Apple products sold like junk - Shift in marketing?

[matt_and_187_like_this]

Yesterday I walked past a LIDL store (if you don't know, think ALDI, Trader Joe's, cheap ) and saw that they currently have Airpods on sale (for a limited period of time). Apple was always very specific when it comes to presenting their products in a retail environment. Even large electronics store had to follow clear guidelines and Apple's products where always displayed in a special section.

Additionally Apple was always very strict on not offering apparent discounts (there were discounts, but not advertised). Today we see a lot of discounts, even on recently released products. You can just scroll through Macrumors' start page.

Is this is a shift in marketing we see here? Do you think Apple is risking its premium image?

 

[TiggrToo]

How sure are you they were legitimately AirPods and not some cheap knock-off?

The counterfeiters are getting really good these days at making their cheap tat look like the real deal.

 

[Falhófnir]

Definitely think Apple have gotten less totalitarian about enforcing third party retailers to follow their own lead, both in terms of undercutting Apple's previously enforced MSRPs and even continuing to sell discounted items Apple themselves have discontinued.

 

[retta283]

Definitely think Apple have gotten less totalitarian about enforcing third party retailers to follow their own lead, both in terms of undercutting Apple's previously enforced MSRPs and even continuing to sell discounted items Apple themselves have discontinued.

Definitely so. I was at Walmart last week and I saw they had a bunch of iPhone 7s for sale still. Not even a carrier deal, they were brand new in their Apple boxes without a SIM card. Was very strange to see that, I almost bought one just to see what iOS version was loaded but I'm not really interested in upgrading old with old so I decided to pass on it.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

How sure are you they were legitimately AirPods and not some cheap knock-off?

The counterfeiters are getting really good these days at making their cheap tat look like the real deal.

I had to look twice as well, but they were Apple Airpods 2nd gen 100%.

Definitely so. I was at Walmart last week and I saw they had a bunch of iPhone 7s for sale still.

Imagine the disappointment buying this as a rather uninformed customer, who just heard about the long lifespan of Apple products and then not getting a single update (7 will most likely be dropped this year).

 

[tekkierich]

I had to look twice as well, but they were Apple Airpods 2nd gen 100%.



Imagine the disappointment buying this as a rather uninformed customer, who just heard about the long lifespan of Apple products and then not getting a single update (7 will most likely be dropped this year).

unlikely.

6s will be dropped this year. 7 will see iOS 15, and likely also iOS 16.
the A10 processor used in the iPhone 7 is used in the current selling iPod Touch and the 2019 iPad 7th gen which was sold directly by Apple as recently as 7 months ago.

 

[HDFan]

At my location in the U.S. I see no change in Apples' marketing.

" I had to look twice as well, but they were Apple Airpods 2nd gen 100%."

How did you determine that?

Inventory can come from a lot of places. Maybe Walmart lost a pallet of iPhone 7's, found them, and is now selling them.

 

[mpetrides]

At my location in the U.S. I see no change in Apples' marketing.

" I had to look twice as well, but they were Apple Airpods 2nd gen 100%."

How did you determine that?

Inventory can come from a lot of places. Maybe Walmart lost a pallet of iPhone 7's, found them, and is now selling them.

Maybe so. But Walmart has been selling AirPods Pro for $199 since well before Black Friday. If I didn't have a strong preference for over-the-ear headphones (aka AirPods Max), I probably would have picked up a pair at that price, knowing full well that there will probably be a new version within 6 months.

 

[HDFan]

Walmart has been selling AirPods Pro for $199 since well before Black Friday.

Apple seems to allow retailers to set their own prices. If they want to discount and cut their margins, or even sell below their cost, it is their choice. My personal experience was with HomePods, where Best Buy would periodically sell them at $199, well below Apple's price at the time. Best Buy sells the AirPods Pro for $229, $20 off the $249 list. If Apple was cutting their prices Best Buys' price would also be $199.

Maybe Walmart is discounting more heavily to use them as a traffic generator?