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Talking to apple store staff + final pricing predictions

A

apple-1010

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2015
22
1
Yesterday I was the Covent Garden Apple Store in London.

I walked over to one of the guys and started talking to him about the WATCH.

I knew he wouldn't know anything, but tried asking him about WATCH details that weren't announced. I asked him about meeting Tim Cook, and he said that he walked in, talked a bit, showed off his watch and then left. He mentioned that Retail people never get told anything until the actual day, although he used a stronger phrase than "never get told anything". He also mentioned that only some Apple stores are going to get a special watch display, while others will have a standard watch display. He confirmed that the Selfridges store in London has a dedicated Apple Watch display.

But the most interesting thing he said was pricing. I asked him how much the Apple Watch was going to cost. I, however, didn't make it too clear that I was referring to each model when I spoke. He told me that he didn't know the final pricing in the UK, but that it started at $350 for Apple Watch (common knowledge). When I probed further, he said that $350 was the cost for the SS APPPLE WATCH, not the Apple Watch Sport. This baffled me, as the entire world thinks that that the SS Apple Watch is more expensive than the Apple Watch Sport, because of its premium materials (SS, Sapphire). He said that those rumors may be true (as he isn't sure) but as far as he's concerned the SS Apple Watch is cheaper because Apple Watch Sport has got "special features" like being sweat and chemical resistant, and lighter.

Anyways, we'll find out tomorrow :p
 
All these people thinking the SS watch is going to be cheaper than the aluminum one are in for a surprise tomorrow.
 
apple-1010 said:
Yesterday I was the Covent Garden Apple Store in London.

I walked over to one of the guys and started talking to him about the WATCH.

I knew he wouldn't know anything, but tried asking him about WATCH details that weren't announced. I asked him about meeting Tim Cook, and he said that he walked in, talked a bit, showed off his watch and then left. He mentioned that Retail people never get told anything until the actual day, although he used a stronger phrase than "never get told anything". He also mentioned that only some Apple stores are going to get a special watch display, while others will have a standard watch display. He confirmed that the Selfridges store in London has a dedicated Apple Watch display.

But the most interesting thing he said was pricing. I asked him how much the Apple Watch was going to cost. I, however, didn't make it too clear that I was referring to each model when I spoke. He told me that he didn't know the final pricing in the UK, but that it started at $350 for Apple Watch (common knowledge). When I probed further, he said that $350 was the cost for the SS APPPLE WATCH, not the Apple Watch Sport. This baffled me, as the entire world thinks that that the SS Apple Watch is more expensive than the Apple Watch Sport, because of its premium materials (SS, Sapphire). He said that those rumors may be true (as he isn't sure) but as far as he's concerned the SS Apple Watch is cheaper because Apple Watch Sport has got "special features" like being sweat and chemical resistant, and lighter.

Anyways, we'll find out tomorrow :p
Click to expand...

I think most Apple retail employees see it as just a job.
 
I don't think that the SS will be cheaper than the Apple Watch Sport it doesn't make sense, the SS version has a saphire cover and its bands are more expensive with the link bracelet and others.

We will find out tomorrow but I think the SS version will cost a few hundred more than the Apple Watch Sport.
 
Rogifan said:
All these people thinking the SS watch is going to be cheaper than the aluminum one are in for a surprise tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Well I really don't know. I mean, till yesterday I thought that the SS watch is gonna be more expensive than the aluminium one, but now I'm not so sure. He did say, however that the people who really knew were the store managers who didn't share anything with them, but idk maybe he overheard them or something.
 
apple-1010 said:
Well I really don't know. I mean, till yesterday I thought that the SS watch is gonna be more expensive than the aluminium one, but now I'm not so sure. He did say, however that the people who really knew were the store managers who didn't share anything with them, but idk maybe he overheard them or something.
Click to expand...

A lot of people are thinking that because Tim Cook said Watch starts at $349' not Watch Sport. But I think it's clear he meant the product and not a specific model.
 
Dave245 said:
I don't think that the SS will be cheaper than the Apple Watch Sport it doesn't make sense, the SS version has a saphire cover and its bands are more expensive with the link bracelet and others.

We will find out tomorrow but I think the SS version will cost a few hundred more than the Apple Watch Sport.
Click to expand...

Exactly. But wouldn't it be awesome if the bands were free (with the watch) and that the 38mm SS is $349 and the 42mm at $400 :D
 
The iPhone 6 by most reports was to have a sapphire screen so since this material the size of a watch face is SO EXPENSIVE how much more would the iPhone had been with that screen?

Point being is it really that expensive?
 
apple-1010 said:
Yesterday I was the Covent Garden Apple Store in London.

I walked over to one of the guys and started talking to him about the WATCH.

I knew he wouldn't know anything, but tried asking him about WATCH details that weren't announced. I asked him about meeting Tim Cook, and he said that he walked in, talked a bit, showed off his watch and then left. He mentioned that Retail people never get told anything until the actual day, although he used a stronger phrase than "never get told anything". He also mentioned that only some Apple stores are going to get a special watch display, while others will have a standard watch display. He confirmed that the Selfridges store in London has a dedicated Apple Watch display.

But the most interesting thing he said was pricing. I asked him how much the Apple Watch was going to cost. I, however, didn't make it too clear that I was referring to each model when I spoke. He told me that he didn't know the final pricing in the UK, but that it started at $350 for Apple Watch (common knowledge). When I probed further, he said that $350 was the cost for the SS APPPLE WATCH, not the Apple Watch Sport. This baffled me, as the entire world thinks that that the SS Apple Watch is more expensive than the Apple Watch Sport, because of its premium materials (SS, Sapphire). He said that those rumors may be true (as he isn't sure) but as far as he's concerned the SS Apple Watch is cheaper because Apple Watch Sport has got "special features" like being sweat and chemical resistant, and lighter.

Anyways, we'll find out tomorrow :p
Click to expand...

Sport more expensive than SS? If it's I will get crazy, that sounds unbelievable
 
kmj2318 said:
I think most Apple retail employees see it as just a job.
Click to expand...

Yeah the guy I talked to didn't seem as if it was his dream job and he wasn't like jumping up and down with excitement for working at apple. no, he just saw it as a regular day job.
 
I spoke to an Apple Store employee who also didn't know and was told all :apple:Watches including the Edition would be $349.:eek:
 
I worked at a store for years. Had a blast, made dozens of friends, but in no way is Apple retail a career. I can tell you that store leader aside (and they're rarely the management level that works with customers directly), nobody who interacts with customers on the floor daily knows what will happen next. They might have a blueprint based on publicly known information, but price/technology specs prior to their announcements nope, never.

We used to joke that Macrumors was a month ahead of what Apple retail would tell us.
 
There are normal watches on the market that cost under $400 and have sapphire lenses. Take Citizen Eco-Drive for example, they sell a gold plated stainless steel watch, genuine leather band (same kind as the modern buckle), sapphire glass cover, solar charger in the watch face and a radio antenna built in to sync the exact time from base towers around the world for $400. Bought one for myself last holiday. in watch terms its cheap, but the workmanship thats gone into it is outstanding.

That said, while this makes it at least partially possible, I highly doubt the SS will be cheaper than the sport.
 
Dave245 said:
I don't think that the SS will be cheaper than the Apple Watch Sport it doesn't make sense, the SS version has a saphire cover and its bands are more expensive with the link bracelet and others.

We will find out tomorrow but I think the SS version will cost a few hundred more than the Apple Watch Sport.
Click to expand...

I don't think the SS model will be cheaper then the Sport, however it is possible the Sport will start at $199. I would think that Tim would have announced the lowest price at launch across all models but there is still a lingering thought in my mind that possibly when he said 'Apple Watch starting at $349' back in Sept, he meant the model not the entire line.

I hold out hope, but none of us will know for at least another hour.
 
apple-1010 said:
Yesterday I was the Covent Garden Apple Store in London.

I walked over to one of the guys and started talking to him about the WATCH.

I knew he wouldn't know anything, but tried asking him about WATCH details that weren't announced. I asked him about meeting Tim Cook, and he said that he walked in, talked a bit, showed off his watch and then left. He mentioned that Retail people never get told anything until the actual day, although he used a stronger phrase than "never get told anything". He also mentioned that only some Apple stores are going to get a special watch display, while others will have a standard watch display. He confirmed that the Selfridges store in London has a dedicated Apple Watch display.

But the most interesting thing he said was pricing. I asked him how much the Apple Watch was going to cost. I, however, didn't make it too clear that I was referring to each model when I spoke. He told me that he didn't know the final pricing in the UK, but that it started at $350 for Apple Watch (common knowledge). When I probed further, he said that $350 was the cost for the SS APPPLE WATCH, not the Apple Watch Sport. This baffled me, as the entire world thinks that that the SS Apple Watch is more expensive than the Apple Watch Sport, because of its premium materials (SS, Sapphire). He said that those rumors may be true (as he isn't sure) but as far as he's concerned the SS Apple Watch is cheaper because Apple Watch Sport has got "special features" like being sweat and chemical resistant, and lighter.

Anyways, we'll find out tomorrow :p
Click to expand...

Imagine a global sales force that encourages customers to wait "till the next one" to buy. The company would be out of business. Sales people are paid to sell what is currently on the floor at that moment, nothing more.
 
iamMacPerson said:
I don't think the SS model will be cheaper then the Sport, however it is possible the Sport will start at $199. I would think that Tim would have announced the lowest price at launch across all models but there is still a lingering thought in my mind that possibly when he said 'Apple Watch starting at $349' back in Sept, he meant the model not the entire line.

I hold out hope, but none of us will know for at least another hour.
Click to expand...

This could be a possibility, i guess we will find out in an hours time. To see what Apple does with the pricing will be interesting because there are a few Apple watches (Sport, 38mm, 42mm, SS 38mm, 42mm and the Edition).
 
Rogifan said:
All these people thinking the SS watch is going to be cheaper than the aluminum one are in for a surprise tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Well, I did kind-of wonder about that one myself.

Stainless steel is a mainstream watch material - so $350 for a mainstream steel watch is not unreasonable.

Aluminum OTOH is rare for watches, so it could be priced higher for it's lightweight practicality while engaging in sports (a practicality which can't be had in any other mainstream "watch" AFAIK). If Apple also put some un-announced health/fitness sensors into the sport model, that could easily push it's price beyond the mundane steel model.
 
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