That little Costco spat has cost Apple a lot of business. You should see stuff flying off the palettes there. Back when they were selling iPods, a whole palette would disappear in under a week. Lots of people will only buy their tech from Costco, and if they only find a Samsung tablet there, that's what they'll buy. It's great that they were finally able to put this nonsense aside, and hopefully they will also carry the computers soon. At the very least, I would expect the end-of-life fire sales to be back soon. It was a great way for Apple to get rid of excess inventory when introducing a new product line.
I don't think it has cost Apple much at all. Costco is largely a west coast phenomenon, which just happens to be area on the planet with the best coverage for brick and mortar Apple Stores. I would guess it was a wash for Apple. Any sales they may have missed by not having Costco on board were probably at least in part made up by driving a portion of those customers to physical Apple Stores where they don't have to pay a middleman, expose the customer to Apple's design aesthetic, and get the opportunity to make concurrent sales when buying an iOS device. Now as Costco continues to expand their reach, then it becomes a significant benefit to Apple's sales.
That said, I'm glad to see Apple back in Costco stores. I spend a lot of time there. The Samsung tablet rack never seems to have many of the cardboard placeholders taken off by customers. This is a big win for Costco if it drives people to buy memberships just to get the discount on Apple devices.
I don't think it has cost Apple much at all. Costco is largely a west coast phenomenon, which just happens to be area on the planet with the best coverage for brick and mortar Apple Stores....
Does the West Coast include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin? These states are all east of the Rocky Mountains and are home to a large number of Costco warehouses.
Although my local Costco is located more-or-less diagonally across a major intersection from my local Apple Store, there are an awful lot of people who walk into Costco and are immediately walking toward a hard-to-miss assortment of Samsung products. It will be good to see Apple back in Costco, offering a choice to all of the Costco customers who might not walk into the Apple Store--no matter how nearby it may be.
The last time I saw Apple products on sale at Costco, were Mac Minis for $100-150 off. Sounded like a good deal, until I realized it was 2 pallets of PPC minis, just after Apple changed to intel processors. That bothered me because I was watching elderly couples looking at them, & based on their discussion, hadn't a clue what they were considering.
If I understand correctly, the phones & iPads Costco is offering for sale at a discount, are not 64 bit, don't have the required kill switch nor fingerprint scanners for security. They may be a good deal, but should be considered as to how much future tech you want when you when you buy, vs something that already has limitations before you take it out of the box.
That said, I'm glad to see Apple back in Costco stores. I spend a lot of time there. The Samsung tablet rack never seems to have many of the cardboard placeholders taken off by customers. This is a big win for Costco if it drives people to buy memberships just to get the discount on Apple devices.
I'm one who would NEVER pay a store to shop there.
Our Costco"s are just a messy warehouse like store.
Does the West Coast include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin? These states are all east of the Rocky Mountains and are home to a large number of Costco warehouses.
Yes, hardly a "west coast" thing. It's the second largest retailer in the US, only behind Wal-Mart. Not to mention it's presence in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Spain, Japan, Korea, UK, Tawain... making it the 7th largest world-wide retailer.
I also disagree with sessamoid on this being a "wash". When Costco sales Apple products, they pallet sell large volumes at discount prices that are placed strategically front and center of traffic flow. They attract a different type of buyer, who I'd imagine would be more likely to be a switcher and new to the Apple ecosystem.
Goes both ways. Costco lost alot of business also. Every time I go to Costco I see a ton of unsold Samdung tablets and I never see anyone looking at them.
Given the limited selection and the inclusion of this other company, I wonder if these are refurbs. Might explain why they are able to offer such huge discounts. Apple doesn't typically let anyone offer quite that much off in a new model especially for what doesn't appear to be a limited time thing.
I'm one who would NEVER pay a store to shop there.
Our Costco"s are just a messy warehouse like store.
YMMV. Our SoCal Costco parking lot is loaded 50% with Cayannes, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus -- and carries inventory appropriate to the target audience. It's spotless and neat w great cust svc. If you have a lousy Costco perhaps moving to a better neighborhood would improve your perception.
Comments
That little Costco spat has cost Apple a lot of business. You should see stuff flying off the palettes there. Back when they were selling iPods, a whole palette would disappear in under a week. Lots of people will only buy their tech from Costco, and if they only find a Samsung tablet there, that's what they'll buy. It's great that they were finally able to put this nonsense aside, and hopefully they will also carry the computers soon. At the very least, I would expect the end-of-life fire sales to be back soon. It was a great way for Apple to get rid of excess inventory when introducing a new product line.
I don't think it has cost Apple much at all. Costco is largely a west coast phenomenon, which just happens to be area on the planet with the best coverage for brick and mortar Apple Stores. I would guess it was a wash for Apple. Any sales they may have missed by not having Costco on board were probably at least in part made up by driving a portion of those customers to physical Apple Stores where they don't have to pay a middleman, expose the customer to Apple's design aesthetic, and get the opportunity to make concurrent sales when buying an iOS device. Now as Costco continues to expand their reach, then it becomes a significant benefit to Apple's sales.
That said, I'm glad to see Apple back in Costco stores. I spend a lot of time there. The Samsung tablet rack never seems to have many of the cardboard placeholders taken off by customers. This is a big win for Costco if it drives people to buy memberships just to get the discount on Apple devices.
Does the West Coast include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin? These states are all east of the Rocky Mountains and are home to a large number of Costco warehouses.
Although my local Costco is located more-or-less diagonally across a major intersection from my local Apple Store, there are an awful lot of people who walk into Costco and are immediately walking toward a hard-to-miss assortment of Samsung products. It will be good to see Apple back in Costco, offering a choice to all of the Costco customers who might not walk into the Apple Store--no matter how nearby it may be.
If I understand correctly, the phones & iPads Costco is offering for sale at a discount, are not 64 bit, don't have the required kill switch nor fingerprint scanners for security. They may be a good deal, but should be considered as to how much future tech you want when you when you buy, vs something that already has limitations before you take it out of the box.
I'm one who would NEVER pay a store to shop there.
Our Costco"s are just a messy warehouse like store.
Does the West Coast include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin? These states are all east of the Rocky Mountains and are home to a large number of Costco warehouses.
Yes, hardly a "west coast" thing. It's the second largest retailer in the US, only behind Wal-Mart. Not to mention it's presence in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Spain, Japan, Korea, UK, Tawain... making it the 7th largest world-wide retailer.
I also disagree with sessamoid on this being a "wash". When Costco sales Apple products, they pallet sell large volumes at discount prices that are placed strategically front and center of traffic flow. They attract a different type of buyer, who I'd imagine would be more likely to be a switcher and new to the Apple ecosystem.
I would rather pay $50 to shop at costco than get paid $50 to shop at Walmart.
Costco is awesome. More awesome in some states than others. Hawaiian ones have decent poke in their stores.
I would rather pay $50 to shop at costco than get paid $50 to shop at Walmart.
Costco is awesome. More awesome in some states than others. Hawaiian ones have decent poke in their stores.
My idea of heaven is an eternal Costco five cheese pizza slice that you just keep eating forever.
My idea of heaven is an eternal Costco five cheese pizza slice that you just keep eating forever.
Lol...they do have great cheese pizza. It's amazing how good it is fresh.
Goes both ways. Costco lost alot of business also. Every time I go to Costco I see a ton of unsold Samdung tablets and I never see anyone looking at them.
...or a pallet of returned ones:-
...Who says "One just can't beat their everyday prices"... in real life aside from someone on the payroll? Come on now...
YMMV. Our SoCal Costco parking lot is loaded 50% with Cayannes, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus -- and carries inventory appropriate to the target audience. It's spotless and neat w great cust svc. If you have a lousy Costco perhaps moving to a better neighborhood would improve your perception.