Best Buy takes Mac price cuts further: $200 off all MacBook Airs for 2 days
Just days after triggering a sweeping series of MacBook price cuts in Apple's reseller channel, big-box retailer Best Buy on Friday went a step further Friday when it kicked off a special two-day sale, slashing Apple's MacBook Air lineup by $200 across the board, with the entry-level 64-gigabyte model now available for just $799.99.
The weekend sale at Best Buy applies to all four standard MacBook Air configurations. The low-end model on sale for $800 features an 11.6-inch display, 64 gigabytes of flash storage, and 4 gigabytes of RAM, while users can double the storage and get 128 gigabytes of flash memory for $899.99.
For the larger 13.3-inch variety, Best Buy is selling the model with 128 gigabytes of flash storage and 4 gigabytes of memory for $999.99, while a high-end model with 256 gigabytes of storage is available for $1,299. All of the discounts offer a $200 savings off the regular price, and are limited to one per customer.
For customers interested in a protection plan, it's worth noting that Best Buy does not offer Apple's AppleCare plans and instead pushes its own GeekSquad coverage. For those interested in buying a MacBook Air with AppleCare, the lowest available prices on MacBook Air+AppleCare bundles currently come from B&H Photo (Mac + AppleCare Price Guide).
Friday's firesale comes just days after AppleInsider first noted that some Apple resellers had begun instating broad price cuts on MacBooks that were unusual. The reductions come as Apple saw its Mac sales shrink from 5.2 million in the holiday 2011 quarter to 4.1 million at the end of 2012 ? a dip Apple attributed largely to severely limited availability of its redesigned iMac desktop.
Best Buy's two-day sale has also knocks $5 off Apple's latest-generation 16-gigabyte iPod nano and throws in a free $20 gift card. The discount applies to all colors: purple, pink, yellow, green, blue, black and silver.
Meanwhile, price cuts on MacBook Pros from earlier in the week continue to offer up to $283 off those models, particularly over at MacMall when using the links in our price guides and then entering Promo Code APPINSDRMWB37994
The weekend sale at Best Buy applies to all four standard MacBook Air configurations. The low-end model on sale for $800 features an 11.6-inch display, 64 gigabytes of flash storage, and 4 gigabytes of RAM, while users can double the storage and get 128 gigabytes of flash memory for $899.99.
For the larger 13.3-inch variety, Best Buy is selling the model with 128 gigabytes of flash storage and 4 gigabytes of memory for $999.99, while a high-end model with 256 gigabytes of storage is available for $1,299. All of the discounts offer a $200 savings off the regular price, and are limited to one per customer.
For customers interested in a protection plan, it's worth noting that Best Buy does not offer Apple's AppleCare plans and instead pushes its own GeekSquad coverage. For those interested in buying a MacBook Air with AppleCare, the lowest available prices on MacBook Air+AppleCare bundles currently come from B&H Photo (Mac + AppleCare Price Guide).
Friday's firesale comes just days after AppleInsider first noted that some Apple resellers had begun instating broad price cuts on MacBooks that were unusual. The reductions come as Apple saw its Mac sales shrink from 5.2 million in the holiday 2011 quarter to 4.1 million at the end of 2012 ? a dip Apple attributed largely to severely limited availability of its redesigned iMac desktop.
Best Buy's two-day sale has also knocks $5 off Apple's latest-generation 16-gigabyte iPod nano and throws in a free $20 gift card. The discount applies to all colors: purple, pink, yellow, green, blue, black and silver.
Meanwhile, price cuts on MacBook Pros from earlier in the week continue to offer up to $283 off those models, particularly over at MacMall when using the links in our price guides and then entering Promo Code APPINSDRMWB37994
Comments
Blimey, that's less than what I paid for my phone. A phone I tell ya!
Unfortunately it also cuts margins which doesn't help the stock price.
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Originally Posted by realwarder
Unfortunately it also cuts margins which doesn't help the stock price.
It cuts Best Buy's margins, not Apple's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by realwarder
Microsoft Surface Pro coming out soon.... let's try and flood the market before it arrives. Bonus: it may raise the poor Mac sales, killing two birds with one stone.
Unfortunately it also cuts margins which doesn't help the stock price.
Pretty sure the release of the Surface Pro doesn't factor into anyone's concerns about sales...except Microsoft's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
It cuts Best Buy's margins, not Apple's.
How do we know? Does Best Buy have those margins? I would think not, but I don't know.
I wonder if Apple is lowering prices for awhile. Test the waters.
Surprised by prices these days on Apple stuff. I've got a MacBook Pro, myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
It cuts Best Buy's margins, not Apple's.
At the very least it will take sales away from Apple's own retail and online stores and therefore affects Apple's overall profit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
It cuts Best Buy's margins, not Apple's.
I've been told by others on this forum that Apple has to agree to these "sales". Retailers can't just set any price they wish for them. If so it's certainly plausible that Apple is offering Best Buy some discount to make the sale price possible. Anyone know for certain whether Apple retains some significant control over prices at the authorized retailers?
Originally Posted by pfisher
How do we know? Does Best Buy have those margins?
Because Best Buy buys the computers from Apple and resells them.
That's sort of what makes them a reseller. There's a minimum price they've already paid, to Apple, for any machines they have in stock.
Normally this is where I would say, "Look at this new, low price. This is still higher than the price they paid for the computers (because they bought them in bulk), so they're still making money on each one they sell," but this is Best Buy we're talking about, so I'm not confident enough to say they're smart enough to be making money on each unit…
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorguy
I've been told by others on this forum that Apple has to agree to these "sales". Retailers can't just set any price they wish for them. If so it's certainly plausible that Apple is offering Best Buy some discount to make the sale price possible. Anyone know for certain whether Apple retains some significant control over prices at the authorized retailers?
I don't think it's exactly like that. Apple can recommend (i.e. MRSP) but not dictate uniform pricing to its retail partners without being charged with being anti-competitive. I believe that, typically, Apple offers incentives to the retailers to maintain uniform pricing (wasn't there an article on this recently?). So, it could be that Best Buy is foregoing the incentives in this instance. The question is why do they need to do this if the MBA is selling well? And if it isn't selling well, ....
Update: Found the article: http://www.macworld.com/article/2024257/how-apple-sets-its-prices.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent
I don't think it's exactly like that. Apple can recommend (i.e. MRSP) but not dictate uniform pricing to its retail partners without being charged with being anti-competitive. I believe that, typically, Apple offers incentives to the retailers to maintain uniform pricing (wasn't there an article on this recently?). So, it could be that Best Buy is foregoing the incentives in this instance. The question is why do they need to do this if the MBA is selling well? And if it isn't selling well, ....
Update: Found the article: http://www.macworld.com/article/2024257/how-apple-sets-its-prices.html
Thanks!! That explains it perfectly.
Doesn't this come on the heels of online Mac stores cutting prices? Is Best Buy responding to them?
Originally Posted by cwoloszynski
Couldn't you buy the machine at Best Buy and then buy Apple Care from Apple?
Sure thing.
Originally Posted by stelligent
Doesn't this come on the heels of online Mac stores cutting prices? Is Best Buy responding to them?
Sounds like it.
Quote:
Friday's firesale comes just days after AppleInsider first noted that some Apple resellers had begun instating broad price cuts on MacBooks that were unusual.
"Instating"...???
Instituting??? Or as opposed to "outstating"??
Well, shiver me timbers, I was surprised, as a long-time wordie to find it IS a word:
Dictionary.com: "verb (used with object), in·stat·ed, in·stat·ing. 1. to put or place in a certain state or position, as in an office; install. 2. Obsolete . to endow with ..."
Fightingyourarrest.com: "Re-instating your driver's license: Our system will call both your phone and ours at the same time. This will open a new window. Please disable any Popup Blocking software."
However at the least, very syntactically loose, i.e., a seller doesn't generally "install" a price or "place [a price] in a certain state or position, although I can wrap around the notion of "reinstating the previous price..."
#I'mjustsayin'
Amazon has cut prices to match Best Buy (except for the 11" 64GB, as of now).
By now, Apple must have been able to reduce production costs substantially, so that reducing prices may not impact gross margins. If sales go up as a result, then that is good. Also, Apple may be getting ready for a restructuring of the Macbook product line. The retina prices need to come down.
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Originally Posted by AppleGreen
Amazon has cut prices to match Best Buy (except for the 11" 64GB, as of now).
...a restructuring of the Macbook product line.
That's what I was thinking: Retina MBA on the horizon and they are clearing the channel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleGreen
Amazon has cut prices to match Best Buy (except for the 11" 64GB, as of now).
By now, Apple must have been able to reduce production costs substantially, so that reducing prices may not impact gross margins.
Nope. Guaranteed not the case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleGreen
Also, Apple may be getting ready for a restructuring of the Macbook product line. The retina prices need to come down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JollyPaul
That's what I was thinking: Retina MBA on the horizon and they are clearing the channel.
This is not impossible, but is highly unlikely. Apple typically "clears the channel" by cutting production. Inevitably, the first symptom would be someone observing diminishing inventory and/or longer delivery times for online orders.