Apple continues to experiment with super-low pricing as new $1,099 iMac already discounted to $979,
Through its indirect channel of trusted resellers, Apple has become increasingly aggressive on Mac pricing in 2014, offering discounts that go well beyond historical trends. That continues with big savings on the company's new iMac released just last week -- a pattern that suggests the company is actively experimenting with lower price points across multiple product families.
Apple's 1.4GHz 21-inch iMac was introduced at new entry-level price point of $1,099 just six days ago. But as of Tuesday morning, AppleInsider's Price Guides revealed the company appears to have authorized a $120 price cut through Best Buy, where it's now on sale for just $979.99. B&H Photo, another long-time Apple reseller that adds additional tax savings, similarly cut its price to $978.99 on the heels of Best Buy's move.
Students can knock an additional $150 off the discounted iMac price at Best Buy with a special coupon (by supplying a valid .EDU email), bringing the cost of the all-in-one desktop to just $829.99. Discounts of $120 are also available on other 21.5- and 27-inch iMac models, and the sale is advertised to last for 24 hours.
These unprecedentedly swift discounts from authorized Apple resellers follow weeks' worth of uncharacteristically steep discounts on the company's MacBook Air lineup, which also saw a refresh just weeks ago.
The fact that lower prices on new Macs are arriving so quickly would suggest that Apple itself may be sanctioning the discounts. It's possible that the company is looking to help push inventory as it deals with a dearth of new chip options from its CPU partner Intel.
Intel's next-generation Broadwell chips aren't slated to begin arriving until later this year, leaving Apple in a difficult spot where it can't significantly boost the speed or battery life of its Macs. As a result, Apple has instead focused on more affordable options with its Mac hardware refreshes thus far.
In addition to the new $1,099 iMac, Apple also slashed $100 off its suggested pricing for new MacBook Airs that debuted in April to a new entry price of $899, making them the most affordable mass-market notebooks the company has ever sold.
Resellers have of course further undercut those prices, but major partners like Best Buy are likely doing so with the blessing of Apple, which does not itself offer regular discounts or promotional pricing. Instead, the company opts for more unconventional approaches to drive sales -- methods that allow it to maintain its strict pricing at fixed levels while moving inventory surplus through the aid of indirect and sometimes unaffiliated channels.
Another approach employed by Apple was discovered by AppleInsider last year, when the Mac maker began selling hardware through a "secret" eBay store. The somewhat unofficial store has since closed, but at the time it offered refurbished MacBooks for up to $100 less than Apple would sell them direct to customers through its own online store.
Since last year, Apple has also been more conservative with its Mac inventory, keeping the amount of hardware in the channel at lower levels to avoid a potential oversupply. This was reflected by Apple reducing its channel inventory by a whopping $1 billion in the company's June 2013 fiscal quarter.
Update: this offer has since expired from Best Buy but remains available from B&H. Readers hunting for the latest daily deals can keep an eye on deals.appleinsider.com for exceptional offers or find the lowest price on a specific Apple product every day in our live Price Guides at prices.appleinsider.com.
Apple's 1.4GHz 21-inch iMac was introduced at new entry-level price point of $1,099 just six days ago. But as of Tuesday morning, AppleInsider's Price Guides revealed the company appears to have authorized a $120 price cut through Best Buy, where it's now on sale for just $979.99. B&H Photo, another long-time Apple reseller that adds additional tax savings, similarly cut its price to $978.99 on the heels of Best Buy's move.
Students can knock an additional $150 off the discounted iMac price at Best Buy with a special coupon (by supplying a valid .EDU email), bringing the cost of the all-in-one desktop to just $829.99. Discounts of $120 are also available on other 21.5- and 27-inch iMac models, and the sale is advertised to last for 24 hours.
These unprecedentedly swift discounts from authorized Apple resellers follow weeks' worth of uncharacteristically steep discounts on the company's MacBook Air lineup, which also saw a refresh just weeks ago.
The fact that lower prices on new Macs are arriving so quickly would suggest that Apple itself may be sanctioning the discounts. It's possible that the company is looking to help push inventory as it deals with a dearth of new chip options from its CPU partner Intel.
Intel's next-generation Broadwell chips aren't slated to begin arriving until later this year, leaving Apple in a difficult spot where it can't significantly boost the speed or battery life of its Macs. As a result, Apple has instead focused on more affordable options with its Mac hardware refreshes thus far.
In addition to the new $1,099 iMac, Apple also slashed $100 off its suggested pricing for new MacBook Airs that debuted in April to a new entry price of $899, making them the most affordable mass-market notebooks the company has ever sold.
Resellers have of course further undercut those prices, but major partners like Best Buy are likely doing so with the blessing of Apple, which does not itself offer regular discounts or promotional pricing. Instead, the company opts for more unconventional approaches to drive sales -- methods that allow it to maintain its strict pricing at fixed levels while moving inventory surplus through the aid of indirect and sometimes unaffiliated channels.
Another approach employed by Apple was discovered by AppleInsider last year, when the Mac maker began selling hardware through a "secret" eBay store. The somewhat unofficial store has since closed, but at the time it offered refurbished MacBooks for up to $100 less than Apple would sell them direct to customers through its own online store.
Since last year, Apple has also been more conservative with its Mac inventory, keeping the amount of hardware in the channel at lower levels to avoid a potential oversupply. This was reflected by Apple reducing its channel inventory by a whopping $1 billion in the company's June 2013 fiscal quarter.
Update: this offer has since expired from Best Buy but remains available from B&H. Readers hunting for the latest daily deals can keep an eye on deals.appleinsider.com for exceptional offers or find the lowest price on a specific Apple product every day in our live Price Guides at prices.appleinsider.com.
Comments
Now if Apple follows suit this iMac will be in the price range it should be. $999 is the sweet spot IMO.
In other words, the xMac. A GLARING hole in their product line right now
I'd rather have functional than thin, please. And the ability to not only pick but CHANGE my graphics card. Apple flat out SUCKS with their complete lack of GPU selection. It's slightly tolerable on laptops, but inexcusable on desktops to have NOT ONE that lets you pick or change your graphic card.
Since when do we promote tax evasion and tax fraud on AppleInsider? You're still obligated to claim those purchases on your taxes.
Here's something radical they could do - a two or three slot minitower along the lines of the IIcx or IIci.
In other words, the xMac. A GLARING hole in their product line right now
Won't ever happen. I think the majority would just be happy with a mini update.
btw- just ordered 3 for the office. Hi Rogifan!
That $1099 price now seems very wise since they can discount it to a far more reasonable price that hits the sweet spot and also gives people the idea they are saving over a $100.
Since when do we promote tax evasion and tax fraud on AppleInsider? You're still obligated to claim those purchases on your taxes.
Ha! And who does that? LOL
I think the majority would just be happy with a mini update.
That's what I'm waiting on.
Ha! And who does that? LOL
Many of us do. In some states, such as Illinois, the annual tax return requires you to enter a payment of "use tax due for internet purchases". If you don't have your records, you can pay a fixed fee of 0.06% of your adjusted gross income. The State warns you that they obtain information "from third parties" and perform routine audits (i.e., their computer audits everyone), and assess penalties and interest. They could easily have credit card records, etc.
Here's something radical they could do - a two or three slot minitower along the lines of the IIcx or IIci.
In other words, the xMac. A GLARING hole in their product line right now
I'd rather have functional than thin, please. And the ability to not only pick but CHANGE my graphics card. Apple flat out SUCKS with their complete lack of GPU selection. It's slightly tolerable on laptops, but inexcusable on desktops to have NOT ONE that lets you pick or change your graphic card.
sigh. why is it a glaring hole in their product line. If they are missing MILLIONS of sales... it's a glaring hole. 1,000s? not so much.
and this is a serious educational platform for non-technical education people. I doubt students are in the play (mobility is a requirement), but professors, teachers, etc. for their base machines.
I see these iMacs as an attention getter AND for schools
understand what people are using their iMac's for
mine are used (side by side in the den on a custom table) by my kids for homework, youtube, minecraft web surfing they are from 2007 upgraded to 3gb ram and still rocking
i use them when i need two screens to do my iBank program and ripping dvd's since it has the built in superdrive (handbrake)
what real limitations do these "low power" iMacs have ....what usable life span ??
they pack more than my 2007 iMacs, my IT guy has experience replacing hard drives for iMacs so as long as i can keep up with OS updates ( i believe it will work yosemite) i'm good to go for another 2-3 years
many feel macs out of their budget but when i tell them they last so long and get free OS upgrades they start to listen and listen hard
i suggest refurbished macs from apple
so i know much has been said about their "low power" but for 99% shouldn't this be good for 5 years use??
Good deal for students and businesses.
At first, I thought this $1,099 iMac was a stupid move by Apple. But as was posted elsewhere, it's a good marketing tool, because for not much more money, you can buy the next better iMac. Also, I begin to realize that there really are some significant niche markets where the new unit is a good choice, such as kiosks and computer labs at high schools and colleges. All that's needed is a decently fast Mac (which this is), and the ability to easily administer the units, with daily re-sets of the OS, software, etc. Many students will already have their personal stuff on phones anyway, so having the big screen is more apropos to a teaching environment, where everyone can be provided with uniform hardware and software for pedagogic reasons. This could be a big seller. Especially if the educational price of $1,049 is further undercut, which may occur, given the reductions of BestBuy, etc.
Because it's Apple. Every Apple "molehill" problem is automatically a mountain.
Here's something radical they could do - a two or three slot minitower along the lines of the IIcx or IIci.
In other words, the xMac. A GLARING hole in their product line right now
I'd rather have functional than thin, please. And the ability to not only pick but CHANGE my graphics card. Apple flat out SUCKS with their complete lack of GPU selection. It's slightly tolerable on laptops, but inexcusable on desktops to have NOT ONE that lets you pick or change your graphic card.
Your mini tower has arrived in the form of the new Mac Pro. Slots? Forget it. They're so '90s.
Plan large purchases around visits to states without state sales taxes, like Oregon.
Many of us do. In some states, such as Illinois, the annual tax return requires you to enter a payment of "use tax due for internet purchases". If you don't have your records, you can pay a fixed fee of 0.06% of your adjusted gross income. The State warns you that they obtain information "from third parties" and perform routine audits (i.e., their computer audits everyone), and assess penalties and interest. They could easily have credit card records, etc.
Glad I don't like in Illinois. In my state they ask a similar question but there is no suggestion that they verify it. Moreover, we actually get an income tax deduction based on the inferred amount that we spent on sales tax (and I believe if you have document that you spent more than expected, you can claim that higher amount).