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Apple's Black Friday Sales Begin Launching Internationally with Gift Card Deals

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Dave-Z said:
Not really sure what all the hatred is about. If you're an Apple enthusiast you must know they don't really do discounts or compete price-wise. This year's offer isn't as immediately rewarding as previous years, but it's a better overall value so in the end you would come out ahead financially.

Apple gets more sales, consumers can get more for their money. It's win-win.
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As a long time Apple user, I politely disagree. BF was one of those few days where you could get a discount if you were not a student and/or corporate.

With this gift card scenario, you're still paying full price up front and getting a gift card you may not want or need. How is that a financial win for the consumer if they do not want/need another Apple product in the future?
 
when you make an average of what. 45%+ pure profit margin on your devices, and the BIGGEST sale you can muster up is a measly 5% discount....

you're greedy.

when you no longer even want to do a discount, but offer a gift card which obligates the buyer to continue shopping and spend more money at your location just to get a "deal"...

you're a greedy *******.

Apple.

This is a crappy deal. Probably the worst you have ever had. I dont expect much from your deals. 5% is pathetic. MOST people who are looking to buy a $500 tablet aren't going to suddenly go "OMG BEST DEAL EVER MUST BY TODAY!!!" for a $20 discount on that 500.
 
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TraceyS/FL said:
But they might not have Airs tomorrow when the 20% coupon is available, even if it is a better deal (unless you live in a state that they aren't open tonight).

I'd rather have the 20% off coupon on what i'm hoping to buy tonight - but I can't risk not getting it for the discount tonight. Especially since I have a couple of others I might be able to stack with it....

Oh but wait, isn't the coupon good starting next week and not tomorrow anyway?

ETA: Yes, the 20% off is valid Dec 1-7
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Yes, all your points are valid. But, I can go back tomorrow or on either of those days (Dec 1-7) and file the transaction as a "missing coupon" and they override the transaction, giving me the 20% off. :) Target lets you get away with anything if you insist enough. Trust me, they don't want to be dealing with guests on these stressful days.

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dannyyankou said:
And if you work at Target, you can save an additional 15% with your employee discount like me :D
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Exactly! I used to work there, so I know how everything works. :D

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doboy said:
Actually, I saw the fine print on that 20% coupon on slickdeals.net and it excludes Apple, Bose, etc.:eek:
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I asked to be sure, and the coupon does not exclude any Apple products nor Bose. Do you have a link where I can see this?
 
ecrispy said:
Calling this a 'deal' is a little bit of a joke. All other oem's and retailers offer huge discounts on their products, yet Apple remains as arrogant as ever and is giving you a gift card??

I don't begrudge them their success, there is obviously huge demand for the products, yet in this economy it is hard to justify, and with their mountain of cash Apple could most certainly afford to offer true sales. They maximize their profits thru marketing, minimal incremental improvements, questionable labor practices, and avoiding taxes (although this last part is common to most big corporations), yet never pass on savings to customers.

Every other 'premium' product gets discounted for holidays, except Apple.
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I see nothing arrogant about any business not wanting to sell its products at deep discounts. A quick check found no discounts offered at Tiffany & Co, which also sells "premium" products. Regardless, the solution is simple: shop with your wallet.

I was happy to pick up an iPod Touch 5 this morning at our local Meijer. $295 for 32GB and a $50 gift certificate to be used for anything at the Meijer store.

Meijer is also selling $25 iTune cards for $19 each; a terrific buy that I took advantage of for stocking stuffers.

Edited to add the Meijer discounts are valid only today.
 
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Wow, some of you actually seem to think Black Friday is your birthright or something.

Do I like it that Apple make a ton of profit on their products and any discounts they ever give are pretty tiny?

Well of course not.

BUT they can do that because people keep buying their products in droves. I prefer Apple kit over Microsoft and Google. Do I accept that I'm paying a premium? Yes. That's not Apple's fault though; it's the failure of the competition to make stuff I want to buy, even if it is discounted.

But seriously though, Black Friday isn't some mandate; stores don't HAVE to do it. They do it because it creates extra footfall and probably allows them to clear out some old stock etc. Apple doesn't need to do this, the money is rolling in anyway. That they discount at all in my opinion seems generous.

So get over it. Don't like it? Go buy someone else's phone/computer/tablet and get what you pay for.
 
i bought an iMac exactly a month ago. Kinda wish i held out for this awesome deal... i wonder if i can call them and get the credit for it anyways?
 
I had no idea other countries besides America and Canada celebrated Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Good to know :)
 
kazmac said:
With this gift card scenario, you're still paying full price up front and getting a gift card you may not want or need. How is that a financial win for the consumer if they do not want/need another Apple product in the future?
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Because you could use it to buy more stuff (thereby saving money) or sell it (thereby recovering money).
 
LordVic said:
when you make an average of what. 45%+ pure profit margin on your devices, and the BIGGEST sale you can muster up is a measly 5% discount....

you're greedy.
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There are two sides to this supply/demand equation.
You obviously flunked Econ 101 and would likely go bankrupt if you became an entrepreneur.

Anyone want to buy a Surface?
 
ecrispy said:
Calling this a 'deal' is a little bit of a joke. All other oem's and retailers offer huge discounts on their products, yet Apple remains as arrogant as ever and is giving you a gift card??

...

Every other 'premium' product gets discounted for holidays, except Apple.
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Discounts are the tax on brands for being unremarkable :D

The company I work for is running a BF deal for the 1st time, and all our simulation show that the short term effect will be positive, people celebrate a 'successful' campaign, and 2 month down the line we are on break even, by month 3 we are behind and stay there. Why are we doing it? Because everybody is. Good on Apple for doing it that way.
Nobody is buying an extra item, people buy on a certain day for less than over a longer time frame for the normal price.
Or does anyone think that $200 of would swing people from Windows to buy a Mac?

As a consumer I would have liked money off as it feels better :p
But then, you can always buy an iPad, and then buy a cover with the gift card. Buy an iMac, then get the keyboard or magic mouse after that, ... .


Gudi said:
gift = poison (DE–EN)
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Horrendous regulation in Germany. You can't put a value on the gift so I wonder if Apple will actually give something away there because while one can offer a minor product with every purchase (free pen,...) the gift cards obviously have a clear value on them, which makes them legally 'iffy' at best.

UK is fine, fully Americanized. Yehaaa
 
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Hmm I just bought a rMBP about 3 weeks ago... Assuming no way to get the giftcard? :eek:
 
bestbuy

I got $100 off plus free Activation so I saved about $140 on my iPad Air, and I can get $200 Bb card for my iPad 2 trade in so my 128 is "only" $700. all with 18 months zero financing.
 
JayCee842 said:
I'd rather go to Target and use their 20% discount coupon with a purchase of $75 or more, save $20 on the iPad Air's regular price, along with a $100 gift card that I can cash out, and use my red card (5% off) on top of that. :)
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Target won't let you use the 20% off with the current promotion. The 20% off doesn't go into effect until after the Black Friday sale is over.
 
well im waiting till midnight here in UK so i can finally order my Ipad Air with my gift card, which will be saved for next year, for my iphone 6 :p
 
Vladislav said:
well im waiting till midnight here in UK so i can finally order my Ipad Air with my gift card, which will be saved for next year, for my iphone 6 :p
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What ifyou decide to switch to, say, Samsung Galaxy S5 in four months?
 
lilo777 said:
What ifyou decide to switch to, say, Samsung Galaxy S5 in four months?
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Ive been using my iphone 4S for the last 2 years hassle free and love it! Not a chance im going to switch to samsung or anyone else. Iphone is the way to go :)
 
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