macnn
06/03/2008, 6:55am, EDT
Tuesday, June 3rd
Apple school deal offers free iPod touch
Apple today began one of its more ambitious back-to-school promos by offering a free iPod touch to faculty and students buying a Mac through either the online Apple Store or retail stores that offer educational deals. The campaign offers a $299 rebate equivalent to the price of an 8GB iPod touch if both the iPod and the Mac are on the same order; buyers can also upgrade to a 16GB or 32GB and apply the full discount. Those who prefer the iPod nano can opt for an 8GB model at a reduced $199 rebate.
The promo begins effective immediately and allows submissions for the rebate claims until October 15th; all stock and custom-ordered Macs are eligible except for the institution-only 17-inch iMac and all Mac minis. Regular educational discounts remain in effect.
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cleaning inventory
as seen in the past they are probably cleaning out inventory. There will probably be a new touch shortly after the announcement at the wwdc .
Apple stiffs resellers
Once again Apple screws the people that kept them in business for years. MOST Apple resellers cannot offer this.
Thanks
Apple stiffs resellers
Apple stiffs resellers
Right, you can finance your own incentives. I'm guessing you do not own a business.. contrary to popular belief most businesses do NOT have billions in reserve money OR do we actually create ipod touches to only be out the cost of manufacturing (which is significantly less of a loss than the sticker price)
17" iMac not legible...
In the Offer Term Sheet, Apple states that the Mac mini and the 17" iMac are not legible for this promo. I wonder if Apple is planning to release a 17" low-cost version at wwdc. There probably would be a market actually for a cheap desktop computer with built-in display.
Reseller's can't compete
Yes, resellers are again left out in the cold with this promo. You should realize that the education price is just about the same price that dealers get their products for. Throw in a $300 iPod on top of that and you simply can't compete. Some resellers match education pricing simply to help move product through their stores but they don't make any profit on those machines. Yes, stores need to make profit to be able to sell product.
I don't understand why they restrict this rebate to only purchasing from Apple directly. They could easily extend it to all Apple Specialist shops and not be out anything, as they are selling the machines for the same price anyway.
Oh well, Apple does what it wants. We'll still keep selling their stuff.
17" iMac?
If memory serves me well, last 17" iMac was a G5 machine (released almost 3 years ago, discontinued over two years ago). The only way you could get an Intel 17" iMac is if you are an actual school, buying in bulk.
There will never be a 17" machine in the retail channel again. 17" is laptop-size screen. It's just too small for the desktop (even 20" is getting a bit small nowadays...).
Apple Reseller
Why does this not help any resellers? This will increase sells of both Apple computers and ipods for resellers. The customer buys the ipod from the resellers for retail and then the customer does a rebate from Apple and then Apple sends them a $299 rebate check, not the reseller. All this does is increase sells for both Apple & Apple resellers. The only thing I can see why this would hurt Apple resellers is because Apple was pushing hard to sell lots of MacBook's to resellers and if a MacBook gets updated soon, that will leave many resellers with lot of stock of old MacBooks.
Re: apple reseller
Why does this not help any resellers? This will increase sells of both Apple computers and ipods for resellers.
Sorry, read the rules. You must purchase BOTH from Apple, ON THE SAME RECEIPT! So there's no way to go to the specialist to get any sales. Yet they're expected to still serve the customers with their issues of equipment (which, from what I hear, Apple does a lousy job of reimbursing them for).