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Will Apple ever throw in some free stuff if you spend alot?

D

dbernie41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
136
47
Ohio
I have heard about some college kids going to apple and spending like $2500+ and having Apple kick in a free Shuffle or something like that. Have you guys ever heard of anything like this?

In the next few days I am going to buy a MBP and Final Cut Studio and some other software so I will be spending over 3k. It would be nice if they would throw in a Nano or something to replace my mini.
 
dbernie41 said:
I have heard about some college kids going to apple and spending like $2500+ and having Apple kick in a free Shuffle or something like that. Have you guys ever heard of anything like this?

In the next few days I am going to buy a MBP and Final Cut Studio and some other software so I will be spending over 3k. It would be nice if they would throw in a Nano or something to replace my mini.
Click to expand...

no? maybe in the summer..when there is a mail in rebate!
 
If you're going to spend 3k, they might. I heard of a guy who souped up a mac pro, and left it in his cart, and apple contacted him about it. Good luck! :D
 
Probably depends if the employee is working on comission. You can haggle deals with people on commission, the more you buy the more they make, so theyre more willing to throw in free stuff if it gets you to buy.
 
stainlessliquid said:
Probably depends if the employee is working on comission. You can haggle deals with people on commission, the more you buy the more they make, so theyre more willing to throw in free stuff if it gets you to buy.
Click to expand...

I don't think they work on commission. And I bought a great deal of stuff from them and never saw anything free.
 
Every year Apple gives away free iPod Nanos to college students who buy a computer. Unfortunately, you missed it by a few months, but you can still use it as leverage. Mention this rebate, and see if there's any way they would offer it to you, since your buying a Mac and so much software.

I would ask to talk to the manager before you start the purchasing process. Just tell the manager what you plan on buying (or in their eyes, spending) and ask if there's any way they could extend this deal to you. ...By asking at the beginning, before you start taking items off the shelves, they're more likely to comply, believing it may affect your decision.

One last bit of advise: be vague at first, and just mention an "iPod;" who knows, they may immediately offer you a touch or classic (unlikely, considering the rebate is always a Nano). On the other hand, if they offer you a shuffle, just mention the mini you would really like to replace, and I'm sure they'll follow.

Let us know how it goes.
 
Muncher said:
If you're going to spend 3k, they might. I heard of a guy who souped up a mac pro, and left it in his cart, and apple contacted him about it. Good luck! :D
Click to expand...

I've done that before. Someone called me and offered me a deal on it. Bout $300 less if I got it then and there.

When I got my first system, Dual 500 G4, Apple sent me a really nice Apple Fleece for Christmas a few months later. I thought that was awesome. My mom put it under the tree. :D
 
When I bought my Macbook Pro in August the salesperson gave me a year of Procare for free. It has actually come in very handy when I needed my hard drive replaced. I moved right to the front of the line.
 
Well yes, outside of any offers they might be doing they will kick in some free hardware if you spend a lot (and by this I mean in my case a ~$90,000 order a few months back) and if you haggle hard enough.

As far as single-machine purchases are concerned, I've not been offered such stuff. Of course, that needn't prevent you from trying :D
 
There are some instances as mentioned above, but Apple tends not to do this kind of thing, and those salesmen tend not to offer huge discounts (maybe they don't have much commission to play with, maybe Apple's pretty firm on what they can offer you). In my experience, the real bargaining power of being a big spender is if something goes wrong. I have a friend who bought a £5k mac pro setup and a black MB in the space of a months. When the early MBs had problems and his needed repairing, he didn't get it back for a coupla months, he moaned so much they sent him a mid-range MBP to placate him. I don't think he'd have gotten that were it not for the MP he'd bought previously.
 
dbernie41 said:
In the next few days I am going to buy a MBP and Final Cut Studio and some other software so I will be spending over 3k. It would be nice if they would throw in a Nano or something to replace my mini.
Click to expand...

I hardly think that buying a single machine and some software counts as a large purchase. By your reasoning we should all have free iPods :rolleyes: :p
 
I have only ever had "something" thrown in for extra once — and that was a couple Mighty Mice… (Who needs them? :rolleyes: ).

Corporate buyers have some clout, mostly by way of discounts — but private buyers have none.

In London if you did the Tottenham Court Road thing you may get some deals like cheaper RAM etc…
 
Yesterday I saved a quote for a 2.2Ghz SR MacBook.

Today I got a call from Apple asking if I wanted to proceed with the order. I told him I was waiting for a reply from John Lewis in Reading because I'd asked when they were expecting the same model in, as they provide 2-years warranty for the same price as Apple.

Anyway, I couldn't talk to him at the time so he said he'd email me a deal through. Sure enough, ten minutes later I got it:

MacBook 2.2 White
AppleCare
iWorks 08

£795!

I couldn't believe it and metaphorically wanted to snap his hand off! I replied telling him this and asked him to call me back. He said he would at 1pm and sure enough, he did, bang on!

So for less than the price of the MacBook I've got AppleCare and iWorks!

All in all, a bargain I think.

So in answer to the OP, it might just be a case of saving your spec.

Oh, and it's status is now 'Prepared for Shipping' so I should get it for Christmas!

Great work Apple, thanks!

- D

PS - Happy Thanksgiving Day to all our American Friends :)
 
Definitely try a two-pronged approach.

Put everything you want into your saved shopping cart on the Apple store. Wait to see if they call you back to ask if you're planning on placing the order. Tell them "well....." and see if they'll give you a deal. After all, Christmas is coming up, there might be sales, maybe you're hoping to see if the local store has a promotion, etc. Give them opportunities to offer you something better.

At the same time, visit your local Apple store and see if they'd cut you a deal. Try to go in when it's quiet (if there is such a time). They're not likely to sit there and haggle with you when the store is crowded full of other people ready to buy stuff (and overhear your haggling so they can try it too).
 
Usually, the idea of a large purchase is much different in the eyes of a seller than a buyer...

Usually, any computer purchase is a large purchase to the buyer.

Be happy that the Mac you are buying is now in many ways a more competitive computer ;)
 
I bought five ibook g4's in 2004. Got zippo. Bought 2 intel imacs last year, same. Three MacBooks early this year, nada. Good luck. It would have been nice to get anything, a shuffle would have been a major score. Geniuses even give me a hard time about getting things fixed until I have them look up credit card and find all the purchases linked. Then I get a bit of gratis service without applecare after one-year warranty. That's my story.
 
In Regent Street london you get free COOL FACTOR :cool: leaving with an Apple Carrier Bag and wandering round town.

Seriously 3 grand USD is not that large an amount. (in apple land). In the UK student purchasers get a free 3 year warranty in addition to discount and sometime free iPod.

In the US you all get discount compared to the rest of the world.
 
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