Rumor: Best Buy's iPad 2 sales strategy gets it 'blacklisted' by Apple

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  • Reply 81 of 99
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    In my opinion this is one bridge worth burning. Three strikes and you're out. Twice before Apple and Best Buy have parted company because of BB's total lack of commitment in selling Apple products, relegating them to obscure corners of their stores, sales clerks actively leading potential customers away from Apple to PC. Apple tried specially trained Apple reps, nothing worked and Apple pulled out.



    Like another poster stated I don't make major purchases at Best Buy anymore. I go to look at the product, try it out, compare with others, and then buy my choice usually online. It's worth the shipping charge to avoid Best Buy and their shenanigans. Local customer service is irrelevant because there is no such thing at Best Buy stores.





    too bad the online prices seem to be the same as B&M in most cases. only time they fall is when a manufacturer backed promotion is going on
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  • Reply 82 of 99
    Lots of misunderstanding. Yes best buy is holding stock but they are doing it for a upcoming ad. Several retailers have done this in the past with xbox 360's, ps3's and wii's. They'll set aside a week or two shipments because a upcoming ad will have it with a minimum per store. My guess you'll see them in the following Sunday ad for best buy with a minimum per store
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  • Reply 83 of 99
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    What are you talking about? Why would you even think to ask that? We're discussing a rumor as you well know. It it turns out to be true, it's not good. If it isn't true, it makes you wonder who these several sources are, and where they're hearing this.



    Sorry to upset you. I ask for the same reason others would, unless I'm the only one curious if the rumor is true. Your last post seemed to indicate (at least to me) that you had some knowledge of it's validity. I consider you a reliable source for info on Apple. If you don't know, no big deal.



    So to repeat, I had no intention of upsetting you.
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  • Reply 84 of 99
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    apple is the same way. a macbook or imac and a similar PC are about the same price.




    Apple makes plenty of money on that 'same price' hardware. What they are selling for $1199 cost them only like $500 to make and ship to the stores. Those iphones, they get $199 out of your pocket and $400 from ATT but it only costs them like $50 to make. And so on.



    Quote:

    apple makes money on the applecare, one to one, accessories, etc.



    Actually they don't make any money on their services. If you get AppleCare and do even one repair you just cost them more money than you paid for most items and the labor to do the repair. What little bit of 'profit' they might make from buyers that never have to use it is sucked up when someone who paid $249 needs a $700 part replaced and so on.



    One to one is a huge money suck for Apple. If you manage just one session per month you are easily over the cost of the employees for that time spent with you.



    Quote:

    why do you think they are getting rid of boxed software in the stores?



    That whole rumor has not been proven. What is proven is that they are pulling back on floor displays but you do understand that the companies have to pay for that slot yes. So if the companies aren't willing to pay to be displayed on the floor it won't happen. Enough aren't willing to pay and Apple will give the shelves to something else.



    Also, companies themselves are choosing to go download only to save costs and make it easier to update quickly. Apple has nada to do with that aside from giving them one possible way to achieve that goal (the Mac App Store)
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  • Reply 85 of 99
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
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  • Reply 86 of 99
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    dell and HP also make nice margins on the higher priced computers, especially with the changes they made last year. problem is more people in that price range are buying Mac's.



    and it's not like every Mac breaks. apple care is a huge money maker not just because it's all profit but after a US Supreme Court decision from back in 1998 or so it's a huge tax windfall. don't think that apple sells it out of charity. all the non-hardware items are sold at huge margins.



    it's not like apple pays $700 for the parts. A LOT less since it's part of the low wholesale price of components they pay for.
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  • Reply 87 of 99
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    Looks like AppleInsider got it wrong again:



    http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/04/07...sted-by-apple/



    What part of “rumor" is so hard to understand. Note the Crunch Gear article you linked to also posted this very same “rumor” so what exactly did AI get wrong or do you derive some masochistic textual pleasure from the verbal beat down your asinine comments trigger.
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  • Reply 88 of 99
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    sorry if someone already said this - did not read all the replies yet - but it seemed to me to be a strategy aimed at ensuring that they actually would have some number of iPads to sell each day - based on not being sure when the next shipment would arrive. In other words would you rather sell your entire stock one day and then have a week of telling EVERY customer that you have NO stock - versus rationing the stock you do have so that two or three or five customer will get one EVERY day - and you will only run out about the time the next shipment comes in.



    It does seem odd that they would do that if indeed that is happening.



    I did buy my latest MacBook Pro 2011 at BestBuy - for a number of reasons - to get the rewards points - to get 18 months of no interest - to get lower sales tax since i bought it while traveling for business - and they had one in stock - though I think I might have preferred the anti-glare and a 500GB 7200 RPM drive - it did replace a glossy screen and a 320GB 7200 RPM drive - and so far has been working out well. and as for MSRP - I would not buy anything at Best Buy that was available for less somewhere else - unless it was the only place that had it in stock locally and I get the deferred interest deal.



    (if it's true) for Apple to say - you are not selling out every day so therefore you cannot sell any seems too convoluted. Far more reasonable would be a phone call asking what's up and if the problem is constrained supply the answer should be sorry about that we are working to ramp up production so that all our mutual customers can be serviced adequately.
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  • Reply 89 of 99
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
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  • Reply 90 of 99
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhyde View Post


    From Mac Daily News:

    "Acer America today announced the Acer Iconia Tab A500 which is the company?s first 10.1-inch tablet running Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) in the new Acer Iconia family of tablets for North America. It is available for pre-order online exclusively from Best Buy."





    I don't see why Apple even bothered cutting a deal with BB when things like this were looming. It will be easy to sell on it's price and features, and BB makes more than the thin margin Apple gives them. Now that more Android tablets are inching closer to serving as a satisfactory substitute for an iPad for many, what makes Apple think it's in their best interest to bother with them anyway? People don't get directed to Apple products at these places, and for anyone looking for them it's the last place they consider buying one.
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  • Reply 91 of 99
    nkalunkalu Posts: 315member
    Shame on you Bestbuy for foolishly creating artificial shortage of the iPad 2 when demand was/is still high. You refused to sell online for in-store pick up. You refused to sell to those who took the pains to come to your store to buy.
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  • Reply 92 of 99
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MATTpgh View Post


    I work at a Best Buy, and I can confirm this. Our manager told us yesterday that starting today we can no longer sell the iPad. I don't know about this "internal quota" being true, but I can say we didnt follow that quota at our store if it did exist.



    Funny, but the iPad is still up on Best Buy's web site.



    Can you say "troll"?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jlandd View Post


    They don't turn them away, they sell them a Kindle. I've seen it. It's wrong to assume customers all leave and buy somewhere else. I see MANY clueless older people wandering around, who want a computer/tablet etc, came to look at Apple models but are happy to have a salesperson take them by the hand and explain the confusing world of computers to them.



    What percentage of people who want an iPad would take a Kindle? Maybe 10%? Heck, let's be generous and call it 20%.



    So you're a BB manager. You have an iPad in stock at $499 to 829 and the customer wants it now. Do you take that sale or do you hold the iPad back for a 10-20% chance of selling a $299 Kindle?



    It just doesn't make any sense to hold them back. None at all.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhyde View Post


    From Mac Daily News:

    "Acer America today announced the Acer Iconia Tab A500 which is the company?s first 10.1-inch tablet running Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) in the new Acer Iconia family of tablets for North America. It is available for pre-order online exclusively from Best Buy."



    Apple has generally not gone ballistic over that type of arrangement in the past. Especially when there's no reason to believe that the Iconia is going to make any dent in iPad sales.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    The big flaw in your argument highlighted for my amusement.



    You are making the faulty assumption that the supply of iPads is like a tap with a steady stream that doesn't change based on sales. In fact sales typically determine how many are subsequently shipped to each location. By holding back product they are artificially reducing sales.



    That's probably true - which is even more reason to sell what you have today.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    Apple makes plenty of money on that 'same price' hardware. What they are selling for $1199 cost them only like $500 to make and ship to the stores. Those iphones, they get $199 out of your pocket and $400 from ATT but it only costs them like $50 to make. And so on.



    I love the way delusional people post from fantasy land. Or maybe it's drugs.



    The iPhone only costs them $50 to make? If you could do that, you could make a fortune - you could sell them to Apple for $100 and make 50% margin. All the estimates I've seen put the cost a far higher than that. And the $500 laptop 'estimate' is absurd, too. That would be just under 60% gross margin - and there's no way Apple's getting that on any major product line.
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  • Reply 93 of 99
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,043member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by msuberly View Post


    I don't like Best Buy. They have a pretty good selection, but most everything is sold at MSRP. It's okay for window shopping, but I prefer to buy online or at smaller stores.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    ... The only reason I ever go into BB.



    Exactly, gentlemen. It's nice to go see their wall of TVs or what not, but I can buy literally anything cheaper online. In recent years I've started opposing almost all brick and mortar shopping for many items, especially electronics and consumer gadgets of most types. I buy food, clothes and supplies at stores. Other than that I'd rather buy online. I did literally ALL of my Christmas shopping on Amazon this year. It was awesome.
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  • Reply 94 of 99
    sdbryansdbryan Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I've heard many a bad thing said about Apple by both Best Buy staff and Target staff. I just happened to be passing by as they spewed their anti-Apple 'sound bytes'. It is a tough call to know if they do more harm than good even being allowed to carry Apple when they often hire folks who would rather try to switch sell.



    As with an old lady I witnessed as she was talked from an Apple product to a competitor with comments such as I heard like "Oh you are far better keeping out of Apple's walled garden". Or "All the laptops we sell are the same, you just pay more for Apple and in fact often get less ..." I nearly bust a blood vessel and had to force myself not to interject!



    I always interject when I hear nonsense being spewed. Yes, I am that guy. On the other hand I am seldom in Best Buy.
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  • Reply 95 of 99
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    Apple makes plenty of money on that 'same price' hardware. What they are selling for $1199 cost them only like $500 to make and ship to the stores. Those iphones, they get $199 out of your pocket and $400 from ATT but it only costs them like $50 to make. And so on.



    You are so clueless about the pricing, maybe you should keep your opinion to yourself. iSuppli estimates iPhone4's raw cost around $187.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    Actually they don't make any money on their services. If you get AppleCare and do even one repair you just cost them more money than you paid for most items and the labor to do the repair. What little bit of 'profit' they might make from buyers that never have to use it is sucked up when someone who paid $249 needs a $700 part replaced and so on.



    One to one is a huge money suck for Apple. If you manage just one session per month you are easily over the cost of the employees for that time spent with you.



    You may be correct on these but since you are so clueless about true product costs, I'll bet this is also just your opinion. I trust that these Apple services as a whole do generate at least a nominal amount to Apple's profits.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    That whole rumor has not been proven. What is proven is that they are pulling back on floor displays but you do understand that the companies have to pay for that slot yes. So if the companies aren't willing to pay to be displayed on the floor it won't happen. Enough aren't willing to pay and Apple will give the shelves to something else.



    Also, companies themselves are choosing to go download only to save costs and make it easier to update quickly. Apple has nada to do with that aside from giving them one possible way to achieve that goal (the Mac App Store)



    I would expect Apple to be the driving force in this area. Retail space dedicated to software is a 1990's mentality and is probably more costly to Apple than it is for the software company. Only certain software categories (specific packages) that can help generate high volume hardware sales should be in the stores with the rest available in the various app stores.
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  • Reply 96 of 99
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    Sounds to me like BB is trying to artificially prop up the tablet competition.

    They probably think it is in their best interest to have a competitive field of tablets and be able to get better pricing from Apple.

    Appears as though their plan has backfired.



    Pretty sure they accept bribes from other companies to limit Apple exposure, I call them bribes cause that is exactly what they are. It's their right as a store to do stupid stuff like that, they only hurt themselves. Used to be you had no other choice than Apple Store or Best Buy but now you can pick them up at Wal-Mart, Target, and just about anywhere else now. Hope Best Buy is enjoying all their thousands of sales of the Motorola Xoom.
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  • Reply 97 of 99
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Stourque View Post


    Isn't this what apple stores were rumored to have been doing. Best buy needs to carry the iPad, just like apple needs best buy to carry it, because otherwise, best buy will be selling someone else's tablet, and telling customers the other tablets are better. A lot of people will get sucked in by this strategy.



    Yikes, what era are you living in? A minority of people visiting Best Buy will fall for this but most people know better than to believe a sales person at Best Buy, they aren't exactly known for their technical expertise.



    If that isn't convincing enough for you take a look at the recent sales numbers for iPad vs Xoom, it's pretty obvious Best Buy isn't slowing Apple down any.
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  • Reply 98 of 99
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cgmpowers View Post


    This is exactly why I own an iPad instead of an iPad 2. I was at a best buy trying to purchase an iPad 2 and was told they were out, despite seeing several "on hold" at customer service.



    I needed a device for a business trip and ended up getting an iPad instead, but from AT&T. I wasn't going to reward best buy for its deception.



    Huh? Oh, I'm guessing you specifically needed 3G?
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  • Reply 99 of 99
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hezetation View Post


    Pretty sure they accept bribes from other companies to limit Apple exposure, I call them bribes cause that is exactly what they are. It's their right as a store to do stupid stuff like that, they only hurt themselves. Used to be you had no other choice than Apple Store or Best Buy but now you can pick them up at Wal-Mart, Target, and just about anywhere else now. Hope Best Buy is enjoying all their thousands of sales of the Motorola Xoom.



    they are called spiffs, "oh no our salesstaff are not on commission" my sister in law was pushed to a sanyo dumphone 200 + data the same as the cost of an iphone by a bestbuy worm



    she took it back



    they incentivize gaming the customer, my nephew ended up buying and returning 2 laptops to get one without integrated graphics so he could play games "oh that means it runs it faster since its closer to the cpu" WTF



    i don't buy from bestbuy, i use them to see measure, look at connectors etc then i buy from, samsclub, amazon, owc



    BUT i'm glad they have an apple kiosk with an apple person, but they still control the hardware in the back room



    i'm waiting for that "promotion" best buy is speaking about

    iPad2 is in itself a promotion of anyplace that sells them
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