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November 25, 2008 1:43 PM PST

Apple retail stores will match reseller prices

by Tom Krazit
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Apple retail stores will match the prices of products sold by other authorized retailers.

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News)

Apple has started reminding its store employees that they have the authority to match the prices of other Apple resellers.

IfoAppleStore reported earlier Tuesday that managers at Apple retail stores can honor the prices for Macs and iPods posted on other authorized outlets like Best Buy or Amazon.com. This has always been Apple's policy, according to AppleInsider, but it sounds like the company wanted to make it crystal clear ahead of a holiday season in which consumers are expected to be bargain hunters.

Apple posted some information on its Web site on Tuesday about the deals it will be offering through its online store this Friday, otherwise known as Black Friday. The company is believed to be planning "aggressive" discounts for the so-called biggest shopping day of the year.

Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom.
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by close5828 November 25, 2008 2:11 PM PST
They've always done this, so where's the "news" in this? Must be a slow news day @ CNet..
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by Vegaman_Dan November 25, 2008 2:15 PM PST
This might be useful pricing tactics if it weren't that Apple has fixed the price of their hardware and products at all resellers. You aren't going to get any discount on Apple products by going to a store or online. Those stores that do get caught by Apple for selling at a price lower than Apple's stated retail price find themselves out of the supply chain entirely (read Fry's in 2007 for example).

It's not a discount if everyone is being forced to charge the same price. Typically instead retailers will bundle other non-Apple branded items with the units to make it a 'sale'. For example, you may buy an iPod for $X at any store, but go to THIS store and you can guy it at the same price but they will toss in some non-Apple branded earphones, case, or similar item that they *can* discount.
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by ibeetle November 25, 2008 2:30 PM PST
I was thinking the same thing... however the fixed price is no longer true today.

8GB Nano

Apple Store $149.00
K-Mart $134.99
Circuit City $142.49
Wal-Mart $147.88

I don't know if Apple will match just price or price and promotion. For example some retailers are charging the same as Apple Stores are however, they are giving a iTunes gift card as well.
by Perry_Clease November 25, 2008 3:10 PM PST
If I remember correctly I saved $5 off of Apple's price on when I bought an iPod Nano at Costco (in one of their brick and mortar stores) and I see a similar discount at Amazon. However, point taken there really isn't a discount on Macs bought from resellers, maybe you get a bundle deal with a printer. For that matter I just upgraded to Adobe CS4 and that price seems to be the same be it from Adobe itself or a reseller.

Sidebar: If you buy iTunes Store prepaid cards you can get small discount on them at Costco. Well you could the last time few times I bought them.
by darkstar32170 November 25, 2008 8:31 PM PST
I don't know how it fits but a friend of mine was at Best Buy yesterday and saw that they were knocking a couple hundred off the price of MacBooks (& Pros). They were however the previous generation (black or white MacBook and smaller trackpad MacBook Pro). Since Apple Retail does not stock previous generations where's the price matching. I know, online you can get deals from Apple on previous generation hardware, but these deals are better than what you can get at Best Buy.
by Penguinisto November 26, 2008 6:28 AM PST
Nice try, Dan, but...

It's called "price flooring", and every vendor does it - Microsoft, Dell, Apple, HP... retailers are given a minimum and agree to sell it at or above that minimum (sometimes that minimum is what the retailer actually paid for the items in advance...)

Also, Darkstar has a point - last-gen and discontinued items can be sold for one hell of a discount, with the vendor usually saying nada about how those get cleared out (and likely encouraging it).
by D3vildog699 November 25, 2008 2:30 PM PST
How on earth is this even news?? Good job proving advertisement for Crapple
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by AppleSuxLeo November 26, 2008 6:37 AM PST
So now Apple can rip you off everywhere. What`s the "news" here ?
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by Perry_Clease November 26, 2008 10:22 AM PST
Grow up Leo
by mike.gw November 26, 2008 7:33 AM PST
Part of the money that retailers make is reimbursement spent for advertising a particular vendor's product. Some vendors (don't know if Apple does this) will not reimburse advertising costs if the product is advertised with a sales price. That may be why you'll see some ads that claim the item is on sale, but at prices too low to advertise. Or others make you add the item to an online sales "cart" to see the sales price. It's a crummy practice. It may not be illegal price fixing as described by law, but it has a very similar effect of controlling prices among various retailers. It also makes cost comparison shopping very difficult.
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by JBSimmons November 29, 2008 12:43 AM PST
Price fixing is illegal no matter how you word it today. That includes price floors pre-agreed upon in advance. That is also why merchandise is printed with "suggested" retail price $xx.zz. As long as the word "suggested" is there, it's legal inasmuch as we hate it and retailers want to stick to it. I just reviewed the First-Sale Wiki article on this. The article to cite is the Clayton Doctrine.
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