Walmart iphone? [[help me decide]]

[rust.puppet]

every year i get quite a bit of walmart gift cards around my birthday/christmas (23rd, 25th) and I become eligible exactly on the 28th so....


would it be a smart move to use those gift cards towards the iphone so i dont have to use cash? this would seem to be the best thing to do in the situation. BUT if i have a problem with quality control will they hand me a new one, more than once even if i keep having troubles with it.

i know that if i got to apple stores or at&t that they will take care of me if their products arent up to par.


[[discuss]]

 

[apthai86]

I'm sure even though you purchase it from Wal-Mart, you can bring it to the Apple store for any problems. But don't take my word on it.

 

[basesloaded190]

it might just be me, but if i had the choice to buy the same phone at the same price, i would chose att&t best buy and apple before Wal-Mart. you should ask for best buy gift cards if you want the iphone. it may just be me though because i don't like shopping at wal-mart at all.

 

[staccato83]

It doesn't even matter if you bought your iPhone out of the trunk of someone's car. If you have any problems with your phone just bring it into the Apple store and they will be happy to exchange it.

 

[rust.puppet]

thanks for the replies,


its not the fact that i would ask for a giftcard at all.... but walmart is a plague and everyone thinks, anything i would need would be there.

year arround this time my dad gave me a 200$ gift card for walmart which is what spiked the thought.

but now that you mention it, im sure apple would replace it at their store regardless of me buying at walmart either way.

 

[Opie]

As long as the phone is not jailbroken when you take it in they will try and fix or replace it at the apple store. It doesnt matter where you got it. If you get walmart gift cards buy it there. I have dealt with at&t sales people , best buy mobile sales people and walmart sales people and in my opinion they are all equally put out when you ask for help. So it doesnt matter where you get it you will have the same phone that the apple and at&t stores have. Now Apple does have great customer service so that would be where I got it if not walmart.

 

[dccorona]

it might just be me, but if i had the choice to buy the same phone at the same price, i would chose att&t best buy and apple before Wal-Mart. you should ask for best buy gift cards if you want the iphone. it may just be me though because i don't like shopping at wal-mart at all.

choose apple gift cards if at all possible
although i would trust all three above walmart (apple, att, best buy, in that order)
apple will deal with most problems regardless of where you purchased, but i have heard stories of times where they wouldnt do something because the phone hadnt been purchased at an apple store

if i was you, id play it safe and buy from apple

 

[milani]

would it be a smart move to use those gift cards towards the iphone so i dont have to use cash? this would seem to be the best thing to do in the situation. BUT if i have a problem with quality control will they hand me a new one, more than once even if i keep having troubles with it.

Probably not. Walmart has nothing to lose turning you away. The only reason Apple is so generous with replacements is because they rely on customer satisfaction and word of mouth to such a large degree. Their brand actually matters, so they do what they can to appease customers (even those who take it way too far). Walmart on the other hand probably doesn't care one way or another. I know people who have had bad experiences with Walmart in the past, and so I don't buy anything of significance there, and I definitely wouldn't buy something like an iPod, never mind an iPhone.

 

[spacecadet610]

I posted this in another topic but thought it would be relevant here..


If you have multiple american express cards, you can get a great deal on the iphone through Walmart.

Amex offers a $20 credit if you make 2 $40 puchases. Gift cards work. If you have 4 Amex cards, buy $320 of gift cards and get $80 back. Use gift cards to pay for the 16gb iPhone.

Also, you may qualify for significant savings off your monthly bill through AT&T. Many schools and work places quailfy.

See my website in my sig for details

 

[Surely]

It doesn't matter if you buy the iPhone at AT&T, Best Buy, Walmart, or the Apple Store. If you have a problem with it, you go to an Apple Store, and they will take care of you (as long as you are within the warranty or Applecare period).

 

[Michael CM1]

thanks for the replies,


its not the fact that i would ask for a giftcard at all.... but walmart is a plague and everyone thinks, anything i would need would be there.

year arround this time my dad gave me a 200$ gift card for walmart which is what spiked the thought.

but now that you mention it, im sure apple would replace it at their store regardless of me buying at walmart either way.

What did you do to piss your dad off so much that he gave you a $200 Walmart gift card?

 

[rust.puppet]

What did you do to piss your dad off so much that he gave you a $200 Walmart gift card?

eh, he's not one for putting thought into gifts. but actually that was the best gift he ever gave me. (he forgot my birthday too, i called him and asked him what he was doing and he told me he was taking my sister shopping lol)

and the year before that he told me i didnt have to pay any more money on my car(as the gift) but it was already paid off.

 

[Poat84]

I saw on news lastnight that the iphone at Walmart will be out somwtime this month. Itsonly offered in a a Black 4gb model. The news said employees world wide are learning how the iphone works. It will sell for $99 with new contract.

 

[Surely]

I saw on news lastnight that the iphone at Walmart will be out somwtime this month. Itsonly offered in a a Black 4gb model. The news said employees world wide are learning how the iphone works. It will sell for $99 with new contract.

That rumor is a week or so old. The news program you were watching probably thought they were reporting a cutting-edge rumor. Yesterday, MacRumors published an article which shows that it most likely isn't true, and that Walmart will be selling 8GB iPhones for $197.

Also, see this article that argues against a $99 4GB iPhone.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Buy it at Wal-mart. If you have problems you will be able to take it to AT&T (service) or Apple (hardware). You won't ever have to step foot inside Wal-mart again, if you don't wish.

 

[CarlsonCustoms]

I wonder if walmart selling them is going to kill the resale value? I want to sell my 3g very soon and if someone can get one cheaper at walmart it might be tougher for me to get more money out of mine.

Zack

 

[milani]

Buy it at Wallmart if you feel like to.

And since you have the gift cards it may come in handy. All these stores are retailers for Apple, who is the real owner of the iPhone, so in the event of a problem get it to Apple

I highly doubt that if your iPhone breaks after you bought it from Walmart, and you take it to an Apple Store (assuming you even live near one), that they're just going to hand you a new one. They're probably going to tell you to go back to Walmart and exchange it. They can't just give you a phone from their inventory to supplement a phone you got somewhere else (at least I wouldn't think so, anyway). Just because two retailers carry the same thing, doesn't mean you can just take an item back to whatever store you feel like and get a replacement. Example: I bought this BestBuy branded calculator at Staples, but BestBuy sells it too, so I'll just return it there.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

I highly doubt that if your iPhone breaks after you bought it from Walmart, and you take it to an Apple Store (assuming you even live near one), that they're just going to hand you a new one. They're probably going to tell you to go back to Walmart and exchange it. They can't just give you a phone from their inventory to supplement a phone you got somewhere else (at least I wouldn't think so, anyway). Just because two retailers carry the same thing, doesn't mean you can just take an item back to whatever store you feel like and get a replacement. Example: I bought this BestBuy branded calculator at Staples, but BestBuy sells it too, so I'll just return it there.

Apple Stores are not "retailers" in the same sense that Best Buy and Staples are. They are more like company stores and buying something from them is pretty much the same as buying it from the apple.com. That is, you are buying directly from Apple.

Apple supports all their products, from iPod Socks to Mac Pros, no matter where you bought them (and assuming said product is still under warranty). They could not care less where you bought the item, even if you bought it used from some guy on Craigslist. If they made it, they will repair/replace it online, over the phone, or in-store.

 

[milani]

Apple Stores are not "retailers" in the same sense that Best Buy and Staples are. They are more like company stores and buying something from them is pretty much the same as buying it from the apple.com. That is, you are buying directly from Apple.

Apple supports all their products, from iPod Socks to Mac Pros, no matter where you bought them (and assuming said product is still under warranty). They could not care less where you bought the item, even if you bought it used from some guy on Craigslist. If they made it, they will repair/replace it online, over the phone, or in-store.

Ah ok good to know. I've never been to an Apple Store before TBH. Very interesting, but the thing is, if the OP doesn't live near an Apple store, what then? Because I know if you told the Rogers store (in Canada) about your problem they could get you a replacement right away if that was deemed to be the solution. What would the OP do if he didn't have access to an Apple Store?

 

[AngerDanger]

If you really want it and you have the money then get. Whats stopping you.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Ah ok good to know. I've never been to an Apple Store before TBH. Very interesting, but the thing is, if the OP doesn't live near an Apple store, what then? Because I know if you told the Rogers store (in Canada) about your problem they could get you a replacement right away if that was deemed to be the solution. What would the OP do if he didn't have access to an Apple Store?

Best thing to do in that case is call Apple Support and go through the motions with them. They can overnight a new iPhone to you if it's broken (and covered under warranty) and then you send the broken one back to them. If it just needs repairs (and not replacement), you mail it to them (on their dime) and they send it back to you within a given timeframe.