Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Wal-Mart Deal to Carry iPad Confirmed

Quote:
Originally Posted by icanboogie
I don't get it - why is it such a big deal here on macrumors if a retailer like wal-mart, best buy or whatever offers iPads?
This seems not very spectacular or even newsworthy, or am I missing something? Is this maybe merely a US-thing?

Wal-Mart, as I'm sure you have surmised, is not held in high opinion by some. Some of it I can understand -- the bullying, killing the competition and the local stores. (Which in itself is a bit hypocritical because, by and large, the public wants lower prices, and they don't care how it's done.) The way they tend to force manufacturers to cheapen the quality of their goods just to keep the almighty prices down. Yeah, I get that. But that's not the objection here. The objection in this thread is just elitism, plain and simple.

I think that there's only a small minority of people who actually subscribe to the elitism argument, but they are the ones that always bring it up whenever we hear a story like this about how Apple products are that much more accessible to the "common folk". They complained when the iPad became available at Best Buy. They complained when the iPad became available at Target. So of course, they complain about Wal-Mart too. But these are the same folks who also complained when their favourite Apple Store was out of stock. So.....
Click to expand...


Aaah, ok, I see. Thanks for the explanation, and your price-paradoxon-example may enlighten some more besides me.

That elitist-shoppig-thing is just really silly, in Germany, Apple Products have always been available in retail stores of multiple qualities. I got my first in 1994, and I didn't give a sh*# about how the store looked. I have favorite stores where I tend to go, and where I am willing to pay the extra fee for the cleaner aisles and nice ambiente, but I don't think snobby about any other place where the price rules more.
That view on "shopping experience" which I encounter in these threads is a little girlish, IMHO.

Stop being Miranda an enjoy your products, people!
 
A stock clerk at WM in Bristol, VA told me that they received some iPads last Friday.

I bought one last week from Best Buy. Pretty cool toy, but not really a laptop replacement.
 
The fact that this article has almost as many negative votes as positive votes is pathetic. Too many Apple snobs afraid that the "common" folk will have an iPad. They won't look so unique anymore at Starbucks with their shiny/glowing Apple Logo. Oh wait this is not 2001-2002 anymore, none of you look unique. Also the argument that Wal-Mart is evil is weak. I'm sure you all own products from multi-billion dollar companies that are not exactly angels.
 
NebulaClash said:
Maybe you're not aware of how many people shop for groceries at Wal-Mart?

Fact is, for a good chunk of the population, this is the only game in town. So they buy just about everything there, yes, including electronics. Ever read about how many TVs they sell? They cost as much as an iPad.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I'm very aware. I'm one of them.

I just don't know of many WalMarts that sell waffles 36 at a time.
 
Great news for shareholders. Bad news for people who think owning their iPad is some new elite status symbol lol. Apple caters its product to the lowest common denominator, like any good tech company, besides these guys . But Apple is excellent at branding it in a way which convinces its users otherwise. That special Apple spark, which gets into some peoples heads :p
 
roratus said:
AGAIN.....I guess I should have known better than to give an opinion.
Click to expand...
Welcome to MacRumors. :D
mdatwood said:
And video games and cameras. It's certainly not all low end electronics since they already carry iPods and have carried iPhones in the past.
Click to expand...
Apple is about the ONLY company that doesn't sell **** versions at Walmart, because they don't have any. No doubt, if they had a low-end iPad, it would be the only one available at Walmart. I won't shop there, anymore, but even when I did there were zero electronics I would buy. Maybe a video game, but there's always somewhere online cheaper, anyway.
mattwolfmatt said:
Oh yes, I'm very aware. I'm one of them.

I just don't know of many WalMarts that sell waffles 36 at a time.
Click to expand...
You should try Costco. They sell 40 waffles at a time! ;)
 
"I think I'd start a website called PeopleOfTheAppleStore.com or something like that."

That's a great Idea. I would love to mock all of the Fanboys and Elitists.
I may steal that idea...
 
NebulaClash said:
There's one other advantage to these mega chains carrying iPads besides exposing everyone to the product wherever they live: When updates happen, and demand for the new version is high, you won't have to stand in line at an Apple store 100 miles away. You can stop by the local Wal-Mart or Target and try to get one.

Ramp up production, Apple. You have the supply chains ready for products.
Click to expand...

Nearest apple store = 260 miles aways, nearest walmart = 3 miles... Win :D
 
Rajani Isa said:
When I think of target, I think "it's a store" (For some reason, the bright shiny-ness is all gone since I grew up and the fun toy sections shrank :p).

I think Wal-Mart, and I think wilted food, dingy lighting, dingy floors, and of the worst/most insulting interactions with retail management I've ever had as a consumer. And that's just what I think of what's IN the store. I' seem to recall a funny story about a lawn mower manufacturer seeing shock on a VP's face when the manufacturer said "We won't cheapen our product to sell cheap to you, bye bye!"


They already have that secret store - how do you think I got my iPhone 4 RED?

Super Walmarts also sell groceries/frozen foods.
Click to expand...

The story you are thinking of is the Snapper CEO deciding that he didn't want his customers to be people who buy their lawn mowers at Wal-Mart. He wanted to prioritize his customers who spend more on a quality lawn mower, takes the time to learn it and take care of it.

This story is from the book Wal-Mart Effect, which is a great book and I recommend to anyone if they want to take a peek into the world of Wal-Mart.

As for Target vs. Wal-Mart, it's all personal opinion. I go to the store that sells me the same type of toothpaste the cheapest but I certainly don't buy everything at Wal-Mart and I buy certain furnishings at Target when need be.
 
roratus said:
How many people will actually go to Wal Mart and casually buy an ipad? Wal Mart is where they go to buy toilet paper, cheap beer, and diapers.
Click to expand...

I think lots of people will buy them there. And then they will try to return them*, get told that they are not able to return it opened, and be extremely pissed at both WalMart and Apple. But mostly Apple, because WalMart will play the "manufacturer's policy" card. Nice. Way to go Apple - this is a personal computing product. Sell them through the Reseller channel.

*they will buy without really understanding the product, and be told some lame-ass lines (lies?) about it by the WalMart employee who can't turn on a computer (because "teh X-Box Rulezzz").
 
John.B said:
Wow, marketed just like Target: behind glass with no demo model. Yeah, that'll get people to buy 'em... :confused:

To be fair, I'm sure Walmart knows -- all too well -- the amount of abuse demo models would take from their clientele. It could be that the replacement cost of demo units bolted to a display wouldn't be covered from any additional impulse sales...

Still, selling a touch computer behind glass where the customer can't actually touch one seems a bit like trying to sell a car that the customer can't test drive.
Click to expand...

So, Helen Keller, you didn't actually read the article, did you?

MacRumors said:
The iPad will also be featured in an "interactive display" alongside Apple's other products in Wal-Mart stores, serving to draw customers' attention to the device and demonstrate its capabilities.
Click to expand...

HOLY CRAP. Why can't people read?! For the life of me, I can't figure it out.
 
iJon said:
The story you are thinking of is the Snapper CEO deciding that he didn't want his customers to be people who buy their lawn mowers at Wal-Mart. He wanted to prioritize his customers who spend more on a quality lawn mower, takes the time to learn it and take care of it.

This story is from the book Wal-Mart Effect, which is a great book and I recommend to anyone if they want to take a peek into the world of Wal-Mart.
Click to expand...

Yep. I have that book, it's a great read.

Abbreviated version of the story here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html
 
DrDanH said:
I bought one last week from Best Buy. Pretty cool toy, but not really a laptop replacement.
Click to expand...

Exactly why this type of product should not be sold mass-market. The people at Best Buy, Wal Mart, etc., are not trained in the product. They are just not able to tell you exactly what you can and can not do with an iPad. Go to the Apple Store, an Authorized Reseller, or call Apple and ask questions. I guess they can sell more this way, but it's a bad plan for their long-term credibility with people who have a few hundred dollars to blow, and think the iPad looks like a cool toy. I get very serious use out of mine, but then I new exactly what it was before I bought it.
 
SkippyThorson said:
So, Helen Keller, you didn't actually read the article, did you?



HOLY CRAP. Why can't people read?! For the life of me, I can't figure it out.
Click to expand...

I think he's referring to the fact that, at Walmart, "interactive display" means a display that you can see. Assuming the display itself hasn't been vandalized.
 
hodaka said:
They are just not able to tell you exactly what you can and can not do with an iPad.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone* goes to WalMart expecting the clerks to explain how to use something. Caveat emptor.

(* - statistical anomalies aside)
 
ctdonath said:
I don't think anyone* goes to WalMart expecting the clerks to explain how to use something. Caveat emptor.

(* - statistical anomalies aside)
Click to expand...

I think they count on the fact that a high percentage of "statistical anomalies" will go there and decide to buy an iPad. Trust me, I've seen it happening a lot lately - from Best Buy, Future Shop, Wal Mart, etc.
 
selling a touch computer behind glass where the customer can't actually touch one seems a bit like trying to sell a car that the customer can't test drive.
Click to expand...

Do you expect a hands-on test-drive display model computer to remain in anything close to a usable state for more than a few minutes? much less have staff on hand to re-set that model every half-hour? By lunch that thing will have the password changed to an obscenity, the background would be goat**.** (if you don't know, don't ask), every app would be relocated to somewhere inane, the Notepad filled with inanities, the screen rotation locked upside-down, and pretty much every configuration set to something annoying. It would be more an exercise in usability testing instead of sales.

Nobody has to buy a car they haven't test-driven.
 
"Exactly why this type of product should not be sold mass-market. The people at Best Buy, Wal Mart, etc., are not trained in the product. They are just not able to tell you exactly what you can and can not do with an iPad. Go to the Apple Store, an Authorized Reseller, or call Apple and ask questions. I guess they can sell more this way, but it's a bad plan for their long-term credibility with people who have a few hundred dollars to blow, and think the iPad looks like a cool toy. I get very serious use out of mine, but then I new exactly what it was before I bought it. "

I knew what the iPad was when I bought it, too. It is very useful for internet browsing, email... but, in my opinion, in its current state of development, it cannot replace a laptop computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back