Apple doles out gift cards for Black Friday sales event [u]

AppleInsider · November 25, 2016 3:49AM

Marking Apple's return to Black Friday sales bonanza festivities, the company has chosen to dole out gift cards alongside eligible product purchases, offering customers in Australia Apple Gift Cards worth up to A$200.

Announced via email and through the company's regional website on Friday local Australia time, the gift card promotion is nearly identical to Apple's Black Friday special in 2013. While Apple could opt for product discounts instead of cards in the U.S. and Canada, as it has done in the past with European Black Friday sales, North American customers typically see similar deals to those offered Down Under.

In 2013, for example, the value of Apple Gift Cards passed out in Australia mirrored cards meted out in the U.S., even with a substantial exchange rate discrepancy. The Cupertino tech giant switched to direct -- and conservative -- product discounts in 2014, but skipped Black Friday altogether last year.

For 2016, Apple is offering up to A$200 gift cards on select Mac purchases, including Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook, non-2016 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Customers in the market for portable equipment will receive an Apple Gift Card worth A$140 for iPad Pro, A$70 for iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and A$35 for iPhone SE. Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple TV also come with an A$35 gift card.

Apple Gift Card Values should be similar in the U.S., though it is unclear what the company has in store for Europe. In America, Apple is advertising free two-day delivery of in-stock items ordered through its online store by 5:00 p.m.

To save even more, though, Apple authorized resellers are offering aggressive Black Friday instant discounts, exclusive coupon offers, free shipping and no tax in most states. These deals can be found in our comprehensive Black Friday deal roundup with highlights below. And, as always, please visit our Price Guides to find the lowest prices on Apple products (updated daily).

Update: Apple's one-day Black Friday event is now live worldwide, with the company offering gift cards on select purchases in the U.S., Canada and select markets in Europe. In the U.S., gift card values max out at $150 for certain Mac purchases, $100 for iPad Pro and $50 for iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4. Customers buying an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus can nab a $50 card, while iPhone SE buyers get $25. Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple TV come with gift cards valued at $25.

dm3 · November 25, 2016 4:27AM

Does that say no discount on the new MacBook Pro?

evilution · November 25, 2016 6:36AM

Disappointing. Vouchers only if you buy old stuff that has already been updated or is about to be updated. No thanks. Other stores will offer discounts on Apple products.

disneylandman · November 25, 2016 8:33AM

I got a much better deal on the iPad Pro 9.7" Space Gray 256GB at Target for $649...a savings of $250. With my Red Card, I saved another 5%, off the $649 price. I also picked up the AppleTV 32GB for a birthday gift for my brother at 25% off, and another 5% off with my Red Card. Apple's online store is back online and their iPad Pro deal is $100 off the regular price and a $100 Apple Gift card by email. Target beat them hands down. They also had the PS4 500GB with a game bundle for $249.99, and then Target Cartwheel knocked off another 15%, and the Red Card another 5%...knocked it down to about $201. Games were also discounted too. So it was a nice Black Friday sale at Target.

design_editor · November 25, 2016 8:55AM

Apple has become the lame company that Microsoft used to be. Who tries to push last year's products and gift cards that won't cover your dongle bill? Helping execs to fat stock bonuses is not really helping its customers. Maybe they need a Trump shakedown.

disneylandman · November 25, 2016 9:58AM

design_editor said:

Apple has become the lame company that Microsoft used to be. Who tries to push last year's products and gift cards that won't cover your dongle bill? Helping execs to fat stock bonuses is not really helping its customers. Maybe they need a Trump shakedown.

Current products are offering the gift cards.

whatthewha · November 25, 2016 12:35PM

Take advantage of the sale or don't. I would love to come here one day and not see so much whining. The sale is exactly what you would expect Apple to do on Black Friday. Apple has never given a massive discount on brand new products like the mbp. However the Watch series 1 is only 2 months old, and the macbook, ipad pro 9.7" and iphone se are about 6 months old. If you can find them cheaper then you win! No need to bitch about every friggin article.

tnet-primary · November 25, 2016 1:20PM

The Black Friday "deal" is a gift card to buy more Apple stuff when you buy Apply stuff at regular price?

Another strike.

fallenjt · November 25, 2016 2:33PM

What about Apple goes back to Steve Jobs' time: discount nothing? No more whining!

macxpress · November 25, 2016 2:42PM

fallenjt said:

What about Apple goes back to Steve Jobs' time: discount nothing? No more whining!

Someone here will say....well at least Apple had new products. Which wasn't always true....not even slightly true. A lot of times Apple didn't release new products until after MacWorld in January. Other times after Apple stopped attending MacWorld you didn't see new products until the following spring. As always...its nothing new! People have very short term memories or they just didn't know what it was like 8 or so years go.

edited November 2016

tycho24 · November 25, 2016 2:52PM

design_editor said:

Apple has become the lame company that Microsoft used to be. Who tries to push last year's products and gift cards that won't cover your dongle bill? Helping execs to fat stock bonuses is not really helping its customers. Maybe they need a Trump shakedown.

Any company that IN YOUR OPINION overcharges should be "shook down" by the government??!
lol.
You gonna send your cousin Vinnie over there to "break his legs real good for him"?!
You people crack me up.
Haha, why doesn't your hypocritical ass want to send your hero, Mr. Trump down Rodeo to change all the prices of $70,000 designer handbags down to the roughly $200 they're worth?
Oh, because even though those are sold at a ridiculous margin, we live in a capitalist democracy where people may charge whatever they like & if consumers don't like it, they are free to shop elsewhere? Hmmm, sounds fair.
Why, pray tell, does your ignorant suggestion only focus on one device by one manufacturer?

edited November 2016

tycho24 · November 25, 2016 3:01PM

design_editor said:

Apple has become the lame company that Microsoft used to be. Who tries to push last year's products and gift cards that won't cover your dongle bill? Helping execs to fat stock bonuses is not really helping its customers. Maybe they need a Trump shakedown.

Oooh, I noticed that Mr. Trump charges $100,000 per year for membership at his country clubs.
My membership here locally (Florida), is $3,600 per year.
Will you please go "shake him down" for me??
Force him to charge less, k?
I mean, that's the epitome of a free world economy, yeah?
Oh.... his club might have certain features that are different & considered better by some, than mine? And people aren't forced to belong to either so they have choice?
Huh...... that vaguely reminds me of the mobile market.

edited November 2016

tycho24 · November 25, 2016 6:46PM

design_editor said:

Apple has become the lame company that Microsoft used to be. Who tries to push last year's products and gift cards that won't cover your dongle bill? Helping execs to fat stock bonuses is not really helping its customers. Maybe they need a Trump shakedown.

You do understand that the results of any "shakedown" by Mr. Trump, like forcing them to triple their labor prices & raw ore prices will result in a SHARP and immediate increase in prices, yeah???!!

edited November 2016

evilution · November 25, 2016 7:52PM

disneylandman said:
Current products are offering the gift cards.

iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Not current.
iPad pro and iPad Mini 4, over a year old so due an update shortly or being dropped.
iPad Air 2, not current.
Apple Watch series 1, rehashed 18 month old product that is already superseded.
Macbook pro, over 3 years old.
Macbook air, nearly 2 years old and the line is about to be dropped.
iMac, over 2 years old.
Mac Pro, nearly 3 years old.

disneylandman · November 26, 2016 1:16AM

evilution said:

disneylandman said:
Current products are offering the gift cards.

iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Not current.
iPad pro and iPad Mini 4, over a year old so due an update shortly or being dropped.
iPad Air 2, not current.
Apple Watch series 1, rehashed 18 month old product that is already superseded.
Macbook pro, over 3 years old.
Macbook air, nearly 2 years old and the line is about to be dropped.
iMac, over 2 years old.
Mac Pro, nearly 3 years old.

The iPhone SE is the current 4" phone available. The iPad Pro is the current iPad available, which was introduced in March 2016, not over a year old. The mini 4 is still the most current mini iPad available. The iMac is still the current model available for sale, which was last refreshed late 2015, not 2 years ago. The Mac Pro is still the current model available (a low seller for Apple). The brand-new MacBooks and Watch Series 2 of course do not get discounts, but the other items that receive gift card discounts are not as old as you claim because they are not clearance items. Only someone as ignorant as yourself would be overly concerned about the actual release date of a product. In case you did not know, there are no Intel processors available for upgrading the current batch of Macs. So even though you claim they are outdated because of age, they are still the current products available based on the current technology available. How is Apple supposed to update products with newer CPUs that do not even exist yet? Typical response from a Millennial that demands a trophy for showing up. Apple has never offered worthy discounts on Black Friday. You need to look at other authorized resellers for real discounts.

Apple doles out gift cards for Black Friday sales event [u]

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