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samiznaetekto

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 26, 2009
1,016
24
The Air is only month old yet the distributors are already offering generous 20% discounts for it. Yet, rMini is holding its full introductory price. Why is that? :eek:
 
Yeah, where are you seeing 20% off the air. Last I saw was $50 which is not 20% of $499.
 
...and I wouldn't count a deal where they (target/walmart) throw in a $100 gift card. Doesn't count :mad: :cool:
 
Because I'm not saving 20%, I'm paying full price or a discounted price, and getting a card along with the sale. It isn't a straight 20% off deal.

I know, its pretty much semantics, but still.... :)
 
Because I'm not saving 20%, I'm paying full price or a discounted price, and getting a card along with the sale. It isn't a straight 20% off deal.

I know, its pretty much semantics, but still.... :)

Completely agree and it isn't just semantics. I'm not planning on buying anything else from these stores. I just want an iPad so getting a gift card isn't going to decrease the total dollar amount coming out of my bank account and will likely just make me spend more (which is of course why they do this). Not saying it isn't a good deal for some people but it isn't the same as $100 dollars off.
 
Supply and demand?

If they're worried about keeping up with demand for the retina mini over the holidays, then it doesn't make sense to have a big sale on them.
 
Completely agree and it isn't just semantics. I'm not planning on buying anything else from these stores.

Don't you use toilet paper? Toothbrushes? Shaving cream? Milk? Eggs? All of these things are cheaper at Target than grocery stores, and most people buy them all, so not sure how you couldn't use the $100, and if you use it to buy something you'd buy anyhow, yeah, it IS the same as cash.
 
...and I wouldn't count a deal where they (target/walmart) throw in a $100 gift card. Doesn't count :mad: :cool:


Finance 101 says it does count. It is just like real money.

If someone can not spend $100 at Walmart or Target on day to day stuff, they are living on another planet where the price does not matter anyways.

I just totally miss the lack of common sense and logic on these type of statements.
 
Completely agree and it isn't just semantics. I'm not planning on buying anything else from these stores. I just want an iPad so getting a gift card isn't going to decrease the total dollar amount coming out of my bank account and will likely just make me spend more (which is of course why they do this). Not saying it isn't a good deal for some people but it isn't the same as $100 dollars off.

That's inane. Every time Apple offers an iTunes card of $50 or $100 as an incentive for student purchasers there are dozens of posts about how it lowers the price of a computer. And if I go to any store and it's buy one get one free, then I calculate the price based upon getting two not one. So if I buy an Air and I get a $100 gift card - guess what - it's the same as getting $100 off the price. It's an amazing deal - and amazing how heavily discounted the Air is so soon after release.
 
Constrained supply?

That surely is valid for rMini, but discounts for the Air look like for a product at the end of its lifecycle. Looks like the Air stocks are not flying off the shelves as Apple expected? I don't remember previous iPads being discounted so quickly after the launch.
 
That's inane. Every time Apple offers an iTunes card of $50 or $100 as an incentive for student purchasers there are dozens of posts about how it lowers the price of a computer. And if I go to any store and it's buy one get one free, then I calculate the price based upon getting two not one. So if I buy an Air and I get a $100 gift card - guess what - it's the same as getting $100 off the price. It's an amazing deal - and amazing how heavily discounted the Air is so soon after release.

I think the $100 dollar gift card is a great deal...but it doesn't make the iPad less expensive. It just gives you more bang for your buck. $100 cash back would make the iPad air less expensive. A $100 gift card adds restrictions which don't necessarily make it cash. Now if you sell that $100 gift card for discounted $80 cash... Then you have a less expensive air...which is what I'm going to attempt to do.

*most times you have to discount it BECAUSE it is not the same thing as cash... Because it has restrictions. That makes it lose value.*
 
Target here in Canada is offering a $100 gift card on the iPad Air, and nothing off the retina Mini. (Technically it's $115 in gift cards as it's $100 for the Air and an additional $15 when you spend $75 or more)

We don't even technically have Black Friday here (our Thanksgiving was last month) so it's surprising to see such a steep discount.

My guess is that the Air isn't selling as well as they'd hoped. iPads aren't like cell phones, people don't have 2-year contracts where they feel the need to constantly upgrade. Lots of regular people are still very happy with their iPad 2 and see no reason to upgrade in the foreseeable future.

At the end of the day, the iPad air is just a thinner, lighter, faster iPad. It has the same retina screen as the iPad 4 and I never heard anyone complain about the iPad 4's speed. The mini Retina on the other hand feels like a bigger upgrade from the original mini.
 
That surely is valid for rMini, but discounts for the Air look like for a product at the end of its lifecycle. Looks like the Air stocks are not flying off the shelves as Apple expected? I don't remember previous iPads being discounted so quickly after the launch.

All these discounts are not from Apple (except for their upcoming BF deal). It's the resellers that are taking the hit on their margins to attract customers, which is a win for us.
 
All these discounts are not from Apple (except for their upcoming BF deal). It's the resellers that are taking the hit on their margins to attract customers, which is a win for us.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I don't believe that resellers' margins are anywhere near $100+ to offer an instant $70 discount like Quill does. Perhaps more like $20 margin. In which case at least a substantial part, if not all of that $70 drop must come from Apple, to move the piling up stock of Airs due to lower demand than expected.
 
I understand that third-party sellers are normally cheaper, but why buy from them?

Whenever your product breaks and it's on them, they shrug it off as owners damage and to just buy another. Of course these are for the sellers in the middle of nowhere.

ACTUAL stores like Best Buy or Target is fine. But why buy from others that aren't reliable?
 
Finance 101 says it does count. It is just like real money.

If someone can not spend $100 at Walmart or Target on day to day stuff, they are living on another planet where the price does not matter anyways.

I just totally miss the lack of common sense and logic on these type of statements.

It was an attempt at dry humor, but see my follow up post on my logic. I don't need a gift card so it's not an appealing deal to me. Oh, and I already own an Air so :p
 
...and I wouldn't count a deal where they (target/walmart) throw in a $100 gift card. Doesn't count :mad: :cool:

why on earth not?
i could understand if we were talking about a speciality store, or hell even Apple itself. for example i didn't really take the $100 itunes card into consideration when i was buying my macbook this summer but a $100 card to target is entirely different and unless you live extremely far away from one it most certainly does count in my opinion.
 
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