Apple may launch most aggressive Black Friday sale yet

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
With Black Friday sale information from rival PC vendors beginning to leak online, experts at Barclays Capital say they expect Apple to counter the promotions with a more aggressive than usual one-day sale, offering deep discounts on a number of Mac models.



The Friday immediately following the US Thanksgiving holiday has long been known as "Black Friday," as it represents the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season, or the day when retailers hold massive sales in hopes of steering their (red) losses into (black) profits.



Among the most heavily discounted electronics items poised to dominate this year's sales are low cost notebooks, according to analyst Ben Reitzes, who notes that Dell plans to offer $299 linux model via its website, while Wal-Mart markets a $299 Compaq, and Best Buy a $299 eMachines portable.



"We believe ultra-low cost notebooks will be a major draw this Black Friday as vendors look to push volumes and consumers look to trade down given the economic environment," he wrote in a report to clients Wednesday. "We have not seen any Apple Black Friday ads yet (as is customary), but expect the company to be more aggressive than usual in its one-day sale, perhaps with $100 off a few Mac models and discounts on several iPods."



The analyst also called upon Apple to "get more price aggressive in every product" for its traditional one day sale, which will run for 24 hours beginning at midnight on Thursday November 27th. Given obvious weakness in the economy, this should include the iPhone, he said, arguing that "the company?s high margins could likely absorb a few days of discounts."



Reitzes also pointed to signs that French iPhone carrier Orange will cut the 8GB iPhone 3G from 149 euros to 99 euros for the holidays and wonders "if AT&T could follow shortly here in the US."



Apple's participation in the Black Friday bonanza has seen the company hold massive 24-hour sales through its online store and brick-and-mortar retail chain since 2004. The promotions initially began with $100 discounts on the company's iMac G5s but grew to include a $101 discount on the iBook G4 in 2005.



A year later, the Cupertino-based company offered $101 off all MacBook and iMac models, $31 off its updated fifth-generation video iPods and $21 off its second-generation iPod nanos. Last year's sales offered the same $101 discount on MacBooks and iMacs but trimmed the discount on the third-generation iPod nanos to just $11.



A move towards more aggressive pricing for this year's Black Friday sale would build on a trend that began earlier this summer when Apple announced the biggest back-to-school promotion in its history.



Unlike past years when students were offered a free iPod nano worth $199 with the purchase of a qualifying Mac, this year's promotion bumped the incentive up to a $299 iPod touch -- a move helped the company set a new record for single quarter Mac shipments of 2.611 million units.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    Does anyone know/remember if Apple extends its Black Friday discounts to Canadian stores? I'd love to get my wife an iPhone, but I'm not sure if Apple will also have its products on sale in Toronto...
  • Reply 2 of 28
    BASED. ON. WHAT.



    WTF evidence do they have to suggest Apple will do anything of the kind?!



    this is a BS plant form top to bottom. They're trying to generate news to pump the stock.



    Apple's $100 discount is not only par for the course on black friday, but really not that great a deal, all things considered.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    They need to clear out that inventory for the new redesigned Media mini and SLI iMacs to be announced at MacWorld in January.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Are these the same people that proclaimed the $800 Macbook was coming?



    Apple isn't in to giving deals. Sure you may get a free iPod Touch ..if you're shelling out $1400.



    Hope is eternal isn't it?
  • Reply 5 of 28
    Are the BF discounts available for education pricing as well?
  • Reply 6 of 28
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Maybe the new Macbooks will go back to last generation prices.



    And stay there.



    I wish Black Friday was an international sale too.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    thanks for the news (this not rumor, it is ongoing event for last few years)



    apple last few years always had a special promotion on black friday $100 on some of the consumer products ...



    all the customers on subscritption also gets email alert.



    it is also international sales, i have seen this in singapore apple store (online as well as B&M)



    2007



    http://arstechnica.com/journals/appl...iscounts-again



    2006



    http://www.macrumors.com/2006/11/20/...ksgiving-sale/



    2005



    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=163507



    2004 AI link



    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...od_prices.html
  • Reply 8 of 28
    pavlos99: I believe that Apple has done this sale in Canada for the last two years. Apple Store Online, and I imagine at the physical Apple Stores as well. Dunno if they'll discount the iPhone, though, as it is sold in partnership with Rogers/Fido...
  • Reply 9 of 28
    Oooohhh like 5% discount...hold me back...



    Sheldon
  • Reply 10 of 28
    thttht Posts: 5,420member
    Yeah. $100 off a $1500 product isn't very attractive. If it was a 20% discount, I'll think about stampeding to the store. If it was 30%, I'll stampede to the store. If it was 40+%, I'll camp out in front of the store the night before.



    $100 is like nothing for Apple's products.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by THT View Post


    Yeah. $100 off a $1500 product isn't very attractive. If it was a 20% discount, I'll think about stampeding to the store. If it was 30%, I'll stampede to the store. If it was 40+%, I'll camp out in front of the store the night before.



    $100 is like nothing for Apple's products.



    $1299 alu macbook offered $1199 sounds good to me ... of course if u r in the line for buying a new macbook ...



    It will be great if they offer $150 to $200 range this time
  • Reply 12 of 28
    hosshoss Posts: 69member
    Why doesn't Apple buy WebMD and give the iphone a diagnostic capability?



    Then it will be covered by medical insurance for every American
  • Reply 13 of 28
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stokessd View Post


    Oooohhh like 5% discount...hold me back...



    Sheldon



    Apple's Black friday discounts in the past have been a joke. I just bought an iPod touch - thought I'd wait but then remembered how lame those discounts were. I extremely doubt if they will be anything significant but Apple could surprise us.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    Are these the same people that proclaimed the $800 Macbook was coming?



    Apple isn't in to giving deals. Sure you may get a free iPod Touch ..if you're shelling out $1400.



    This story isn't out of line, except for the part that it might be the most aggressive yet, the figures aren't much different than the past that I recall. It's not even going to be as much as getting a Touch after buying a Mac notebook.



    They have been doing BF deals since 2005, maybe earlier.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    How about a one time, one day only, recession recognition discount. Macbooks for 899. Both in-store and online sale.



    That 100 dollar crap only covers sales tax.



    Show some love, Apple.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    Quote:

    The analyst also called upon Apple to "get more price aggressive in every product" for its traditional one day sale, which will run for 24 hours beginning at midnight on Thursday November 27th. Given obvious weakness in the economy, this should include the iPhone, he said, arguing that "the company?s high margins could likely absorb a few days of discounts."





    I second that and add that Apple should make the price reduction permanent.





  • Reply 17 of 28
    ...Walmart puts a dozen of those doorbusters in each store, and they are gone by 6:15 AM. BestBuy has the lowend model in boxes, you don't handle it or use it - you grab it and go. Apple can't and won't do that - they have to sustain sales over the day and season. If you don't get that crap notebook at Walmart you go to the next store or next model up and get a nearly-crap notebook for $100 or $200 more. You'll be ripped, but you'll still go to Walmart and spend $100 a visit on other nonsense. With Apple if they tick you off they lose you for the foreseeable future. They can't afford that.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    Buy a MB and get a $101 discount PLUS a copy of Vista Home... help Microsoft from going down the tube this Holiday season.



    Buy a MBP and Get a free dell linux LT PLUS a copy of Vista Ultramite... Help Microsoft from going down the tube this Holiday season and delay Dell from filing Chapter 11 before Christmas (and then their employees won't have to take fridays off without pay, they can buy a iPhone or....)



    I'm a PC2...lol
  • Reply 19 of 28
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Buy a Mac mini and get $200 off the new 24" Cinema Display....

    ..oh wait, the Mac mini doesn't have DisplayPort.



    Damn imagine the bundling possibilities with a Mac mini, especially if it were updated.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    thttht Posts: 5,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shanmugam View Post


    $1299 alu macbook offered $1199 sounds good to me ... of course if u r in the line for buying a new macbook ...



    It will be great if they offer $150 to $200 range this time



    I'm in line to get a new MacBook plus 24" external monitor and accessories. I'd want the 2.4 GHz, backlight keyboard version with 4 GB memory. Add it all up, and it's a $2700 expenditure. If it was a 30% savings, I'd stampede to the store.



    That's a huge cost for portability. Mind as well get the high end 24" iMac for less.
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