Lately, many of the iPad Pros (latest generation from last October) have seen discounts ranging from 15-20% at retail outlets like Amazon, Best Buy, etc. My recollection is that Apple products rarely see any retail discounts outside of Black Friday, and certainly not that big of a discount. Does anyone know what's up with that? Curious if anyone thinks this may be an indication of any upcoming announcements, price cuts, spec bumps, etc. It seemed a little too soon to me, but something feels wrong when you can reliably and consistently buy a current get Apple product at a significantly lower price than from Apple directly.
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iPad Pro What's up with the iPad Pro discounts?
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My best guess - just mid summer / 4th of July sales, nothing to get too excited about. It's not just iPad Pros, but other Apple products as well (depending on where you're shopping).
Apple products do go on sale, just not through Apple itself. 3rd party retailers have created their own discounts at various times, though usually in conjunction with a larger sales event.
I kind of doubt it has anything to do with a refresh or an update. Most of the chatter seems to be related to an early 2020 update. It wouldn't be uncharacteristic of Apple to release an updated version of the iPad so soon after the Pro release (iPad 3 > iPad 4), but if the stronger rumor of early 2020 is true, then a refresh now doesn't make sense (two short-life releases in a row).
I suppose another factor in discounting the iPad Pro is to encourage sales after the iPadOS chatter. (Buy an iPad now and get ready for the iPadOS update coming soon!)
Apple products do go on sale, just not through Apple itself. 3rd party retailers have created their own discounts at various times, though usually in conjunction with a larger sales event.
I kind of doubt it has anything to do with a refresh or an update. Most of the chatter seems to be related to an early 2020 update. It wouldn't be uncharacteristic of Apple to release an updated version of the iPad so soon after the Pro release (iPad 3 > iPad 4), but if the stronger rumor of early 2020 is true, then a refresh now doesn't make sense (two short-life releases in a row).
I suppose another factor in discounting the iPad Pro is to encourage sales after the iPadOS chatter. (Buy an iPad now and get ready for the iPadOS update coming soon!)
My guess would be this. The iPad Pro is a niche product not designed to be purchased by everyone as opposed to the regular iPad. So I would imagine anyone & everyone is trying to sell all they can of a product not intended to reach the widest market. With all the talk of how iPadOS changes the capabilities of the Pro series, it would be foolish to not try and capitalize on it for some sales.
Also keep in mind that big sales like this are designed to get you in the store and shopping - the idea is “what can we put on sale to get people in the door, then they’ll buy other stuff”. This extends to Amazon as well. If a reseller can get you in the door to buy an iPad, maybe you’ll also buy accessories, cables, power bricks... then suddenly remember you should get an extra memory card for your camera or new case because you’re going on that summer trip soon.
Discounting policies for 3rd party retailers have been relaxed since iPad Air/Air 2 release. Those were frequently found for $50-100 off. Before that, Apple controlled pricing more strictly and iPads were pretty much sold for MSRP.
I'm guessing markup is higher on the Pros so retailers have more leeway on how much they can lower prices.
I'm guessing markup is higher on the Pros so retailers have more leeway on how much they can lower prices.
This is something that's been going on since the original iPad Pro. Apple marked up prices and early adopters bought the devices. After sales died down, third parties began to discount the iPad Pros in order to get traffic to their store. If anything, with this generation, the sales have taken a lot longer to come and have been few and far between. That's likely because this generation was more popular than the last.
I think that your recollection reflects an older time. iPad Pros have been regularly discounted since the first generation of iPad Pros. I bought the 1st gen 12.9 Pro at Staples for $175 off 3 months after it was released.
It's Apple's new marketing approach. It doesn't mean that new models are going to be released or that there is an abundance of units in the retail channel.
Best 950 bucks I have ever spent . I mean 2018 iPad Pro 256 for less then 1 grand. But I hope it ain’t as fragile as some of you say
iPad sales is anything but poor, especially when compared with other players in the same space. The same for Apple Watch. Apple clearly dominates in these areas where Android manufacturers cannot make any good devices other than phones.
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A number of Posts were removed as per our rules. The offending post, but also posts that quoted that, as it would not make sense to keep them as they were then responding to a non-existent post.
Just as a reminder, if you make a statement of fact, then you will need to be prepared to back that up and cite your sources.
It's called intertemporal price discrimination. It used to be that Apple launched products at a price, and then held steady at that price even across generations (e.g. $499 iPad). This can be good at giving the impression of a product that has enduring value to consumers.
They have now moved to a model where they launch a product at a higher price and then over time offer discounts against that price. This is very similar to how car manufacturers operate as well. This allows you to charge customers who are willing to pay more, more (they buy right away); and then capture the customers with a lower willingness to pay down the line.
Both techniques are basic marketing, but IMHO the latter tends to make you more profit when consumers don't perceive the competition as direct substitutes.
They have now moved to a model where they launch a product at a higher price and then over time offer discounts against that price. This is very similar to how car manufacturers operate as well. This allows you to charge customers who are willing to pay more, more (they buy right away); and then capture the customers with a lower willingness to pay down the line.
Both techniques are basic marketing, but IMHO the latter tends to make you more profit when consumers don't perceive the competition as direct substitutes.
Apple’s “discounts” are run today by detailed market analysis algorithms. Which use A.I. To predict sales trends by anaylyzing buying patterns. July is likely a “slow” month due to beach, summer fun. Outdoor activities other than buying tech. Combined with 30 other data points in consideration, like sales of previous 30 days vs 90 days vs same time the previous year, the magic box tells Apple’s retail division executives. It’s time to extend a retail price reduction of 10% or 20% for 2 weeks or staggered over various retailers. So BestBuy might have 15% off week 1, then Frys will have 15% week 2. And so on.