Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Rumors, Holidays
Apple giving huge discounts on Black Friday? No way!
The boy geniuses over at Boy Genius Report are getting a lot of hits out of a story they ran late yesterday. Apparently, one of their contacts tipped them to a "shot of Apple's yearly Black Friday deals" that is "reported to be something Apple will email out shortly." The email (seen at right, pasted with an editorial comment from yours truly) shows alleged discounts of up to 30% on all iPods (excluding iPhone or iPod shuffle), up to 25% on all Macs, and up to 15% on all accessories, Apple software, and Apple hardware. This will only happen on November 27th and apparently "select" Apple stores will open at 6 AM.Well, most of us here at TUAW are pretty sure this is a fake. A compelling fake, mind you, but an utter fabrication. Why?
First reason -- Apple almost never discounts their products, other than selling refurbished equipment on the cheap. That's part of the reason that the company is so successful and has the highest margins in the personal electronics and computing world. Discounts of "up to 25% on all Macs" are an Apple fanboy's most exciting dream (next to the iTablet, of course), but we doubt if the Cupertino Kids would discount anything more than 5%.
Reason two -- Apple Stores are, for the most part, hugely popular anyway. Apple doesn't need to drag in customers on Black Friday by enticing them with wicked discounts. Let's face it, most of the Apple Stores are going to be packed on November 27th, so why would Apple want to create traffic jams and general hysteria by doing something like this? Hell, most of the Apple retail employees would probably quit during Black Friday, leaving the company in the lurch for the rest of the holiday season.
Number three -- Historical precedence shows that Apple usually provides discounts on Black Friday, but not as big as BGR is indicating. In 2006, Apple provided free shipping to shoppers at the online store. Last year, Best Buy discounted up to US$150 on Macs and Apple matched that, but there was no steenkin' 25% discount.
And finally, reason number four -- Apple's probably not going to send out anything with that much blank space at the top of it. They're too picky about design. They don't want someone to have to scroll down through an email to read the discounts, even if there is an Apple logo floating around at the top of the email.
How sure are we that this isn't going to happen? Well, if it actually happens the way Boy Genius Report says it will, I'll wear a Boy Genius Report baseball cap (provided by BGR, of course) for four hours at Macworld Expo 2010 and give you guys some free advertising. TUAW readers -- what do you think about the discounts? Are they going to happen or not?
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
wase4711 said 2:05PM on 11-17-2009
Has hell frozen over yet????????
When it does, Apple will discount at 25%...
Boy Genius?
Boy Idiots is more like it...
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Brian said 4:25PM on 11-17-2009
i cant be the only one who notices "up to".. "up to 25%" is not the same as "25%"
Monica Dickey said 7:47PM on 11-17-2009
Yeah this is pretty much the most obvious fake ad ever made.
Is it an ugly ad? Check
Are the discounts totally unrealistic? Check
Is it something the company doesn't even need to do? Check
larry raines said 7:49PM on 11-17-2009
@"monica" you are a dude. Get off these male-orientated sites with your blonde pic and your links to dating sites.
Everyone can see through your crap. Obviously you like and know allot about videogames, but know nothing about cars and just go to those sites to chime in. What chick on earth talks about wireless video game adapters? none, thats who.
Dude, how much do you get paid when people click through to that dating site?
Brychanus said 9:41AM on 11-18-2009
@larry raines "What chick on earth talks about wireless video game adapters? none, thats who"? Somehow you know in your heart of hearts that there's not a single female on the planet who wants anything to do with gaming technology? What misogynistic rock are you living under? Geek girls are out there, and some of them are quite attractive.
Impulsivity said 2:15PM on 11-17-2009
If this was legit I'd wait overnight for a shot at a 750 macbook and 1500 dollar i5 imac. Please let it be true!
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drumrobot said 2:14PM on 11-17-2009
Just to put this out there, the plural of 'genius' is 'genii'.
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Kyle said 2:17PM on 11-17-2009
While this is true, "Geniuses" has also become acceptable by all English dictionaries in the last decade.
Le Big Mac said 3:19PM on 11-17-2009
And it's precedent, not precedence.
azuravian said 3:45PM on 11-17-2009
Actually, I think precedence works there as well. They're not talking about the law, just history.
Josh said 2:13PM on 11-17-2009
I agree... however much I'd like to see such drastic price drops, it ain't happening.
With that said, you guys should have told your spell check to ignore word Flippin'... :)
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Dale said 2:14PM on 11-17-2009
I don't know, tied in with their recent ads designed to encourage would-be Windows 7 upgraders to switch to Mac, a huge discount like this would totally cripple any retorts regarding their hardware pricing... not to mention the number of PowerPC holdouts who might finally upgrade to an Intel box and move up to Snow Leopard.
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hugmup said 2:18PM on 11-17-2009
Apple is not going out of business, they are not overstocked, they don't need quick cash, and they are not on the brink of bankruptcy, so there is no reason for deep discounts.
Apple will have a 25%-off sale on the same day that Rolls Royce does.
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Brandon said 2:18PM on 11-17-2009
If they do happen, I will go to whatever lengths it takes to purchase something!
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girlieleep said 2:18PM on 11-17-2009
I highly doubt that Apple would sell Macs on Black Friday at a discount so steep that they'd actually be selling them at a loss. Despite what a lot of people think, the margins on Macs are not that large. I used to work at a reseller, and the wholesale price compared to the MAP was only a couple hundred dollars difference- a lot less on iMacs and more on Pro machines. Granted, at an Apple Store you cut out the middleman, but still not bloody likely.
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jasonq said 2:40PM on 11-17-2009
To give you a sense of where Apple's margins are, retail employees get 25% off on 1 Mac and 1 of each iPod model per year (plus 15% on a few for friends and families). Apple loves its employees, but not enough to subsidize their computer/pod purchases, so we can assume they don't lose any money at 25% off. This means they'd probably still make a little money per unit at 25% off... but they'd be cannibalizing regular profit-making sales to do so. To say nothing of killing sales traffic next November, as everyone waits for "the big sale".
Plus, as has been noted, Apple Stores are busy enough (not Walmart-level, but still busy) on TDay+1; they don't want door-buster pricing; it'd spoil the shopping experience.
setteB.IT said 2:21PM on 11-17-2009
Do you want the reason number five?
Apple will never write "iPod Shuffle" instead of "iPod shuffle".
Fake.
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Todd Sieling said 4:03PM on 11-17-2009
Excellent catch.
I'm also in the camp of 'not bloody likely', especially after they've posted record quarters in a recession. Remember at the start of the year, when premium brands were all going to fail...? Those were the days.
Say, has anyone seen a Laptop Hunters ad lately?
Cycomachead said 9:06PM on 11-17-2009
That is the most compelling argument here, honestly.
I expect Apple to be really aggressive this Black Friday. I think there's great opportunity for Apple, especially since in some parts the American economy is fairing a bit better. No, I'm not expecting discounts this large, but between 8% and 12% isn't unlikely. Here's why:
2 years ago: Apple offered a $21 discount on a $179 Airport Extreme, 11.7% discount. Last years was the same. (I also saved an addition $15 by getting a refurb online that year).
Last year: the $999 MacBook had a $101 discount! That's 10%
$101 off a 1,199 iMac 8.4%
$51 off a $599 Mac Mini 8.5%
$151 off a $1,799 iMac 8.4%
or 12.5% off with Best Buy matching on an $1,199 iMac
Those are all a lot more that 5% off. Sure, Apple doesn't need to do it. You can argue that Microsoft doesn't need the laptop hunter ads. It helps them get MORE sales. That's Apple's goal. It gets more people in stores who might spend only $20 on an iPod case, but that's revenue still. Apple has some of the most momentum they've ever had, and some of the largest in the industry now. I think they'll take full advantage of it. Black Friday has gotten better and better over the past few years.
Kieran said 2:22PM on 11-17-2009
It looks like the Pages or Word spellchecker has flagged the word "flippin'" in the poster.
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