Best Buy and Apple - August 10th

[MacRumors]

News.com provides confirmation of the Apple and Best Buy rumors and reports that have been filtering in.

CNet quotes a Best Buy statement:

As part of a pilot program, a few Best Buy stores will begin carrying a larger selection of Apple products, and Apple sales representatives will work in some Best Buy retail locations to help enhance the customer buying experience

...and pins the official launch of the program on August 10th.

Several Best Buy stores have already started selling the Apple equipment. There is no indication how long this pilot program will run.

 

[Mudbug]

do we have a list of the pilot stores?

 

[arn]

here's a prelimary list. Not sure how accurate it is. Some may be excluded or included:

Ahwatukee, AZ
Arrowhead, AZ
Mesa(Fiesta), AZ
Goodyear, AZ
Roseville, CA
Arden Fair, CA
Elk Grove, CA
Citrus Heights, CA
Santa Rosa, CA
Marin City, CA
San Carlos, CA
Milpitas, CA
East Palo Alto, CA
San Francisco, CA
Blossom Hill, CA
Dublin, CA
Pleasant Hill, CA
Fairfield, CA
Pinole, CA
Modesto, CA
Union City, CA
Pittsburg, CA
Davenport, IA
Moline, IL
Butterfield Road, IL
Bloomingdale, IL
Naperville, IL
Addison, IL
Harlem & Irving, IL
North Riverside, IL
Melrose Park, IL
North Avenue, IL
Randall Road, IL
Skokie, IL
Arlington Heights, IL
Schaumburg, IL
Evanston, IL
Crystal Lake, IL
Vernon Hills, IL
Golf Mill, IL
Deerfield, IL
West Dundee, IL
Old Orchard, IL
Crestwood, IL
Orland Park, IL
Ford City, IL
Lansing Calumet, IL
Downers Grove, IL
Matteson, IL
Hodgins/Countryside, IL
Merrillville, IN
Bel Air, MD
Maple Grove, MN
Chelsea, NY
86th & Lexington, NY
Roanoke, VA
Lynchburg, VA
Sterling, VA
Springfield Mall, VA

 

[Mudbug]

wow. ask and ye shall receive. thx arn

 

[Jerry Spoon]

well, there's our "official" confirmation
Still great news for Apple

 

[Mudbug]

but no press release? that's odd...

 

[jaedreth]

Press Release

Expect a Press Release on the 10th.

Jaedreth

 

[Freg3000]

Does anyone know why or care to speculate why Illinois and California are the focus of this test program? they can't just be two random states.

 

[nagromme]

Cool--except I hope "some" Best Buys having Apple reps means ALL the Best Buys that will sell Macs. The reps are important.

 

[EponymousCow]

Evanston, IL

I was at the BestBuy in Evanston, IL today. Not only did they have everything on display, they were offering a $150 mail in rebate on the 12" Combo Drive iBook, the 12" Powerbook with Superdrive, and the 15" Powerbook with Superdrive. The rebates said they were good until 8/2. It wasn't clear to me who was offering the rebate, Apple or BestBuy.

 

[iJon]

Re: Evanston, IL

Originally posted by EponymousCow
I was at the BestBuy in Evanston, IL today. Not only did they have everything on display, they were offering a $150 mail in rebate on the 12" Combo Drive iBook, the 12" Powerbook with Superdrive, and the 15" Powerbook with Superdrive. The rebates said they were good until 8/2. It wasn't clear to me who was offering the rebate, Apple or BestBuy.

was it an apple rebate or a best buy rebate.

iJon

edit: well im dumb, didnt finish your post.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

I'll have to go check and see if the Best Buy near me in Crystal City has them. The one in Springfield is a little out of the way - and I'm wondering why they picked that one of all the ones in the area? Its not the easiest to get to....

D

 

[network23]

This makes no sense! Chicago already HAS an Apple Store, yet every single IL Best Buy listed above is Chicago area! Believe it or not, there is a lower 7/8 of Illinois that would love to see Apple products in a Best Buy if we aren't getting our own Apple Store!

 

[cuneglasus]

Apple should wait till it has some decently upgraded consumer items before sticking them in a new store

 

[daveL]

Originally posted by cuneglasus
Apple should wait till it has some decently upgraded consumer items before sticking them in a new store

Well, they're already in the Apple Stores.

 

[jaedreth]

Lack of Apple Retail Stores

I live in Austin, Texas, as you can see. I worked for Apple for 3 years at their support and sales center in Austin. During a Keynote while I was still working at Apple, Steve made mention of the new Apple Store in Plano, Willow Bend, then said, "As far away from Austin and Houston as possible."

A lot of my support comrades were there when he said that.

And guess what? Houston has a store. WE STILL DON'T.

The largest and most experience AppleCare call center is in Austin, Texas, and it looks like we won't ever get an Apple Retail Store here at this rate.

I'm tired of Apple giving us the middle finger in this town. It's a great city, but macs are on the wane here because there aren't any decent Mac establishments here. The best I can do is go to Fry's Electronics, but they don't have Apple guys, just regular sales folks. However, at least they respect their macs, unlike others.

If Apple did have an Apple Retail Store here, I know tons of people who would go there, and a lot of them already work for Apple. Even those like me who no longer do.

King of Prussia got one before us. Ask someone from CA or FL or NY where King of Prussia is, versus Austin... Come on peoples... (Besides, all capital cities should have one anyways...)

Jaedreth

 

[whfsdude]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
I'll have to go check and see if the Best Buy near me in Crystal City has them. The one in Springfield is a little out of the way - and I'm wondering why they picked that one of all the ones in the area? Its not the easiest to get to....

D

Which one? The potomac yards one or the one next to pentagon city?

I was at the one in potomac yards two days ago, nothing :-(

 

[cnladd]

Originally posted by network23
This makes no sense! Chicago already HAS an Apple Store, yet every single IL Best Buy listed above is Chicago area! Believe it or not, there is a lower 7/8 of Illinois that would love to see Apple products in a Best Buy if we aren't getting our own Apple Store!

Yes, it does. And there are several Apple Stores all over California, as well. It's all about population density and existing market share. They're just running the pilots in the places that their research shows them as being most likely to sustain the business.

 

[tntoak]

The $150 mail-in rebate at Best Buy is a store rebate on all notebooks.

 

[pilotgi]

Apple products in Best Buys without Apple reps is not a good idea. I can just hear it now:

Customer:"Know anything about those Macs over there?

BB emp: "Macs are more expensive and there's no software."

BB emp:"Macs come with a Pentium G4."

BB emp:"Sure, they look cool, but I'm not sure if you can use the internet."

 

[dbally]

Apple in Austin . . .

I agree with jaedreth on this one. I'm a very potential switcher (essentially already am minus the hardware purchase ). I'm also in a college town an hour and a half away from both Houston and Austin. Between Texas A&M and UT you'd think there would be enough students to warrant a store in Austin, or at least at some Best Buys in Texas. Here's to wishful thinking

 

[spercharged69]

I was at Best Buy last night, they had a 12 inch powerbook, a 15 inch powerbook, a 17 inch imac, a g4 powermac, and an emac out on display in Naperville, IL.

 

[bwintx]

Originally posted by Freg3000
Does anyone know why or care to speculate why Illinois and California are the focus of this test program? they can't just be two random states.

These states are often used as test markets for a variety of products, programs, deals, etc. It's not for nothing that there is the old saying about whether something will "play in Peoria."

 

[dbally]

Apple in Austin . . .

I agree with jaedreth on this one. I'm a very potential switcher (essentially already am minus the hardware purchase ). I'm also in a college town an hour and a half away from both Houston and Austin. Between Texas A&M and UT you'd think there would be enough students to warrant a store in Austin, or at least at some Best Buys in Texas. Here's to wishful thinking

 

[tntoak]

Apple products in Best Buys without Apple reps is not a good idea. I can just hear it now:

Customer:"Know anything about those Macs over there?

BB emp: "Macs are more expensive and there's no software."

BB emp:"Macs come with a Pentium G4."

BB emp:"Sure, they look cool, but I'm not sure if you can use the internet."

I'd suggest refraining from making such generalized comments about BBY employees. Judging from some of the posts in this and other threads relating to the BBY/Apple situation, I'd wager that there are a fair number of people on these forums who work at Best Buy, and probably wouldn't appreciate being characterized like that.