Apple should sell used CRT iMacs at the retail stores.
A lot of people agree that the main barrier to getting Wintel users to switch is the initially high price. $999 is a lot to spend on an iBook or an eMac when you haven't used for OS X for about 100 hours or so to see how good it is. There have been a couple of ideas, like setting up a loaner Mac program so people could try a Mac for a month or selling OS X for PCs. These are pretty complicated to do. So here's an idea that takes advantage of how cool the CRT iMac's design is. Apple could use outdated iMacs as a vehicle to get people some experience with OS X.
Used iMacs from 233MHZ to 400MHZ go for from $175 to $300 on eBay. Apple could buy them from the public at the Apple retail stores. They would only buy as many as they needed. They wouldn't guarantee to buy them. This would be easy because then the seller doesn't need to worry about the complications of selling on eBay like shipping or potentially getting ripped off. Apple could probably buy them for $20 below eBay prices. They would then be sold at the same price to the public as a cheap way to get their feet wet with the Mac.
So let's say a potential switcher goes into the Apple Store. Spending $999 for a new Mac is a big commitment. But for $200 you could get a 233MHZ iMac with Jaguar which looks really cool, can be used as a second PC for tasks like word processing and web surfing, and can use the iApps. What Apple gets out of this is that the customer is using OS X and could be a potential Mac fan for life. Apple has nothing to lose because these outdated iMacs can't possibly cannabalize the sales of new Macs.
It's a great deal for the customer. At $200, with the cool looks of the iMac, it's almost an impulse purchase. They wouldn't have to think of the idea of buying one on eBay or the take on the hassles of buying one through the mail. The main worry that the customer might have in buying used would be if it breaks. Apple could have a deal where if the monitor breaks within 90 days it's free to replace. If it breaks within a year, you can pay $100 to have it replaced with a new one. Apple would break even on that deal.
Let's say the person likes their iMac and wants to buy a new Mac. Apple could give them priority in selling the old iMac back. Since Apple is buying the used iMacs from the public anyway, you would get a card and be put on a list to sell it back if you wanted to.
Also, perhaps if you didn't like the iMac, you could return in within two months for a full refund minus $100. So you'd be effectively renting it to see if you liked it.
This seems like the perfect way to break down that high cost barrier between Windows and the Mac without any real complications for Apple. There's nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
Used iMacs from 233MHZ to 400MHZ go for from $175 to $300 on eBay. Apple could buy them from the public at the Apple retail stores. They would only buy as many as they needed. They wouldn't guarantee to buy them. This would be easy because then the seller doesn't need to worry about the complications of selling on eBay like shipping or potentially getting ripped off. Apple could probably buy them for $20 below eBay prices. They would then be sold at the same price to the public as a cheap way to get their feet wet with the Mac.
So let's say a potential switcher goes into the Apple Store. Spending $999 for a new Mac is a big commitment. But for $200 you could get a 233MHZ iMac with Jaguar which looks really cool, can be used as a second PC for tasks like word processing and web surfing, and can use the iApps. What Apple gets out of this is that the customer is using OS X and could be a potential Mac fan for life. Apple has nothing to lose because these outdated iMacs can't possibly cannabalize the sales of new Macs.
It's a great deal for the customer. At $200, with the cool looks of the iMac, it's almost an impulse purchase. They wouldn't have to think of the idea of buying one on eBay or the take on the hassles of buying one through the mail. The main worry that the customer might have in buying used would be if it breaks. Apple could have a deal where if the monitor breaks within 90 days it's free to replace. If it breaks within a year, you can pay $100 to have it replaced with a new one. Apple would break even on that deal.
Let's say the person likes their iMac and wants to buy a new Mac. Apple could give them priority in selling the old iMac back. Since Apple is buying the used iMacs from the public anyway, you would get a card and be put on a list to sell it back if you wanted to.
Also, perhaps if you didn't like the iMac, you could return in within two months for a full refund minus $100. So you'd be effectively renting it to see if you liked it.
This seems like the perfect way to break down that high cost barrier between Windows and the Mac without any real complications for Apple. There's nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
Comments
<strong>The experience with OS X on a 233 Mhz machine would make them shun the Mac forever.</strong><hr></blockquote>
agreed...400MHz G3 is the BARE min. for 10.2.x speed wise i'd say, and that is with >256 RAM. they'd be better off showing the ~600MHz iMacs...and still not the best idea
i was walking around fry's & saw the 20" lcd
beautifull but useless for me at this point since
i cant connect it to anything other than my powerbook.(my pc has a gf3ti200 with no dvi out)
what would be really nice is having 2 connectors
so you can attach 2 machines to the same lcd
(pc or mac)
the 20" is pretty good value but the lack of connectors kill it.(i know you can buy a convertor but have an extra dvi in woudlnt hurt it)
<strong>The experience with OS X on a 233 Mhz machine would make them shun the Mac forever.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's exactly why Apple wouldn't do this.
The 233's may go for $175 or so on Ebay, but the final bids on the 400's and 500's are $400 and up. Some of these auctions have lots of bidders. Check it out and see. I check out the 400 and 500 MHz iMac pages on Ebay every day. I want a 500 MHz with a DVD, as my first Mac, but my better half won't let me spend the money.