Apple quietly improves loyalty pricing for businesses, educational institutions

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2014
Apple recently made a change to its loyalty program for organizations that spend upwards of $5,000 per year on its products, offering better discounts on Macs, iPads, accessories and, for the first time, unlocked iPhones and Apple TVs.

MDM


According to a report from TechCrunch, Apple last week improved discounts on Macs, iPads, accessories and more by one to three percent. In addition, the iPhone is now part of the loyalty program, the first time Apple has brought its hot-selling handset into the fold.

Apple's program is broken into three tiers depending on how much money users or organizations spend per year. The first "red" tier starts at $5,000, followed by the $35,000 "green" tier, topped by the $200,000-and-up "blue" tier.

The company metes out discounts depending on the tier in which an institution falls and the recent program changes have brought enhanced savings to nearly all product categories. For example, the publication notes Mac discounts for red tier customers have been bumped from 5 percent to 6 percent, while higher tiers net savings of around 8 percent.

The iPad is seeing discounts between 2 percent and 4 percent based on model and quantity purchased, while savings on third-party accessories have jumped from 5 percent to 10 percent for the lowest red tier.

Of special interest to educational institutions, Apple is now applying discounts to the Apple TV. With Apple's iPad in Education initiative, schools have been using the set-top device to stream class materials to larger screens via AirPlay.

Apple's loyalty program changes come on the heels of substantial changes to iOS mass deployment and management services. Along with changes at the system level now active in iOS 7.1 that allow for granular security and device settings management, Apple rolled out a new "Deployment Programs" webpage to streamline verification and enrollment processes for IT teams.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    i've been buying apple products for almost 30 years. since 1998 i've spent almost $40,000 at apple ... i spend money with them every single year. where's my loyalty reward?
  • Reply 2 of 18
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    The discounts are nice. Mainly because Enterprise will not feel like " What's the difference between me going to buy 10-100s of iPad / Mac in the Apple Store and Ordering from Cooperate Account? If both are priced the same.

    The other nice thing is that discount isn't a lot so it doesn't hurt its margin.
  • Reply 3 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Nice. This will come in handy.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Nice. This will come in handy.

    Macmall or even best buy is usually still less. We spend around $10-20k a year but don't use their corporate discounts. Cheaper alternatives. Maybe if we were blue tier ;)
  • Reply 5 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    andysol wrote: »
    Macmall or even best buy is usually still less. We spend around $10-20k a year but don't use their corporate discounts. Cheaper alternatives. Maybe if we were blue tier ;)

    I've had enough bad experiences with the idiots at MacMall to avoid them in the future.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    "The first "red" tier starts at $5,000, followed by the $35,000 "green" tier, topped by the $200,000-and-up "blue" tier.
    .../...
    Mac discounts for red tier customers have been bumped from 5 percent to 6 percent, while higher tiers net savings of around 8 percent.
    .../...
    The iPad is seeing discounts between 2 percent and 4 percent based on model and quantity purchased, while savings on third-party accessories have jumped from 5 percent to 10 percent for the lowest red tier".

    Absolutely tiny and ridiculous discounts!!!
  • Reply 7 of 18
    I've had enough bad experiences with the idiots at MacMall to avoid them in the future.

    Never a problem here and I've used them since the 1908s... Maybe you're having cockpit problems.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    appex wrote: »
    "The first "red" tier starts at $5,000, followed by the $35,000 "green" tier, topped by the $200,000-and-up "blue" tier.
    .../...
    Mac discounts for red tier customers have been bumped from 5 percent to 6 percent, while higher tiers net savings of around 8 percent.
    .../...
    The iPad is seeing discounts between 2 percent and 4 percent based on model and quantity purchased, while savings on third-party accessories have jumped from 5 percent to 10 percent for the lowest red tier".

    Absolutely tiny and ridiculous discounts!!!

    What's your Microsoft discount?
  • Reply 9 of 18
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member

    I've always maintained a relationship with the local Apple store manager as well as a phone rep. Most of my discounts have come from my phone guy. They aren't huge as we are not wal-mart but they are appreciated. As is the way they treat us like they value our business. I tend to try to establish relationships wherever I shop, whether it's Williams-Sonoma, Costco or the local grocery store.

     

    I view it as win-win.

  • Reply 10 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Pooch View Post



    i've been buying apple products for almost 30 years. since 1998 i've spent almost $40,000 at apple ... i spend money with them every single year. where's my loyalty reward?

    In the products.

  • Reply 11 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post





    Never a problem here and I've used them since the 1908s... Maybe you're having cockpit problems.

    You're older than I thought.

  • Reply 12 of 18
    I think it is great to get something for buying products. From a business perspective I always felt that the price I paid vs. cheap Dell and other alternatives was justified on so many levels that I was just fine paying "retail" prices. We usually shop around and can get some discount but regardless the investment is worth it.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Never a problem here and I've used them since the 1908s... Maybe you're having cockpit problems.

    No, it's the local store. The staff is aggressively unfriendly, lazy and uninterested in helping customers.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    bugsnw wrote: »
    I've always maintained a relationship with the local Apple store manager as well as a phone rep. Most of my discounts have come from my phone guy. They aren't huge as we are not wal-mart but they are appreciated. As is the way they treat us like they value our business. I tend to try to establish relationships wherever I shop, whether it's Williams-Sonoma, Costco or the local grocery store.

    I view it as win-win.

    You are absolutely right. Knowing the owner or manager personally in a business helps a lot.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    sudonymsudonym Posts: 233member

    I would think Apple is in a good position to raise prices, not sure why they are being forced to lower them.

  • Reply 16 of 18
    lukeilukei Posts: 379member
    Actually just being nice to people helps. Never got the raving at retail staff attitude.
    You are absolutely right. Knowing the owner or manager personally in a business helps a lot.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member
    Quote:



    Originally Posted by Macky the Macky View Post





    What's your Microsoft discount?

     

    People just complain because they feel like they're entitled a big discount due to consumer unfriendly markups by PC manufacturers. Used to be in a place that bought from Dell. You called them up as a business, and they'd give you 5-10% off the webpage prices right away. After we ordered tens of thousands of dollars, we got 20%+ discounts. Basically if you're paying webpage prices, you're getting ripped off. Cisco is another example. Their actual prices are nowhere close to list.

     

    Microsoft is the opposite. Buying a Enterprise license and Software Assurance makes retail look like a steal.

  • Reply 18 of 18
    sraosrao Posts: 1member
    With Pad usage in colleges and universities skyrocketing, this loyalty program is sure to have a lot of fans among educational institutions. Here is an infographic on how prevalent iPads are in colleges today - http://mlabs.boston-technology.com/blog/3-reasons-why-schools-and-colleges-should-not-ignore-the-power-of-the-ipad
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