Office Depot, OfficeMax temporarily drop iPhone battery replacement cost to $28
iPhone owners out of range of an Apple retail store can have their iPhone battery replaced at Office Depot or OfficeMax for just $27.99 until Feb. 4, with one important caveat.
The short-term $27.99 price at Office Depot and OfficeMax is reduced from the typical cost of $49.99, likely as a response to Apple's own price drop which runs throughout 2018.
While the office supply stores do promise same-day turnaround for battery replacement, they are not Apple Authorized Service Providers. That means new batteries are not Apple-supplied replacement parts and could void the iPhone's warranty - though Office Depot and OfficeMax do offer a one-year guarantee of their own.
They are also not the first third parties to lower the cost of battery-related products and services in the wake of Apple's announcement. In December, iFixit dropped the price of its own do-it-yourself iPhone battery replacement kits, which now range from $16.99 for an iPhone 4S kit to $29 for an iPhone 7 version.
Those who do plan to take advantage of Office Depot and OfficeMax's offering can find a nearby store here.
The short-term $27.99 price at Office Depot and OfficeMax is reduced from the typical cost of $49.99, likely as a response to Apple's own price drop which runs throughout 2018.
While the office supply stores do promise same-day turnaround for battery replacement, they are not Apple Authorized Service Providers. That means new batteries are not Apple-supplied replacement parts and could void the iPhone's warranty - though Office Depot and OfficeMax do offer a one-year guarantee of their own.
They are also not the first third parties to lower the cost of battery-related products and services in the wake of Apple's announcement. In December, iFixit dropped the price of its own do-it-yourself iPhone battery replacement kits, which now range from $16.99 for an iPhone 4S kit to $29 for an iPhone 7 version.
Those who do plan to take advantage of Office Depot and OfficeMax's offering can find a nearby store here.
Comments
Now, how many people are going to walk into an Apple store or Office Depot or OfficeMax and buy ONLY a replacement battery? Most, probably, But, there will be a few here and there that are either sold on or impulsively pick up a high-profit accessory or maybe even a new phone or computer or other big-ticket item. Humans tend to wander around the store while dropping off their phones, picking them up, or waiting for their batteries to be replaced. When they wander, they tend to make additional purchases.
I would still take advantage of the battery at this price later in the year if you plan on keeping your phone if I were you , but in the meantime it makes no sense to have a phone that you believe has slowed down considerably and do nothing about it until later in the year? Just my opinion of course....
So, trying to be considerate, I tried to contact Apple and cancel my work orders so someone else can get the batteries they had ordered for me. Online tech support could not cancel the order because it was a sales issue and so they setup a sales support phone call the next day. Next day, the support analyst couldn’t cancel the order because their super secret direct line to the store had no answer because the store closed. Apparently only the store can cancel the order but you don’t ever get to call the store directly yourself. They asked me to call support back later. Unbelievable. Thought I was talking to the cable company. They couldn’t just take care of it later themselves even though it was in their own best interest. I might just give up as they release the batteries after 5 days anyway. Ugh.