For the entirety of Apple’s existence, the company’s bread and butter has been selling premium products at premium prices. So if you’re looking to get a great deal on a new computer or smartphone, you’ll probably want to steer clear of Apple retail stores. Whereas some companies are more than happy to sacrifice profits at the altar marketshare, Apple, in stark contrast, has forever been beholden to maintaining healthy margins across the entirety of its product line.
That said, there are a few ways for users to get some of Apple’s latest products at a discount. As a quick example, one helpful but perhaps lesser-known program is a 10% price matching initiative whereby Apple will honor discounted prices from authorized Apple retailers. Simply put, if a place like Best Buy is running a great promotion on new iPhones, Apple will gladly match it up to 10% off the product’s original list price.
Taking things a step further, an Apple store employee took to Reddit this morning and said that the artificial 10% ceiling on price matching is no longer in effect.
Apple is removing their limitations on price matching. Previously, Apple capped their price matching at 10% off, but that’s going away. You can now price match further, and they will even match promotions that include iTunes or Apple Store gift cards. Still has to be from brick and mortar store official websites, like Costco or Best Buy, but will not apply to places like Amazon.
All in all, this sounds like a great deal for consumers. Of course, with Apple being Apple, don’t expect any in-store employees to openly advertise the price-matching program. Instead, you’ll have to bring up price-matching on your own if you want to take advantage of the offer.
To this point, one Redditor who claims to have worked in Apple retail for eight years adds:
The policy is they don’t offer discounts unless the customer says something specifically about purchasing from a reseller. They used to be really up tight about it- requiring the employee to get manager approval but in recent years have loosened it up to allow any employee to give up to a 10% discount on their own. So all you might have to say is- I saw this cheaper at XYZ store and they might just discount for you. That’s what I did if people were nice.
Apple’s policy was that they might not win on price but they certainly wouldn’t lose. Sounds like they might be getting more aggressive.
With new Mac refreshes and revamped iPads slated for release over the next few months, you’ll definitely want to keep Apple’s updated discount policy in mind.
