Filed under: iPhone
Apple screwed you: So now what?
The $200 price drop isn't going over well with readers. So here are a few TUAW tips for how to handle this situation: Returns. If you're within the first 14 days of purchase, you're golden. Go back to the store and raise hell. You may still be charged a $40 restocking fee--theoretically you shouldn't be for exchanges--but otherwise, you're good to return. Apple's official policy states "Should Apple reduce its price on any shipped product within 10 days of shipment, you may contact Apple Sales Support at 1-800-MY-APPLE to request a credit of the difference between the price you were charged and the current selling price." One reader writes that he was able to do a return for a September 1 purchase by asking to speak to the manager at the store.
Price Guarantees. The American Express Best Value Guarantee will refund the difference in price for items purchased within 60 days. Other pricematch credit cards include Citi Diamond, American Express Rewards Gold, and American Express Starwood. (Best Value Guarantee program ended on October 1, 2006. Readers report varied success with other card providers.) NOTE: CitiBank and Visa Signature are offering price protection. CitiBank is requesting "printed" ads--anyone know how to find these?American Express apparently offers 90 day returns as a standard benefit--but it may not cover over $300
Call AT&T That's what reader Robbie D did. "I called AT&T said I was not happy after standing in line with my wife on the 29th so we could get 2 of them only to have it cost $ 400.00 less 66 days later. They said sorry and gave me a $75.00 per line credit!"
Complain. Write Apple and give them a piece of your mind. The Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1020 N Street, #501, Sacramento, California 95814, or by telephone at 1-916-445-1254. If you email, don't forget to cc in sjobs@apple.com.
Call your store Press 5 to get to a person. Demand to know if they will issue a price adjustment. Some readers report they're getting results. I ran into a brick wall from an obviously frustrated sales person. She told me to check online to see if any policy changes would be made.
Thanks to everyone at ModMyiPhone who suggested this post.
Update: A blue and green birdie associated with Apple chirped in our ears: "The stores heard about the price drop exactly when your readers heard about it -- officially, they didn't hear about it until about half an hour later. They will not have an answer for you today about price drops, but they will likely have an answer for you tomorrow. What people who call the stores today will get is frustration -- because the stores will be frustrated too, until the official line about what to do is handed down, which will likely be in another few hours."
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 15)
Michael Rose said 3:22PM on 9-05-2007
We're going to talk about this tonight in the talkcast, but... do early adopters really feel entitled to a refund? I'm not sure why.
Reply
unteins said 3:35PM on 9-05-2007
Yeah, seriously, shut up you whiners. You bought something, now it is cheaper....AND?
Its technology for goodness sake, if nothing else Moore's Law applies.
Technology gets cheaper. It gets cheaper really fast.
If you didn't think the iPhone was worth $600, why did you buy it? If you thought it was worth $600, what are you complaining about, you got the value you expected.
Don't complain to Apple, just accept that you were horny for an iPhone and you satisfied your urge.
Reply
James Creedon said 3:35PM on 9-05-2007
I'm an early adopter -- bought my 8gb iPhone on the first day, and I certainly do not feel entitled to a refund. That is what being an early adopter is about! ALL technology will drop in price over time. I knew I could wait and get a cheaper version, or wait for iPhone 2.0. But I wanted it when it came out, I got it, and it was worth it. It is hard to believe that Apple fans want to penalize Apple for dropping the price...
Reply
nick said 3:35PM on 9-05-2007
In several ways i feel cheated, i bought the 4GB version and now its been replaced with the 8GB for what i paid. I expected something like this to happen in about a year or two, but not so close to its launch.
Reply
nick said 3:36PM on 9-05-2007
i mean for less then what i paid... sorry about that little mistake.
Reply
Jon said 3:37PM on 9-05-2007
I am pretty pissed, early adopters? It has just only been two months! everyone should get a refund!
Reply
kaustic said 3:38PM on 9-05-2007
I feel totally screwed... Especially as a 4gb user.
My love affair with Apple is officially over. Screwed on a G4... Screwed on a G5... Screwed on an Intel iMac. I actually feel a little less screwed on the desktops as that's expected. But, such a drastic reduction in price and making a version completely obsolete in 2 months of purchase? Ridiculous and sick from a consumer perspective.
Reply
Admiral said 3:38PM on 9-05-2007
If you bought it yesterday...then OK, maybe, but if you bought it more than 1 day ago - sorry tough luck.
I've been an early adopter for many technologies and products - you pay a price to be part of an exclusive group that gets a device first. Early adopters are not entitled to refunds
Another cardinal rule for apple: You never buy a product when you know there is an event scheduled! For newbies this is a lesson to learn and you are entitled to your whine (and cheese). For mac veterans, well you aren't entitled to whine because you KNOW what goes on at these events. You dont know what products it will affect, but you know it happens!
Reply
Chris said 3:38PM on 9-05-2007
Apple did not screw anyone, they are doing business like every other electronic company. If Att or Apple has a price match policy then theirs your ticket but dont crab about being outside of that policy. Thats the risk you take buying electronics that some day it WILL be cheaper.
Reply
Ethan said 3:38PM on 9-05-2007
Technology is technology, and Apple is Apple. Everyone who purchased an iPhone before the price drop knew what would happen. Maybe they didn't know it would happen so soon, but nonetheless, they were aware of it.
For $200 you all got bragging rights for two months. I'd say it's worth it.
Reply
Jeremey Barrett said 3:40PM on 9-05-2007
I love how all the "wise people" come out and educate us on this kind of thing. The reality is that this much of a price drop this soon is insulting to early adopters, we should not have known better, and Apple needs to make it right. It ain't right as it stands now.
Did I expect a price drop and better model at Christmas? Maybe so... Maybe just a 16G to replace the 8G, etc. But this is different, and it is insulting. I'm insulted. You can go on about how clever you are for not having bought one, but that totally misses the actual issue, which is that alot of Apple's best customers will be insulted.
But worse, alot of Apple's NEW customers will be insulted. A significant percentage of iPhone purchases came from people who had never bought an Apple product. They will feel insulted and screwed over too. Very, very bad for Apple's corporate image, I think, and particularly bad for their image with potential new customers.
Reply
TjL said 3:41PM on 9-05-2007
33% in TWO MONTHS! Everyone expects that the price will go down eventually, but TWO MONTHS?!?!
What better way to make us think twice before buying some new Apple product down the road.
Heck, even $200 to use in the Apple Store would be better than nothing.
I recommend people call the 1-800-my-apple number to complain as well.
Reply
Daniel said 3:42PM on 9-05-2007
Of course this rankles me. Dropping the price of a gadget by 33% is one thing, but doing so just two months after it's launched is a completely different story. I'm not complaining because it wasn't worth the price I paid, and I'm not pissed because people can pick it up at a better price. I'm pissed because I sacrificed more than I had to because I was operating under the very common assumption that it would be another year, or at least 7-10 months, before even a modest price drop.
This is really a slap in the face to anyone who supported the iPhone early on.
Reply
Jon said 3:44PM on 9-05-2007
if it was say like 6 months, no problem at all but 2 months cmon now.
Reply
john robinson said 3:45PM on 9-05-2007
Price reductions were expected, but not this quickly. This really is a slap in the face to early adopters. Yes, we knew the price, and we decided to buy anyway. But to cut the price this quickly simply says: "Hey Apple customers who helped us recover R&D costs, we're gonna go ahead and drop the price now, thanks for the extra $200."
Yes, Apple is a business. But let's hope that they do the right thing and offer some sort of apology/compensation for loyal Apple customers who paid 33% more, and helped them get to this price point.
I mean, if even Micro$@ft can do the right thing with their xbox warranties...
Reply
Admiral said 3:46PM on 9-05-2007
I bought a sonyericsson P800 for $1050 when it first came out (same day). Two months later the price was around $800, six-seven months after that around $600 - same difference as the iphone.
Apple did not lower the price because they felt charitable - they lowered the price because they want more people to bite and go get the phone. The early adopters bought it, most of the consuming public didn't because of the price - drop the price, get more people - simple economics. Early adopters know what they are in for - the time span does-not-matter. It can be 1,2,6,12 months, price will drop. Who is to say that after x time it's fair for a price to go down?
Reply
ian said 3:46PM on 9-05-2007
It's not like we don't know when Apple usually announces products. Sure, we don't know what will be announced, but a little research should tell you that there are times when you probably should hold off buying any Apple product. WWDC, Macworld, pre-Christmas annoucement, etc.
Reply
kaustic said 3:47PM on 9-05-2007
I'm with Jeremey... I feel insulted more than anything.
Surprisingly, the "all knowing non-adopters" miss a major point. Apple resale value. It's gone. 4g and 8g models purchased before 9/5 have devalued faster than a car pulling off a lot. This is a massive insult to ANYONE that buys an Apple product knowing it will have a resale value down the line. As it is, who the hell would buy a used 4g or 8g at this point? It's insulting to even try to sell it.
Apple may in fact be becoming the new Dell and/or M$oft with all the overbearing, corporate partnerships and dip in product quality (yes, returned my iPhone and my iMac twice).
@Ethan, who the !@#$ buys a phone for bragging rights? Hell, I barely wanted to pull mine out in public because of the idiots that felt the need to browse my personal emails, photos, videos, and drain my battery.
Reply
Scott said 3:47PM on 9-05-2007
To all these people whining over TWO MONTHS being such a short time for the price drop? How long a lifespan do you think this gadget has? Apple introduces and discontinues iPods in two years or less. So after 2 months, it's not brand-new anymore. Look, when you drive a new car off the lot, its value plummets. You're big boys & girls, you've been around long enough to know how electronics, and Apple in particular, work. You wanted to be the first ones on the block, you paid for the privilege. If I buy an iPod Touch tomorrow (and I well may) and they drop the price in December, why on EARTH should I be mad at Apple?
Or was your whole ego wrapped up in how much it cost, and not what it was and what it can do?
Reply
tuaw.cmonsour said 3:47PM on 9-05-2007
I'm a big Sadun fan but I think it's really silly that she's encouraging people to file consumer complaints against Apple for LOWERING its prices and not simultaneously spending tens of millions of dollars of its shareholders money on giving nearly unprecedented "goodwill" refunds to people who, it bears repeating, (1) decided that an iPhone was worth $599 of their money, (2) still have the very same iPhone, but (3) are mad because other people, who couldn't afford a $599 iPhone, now have a chance to get one for less money.
Reply