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iMac Pro is $1,000 Off at Micro Center Stores, Now $3,999 While Supplies Last
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You can no more say this isn't one of the models most creative professionals are buying any more than I can definitively say this is proof of a problem with the iMac Pro.
With that said if it was done to spur sales and it is doing just that then I would take that as a sign the $5K entry price is too high.
However you slice it, lacking some special reason for the discount, a 20% reduction in price within 30 days of a systems release doesn't speak well to sales. I can't think of another time in Apple history where a brand new model has received a 20% discount within 30 days of its release.
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I've purchased a lot of Apple stuff from Microcenter with some pretty amazing deals on it. However none has even approached this level of discount on a product which was released less than 30 days ago. I've purchased open box at a significant discount. I've purchased older stock at a significant discount. I've purchased refurbished stuff at a significant discount. Never have I purchased brand new stuff at such a discount. But you are correct in that we have no way of knowing the reason behind it. Maybe I should stop by and ask.I think everyone needs to keep in mind this is just Microcenter offering the aggressive pricing, and we don't know (Microcenter's) motive behind it.
If we saw Best Buy/MacMall/B&H/Adorama offering for $1K off, then we could have a discussion on if the MSRP was too high
Your last sentence intrigues me. If the professional graphics world doesn't want the base system, and the average consumer making $16 an hour cannot afford it, then what market is the base system trying to reach?
I don't have anything to add to this, I just feel its worth quoting - haha (needs a ™ on the end of it though)
Exactly. 20% off any brand-new Apple product is flat out unheard of. Even 20% a last-gen/year Apple computer is generally considered a good deal.
The base system would make for a really sweet Web development or photography editing workstation. I use my 2016 MBP for both purposes. It works well for this, but I really crave some extra juice when I'm crunching something with a lot of extra zeros in its file size.
If I didn't already have a MBP and LG 5K, I'd have broken the speed limit to get to my local MicroCenter to snap up one of those.
Creative Professinals are buying HP or DELL workstations. Been trending this way ever since modular MacPro was killed off and of course the now legendary death of Final Cut.
Because most of the "expert" criticism would consider wasting 5k on a Dell workstation.
The base system is for people who need a bit more than what the standard iMac can offer. You get 8 cores and 32GB RAM with a better GPU right out of the gate. RAM is upgradeable, but that GPU is the crux of the deal for those doing any serious content creation / graphics / 3D work. But the base model is still appealing to those who’re are primarily writing code, general web design, or using apps like Illustrator, Quark, InDesign, Photoshop, etc.. where the Vega64 GPU isn’t going to help them. Not everyone is a professional graphic artist needing the GPU power and most people making $16/hour are not looking for a Xeon based workstation. There are however a lot of in-between cases.
The biggest criticism I see of the iMac Pro coming from my sectors of the industry is that it’s an all-in-one and not upgradable. Fair argument, but we have to be objective here. The problem isn’t that it’s an all-in-one, it’s that a great many people want or need the modular Mac Pro that has not arrived yet. They are frustrated that the system they don’t want came first. That said, as in my example above, the iMacs have been invaluable for employee installations in terms of lowest TCO, maintenance requirements, etc.. I see a lot of self-proclaimed professionals whining about the ability to upgrade, or lack thereof in the iMac. Whatever... I run dozens of workstations and we build all our Windows and Linux PCs in-house. It’s so rare that we actually revisit a system and upgrade RAM and GPUs. Typical system life cycle is 2 to 3 years for its intended purpose, then it is either sold or repurposed. Typically the latter as I like to squeeze 4+ years out of a system. If you’re 2 years into a system’s life cycle and feel that you must upgrade, then you probably bought the wrong system to begin with.
As for cost and computer purchase advice I give to those who use their hardware professionally. Don’t buy any system you can’t ROI in 18 months or less. And if you’re thinking of leasing, don’t. If you need to finance, sure roll the interest and fees in there, but the ROI limit still stands.
These iMacs are not for everyone or every situation. They don’t fit all of my workstation needs. I’m still anxiously awaiting a new Mac Pro. Hopefully I can get dual CPUs, 256GB+ RAM, dual GPUs... And hopefully they are price competitive with the HP Z8 or comparable.
The very uncreative pricing patterns that I see for nearly all resale Mac products don't seem to suggest this. Nearly everyone is selling their Macs at the same price and occasionally I see language that suggests that they're only allowed to throw in freebies to sweeten the deal, but can't discount the Apple computer that you're buying. If Apple doesn't have any hard restrictions on what their resalers are allowed to do with pricing, I think we'd surely see more variance in the prices being offered. Someone's always willing to undercut the competition in hopes that they can make up the difference in volume.
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Well, what would you consider to be a fair price on the base iMac Pro then? Is it something you would even consider owning?
They should sell the dark grey keyboards and mice that come with them separately. Those will sell like hotcakes.
I know Macs very well, while you reply is cute , between sarcastic and condescending, relating the iMac pro so iPhone x in any terms is mind boggling . So is Apple price increases under Cook . You are missing the point who Macs were suppose to be for! Not it's the rich fashion crowd.... sad!
A lot of us paid more than $4999 for a MBP and LG 5K combo only 1 year ago. Yeah, I do think people are willing to pay 2x the price of a Mac Pro for it because tons of people bought the $4299 maxed 2016 MBP. Had this been an option for me it would have been a very hard decision to make.
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People on a tight budget aren’t buying computers. They’re doing everything on their phones. Actual computers are increasingly for people who either have serious work requirements or have money.
Tons of people ? Most of the people I know ditched mac cause of the new prices and performance .
Trust me tons of people are not spending £5k on laptops . There is a very good reason the most current mbp is considered a flop. That does not mean that the usual crowd will stop buying them.... on the contrary, some will always buy the top spec mac .... usually not for need , but for want .
Glad it works for you. I come from digital production, and apple is flopping in a major way. Performance has stagnated and prices have rocketed.
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You can get a lot of computer for sub £1k, you just can't get a mac .....
Poor people can get a rocking system for £1k actually
In 2018 you don't need much money to get performance . You just need a lot of money to get a Mac that will come with a spinner drive.....
That's a lot of anecdotal statements that your claiming that are relatively are not an accurate measurement . But that doesn't mean that you can speak for the majority and it doesn't represent their workload for those who truly need it.
You indicating Apple flopping in a major way is by your own disapproval, that doesn't mean others are not satisfied with the performance that meets their needs for everyday work expectations.
This is kinda pathetic.....and dishonest you actually removed part of what I said .... misquoting me , and driving an agenda .
Don't bother , no respect left at this point . I have a lot of time for most of the people on this site, as it's opinions, but not for people who take parts of my quotes and go for personal attacks. Don't waste my time on this site anymore, I don't like dishonest , I don't mine difference in opinion !
Maybe get some glasses and check where the "tons" originated in out little debate. And it's an opinion, which you refuse to allow others to have. Hey I might be wrong ... it's my opinion. Does not mean you have to tell me I'm worn and YOURs is right .... cause what we have on this site is our opinions and how we respect others .... thing that through . Though please don't waste more of my time .
My theory is they removed them from "saleable" inventory, as I'm pretty sure they're losing money on each one. They're probably still there.
Doubt it. Houston is a huge city, they could easily sell 8 at that price.
History of exchanges With poster . I take an exception when people delete parts of my quote. Nothing against you mate.
Tons of people ? Most of the people I know ditched mac cause of the new prices and performance .
Trust me tons of people are not spending £5k on laptops . There is a very good reason the most current mbp is considered a flop. That does not mean that the usual crowd will stop buying them.... on the contrary, some will always buy the top spec mac .... usually not for need , but for want .
Glad it works for you. I come from digital production, and apple is flopping in a major way. Performance has stagnated and prices have rocketed.
[doublepost=1515967716][/doublepost]
You can get a lot of computer for sub £1k, you just can't get a mac .....
Poor people can get a rocking system for £1k actually
In 2018 you don't need much money to get performance . You just need a lot of money to get a Mac that will come with a spinner drive.....
Tons of people ? Most of the people I know ditched mac cause of the new prices and performance .
Trust me tons of people are not spending £5k on laptops . There is a very good reason the most current mbp is considered a flop. That does not mean that the usual crowd will stop buying them.... on the contrary, some will always buy the top spec mac .... usually not for need , but for want .
Glad it works for you. I come from digital production, and apple is flopping in a major way. Performance has stagnated and prices have rocketed.
[doublepost=1515967716][/doublepost]
You can get a lot of computer for sub £1k, you just can't get a mac .....
Poor people can get a rocking system for £1k actually
In 2018 you don't need much money to get performance . You just need a lot of money to get a Mac that will come with a spinner drive.....
Help me understand something. So your saying price and performance is driving people away from the Mac??? How do explain that Mac sales — before the iMac pro was even on sale — are UP?
Your antidotal report of “tons of people.. most people “you” know.. ditched the Mac because of price and poor performance yet the iMac just went on sale to the public not even 30 days ago and I might add not even available at retail since like a week or two ago. Your social circles sure act fast! I mean real fast.
All that I think that’s happening is that the electronics market is maturing and expanding and Apples profits and sales in all its hardware catergories are UP. That’s based on facts and not friends.
Same thing noted with the Rockville, MD location. They had 8 in stock on Saturday, when I first found out about the sale. Now, Sunday night, it says only 1 left.
I have to admit, when I saw a full $1,000 off on this, it made me stop and think. I had no intentions of buying one before, but I still use a 2013 Mac Pro cylinder over here and I could probably get $2,500 reselling it on eBay. So $1,500 or so to put down to move to this new iMac Pro? Hmmmmm.....
But ultimately, I decided to stay put. I really think a modular/upgradable Mac Pro is what I'd really want to own and hopefully Apple will come out with that later this year.
If I got an iMac Pro, I really wouldn't want the base model either. Not so worried about a better CPU but definitely would want a better video card, since that can't be upgraded later and tends to become the weak spot on these workstations. (My 2013 Mac Pro with the D500 video isn't as powerful as the 1080GTX nVidia video in my gaming laptop over here, which is kind of sad when you think about it.)
I have to admit, when I saw a full $1,000 off on this, it made me stop and think. I had no intentions of buying one before, but I still use a 2013 Mac Pro cylinder over here and I could probably get $2,500 reselling it on eBay. So $1,500 or so to put down to move to this new iMac Pro? Hmmmmm.....
But ultimately, I decided to stay put. I really think a modular/upgradable Mac Pro is what I'd really want to own and hopefully Apple will come out with that later this year.
If I got an iMac Pro, I really wouldn't want the base model either. Not so worried about a better CPU but definitely would want a better video card, since that can't be upgraded later and tends to become the weak spot on these workstations. (My 2013 Mac Pro with the D500 video isn't as powerful as the 1080GTX nVidia video in my gaming laptop over here, which is kind of sad when you think about it.)
I’m tickled pink with my 8 Core/32GB/2TB SSD. I have 0 interest in slots as I find I never used them after my base configuration. I buy a machine at a spec that will last for 5-9 years.
I think there is a significant subset of pro users (people making $$$ off their machines) where the AIO is the perfect option.
High Sierra officially supports eGPU use, so upgrading the GPU is not an issue for standard or pro iMacs.