhat unique to Apple products.
Most products are released at around MSRP, and then go downward in price depending on consumer demand and competitive product/price pressures. Apple product pricing, with only a few exceptions, doesn't work that way (in the short-term).
What that means in practice is that if you purchase a new Samsung TV, there is little chance at any given time that there will be a dramatic price cut or that a new version will dramatically undercut the resale value of one you just purchased, i.e. if you buy the TV a couple weeks before a new version comes out, chances are the price you paid for your new TV was already significantly lower than the new version. The old version (still left in retail channels) won't drop significantly in price when the new version comes out because its price has already adjusted to market pressures of being a year old. If you really want the new one, you can sell your two-week old one for not much less than what you purchased it for. And Samsung wouldn't slash prices because, again, the price will already be adjusted on a downward basis per market demands. The few exceptions to this is when a product is an unmitigated sales disaster, e.g. Amazon phone or the original Microsoft Surface.
Apple rarely adjusts pricing mid-stream due to market pressure (and most of the exceptions are due to delays in releasing a new version). So, with the Apple TV, it was $99 three years ago, and it was $99 up until yesterday. We didn't see a slow downward price trend of a $1 less each month or even a $10 price cut each year it was out.
I'm not complaining here - that's just the way it works with Apple - take it or leave it. But it's one of the reasons there's so much consternation about when to buy an Apple product that hasn't been updated in a while. It's not only that "if I'd only known to wait two weeks", you could have had a newer model, it's that the monetary "value" of your two-week old model is significantly reduced all in one go, compared to if Apple continually adjusted prices downward between introducing a new model and when the next version comes along like most companies do.
Then you felt the ATV had value at $99 (obviously, you purchased 9). Nothing has changed relative to usability, and they still have value and work as they did when you bought them...you made the conscious decision to buy them. Prices change constantly in (virtually) every industry for (virtually) every product.
Well, when it comes to technology I don't think I ever consider my purchases investments that hold value for some undetermined amount of time until I feel like I got what I paid for - then it's ok if the price drops. Like today I pay $99 and as long as the price is $99 for say.... 3 months then it's cool if the price drops. It doesn't work like that.
I just assume that whatever I paid is what I thought it was worth at that point in time and if the price drops after the return window then oh well...
I just assume that whatever I paid is what I thought it was worth at that point in time and if the price drops after the return window then oh well...
That sounds about right but I think regardless of what it says, the refurbs are the current model.
Edit: I just checked and all the refurbished Apple TV is sold out. That is the first time I saw that happen.
Last edited:
Yeah, I got one for my secondary TV. I almost bought it last month, glad I held off a bit (while endlessly waiting for the update).
I agree with your disagreement with his disagreeing with the original guy's disagreement.
Four at my primary residence (family room, master bedroom, kid's bedroom, home office)
Three at my apartment in the city (living room, master bedroom, home office)
Two at my mountain cabin (great room, master)
Nothing weird about them. They are easy to use and are able to AirPlay. I've got a couple that are ATV2, one that is an ATV first gen, and a bunch of ATV3. I would love to upgrade at least three or four to ATV4, and of course sell off the ATV3 they would be replacing.
PLEASE don't take this the wrong way...I am not judging at all. Money is money.
But I read about your distribution of 9 ATVs among 3 locations (including a mountain cabin), and it struck me as funny that this multi-page thread started because of concern about "lost value" when Apple reduced the price of the ATV by $30.
1. You do realize that, even if this price drop hadn't occurred, your ATV3's would have dropped in value the moment the ATV4 came out, right?
Therefore this price drop does not impact you any differently than if Apple had simply released new hardware instead of doing the price drop. Because either way: when the ATV4 came out, you would sell the old ones for a lower value than what you paid for them.
2. Can you point out one product (apple or otherwise) that is worth the same amount of resell value 3 years later?
3. Hopefully you at least understand why Apple did this. When Apple TV 2 came out in 2010, it's only competition was Roku, which was very close in price-point. Today, 5 years later, there is a lot more competition (Roku has dropped its prices significantly, Chromecast now exists, FireTV now exists) all for far lower cost than Apple TV's $99 price point. For Apple TV to maintain it's lead, Apple decided to drop the price so it's less difficult for people to justify buying one, AND they announced the HBO Now 3-month exclusivity to try and sell a lot of them over the next 3 months. To me, this demonstrates that Apple finally regards this as more than a "Hobby", since they are making efforts to stay competitive in the game.
----------
Refurb Apple TVs have been "sold out" intermittently over the past 4 years. The present-day sell-out may be due to the price drop (from $75 to $59 for the refurb), but them selling out is not unprecedented. I expect there will be refurbs available soon.
The dollar amount or whether I can afford it aren't my issue. This drop is uncharacteristic for Apple. This company is known for pricing their products at a certain point. They don't discount and don't allow merchants to offer sales on them. In so doing, they are able to retain a signicant amount of value.
Is this saying that the Apple TV has been significantly overpriced these last few years and is actually only worth $59 although Apple has been selling it for $99? Three of my ATV were bought in 2015. I've never had an Apple product lose a third of its value in less than sixty days.
I need two new Mac Pros, should I hold off a few months waiting for a price drop?
Is this saying that the Apple TV has been significantly overpriced these last few years and is actually only worth $59 although Apple has been selling it for $99? Three of my ATV were bought in 2015. I've never had an Apple product lose a third of its value in less than sixty days.
I need two new Mac Pros, should I hold off a few months waiting for a price drop?
That's actually not true at all!
Apple's prices do often change, especially after a year or so of a product being on the market. The iPhone is an example, albeit that the product pricing decreases are for "last year's model". The iPad is another example. The iPad Air 2 64gb model is now at the point where the iPad Air 1 32gb was last year.
I would argue that the AppleTV has been overly stable!
Ultimately...supply/demand and cost/benefit. If the product is worth (to you) the price you paid when you made the conscious decision to buy it, then just use it and stop worrying about the changes! We're not talking a stock or other investment!
There is real value and perceived value.
The real value of the ATV is what you decided it was worth when you bought it. If it was worth $99, it was worth $99.
The perceived value is less because now everyone is getting your $99 toy for $69 and you feel like you didn't get to be in the "$99 Club" long enough.
Just accept it and enjoy your $99 ATV.
The real value of the ATV is what you decided it was worth when you bought it. If it was worth $99, it was worth $99.
The perceived value is less because now everyone is getting your $99 toy for $69 and you feel like you didn't get to be in the "$99 Club" long enough.
Just accept it and enjoy your $99 ATV.
You literally have 3 residences and are complaining about $270 loss in value?!??! And you are spending all your time on this forum arguing this point? Seriously maybe you need to re-evaluate what matters in life.
It is not even $270, he was misleading in the original post as he only has 6 ATV3 the other 3 are 2 ATV2 and a ATV.
So he is down $180 but could make that back if he sold his other 3 ATV since those model have appreciated. I would not be surprised if he got $500 for those 3 models alone.
